What I Got For Christmas | 2013

Firstly, I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! I had a wonderful day spent with my family and I got some beautiful things! I'm not here to boast or to sit and list everything Santa brought me, but I know these posts are very popular. I won't go into details as I'll do a few more in depth posts of individual items, but in the above photo are all my beauty related gifts! 

I got a gorgeous Umberto Giannini hair set from my Grandpa, but the majority of my beauty gifts came from my parents. My Mum loves to give people shower gel as you can see! In there you'll spot a few LUSH goodies, Britney Spears Hidden Fantasy perfume, a NARS blush in Douceur and the Origins Mask Marvels gift set, which I'd asked for but I thought was totally sold out, so that was a lovely surprise! I got my Soap & Glory Yule Monty set; I ask for their big gift set every year as my parents buy it when it's on 'offer of the week' in Boots and they get a massive bargain!

I'll go into details for a few things once I've had a chance to try them. I am so so grateful for everything I was given this year, I'm a very lucky lady! Stay tuned for my Christmas sales bargains, I went a bit crazy this year!

Fiona xox

Beauty Blogger Advent Calendar Swap | December 19th - 24th

This is the final week of my beauty blogger advent calendar swap with Laura from Petit Moi - Big World! I'm so sad that it's over but I've really enjoyed swapping with Laura again and she's given me some beautiful things! So heres my final week:

December 19th: Galaxy Gift For You Chocolate and Silver Bracelet - I got this yummy white chocolate bar and this pretty silver bracelet with coloured beads!
December 20th: Benefit Stay Don't Stray sample - I've wanted to try Stay Don't Stray for ages now, it's supposed to keep eyeshadow and concealer in place, and I'm quite intrigued to try it with my concealer!
December 21st: Cadbury Dairy Milk Coins - Another yummy surprise from Laura, chocolate never goes wrong at Christmas time! 

December 22nd: Models Own Lip Stix in Very Berry - I've never tried these before and I was delighted to get this deep burgundy shade! Very wintery! 
December 23rd: Barry M Matte Nail Paint in Crush - This matches the Models Own lip crayon perfectly, and I'm delighted to own this as it's been on my wishlist for a while!
December 24th: MUA Smokin Palette - On the final day, today, I opened this beautiful palette from MUA! I love the mix of neutrals and jewel shades and I'm so happy to have it! 

Thank you so much for everything Laura, I've thoughrouly enjoyed our 2nd swap! Please go and check her blog out! http://www.petitmoi-bigworld.co.uk

I will try and get my Christmas message up, but I'm a pretty busy lady so will say now that I hope you all have a Merry Christmas if you're celebrating and if not enjoy your time off school/Uni/work! Have a wonderful time! 

Fiona xox

Last Minute Xmas Gifts | Top 5 Under £20

from left to right, clockwise:

1. Ted Baker 'Holy Smoke!' Gift Set: £15.00 from Boots - So technically not beauty related, but we all love a nice candle, right? This duo is absolutely stunning, they smell lovely and the frosted pink glass is gorgeous! Ted Baker always help bring a little luxury to Christmas. 

2. LUSH 'Ho Ho Ho' Gift Set: £9.50 from LUSH - A nice cheap gift set from the masters of all things smelly, I was actually given this as part of my goody bag from a recent LUSH event. It includes a Santa bath bomb and their Snow Globe soap, both are fresh citrus scents.

3. Soap & Glory 'The Powder Trip': £20.00 from Boots - I really want this for Christmas! This face palette contains three of S&G's best selling powders; Solar Powder, Love At First Blush and Glow All Out.

4. Soap & Glory 'Good, Butter, Best' Gift Set: £8.00 from Boots - Another great gift set from S&G, featuring three mini's of their body butters, The Righteous Butter, Sugar Crush and Butter Yourself. I think this would make an excellent secret santa or stocking filler!

5. LUSH Christmas Candy Box: £19.95 from LUSH - A very sweet offering including their famous Snow Fairy shower gel, Candy Mountain bubble bar, Rock Star soap and Popcorn lip scrub!

