Ciara-Rose

Kukui oil shampoo - I've been looking for new hair products recently as the shampoo I'd been using (a cheap Elvive one) just wasn't leaving my hair feeling as clean as it could. It was the name 'kukui oil' that caught my attention straight away with this product - I'd imagined it would be similar to coconut oil, and it actually does have a slightly coconut-y scent. Also, any hair product that claims to defrizz is mandatory for me, especially now coming into the spring/summer! I've just used this product once so far but my hair does feel quite a bit fresher after using this as opposed to the Elvive shampoo. I can't wait to see how my hair reacts to this in the long term.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer 'Classic Beige' - This is a long-standing favourite for me. I use this concealer both on my face if I need to cover up any areas and also to brighten under my eyes once I've finished my make-up. I use the shade 'Classic Beige' and I've definitely gone through at least 5 tubes of this, hence why I purchased another two - it's definitely a safe bet. 

Colab Dry Shampoo - This is a product I'd seen so much all over the Internet since Ruth Crilly released it. I'm especially excited to try this out as I've been an avid user of the Batiste dry shampoo for years now - but I can't help but hate how it leaves my hair feeling afterwards. So many people have claimed that the Colab dry shampoo is invisible and feels super lightweight so I'm very much looking forward to giving it a go myself. 

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess 'Medium' - I've been on the look-out for a new all-over face bronzer for a while now as I hit pan on my all-time favourite Bare Minerals 'The High Dive' bronzer, and with Bronze Goddess being a favourite amongst so many bloggers and youtube gurus that I've followed for years, it was definitely time I tried it out. I've worn this quite a few times now and I'm loving the finish of this. It blends super well and sits perfectly on top of my foundation. What I really love is that it can be used as a super subtle bronzer on chilled days, but I can really build it up for a deeper bronzed look and use it for contouring too. 

Bondi Sands Dark Foam - If it wasn't for Instagram, I don't think I would have ever heard of this tan. It's an Australian brand and I think they're most well known for their famous 'Liquid Gold' tan. Unfortunately it was unavailable on FeelUnique (before I realised it was available at my local Boots) so I went for the tanning foam instead. I'm forever on the look-out for a tan that is still noticeable after 2 showers and I've heard amazing reviews of this brand so mayyyybe this will be the one. The 'coconut scent' description also massively sucked me in.. anything to get away from the usual biscuit scent! I'll do an in-depth review once I've tried and tested it!

COLab Dry Shampoo Sheer & Invisible RIO 200ml • £3.49

Bondi Sands Self tanning Foam DARK 200ML • £14.99

ESTEE LAUDER Bronze Goddess powder bronzer • Estee Lauder • £33

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Concealer • Rimmel • £3.49

OGX Hydrate + Defrizz Kukui Oil Conditioner 385ml • OGX • £6.99

I'd love to know if you've tried any of these products before and what you thought of them! Please leave any other suggestions below. You can subscribe on Bloglovin' to keep updated with my posts xx

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To be honest, I've never tried any  Smashbox products before now. I'd heard a lot of amazing reviews about their make-up in general, so I was super excited to be contacted by Smashbox asking if I'd like to receive some of their products to try.. including the  Camera Ready BB Cream . 

In 2014, the Lancome Grandiose mascara landed and seemed to have gained so much attention online, mostly because of the unusual 'swan neck' wand. I'd been wanting to try it out for so long, and j ust after Christmas I managed to find this amazing  gift set on sale in Debenhams for around £18, which is a great price considering the mascara itself retails for £25, and there are another two products inside; Lancome Bi-Facil Eye Make-up Remover and Lancome Le Crayon Kohl in '01 Noir' . 

I've mentioned before about the trouble I have with finding a mascara that makes my lashes look half-way decent.. and one that didn't totally dry out within a few weeks. Benefit Roller Lash worked very well for me in the past, although I'm not a massive fan of the extremely thin and straight wand, which is why I really wanted to try out Grandiose to see if a different shape of wand would make any difference! 

