I'm not really that big on makeup if I'm honest. I kind of tried to pretend I was until a few months ago until I gave up because it just doesn't interest me. Don't get me wrong, I like makeup, you know, your standard concealer, powder, eyebrow gel and eyeliner. But anything from TheBalm? I'M IN. I own the naked basics palette which is my absolute favourite, and I turn to it if I ever want to wear eyeshadow or fill my eyebrows in. With open arms, I've added Nude Dude to my eyeshadow 'collection'. It's very natural, but also has lovely shimmery shades and darker shades for a smoky look. I love the shade Fit, a gorgeous copper glittery colour. This palette is a dream, from TheBalm and ideal for autumn, and even Christmas presents if you've started thinking about it yet..

although I was sent this product to review, it does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

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now playing: i know there's gonna be good times jamie xx/someday the strokes/cause i'm a man tame impala/naive!!!

lush sympathy for the skin

Lush 'Sympathy for the Skin' hand and body lotion, to say it's changed my life would be an understatement. I was bought it for my birthday by my 2 lovely cousins and my aunt and uncle living in America. How they read my mind? Don't know. On this beautiful moisturiser pot, it says 'banana and cocoa butter on the skin - what more could be wanted? oh, a gorgeous vanilla, lemon oil, labdanum and sandalwood perfume? alright then.' I use this ( mostly ) every morning and evening, but after using over half the pot in the first couple of days, I've decided to 'ration' it out. It absorbs so quickly compared to all the other body lotions I've tried, and it's not overly perfumed either, meaning it feels so fresh on the skin. For the price, £5.95, it's more than worth it, though it is running out very quickly. I'll definitely be back in Lush after this runs out. Beautiful.

Punky Pins Jewellery

 

I could sit here and write about how long I've been admiring this brand, but I won't because I'd be here all day. I've never come across a jewellery website that I love so much. So, as you can imagine, when I found out they would be sending me some items to review, I was over the moon. The pieces from Punky Pins are all beautiful and unique and I want them aaaalll.

The pieces I chose were the peapod necklace and earrings, the rain cloud earrings and the daisy necklace. I was considering buying these myself beforehand!

How cute is this??

 Even cuter!!

I wear this so much, it looks perfect with anything. Unfortunately it's no longer on the website :(

 

Funkiest earrings I own. Also no longer on the website but these are very similar!

Punky Pins offer Tatty Devine-esque jewellery, and I'm a sucker for every single piece. I especially love their new 'Feeling Fruity' collection. The quality of these pieces are insane, and surprisingly really durable. For what the jewellery is, the prices are perfect and really affordable too.

If you have some spare time, I'd seriously suggest scrolling through the website. I will forever be obsessed.

although I was sent these items to review, it does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

review - buxom gloss in 'yow'

When I was in America, I went into Sephora for the second time. I had heard quite a few YouTubers talk about the Buxom lip glosses, so when I saw the whole range sitting there, waiting for me to buy, I immediately started scanning the different shades. The one I decided on is called 'Yow'. I love that name!

Let's start with the packaging. I was drawn to the mirrored lettering when I first saw it, I think it's really quirky and unique. The ( also mirrored, and too bulky! ) lid twists off, and there's the applicator. My initial thoughts were 'whah, there's way too much product on this'. And there is! The product itself is VERY sticky, and it's a pain when the applicator pulls out a whole dollop of it when you're in the mood for a light splash of colour. 

Within the packaging, the gloss is a dark, old/dusty rose colour, with a slight shimmer to it. Confusingly, on the lips it's a lot brighter, and way pinker! It's a lovely colour, but I wish it hadn't been so misleading.. As for durability, this stuff wears off within about 3 hours for me.

Overall, for $19 ( £12 ) I don't think this is quite worth the money. It's a gorgeous colour, and I do wear it quite a lot, but I think a reasonable price for this would be £8-£10.

Have you ever tried this product? What did you think of it?

Too Faced Lipstick in 'Melted Peony'

Seeing as I'm in California at the moment, obviously one of the places on my list to visit was Sephora. I came out with a nail polish, another lip gloss and a face cleanser ( more on that to come.. ), and this beautiful product. I was super excited to try this, after having heard pretty much every beauty blogger and YouTuber rave about it. When I tested it on my hand, I was shocked by how pigmented and creamy it was! I was expecting the product to be a lot drier, and the applicator is something new to me.

The packaging, like any other Too Faced product, is stunning. I really liked how the tube is the exact same colour as the product. The shade itself is gorgeous - a subtle baby pink. It's perfect for every day looks but could buildable for a 'going out' look, as it's such a versatile colour.

Overall, I love this product and will definitely be buying more colours to see if they live up to this one!

first aid beauty ultra repair cream

I've been meaning to try something from First Aid Beauty for a while. It's an American brand, so is only available on Amazon and eBay etc, but Amazon were having a huge sale on this. Finish the story yourself.

Their ultra repair cream is aimed at people with 'dry, parched skin'. I don't have this problem, my skin is actually a bit oily. However, of course I have days where the cold gets to me, and on those days I always reach for this. The formula is really thick and creamy, meaning you only need the tiniest bit. You just dab some on your face, and massage it in. The effects usually last all day, and it disappears into your skin very fast! On amazon it retails at around £9, and I would definitely recommend trying this out if you're looking for a new moisturiser.