Fiona xox

Beauty Blogger Advent Calendar Swap | December 13th-18th

We're now on to week 3 of my beauty blogger advent calendar swap with the lovely Laura from Petit Moi - Big World! I got some absolutely fab things this week and it really is so much fun! I'd highly recommend it for you all to do this time next year! 

from left-right:

December 13th: Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Plum - Laura sent me some of these for our first swap in the summer and I absolutely loved them. This deep purple is perfect for winter.

December 14th: Molton Brown Ylang Ylang Body Lotion - To go along with the body wash from last week, it's very posh and smells divine! 

December 15th: Dr. Lipp Nipple Balm for Lips sample - I've been dying to try this for ages, and despite the slightly dodgy name I love it! I think I might be swayed in to buying a full sized tube!

December 16th: ESPA Lift & Firm Moisturiser and Intensive Eye Serum - I've never tried anything from this brand before so I'm excited to see what these are like! They're such a handy size I may pop them in with my travel toiletries for the next time I'm away.

December 17th: Fashionista Eyeshadow in Bella - I'm probably not supposed to have favourites, but this is definitely mine for this week! Bella is the most stunning white and gold marbled shadow that when mixed together make a beautiful pale nude/gold shade. I can see myself wearing this a lot!

December 18th: Philosophy Purity 3in1 Cleanser - I love Philosophy products so I was so happy to see this on day 18! 

I can't wait to show you what I open this week! You can see what I got Laura over at www.petitmoi-bigworld.co.uk

Fiona xox

LUSH Danger! Cosmetics To Go Book Launch And Xmas Event

The lovely author, Mira Manga! (excuse the thumb in the corner).

My copy of Danger! Cosmetics To Go and the amazing goody bag contents!

I was recently lucky enough to be invited to LUSH Cosmetics on Glasgow's Buchanan Street for the launch of their first ever book: Danger! Cosmetics To Go. Myself and some other lovely Scottish bloggers were asked along to hear more about the book from it's author, Mira Manga, and to check out all their gorgeous Christmas gifts! 

Danger! Cosmetics To Go is an absolutely stunning book and definitely one for keeping out on your coffee table! Heres what LUSH have to say about it: "Danger! Cosmetics To Go is the story of the company that preceded LUSH and tells of the meteoric rise and devastating fall of the dynamic cosmetics brand that revolutionised bathing and enchanted customers with their innovative offerings, all well ahead of their time". The book includes entertaining stories and incredible images of the products that inspired LUSH, infact I would love for them to bring some back! It's so colourful and enticing, you can't help but pick it up and read it. We also got the chance to chat with the author Mira Manga (who is amazing and very funny!) and she told us about her personal connection with the book and how much fun she had writing it. 

We were treated to some lovely drinks and nibbles, and were thoroughly pampered. I got the chance to smell and test out some products I'd never seen before, and boy oh boy did I lust over some of those Christmas gifts! We were sent home with a copy of the book each and an unbelievably generous goody bag! If you're a lover of all things LUSH, or know someone who is, Danger! Cosmetics To Go would make a perfect gift for yourself or someone else! It's available at all LUSH stores and retails at £19.95.

Fiona xox

Beauty Blogger Advent Calendar Swap | December 7-12

As promised here are Days 7-12 of the beauty blogger advent calendar swap I did with Laura from Petit Moi - Big World! I am seriously having so much fun doing this. 

Day 7: Studio London Nail File & Case - I opened up a very pretty and very handy nail file case, which had a lovely glass nail file inside, the case makes it perfect for on the go!

Day 8: Miners Blush - On the 8th of December I opened up a gorgeous Miners blush, it's a very girly shimmery shade of pink!

Day 9: The Body Shop Rainforest Hair Butter Sachets - I can't wait to try these, I love trying new hair treatments s my frizzy curly hair needs so much moisture.

Day 10: Birchbox Gel Eye Mask - I absolutely love this, it's a plastic eye mask filled with a cooling gel that you pop in the fridge - I'm excited to use this along with a face mask during pamper sessions! 

Day 11: Sleek iDivine Vintage Romance Palette - This was by far the most exciting thing this week, this palette is gorgeous! It's got some amazing Christmassy shades and I'll need to take better photos with swatches at some point!

