January Favourites | 2015

Everyone always says they hate January as the weather is crap, Christmas is gone etc... but I actually love January! Not only is it my birthday month but I love winter and the prospect of what a new year can bring. On that positive vibe, I have been loving so many products this month - some new which I got for Christmas and others that I rediscovered after shopping my stash.

Makeup

001. Eco Tools Angled Eyeliner Brush: Last year I did a review on the set this brush came in but this was one of my least used in the collection. However, I've been favouring lining my eyes with black eyeshadow rather than liquid liner or pencil as it is less harsh and this brush makes it super easy to get a thin even line close to your lashes.

002. The Body Shop Clementine Lip Balm: Years ago back in school I was obsessed with the Body Shop lip balms and butters. I forgot about them but then received the lollipop gift set from my secret santa at work and fell in love with them again. The formula is so nourishing and glossy, the scents divine and they are great for popping in your hand bag. The Clementine scent brings back school memories and has glitter running through it to add a bit of your shimmer to your lips.

003. Benefit Hervana Blush: Again, Benefit blushes bring back memories of my youth and were one of the first make up products I bought. I love the packaging (although its not great for travel) and the recent addition of a tapered brush and mirror in the box is a great bonus. This blush is so pretty both in the pan and on the cheeks and I've been using it every day this month - you can see it in action here.

004. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette: The original Naked will always have a special place in my heart but I have been itching to add to my UD collection and was delighted to get this for Christmas. It is the more cool toned sister of the original and I adore every single shade in there. The formulation is buttery, super pigmented and easy to blend - just what you would expect from the brand. It's perfect for all kinds of looks and again I've been using this practically every day this month.

005. Anastasia Beverley Hills Brow Wiz in 'Taupe/Ash Brown': This product deserves every accolade it has as it is seriously the best brow product I have ever used! It is the perfect texture and colour -  I will be doing a full review of this but basically you need this in your life.

006. The Body Shop BB Cream in 01: Full review can be seen here so I don't want to go into too much detail! This is my favourite BB Cream it gives medium coverage without feeling heavy, covers pores and imperfections and lasts for a very long time.

007. Bobbi Brown Long Wear Foundation in 'Sand 2' : My favourite base for the latter half of January, this gives medium coverage without being cakey, lasts a long time and gives a 'my skin but better' appearance.

008. No 7 Instant Radiance Cream Highlighter: Cream products don't normally tend to be my thing but I adore this highlighter. It gives a beautiful natural sheen that is not glittery in the slightest and blends in wonderfully.

Hair

009. Paul Mitchell Full Circle Leave-In Treatment*: I got this ages ago (at my first event actually) but for some reason reached for other products in the range instead of this thinking it might be too heavy for my hair. This is actually very nourishing without weighing down my hair and I love to use it on occasions when I haven't used a hair mask or deep conditioner. It leaves hair soft and manageable and I've seen my natural waves/loose curls become more defined.

010. Schwarzkopf Hair Therapy Oil Miracle Spray: This product is a surprise gem. I received it in my stocking at Christmas which was good timing as I was looking for a new spray conditioner to help detangle my hair after washing. This is so light with a fine spray and makes it easy to brush out knots, leaves your hair silky soft and smelling beautiful.

Skincare

011. The Body Shop Eye Camomile Waterproof Eye and Lip Makeup Remover: My favourites always seem to include multiple Body Shop products at the moment, so apologies for that but clearly I am a big fan! I enjoyed the cleansing butter from this range and have just used up the oil so naturally when looking for a make up remover I picked this up. It has two parts so you need to shake it properly and it is oil based so makes removal a breeze, although it doesn't leave the eye area feeling heavy or greasy which is a big plus for me.

012. Super Facialist by Una Brennan Anti Blemish Pore Purifying Clay Mask: Una Brennan are definitely a brand that don't get enough recognition. The quality of the products are so good for the price and this mask in particular is amazing. I loved the teaflower version which I think has been replaced with the salycic acid version. It draws out impurities really well, leaves your skin feeling soft, nourished and more even toned and the inclusion of acid helps to clear up any blemishes that have been hanging around.