W7 'Lightly Toasted' palette

 

W7 were kind enough to send me one of their gorgeous eye palettes in 'Lightly Toasted', a lip bomb in 'Raspberry', and their black liquid eyeliner. W7 are a London based cosmetics company, and their aim is to allow people to have access to a wide range of high quality makeup at affordable prices. Personally, I've been a fan of this particular company for as long as I can remember, so I'm delighted to be reviewing some of their pieces!

The quality of these eyeshadows are so high, they're super easy to blend together and the colours are stunning. The pigmentation is incredible, easily build-able and can create some stunning looks. Only 2 of the 12 shades are matte, and the rest are shimmery. As you can clearly see, it is a very versatile palette and can be used to create a smoky look, or an every day look with some of the shimmery pinks and browns. My favourite shades are 'Teddy Bear', 'Wonderland' ( both shimmery pinks ) and 'Lady Luck', which is a beautiful dark matte brown. This retails at £9.99.

When I opened the package W7 sent, I originally thought this was an EOS lip balm, which is one of my favourite brands. In my opinion, this is just as good, and it's very very similar to EOS's 'Pomegranate Raspberry' lip balm. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, this lip bomb in 'Raspberry' is the way to go. I can't find this on the website, but there's a set of 3 here for £6.

I've recently run out of my favourite liquid eyeliner, which was Collection's 'Fast Stroke', and yes, you guessed it, the quality is the same, if not better. This has surprisingly long staying power, around 5-6 hours before you need to re-apply it. It retails at around £5.

Overall, I'd really recommend all of the products I've mentioned. The eyeshadow palette is so versatile, and the extra bits are excellent dupes for some other of my favourite makeup pieces.

although I was sent these items to review, it does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

the purple rosebud

I received this dainty opal ring and double heart wrap ring recently from The Purple Rose Bud. As you can see, it came with their gorgeous business card, with all the information I needed. Some companies I work with don't send a card or any information, which is quite irritating as I sometimes I don't even know who sent it, so this was a perfect finishing touch! I love how dainty these are, and how elegant they look when on. The opal especially, it's so pretty!

They would look nice if you paired them with a few other simple rings or bracelets. I've received lots of compliments since wearing these two rings, I really really love them!

although I was sent these items to review, it does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

the body jewellery shop

A few days ago I received a very exciting package from The Body Jewellery Shop, with two gorgeous pairs of earrings. The ones I chose were the jewelled clear heart and the dark blue dice, they stood out to me so much and I keep dreaming up what I can wear them with! However if these pieces aren't for you, the website has such a wide range of jewellery for such affordable prices, you're sure to find something you love. Not gonna lie, I expected the quality to be not so good considering the prices, but they're just as good as any other earrings you can buy.

I was drawn towards their ear piercing products too, I'll definitely be ordering some of those ( if I ever get another piercing on my ear.. I wish )

although I was sent these earrings to review, this does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

Bohemian Quartz

Bohemian Quartz is a pretty perfect jewellery shop, and Jeis very kindly let me pick out two pieces. I chose The Galaxy Moon pendant and Tree of Life pendant. I have a pretty big frame of reference and I can safely say I was shocked at how good the quality was for such reasonable prices!

Both pendants I absolutely love - the tree of life pendant is so easy to wear and goes with pretty much everything, and as one of my 'resolutions' for 2015 is to start wearing more statement jewellery, the Galaxy Moon pendant is exactly what I was looking for.

ps - 15% discount with the code EDIE15 aaayyy

although I was sent these items to review, it does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

spooky eyes

Recently I received these gorgeous new contact lenses from Dream Eyes, so what else could I do but take some improvised night time photos. I chose the Hulk Eye lenses, they looked so intriguing on the site, and when they arrived! As you can see, this isn't me in the pictures, its my beautifuuuuuul friend Maddy who kindly offered to put the lenses in.

From my knowledge of contact lenses, these are an amazing quality, even though we weren't so good at putting them in, ( it took 20 minutes and many rounds of spotify playlists ) they didn't rip or tear. With proper care and storage, these lenses should last a year,  which means people will forget my actual eye colour because I will wear them so much! 

If you're interested in scaring people with your eyes, or just want a change, I'd really recommend going to the Dream Eyes website, they have such a wide variety of lenses you're bound to find something that interests you.

even though I was sent this product to review, it does not influence by opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

holding onto Christmas ft. The Little Jewellery Company

jumper - rokit

leggings - american apparel

earrings - c/o the little jewellery company

shoes - new look ( old )

'Christmas is well and truly over' she sobbed. I needed a little bit of festivity in my life and I'm sure you did too, so here.

I didn't actually dress too Christmassy on the 25th but if I did this is probably what I'd wear - you can never go wrong with a classic Christmas jumper. I was in Rokit with my mum looking for a suede jacket and saw this and has one of those I NEED IT moments. Tried it on and had one of those WHY AM I SO SMALL moments. But hey, it looks weird wearing high waisted leggings with a top that doesn't cover your bum and I like me some oversized clothing.

Now let's get started on the queens of all Christmas jewellery. I was sent these bauble earrings from The Little Jewellery Company and I'm in love. The colour is just stunning and I've been wearing these a lot. It does attract some weird looks from the public but if I'm feeling festive, I'm really festive.

I've had no problems with these as I expected, they're beautifully made and came in the most flawless packaging. I would really really recommend some of the jewellery from this company as a gift for someone of just as a treat for yourself. Y'all can also get 10% off your first purchase with the code EDIE10 so you have no excuse to not go and treat yourself.

although I was sent these earrings to review, it does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always