Day 12: Molton Brown Ylang Ylang Body Wash - Such a very cute and very posh body wash, thank you Laura! It smells so good too!

I'm feeling so lucky and very very grateful right now, so thank you again Laura, I'm really enjoying this! Tune in next week for days 13-18 or follow me on Instagram (beautyfiend_) for daily pictures! 

Fiona xox

Beauty Blogger Advent Calendar Swap | December 1st-6th

As some of you may remember, I did a summer beauty swap with Laura from Petit Moi - Big World after Kat from Tales of a Pale Face paired us together. Well, Kat recently did another post about creating a beauty advent calendar for yourself or a friend, and Laura suggested to me we do it as a swap! 

I haven't had an advent calendar for a few years now so this was very very exciting! Unwrapping all of the parcels all at once was tempting, but I've been good and I'll show you what I get every 6 days! 

Day 1: Barry M Textured Nail Paint in Countess - This was a wonderful surprise, as its the most beautiful nail polish ever! Thank you so much Laura! It's the perfect Christmas party shade.

Day 2: Eyelure Pre-Glued Lashes - Another thing thats perfect for Christmas! I needed some eyelashes for my work's night out and these will do the trick.

Day 3: L'Occitane Mini Shea Hand Cream - I love L'Occitane hand creams, they're so moisturising and this one is a great size for popping in my handbag.

Day 4: Katy Perry Killer Queen Sample -  I'd wanted to smell this since it came out, and now I have the chance! It's lovely and very floral and fruity it's definitely a possibility that I'll buy a bottle at some point. 

Day 5: Essie Smooth Sailing Mini - I don't normally wear a lot of blue nail polish, but this colour is stunning. It's like a darker version of Bikini So Teeny and I think it's very wintry and icy even though it's not supposed to be!

Day 6: Montagne Jeunesse and Superdrug Face Masks - You can't go wrong with a good ol' face mask, especially in the party season when I love a good pamper session! 

I am absolutely thrilled with everything so far and just wanted to thank Laura again - I'm absolutely loving this! 

You can see what I get everyday by following me on Instagram (beautyfiend_) where I'll be posting my advent calendar goodies daily!

Fiona xox

Make Up Forever | Aqua Brow

Make Up Forever Aqua Brow in 15 Blonde: €19.50 -

Let me start this post off by saying this is my new holy grail brow product. My wonderful friend Victoria from Razzle Dazzle and Rock N' Roll brought this back for me when she went to Paris and i love her for it. 

Aqua Brow is a cream eyebrow product for filling in your (you guessed it!) eyebrows. It is so smooth and if you like a sharp, precise looking brow, this is the stuff for you. The tiniest blob will fill both eyebrows in easily, and it comes in a wide range of colours. The shade I have, Blonde, will suit dark blondes to light brunettes. 

This is easily the best brow product I've ever used, I highly recommend it and I'm going to have to hunt it down online when I run out. 

Fiona xox

Bailey's Bit | #4

Well, it's been a while since I last posted about Bailey; he's now 14 months and we celebrated his 1st birthday on the 17th of September! We spoiled him rotten with treats and new toys, I even ordered him freshly baked doggy donuts that he loved! I'm such a proud mama, he's the most loving and gentle wee dog and I completely adore him. He loves watching everything that you do. He is definitely a cheeky boy and will let you know when he wants walked, fed or played with: he can be quite demanding! 

I recently walked him round our local nature reserve and he had a ball, running around and sniffing everything. I haven't had the confidence to let him off the lead when I'm alone with him yet, but I think I'll be ready for that soon! 

Fiona xox

Sephora Haul | Body Wash, Eau De Toilette & Eyeshadow Palette

Sephora Creamy Body Wash in Blueberry and Laguna

Sephora 7ml Eau De Toilette in Blueberry and Laguna

Sephora 'It' Palette in Smoky

Recently my parents brought me back a few things from their trip to Spain, and I was very very excited to see the Sephora logo on one of the bags! The creamy body washes' and the eau de toilettes are lovely! Blueberry is a really sweet berry scent and Laguna is a much more grown up scent and actually one I think both men and women could get away with! I think the size of the perfumes is fantastic, here in the UK we very rarely get small sized perfumes like these, which is such a shame! 