0.13 Baby B Browne Tan in 'Medium'*: This featured in a favourites pretty recently at the end of last year but I picked this up again a few weeks ago and was so impressed all over again! It rubs in so easily, the smell is so nice for a fake tan (think vanilla) and the colour develops and lasts so well. It is by far the best tan I own.

What were your favourite items this month? xxx

Review: OGX | Coconut Water Shampoo & Coconut Milk Conditioner

OGX - Weightless Hydration Coconut Water Shampoo £6.99 for 385ml - Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner £6.99 for 385ml

Over the past year or so I had heard good things about the brand OGX and so when looking for a new budget shampoo and conditioner at the end of last year I picked up two products from the Coconut range which sounded like they would be perfect for me. This was before my pledge to use more natural hair care products so these do contain sulfates.

Lets start with the Weightless Hydration Coconut Water Shampoo, which I'm afraid to say ruined my hair. For a few weeks now my hair has been looking and feeling really dry, frizzy and unmanageable and the colour has been looking very lack lustre and dull. I had no idea what was going on until I realised that the only thing I had changed in my hair routine was these products. 

I had high hopes for this shampoo because it sounded perfect -  coconut water appealed to me as it sounded hydrating yet light and it promised to transform 'dry and parched hair into silky shiny perfection.' When using this shampoo my hair felt very stripped and I had to use a lot of the conditioner to make up for this. However the conditioner couldn't do much to rectify it as whether I left it to dry naturally or blow dried my hair it would look so frizzy and dry and it actually started to make me feel really self concious! Due to this I have had to use a lot more heat styling when before I could leave my hair natural 90% of the time, which in turn creates even more damage. It did nothing whatsoever to hydrate or nourish my hair and actually made it more dry and parched than it was before. After switching to a much more nourishing shampoo, even after the first wash my hair was looking better. 

The Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner was again quite bog standard and was definitely not 'luxuriously creamy'. It smells good, although the scent doesn't linger on your hair, and it made my hair feel more soft after use in the shower but like I said above the effects didn't really last as soon as my hair was dry. 

Overall I think it's pretty safe to say that I wouldn't repurchase these and advise you not to waste your money either. It has put me off the brand and I'm not sure I would be willing to try any other products from the company. I am putting in an order to get this amazing duo from Paul Mitchell right now instead!

I would love to know if you have had a similar experience to me or have loved another range by OGX - let me know in the comments! xxx

Recipe: Nutella and Salted Caramel Stuffed Cookies

When you've been with someone for nearly 3 years, it isn't often that you get any more 'firsts'. However on Saturday afternoon, Matt and I made cookies together for the first time. It was really fun to share something I love doing with him and I thought cookies would be an easy thing to start off with. These are packed with two of our favourite things: Nutella (yum) and salted caramel (double yum). 

We used this recipe that I've had pinned for ages - the only thing we changed was omitting the chocolate chips, purely because we didn't have any in the house and didn't fancy popping to the shops. The recipe gives you a lovely squidgy cookie with a melt in the middle surprise center and the sprinkle of salt on top brings everything together. The recipe is Nordic so the measurements are in cups rather than grams.

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup of butter

*1 1/2 cup of light brown sugar

* 1/2 cup of cocoa powder

* 2 eggs

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 3/4 tsp baking powder

* 2 cups of plain flower

* sea salt for sprinkling

* Nutella

* Salted Caramel (we used a ready made pot but you can make your own)

Method

001. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan) and line two baking trays with baking parchment.

002. Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Take it off the heat as soon as it is melted so it doesn't brown or burn. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs and sugar. Mix in the melted butter until well combined.

003. Add the cocoa, salt and baking powder and stir until well combined.

004. Sift in the flour and mix well.
005. Take a tablespoon size amount of mixture and drop onto your tray. Make an indent in the middle large enough to fit a teaspoon of Nutella and a teaspoon of the salted caramel in.
006. Layer the Nutella and salted caramel on top of each other in the indent. Cover the filling with more cookie dough, making sure to seal all the edges.
007. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with a little salt.
008. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
009. Leave to cool on the trays for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling off.
010. Dust with icing sugar (optional!)

Let me know if you try this recipe by tweeting me! xxx