Instagram // Who To Follow

C'mon now, I know you scrawl through Instagram first thing when you wake up just like I do! *insert winky face emoji. Let's face it, the majority of us, me included in this btw, are completely and hopelessly addicted to Instagram. It's like looking through a window at someone else's life, you get to be openly nosy! 

I've seen these sorts of posts before and I love discovering new Instagram accounts to follow, so thought I would show you guys the accounts that are constantly on my "Top People" list...

Where to Start With Jo Malone

When you walk up to a Jo Malone counter you're greeted with perfect displays of all their perfumes and candles sitting there in beautifully chic packaging…which is great, but it can be a little intimidating, right?

  

I was tempted to start with a candle as my first Jo Malone purchase, but after talking to one of the sales assistants, she told me to start with a fragrance, with their fragrances you get "more bang for your buck" as they say!

For me personally, I already had a couple of scents in mind, many of the beauty bloggers/youtubers that I follow have very similar tastes to me and I noticed that quite a few of them were going for either Peony and Blush Suede or Wood Sage and Sea Salt. I knew these were the main contenders that I wanted to have a whiff of so I started with these!

Jo Malone usually have all their fragrances on display for you to test when you walk in. The fragrances are also separated in to sections like "fruity" "floral" and so on. You can also get an idea of what a fragrance will smell like by looking at their names and they're pretty accurate!

For my first EVER Jo Malone fragrance I decided to go for Wood Sage and Sea Salt. It’s quite a light, woody unisex scent, not too sweet, not too floral. I'm so pleased I picked this one, every time I wear this I always get at least one compliment, which is quite nice. I also went for the smaller bottle, at £42 for 30ml Jo Malone aren't the cheapest of fragrances - I didn’t want to fork out for one of their huge bottles straight away, I just wasn't quite ready to make that kind of a commitment to a perfume! 

If your new to Jo Malone, or can't get to a Jo Malone counter and have to order it online, I would definitely recommend starting with Wood Sage and Sea Slat, or if you want a more feminine and slightly more floral scent, then I'd go with Peony and Blush Suede (a friend of mine at work wears this and makes the office smell gorgeous every time she puts it on!).  Hope this helps anyone a bit stuck on what to go for!

Side Note:  I think my next Jo Malone purchase will be the Mimosa and Cardamon perfume, its a deeper darker scent than I'm used to, this is one that you really do need to smell first as I can imagine it could be quite hit and miss for some people (sort of like the Tom Ford scents) but I smelt a sample of it and fell a little bit in love!

New Tom Ford Love // Velvet Cherry

If you read this blog on the reg you know I love 2 things, nude lipsticks and Tom Ford - put these two puppies together and you have my dream! Well, hold the phone, I'm going to be talking about a lipstick that isn't nude, yep, she's a beautiful shade of deep deep red... and I love her! I think this shade has single handedly put the nude shades on the back burner (at least for a little while)!

I was one lucky gal and got this beauty for christmas from the boyfriend - I totally picked this out though, he would have no idea where to start otherwise!

This lipstick is everything! It has the gorgeous smell that every TF lipstick has, its buttery soft (even for a mat lipstick), applies like a dream and is of course super pigmented, you really don't need to keep layering this to get the full colour effect, one swipe and your done - which is what you would expect from a lipstick of this price! Also, this baby lasts i'm telling you! I put this on then ate a christmas dinner and had drinks and it was still on my lips! The lasting power of this lipstick is incredible.

This shade would hands down suit any skin tone! I'm super pale, especially in the winter, so some dark lipsticks can really wash me out and make me look even paler and basically ill/dead - this one didn't do that, hallelujah !  If this lipstick can suit me, it can suit any of y'all! I know the price of these lipsticks are totally and completely outrageous, which is why I usually only get them for birthdays and christmas gifts, but, gun to my head, I would choose these lipsticks over all my others... and come on now, who doesn't want something as stunning as a TF lipstick on their vanity?? xo

2016 Beauty Wish List

001.   Too Faced Hangover Primer // This has been doing the rounds through the beauty gurus on blogs and youtube for a good few months now, so I decided to do a little bit of research on it myself to find out what makes it so special. Too Faced say that the unique combination of coconut water, probiotics and skin revivers work together to hydrate and brighten skin, promote skin’s elasticity and tone and soothe and smooth the skin. I needed a new primer anyways and as this one sounds so good, this is going to be the one I'm gunna go for!

002.   Urban Decay Naked Pallet // You know, for someone who likes beauty (raises hand) and still doesn’t have a Naked palette, it's kinda weird right? I think I'm just going to have to really bite the bullet and treat myself to one this year! I'd definitely go for the first Naked pallet though, it seems much more up my street!... although the Naked 3 does look pretty lush!

003.   Urban Decay Naked Complete Coverage Concealer // This is a product that has be doing some serious in the beauty industry. This concealer featured pretty heavily in amongst a lot of bloggers/youtubers 2015 beauty favourites. I'm a pretty die hard Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer fan, but seeing everyone rave about this concealer has really made be want to branch out and put this to the test - If it can cover my dark circles, then its a keeper!

004.   Dr Jarts Fuse Water Sleeping Mask // I hadn’t heard of this before I read a post on the stunning blog that is From Roses (a great blog that you need to check out if you haven’t already btw!). I love a good multi-tasking mask and love a mask even more if it’s a hydrating one. When Rebecca mentioned that she even uses this as a moisturiser on days that she's at home and doesn’t put any makeup on, I was instantly like "winner winner chicken dinner, I need this mask in my life right now!" I don’t think this is available in the UK yet (sad face!) but I know you can get this from Sephora online and amazon!

005.   Glam Glow Youth Mud Mask // Yes, another mask! I seem to be all about the masks lately – clearly! As a gal in my late twenties, I want to try and preserve my skin as best I can – aka. I really really don’t want wrinkles so anything that can add collagen back into my skin I want to try out!

006.    Phillip Kingsley Elasticizer // I have fine, very long and very dry hair, I usually straighten my hair daily which I know isn’t very good for it, so I've been using a hair mask about 2 times a week, but the ones I'm using just don’t seem to be working any more, maybe my hair is getting too used to them?? This is another one of those products that have done the rounds with YouTubers and bloggers alike so I thought it was about time I try out the Philip Kingsley range for myself! If it's good enough for Caroline Hirons, it's good enough for me!

007.    Sunday Riley Good Genes // Again, this is another one that’s done the rounds. I've heard such great things about this product, I might not need it, but I just really want to try it out for myself! I think I would use this as a treatment that I put on before bed once or twice a week as needed. I want something that will give my skin a pick me up and a boost and this claims to do it all!

If there are any other beauty product recommendations you guys have, please let me know!

Top Beauty Products Of 2015

I felt like 2015 went by in a flash and I honestly can't believe I'm sat here typing this post in 2016. It just doesn't feel like like a whole year has gone by yet!

I can't really pinpoint just one highlight of 2015, it all kind of went by in a hurry and a blur, but what I can say is that I found some proper great beauty product finds in 15'... I think I'm gunned break everything down in to categories and see how that goes ... So, I'm just gunna roll with it and jump right in and tell you what products I loved last year (I've been brutal and narrowed it down to the best of the best!)