The palette is stunning, and very winter/Christmas appropriate! All the shades are super sparkly (with the exception of the matte black) and really pigmented. I wouldn't normally go for a palette with lots of silver in it, but my Mum knows I need pushing out of my comfort zone! I really like it and I can see it getting a lot of use during the Christmas party season! I'm totally in love and really wish they would bring Sephora back to the UK!

Fiona xox

Top Autumn/Winter Lip Products

from l-r clockwise: MAC lipstick in Plumful, Rimmel Apocalips in Galaxy. MAC lipstick in Rebel, Sleek Matte Me in Birthday Suit, Collection lipstick in Perrie, MAC lipstick in RiRi Woo, Urban Decay lipstick in Rapture.

from l-r: Rebel, Plumful, Rapture, Galaxy, Birthday Suit, RiRi Woo

Today I thought I'd bring you my top autumn/winter lipstick picks, as Autumn is nearly over here in Scotland. The frost and ice has hit us and I'm sure Christmas will come flying in! I love a dark berry lip for autumn/winter, as well as deep purples, reds and nudes. 

1. MAC Plumful Lipstick: This is the perfect 'everyday' shade for autumn/winter time. It just adds a hint of a plummy tint to the lips and I think it's a shade that would suit almost everyone. 

2. Rimmel Apocalips in Galaxy: Another plummy shade that leans slightly more purple. It's packed with silver shimmer. Despite all the shimmer I'd probably still consider this a daytime shade!

3. MAC Rebel Lipstick: A very dark purple berry toned lipstick that is one of my absolute favourites, and one of MAC's most popular shades. 

4. Sleek Matte Me in Birthday Suit: This is the perfect nude for me. I absolutely love it for daytime or night, you can even add gloss on top as the matte finish doesn't really work with dry winter lips. 

5. Collection Lipstick in Perrie: I totally forgot to swatch this lipstick, but you can see a swatch here. It's a total dupe for MAC's Up The Amp lipstick and I think this pink toned purple is perfect for nights out during autumn/winter. It's something a little different from all the berry tones. 

6. MAC RiRi Woo Lipstick: My top autumn/winter lip picks wouldn't be complete without a true Christmassy red lipstick! RiRi Woo (or Ruby Woo, they're exactly the same!) is so festive and perfect.

7. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture: Rapture is a lovely mauve and the formula of this is to die for, so smooth and creamy. I think you could get away with this during the day or at night, but for me it's a great evening shade for when I don't want to go too OTT!

Fiona xox

NARS Holiday 2013 | Guy Bourdin One Night Stand Blush Palette

from l-r clockwise: Devotee, Mistinguette, Orgasm, Goulou, Deep Throat and Laguna

NARS Holiday 2013 Guy Bourdin One Night Stand Blush Palette: £45.00

Okay! I think you've all already seen this, but here it is again, the NARS Guy Bourdin 'One Night Stand' Blush palette! I couldn't resist. I've heard some pretty controversial things about Guy Bourdin and his photography, and I've even heard bloggers say they would refuse to buy from this collection on principle. Art will always be controversial so I wasn't going to let that get between me and this palette. 

It consists of four blushes, a highlighter and a bronzer. The highlighter Devotee is so shimmery: a bit much for daytime but a gorgeous highlighter for evenings out. Then there are three best selling shades, the famous Orgasm and Deep Throat blushes and the Laguna bronzer. Mistinguette is the terrifyingly bright pink (top middle) that swatches a little less scary. Finally Goulou (bottom right) is a gorgeous shade that I can only describe as "if Orgasm and Sin had a baby..." 

The size of the palette was a little dissapointing, I think NARS just seem to have a habit of producing tiny palettes for a huge price. However it does seem to be deceivingly small, as each blush apparently contains 4g, in comparison to a normal NARS blusher which is 4.8g. So you're getting 6 products at 4g for the same price as two 4.8g blushes, not bad!