I can't believe how late I am with discovering the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. As far as I'm aware, Too Faced as a brand were not readily available or stocked in UK stores until recently and to be honest, I'd never given their products much thought. Safe to say, that all changed when the Chocolate Bar palettes and the new Bon Bon Palette became some of the most hyped up products on the Internet. It's almost like you're the odd one out if you haven't got a photo of it on your Instagram feed!

Yearly favourites are up there with my favourite posts to read/videos to watch. I'm always so intrigued to hear about products that somebody has been loving for not just one month, but a whole entire year, which goes to show how well the products work in the long-term. Although for most areas of make-up and skincare I've pretty much found products that work perfectly for me, there's always room for better discoveries.. not to mention when Look Fantastic sends you new offers via email on a frequency that is not so good for my bank balance. But who can resist?

In all honesty, this year's Christmas/Boxing day sales didn't impress or excite me as much as previous years. I searched through all of my favourite websites, both fashion and beauty.. and the only one that really stood out to me was Look Fantastic , which is actually where I purchased the majority of my post-christmas sales goodies last year. I'd highly recommend you have a look at their offerings if you're a student on a budget or if you're bank balance is running low after Christmas. A brand whose price points are reasonably discounted on Look Fantastic is Bare Minerals , and there is quite a good selection to choose from.. so it's definitely worth your while to have a look. I'll list my favourite picks below and of course leave links so you can purchase some of your must-haves or maybe even some new products to try and test! 

An explanation is in order for the lack of posting lately.. final year of college life has taken over everything the past few weeks and today is the first time in what seems like forever that I've been able to actually spend an hour doing something other than research or write-ups! I predict I'll be mega busy from now until Christmas, so please bear with me while I get my life in order.. *weeps*  

Moaning aside, I had been contacted by a lady from the Love Me Beauty subscription service a few weeks ago, who had kindly sent me over this lovely box for review. In the past, I hadn't been interested in subscribing to beauty boxes as you're usually unaware of the products you'll receive, and whether or not they'll be something you'll actually like and use.  This is where Love Me Beauty has really upped their game.

A very simple online questionnaire helps determine what products will benefit your specific skin type, hair, body etc, and based on the answers you give, the specialists handpick the products you'll receive! I was really surprised at the selection of  amazing brands to choose from, including Too Faced, Lord & Berry, Nuxe, Malin & Goetz and NailsInc (although these products are switched up quite regularly, and obviously you mightn't receive the same products as it is dependent on how you answer the questions.) You can check the Love Me Beauty website for more info on how the service works! (The prices are usually 70% lower than high street prices, and you can use discount code - ciara50 for 50% off!! )

The box itself arrived really quickly and I've been spending the past few weeks trialing the products, some of which have really impressed me! You can see my review of the products below..

The team at House of Fraser have announced that between Monday 7th September (NOW ON) and Tuesday 22nd September 2015 (inclusive), they will be having a '£10 off Beauty Confidential Event' both in-store and online. The event allows us make-up and skincare addicts to receive a very generous £10* off one of our favourite beauty products when we purchase one of their favourite products featured in the list below. 

So why not give your autumn/winter make-up and skincare stash a refresh with the award-winning products handpicked by the team of beauty experts at House of Fraser? 

I'll start with the new Limited Edition Bare Minerals 'California Bronze' palette. I found this palette in Debenhams a few weeks back after seeing somebody post a photo of it on instagram, but assumed it would be sold out everywhere. It retails for £25 which, for three reasonably sized high-end products (two bronze shades and one highlight) is amazing value. 

The cardboard-like packaging of this palette makes it very lightweight and ideal for your handbag or travelling.. and it comes with a decent-sized mirror for on-the-go application. I really do prefer this type of packaging compared to the standard matte black packaging that Bare Minerals use normally as this doesn't get covered in fingerprints right from the first use!