I've been lazy and haven't swatched this for you but Beautezine has a fabulous post on this: http://www.beautezine.com/nars-one-night-stand-blush-palette-for-holiday-2013-review/

Even though this is a 'holiday' release, most of these shades seem suited to the summer holidays rather than wintertime, but the more shimmery shades do feel rather Christmassy. All in all this is a lovely palette and if you can get your hands on it, do. 

Fiona xox

Little Mix For Collection | Perrie Lipstick

Little Mix for Collection Lipstick in Perrie: £2.99

Sorry for the long absence again (and my hairy arm in the swatch photo!) but I'm back with a quick review of this lipstick from Collection. Much like the MUA for One Direction collection I am not a Little Mix fan, but I think the girls are talented and I love their style.

The reason this lipstick caught my attention is because it's an exact dupe for MAC's Up The Amp lipstick! I don't own Up The Amp but I do have it's matte version RiRi Boy, and I can assure you that apart from the finish RiRi Boy and Perrie are the exactly the same. The formula is nothing amazing, but it's not awful either; it does last a good while on the lips. 

I think for £2.99 this is definitely worth picking up! I personally hate taking my expensive lipsticks with me on a night out, so I love the idea of using my MAC lipstick when I'm getting ready and having a cheap dupe to take with me for touch ups! 

Fiona xox

2True Pro Prime Perfect | Benefit Porefessional Dupe?

2True Pro Prime Perfect Primer: £5.00 via Superdrug - 

Recently when I was looking for a new primer I picked this 2True Pro Prime Perfect from Superdrug. I wanted something really affordable for everyday use. I wasn't expecting miracles for £5.00, but I am very impressed with this. 

The colour, texture and feel of this primer is very very similar to Benefit's Porefessional primer, which retails for £23.50! I have used Porefessional before, and the 2True is that bit thicker and harder to work with (it doesn't glide on the way Porefessional does), but on the whole the two are really alike and both have that silicone feel. The 2True primer really does make my skin look smoother and my make up look better and last longer. When I check the mirror mid-shift in work (sweaty busy bar shifts especially) my make up is still there! It stills wears away over the night, but generally it does extend the wear time of my foundation, yay! Definite thumbs up!

Fiona xox

Feel Unique Haul | Philip Kingsley & John Frieda

I recently made my first Feel Unique order, and I've got to say I'm impressed. They sell lots of brands that I don't have access to at really good prices! Plus I got 10% off! My haul was an all hair one, I needed some products to tackle my scalp psoriasis and something for my frizzy frizzy curls! 

Philip Kingsley Flaky/Itchy Scalp Toner 75ml: £6.75 - This comforting scalp toner is to be used after you wash your hair and is rubbed into the scalp. It's very watery and runny (easy to waste a lot of product) but so far I feel like my scalp is considerably less itchy! Avon used to make one that I loved but they've discontinued it! This is much more expensive but I do like it as you don't wash it out. 

Philip Kingsley Exfoliating Scalp Mask 20ml: £4.70 - Exfoliating scalp mask containing organic Aloe Vera and a combination of powerful exfoliants to help minimize flaking whilst soothing the scalp. I love the idea of these scalp masks! 20 minutes before you wash your hair you rub this into your scalp, and ooh, it feels lovely! I definitely feel like it's lifting the horrible flakes out of my scalp. 

Philip Kingsley Stimulating Scalp Mask 20ml: £4.70 - A combination of vitamins, minerals, stimulating menthol and peppermint for optimum scalp health. I haven't tried this yet, but I thought it would be good to use one I've finished the exfoliating scalp mask! 

John Frieda Overnight Repair Formula Creme Serum 50ml: £6.99 - An intense treatment for dry, frizzy hair, this serum is applied to dry hair before bedtime and left on overnight. When I wash my hair in the morning it feels so much softer when I've used this, so thumbs up. Hopefully with continued use my hair will improve! 

I also got a free sample of the Phyto Ultra Repair Mask which I've yet to try! 

Fiona xox

Seventeen | Flawless Poreless Primer & Stay Time Long Wear Primer

Seventeen Stay Time Long Wear Primer: £5.49 - 

Seventeen Flawless Poreless Primer: £5.99 -

Boots Seventeen range is a brand I don't often pay attention to. Being in my 20's now this range really is aimed at teenagers and they don't often release products that speak to me! But recently Seventeen have released a whole new range of base products including foundations, CC cream, concealers and of course, primers. I was in dire need of some new primers so picked up their Stay Time Long Wear and Flawless Poreless primers to use together. 

The Stay Time Long Time primer is an unusual consistency, and if you're looking for a silky smooth silicone primer, give this a miss. It's a thick nude cream that needs quite a lot of rubbing in. If you have dark skin this is definitely not for you, as it even pales down my skin tone and could make darker skins quite ashy looking, even with foundation on top. You do need to let this set for a couple of minutes, otherwise the product can 'ball up' which is just nasty. However, it does make my foundation last alot longer than normal and I really like it! 

The Flawless Poreless Primer is amazing. It's the pure silicone goodness most primer users love, and is actually like a balm which I've never seen before, hence the packaging. Think Benefit Porefessional in a more solid form. I hate sticking my fingers into this so I use the Real Techniques pointed foundation brush to apply this, which works really well. It blurs my pores and makes my skin look smoother, never a bad thing!

These two primers work really well together. The smoothness of the Flawless Poreless over the thicker Stay Time Long Wear is a great combination and together they create smooth looking skin and a longer wear time for foundation. I was a bit skeptical at first but I'm definitely impressed and plan to try more from the Seventeen range! 

Fiona xox

Wednesday Wishlist | #11

#1 NARS Fairy's Kiss Palette: £32.00 - Yup, I'm still lusting after this purple toned palette from NARS. I have so many similar shades but I'm still drawn to it. I may have to just pick it up after my first payday! 

#2 MAC Retro Matte Collection: £14.50/£15.00 - I love love love the Retro Matte formula from MAC, that was first released with their Rihanna collab. Some of these lipsticks and liners are limited edition, but I've got my eye on Flat Out Fabulous, which is thankfully a new permanent shade!

#3 Make Up Forever Aqua Creams - My good friend Victoria (Razzle Dazzle and Rock n' Roll) is heading to Paris soon and I've begged her to go to Sephora for me! These cream eyeshadows from Make Up Forever are on my wishlist, they look amazing.

#4 Urban Decay Face Case in Shattered - This is part of UD's holiday collection, and I just think this little palette is so funky! There are two variations with 4 eyeshadows; 2 blushes; a highlighter; an eyeliner and a super saturated lip pencil in each, but the Shattered palette's colours trump it for me. 

#5 Make Up Forever Aqua Brow in Blonde - Another product from my Sephora wishlist, I've heard so many brilliant things about the Aqua Brow. 

#6 Make Up Academy Matte Lipstick in Wild Berry: £1.00 - A little bargain product on my wishlist, MUA have released a new range of matte lipsticks and I really want to try them! I've particularly got my eye on the shade Wild Berry. 

Fiona xox

Sleek Matte Me Lip Creams | Fandango Purple & Birthday Suit

Sleek Matte Me Lip Creams in Fandango Purple and Birthday Suit: £4.99 each - 

These Matte Me Lip Cream's are one of the latest releases from Sleek Make Up, so I picked up two shades that really caught my eye. Fandango Purple is a magenta purple with an almost raspberry undertone. It's a cross between MAC's Rebel and Heroine, with some hot pink thrown in to make it a bit more wearable. I really really love it. Birthday Suit is the perfect nude shade with peachy undertones that doesn't totally wash me out. I normally look terrible with nude lips but Birthday Suit looks fab, especially with a smoky eye look. 

As for the formula, these really are matte! If you have any dryness in your lips whatsoever, you definitely need to exfoliate and moisturise before wearing these. They go on really creamy (not unlike the Rimmel Apocalips) but dry to a totally matte finish. Once they've set they really don't move, as with everything they won't last through a full night of eating and drinking, but otherwise they stay well! Fandango Purple also leaves a nice stain on the lips. If you want lasting power but don't like the dryness of a matte lip, once these have set you can pop a gloss over the top and it doesn't all smush together! 

Overall I really really like these. There are 3 more shades in the range as well as 5 Gloss Me lip products. As far as I'm aware these are limited edition (don't quote me on that!) so I will be repurchasing these two shades as back ups since they are a bargainous £4.99! 

Fiona xox

Life Update | 250 Followers, Honours Year and a New Job

Firstly, I'd like to say thank you because today I hit 250 followers! Thank you all so much, I treasure each and every one of you and it means so much that people read my little blog! I will do a giveaway sometime in the near future to say thank you, but first I'll tell you a little about what's going on in my life.

I head back to Uni this week for my 4th and final year. For those of you who don't know, I'm a journalism student at the University of The West of Scotland! I officially got my degree this year, but I won't graduate until next year (with hopefully a good class of honours!). This is going to be tough and I am nervous, but I'm going to put my all into it. 

I've also started a new job! I'm now a member of staff at my Student Union, and so far I'm loving it! The late nights during Freshers week have been really tough, but definitely enjoyable. I've mostly been working behind the bar and even had a shift DJ'ing one night! Luckily I already knew a few of the people I work with, and those I didn't are all super nice and we make a good team! The extra income it's going to give me is great too (more make up, yay!). 

So forgive me if blog posts are few and far between for the next few weeks, I will try my hardest to keep posting regularly and I already have a few things lined up. Once I'm into the swing of things The Beauty Fiend will get back on track! And thank you again! 

Fiona xox

My Eyebrow Routine

I've always done my eyebrows since my early teens, and although I went through an embarrassing period of shaving them off and drawing them back in, I finally have a brow routine that really works and brows to be proud of!

For brow maintenance, I use Barbara Daly fine pointed tweezers, that come in a set of three from Tesco. The point of these make plucking even tiny hairs super easy. For my actual brow routine I fill my brows in using a mix of Omega and Soba powder eyeshadows from MAC. These came together as a 'blonde duo' as part of the Stylish Brow collection earlier this year, but theres nothing stopping you putting the duo together yourself! They make a really good colour for my brows but when I run out I'll probably just repurchase Omega. I use the Real Techniques Brow Brush from their eye collection to apply the powder, it's quite a thick brow brush that gives surprising precision! Finally I run through my brows with my new Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara to set them and keep them in place all day! 

Fiona xox

Maybelline Haul | Baby Lips & Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara

Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss and Mint Fresh: £2.99 each

Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara in Dark Blonde: £4.99

Maybelline was on 3 for 2 in Boots so I decided to pick up a few of their new products! I bought two of the much awaited Baby Lips lip balms and the new Brow Drama brow mascara. The Baby Lips are really nice, the packaging is super cute and I feel much better pulling one of these out of my handbag rather than a grotty old balm! Mint Fresh is a clear balm with a (you guessed it) minty scent, and Peach Kiss is a peachy tinted balm with some shimmer. For £2.99 I would definitely buy these again when I need more lip balm as they're nice and moisturising.

The Brow Drama sculpting brow mascara will be in my September Favourites for sure. It's the first high street tinted brow gel I've seen, and I love it. The brush is a weird shape, but it applies the brow gel really well. The dark blonde shade is perfect for my brows, and it sets so well! It's so pigmented that if I was in a rush I could skip filling in my brows and just use this. I will buy this again and again, it's so affordable! 

Fiona xox

Revlon Evening Opulence Collection | Lip Butter & Colorburst Gloss

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Invite Only: £7.99 (2 for £10 in Boots)

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Gloss in Adorned: £7.99 (2 for £10 in Boots)

Revlon recently released their A/W products for 2013, called the Evening Opulence collection. It consisted of two new lip butters, two new glosses and a couple of eyeshadow quads. I picked up one lip butter and one gloss, and here are my thoughts on them!

Don't panic, the lip butter in Invite Only isn't actually mint green! Only the packaging has a minty hue, the actual lip balm is clear with mint and blue iridescent sparkles. Not really worth £7.99 if I'm honest. It's also not as soft as the usual lip butters, it has a harder more balmy texture, which I quite like. It seems to be one of those 'teeth whitening' shades because of the blue sparkles. Although I love the outer packaging, the product itself is nothing to shout about and I won't repurchase. 

The Color Burst lip gloss is a totally different story, its packed with colour! It's so pigmented I'd call it more of a lip lacquer than a lip gloss! It's a gorgeous magenta pink with pink and purple shimmer that really shows through. Plus it's not sticky! I'm really really impressed, it's the first lip gloss I've tried from Revlon and I'd definitely buy more.

Fiona xox

Wednesday Wishlist | #10

#1 Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayons: £7.99 each - The blogging world has gone crazy for Bourjois version of the lip crayon, and I'm so tempted to join in! I've heard nothing but good things about these. I really want to try Peach on The Beach and and Orange Punch, but they all look gorgeous!

#2 Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation: £5.99 - One of the latest releases from Rimmel, how can I resist? They're one of my favourite high street brands, I love their Stay Matte powder and at £5.99 it's a bargain! Definitely buying a tube when it appears in Boots!

#3 MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation: £21.50 - One of my favourite foundations, I've been out of it for ages and really need to repurchase! 

#4 YSL Glossy Stain Rebel Nudes Collection: £23.50 each - In my last post, I proclaimed my love for the YSL glossy stains! They've released a new range of shades called the 'Rebel Nudes' collection. I have my eye on two shades, 101 Nude Provocateur and 108 Violine Out Of Control! 

#5 Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Pencils: £19.00 each - British make up artist Charlotte Tilbury has released her own high end cosmetics range, and I can't help but lust over her Colour Chameleon eye pencils. Their are two shades for each different eye colour (blue, green, brown and hazel) and Charlotte has designed them so that they really make your eye colour pop! 

Fiona xox

August Favourites | 2013

A very small favourites post, more like a Top 5 of the month haha! But anyway, here are my August favourites:

Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean Cleansing Milk: I have at least 5 different cleansers on the go, but I've gone through this so quickly, it has to be a favourite! I've been trying to avoid foaming cleansers (thanks Caroline Hirons!) but a lot of creamy cleansers are too greasy for my oily skin! Peaches & Clean is doing a fantastic job and makes my skin feel so fresh. It's designed for oily skin and clogged pores, and it smells amazing, like peach Soothers! 

W7 Photoshoot Foundation: This foundation costs about £2.99, but its brilliant! It's not the most full coverage or long lasting, but it makes my skin look amazing, almost airbrushed. With primer, concealer and setting powder it really is lovely and lasts a good while.

Stila All Over Shimmer Duo in Kitten: This is definitely a rediscovery, I even had it in a blog sale! It has two multi purpose shimmery powders inside. But I'm glad it didn't sell, as both sides make fantastic highlighters and give a really nice not too glittery glow! I love using the gold side with bronzy smoky makeup looks, and as you might predict, the pink side for more girly daytime looks! 

MUA What Makes You Beautiful Cheek Tints in Coral Cutie and Rose Riot: I've never liked cream blush, but these are the exception to the rule. Easy to use, they last for a decent amount of time and are really pigmented! Oh, and they only cost £3.00 each! 

Fiona xox

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain | #9 Rouge Laque

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in #9 Rouge Laque: £23.50 (£14.10) from Debenhams -

My second YSL Glossy Stain purchase was not pre-planned, I spotted this for £14.10 in the Debenhams sale and snapped it up! #9 Rouge Laque is a true red shade, which on first application verges on 'tomato' but after a second coat turns into the perfect bright red.

I absolutely love these stains. They take two coats for totally opaque coverage, but the pigmentation and wear time are incredible, and they aren't at all sticky. It won't last through a whole night of eating and drinking, but the point of these is that they leave a gorgeous stain on the lips! I'm not a gloss fan at all but these have to be my all time favourite. You get quite a precise application from the pointed wand and it doesn't distribute too much product. You might have to dip into the tube a couple of times to coat the lips twice, but I'd rather that than an overload. 

I would never have picked #9 Rouge Laque unless it was in the sale, but I'm glad I did, it's gorgeous! I'd highly recommend these to anyone and they're definitely worth the hefty price tag of £23.50 if you're looking for a little luxury. I can't wait to try the new Rebel Nudes collection and also compare these to the L'oreal dupe which I haven't tried yet! 

Fiona xox