The Christmas Party Post!

This is a bit of a 2013 round up post full of Instagram photos you've all probably already seen and various comments on my life that you may of already seen on Twitter, but for those of you who aren't on Twitter or Instagram these have been my adventures from the last few days!

Secret Santa Party With The Girls - 22nd December

On Sunday I spent the night with my favourite ladies at Emily's house. We did the cutest secret santa ever, ate hotdogs and pizza and then had a few bottles of wine at the pub. It was such a cute night and a great start to Christmas. We all got great presents off eachother too! Tina was my secret santa and she bought me some delicious snowmen marshmallows, popcorn and a gorgeous lipstick from Topshop! I was a happy bunny! 

Christmas Eve Party

On Christmas Eve we had a bit of an open house at mine and loads of family and friends came around for drinks. It was a fun night and I was far, far too drunk.

Boxing Day Night

On Boxing Day (at night haha) I went out with the girls again into town. It started off with me and Ashley and Tina in Ashley's house playing Shot Roulette (once again sorry to those of you who I snapchatted), 13 shots later we stumbled into town and met up with loads of old friends. It was a great night and in typical Blackburn Girl fashion we were all incredibly rowdy!

Hope you've all had a great Christmas period! Please don't forget that you can win a set of Real Techniques Core Collection Brushes by clicking here!

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Merry Christmas To You All!!

Merry Christmas to you all (from me and Domino)! This is my first post on my brand spanking new laptop and I'm so excited just to blog properly again! I've had a wonderful day and I hope you all have too! I just wanted to say Merry Christmas and that I hope you all got everything that you wanted and more, I also hope you are spending some quality time with your families and friends and that you are all feeling happy and festive! Woosh! 

I will be writing a typical Christmas Day post soon (as usual) but whilst I'm here I just want to remind you that I am currently running a competition to win a set of Real Techniques Core Collection brushes so please click here to go and have a look at that! 

Lots of love and kisses at this very festive time of year xoxo Jane

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Real Techniques Core Collection GIVEAWAY

I'm so excited!! I've been trying to put this giveaway up for ages but I'm still laptopless and if you follow me on Twitter you'll know that I've been having trouble writing new posts ect! But I've stolen my Mums laptop just so I can give you all the chance to win a Real Techniques Core Collection set!! This giveaway will run until the 1st January (so get your entries in ASAP).

As usual the only things I ask of you is that you're following me via GFC as well...it's only fair. You must get your entries in by using Rafflecopter below!

Good luck! x

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Another Primark Haul

Whoops. I did it again. This time I bought items mostly for work so I guess it's not a very exciting haul but OH WELL. Clothes are always exciting to me at least...

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VO5 Plump It Up & Give Me Texture Sprays!

This is going to be a double review on my new favourite hair products! I'd heard fabulous things about these for such a long time and never picked them up but whilst I was having a shop in Superdrug I saw that these were buy one get one free so I was all over that!! 

Let's start with VO5's Plump It Up...

Plump It Up - Dry Backcombing Spray

Big hair is a must for me, my natural hair is as flat and thin as a pancake so anything that tells me it's going to make my hair look bigger is a MUST in my book. I'm always backcombing my hair but it never ever stays in even when I've been using hair spray and by the end of the night my hair is always sticking to my head. Until now! VO5's Plump It Up Dry Backcombing Spray really helps secure backcombing. It adds so much texture and lasts for such a long time once applied, because of this you're going to be saving your hair a shed load of damage from constant backcombing. This product also doubles up as a dry shampoo, which to be honest is such a massive life saver! It doesn't leave any sort of residue or white powder like a lot of other dry shampoos and it makes your hair look super, duper shiny! I really recommend that you buy this if you need help with flat hair, it's such a cheap and perfect product. 

Give Me Texture - Dry Texturising Spray

Obviously because my hair is always constantly flat I've always needed a bit of texture. This spray is great, you just spray it onto your hair, scrunch it up abit and within seconds you get that gorgeous bed-head sort of look. It gives my hair a natural sort of wave, it looks so pretty and so full of life! It's a great product that doesn't weigh your hair down and it somehow has the magical power to make your hair look thicker and longer! Salt is the magical ingredient here, this spray is basically just a salt spray so bare in mind that it can sometimes leave your hair feeling a bit dry. I've learnt not to overload on this product because of this! 

Overall I am really in love with both of these products and have been using them every single day. They really make my hair look so much nicer and thicker and I've had so many compliments on the state of my hair recently! 

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Primark Basics Haul

Another haul (once again, sorry not sorry!!), this time it's a Primark Basics Haul. Basically, I went into Primark with the intention of getting some things for Winter and ended up buying most of Primark! No regrets!! This was an expensive haul but I'm glad I've got some stuff that I really needed. 

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Motel Rocks Haul!

Weeee I've been shopping! I actually have quite a few hauls coming up (mostly Primark - sorry, not sorry!) but today I thought I'd share with you my newest purchases from Motel Rocks. 

This month I decided on:

Motel Galaxy High Waist Skinny Pants in Tartan Red - £50

Motel Major Oversized Tee in Original Animal - £35

Made in Hell A PRADUH T Shirt Black - £35

Motel Courtney Babydoll Dress in Winter Rose - £40

I really love the Tartan Red pants! They are my absolute favourite pants ever, ever, ever!! I'm not so convinced on the Oversized tee yet, mostly because well...it's so oversized that I'm pretty sure Biggie Smalls could fit in it (ya'know, when he was alive). Because I'm so short, oversized things never look good on me! I guess it won't hurt to try it with a few things though, see what looks good! 

See something you like? Don't forget you can get 20% discount at the checkout by typing in the code MINICHIMP2001. Click here to get to the Motel Rocks website.

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Metcalfe's Skinny Corn'ers

So after writing a review on Metcalfe's Skinny Topcorn (click here to read it!) I was contacted by the company regarding their newest product Metcalfe's Skinny Corn'ers! A few days later a wonderful package arrived at my door full of tasty treats! How lucky am I?

Firstly, if you don't know about Metcalfe's Skinny here's a little background information taken from their website:

"It started with a POP. As the Co Founder of Pret & Itsu, Julian Metcalfe is obsessed with delicious and healthy food. Back in 2008 he was fed up of stodgy snacks that weighed him down & he wanted to create something that was light yet tasty to replace the bog standard crisp. Popcorn was the perfect fit & Metcalfe’s skinny topcorn was born. After experimenting with dozens of flavours & varieties (not to mention a run in with a chocolate drizzle machine) Julian came up with the perfect recipe for freshly popped butterfly popcorn tumbled with Metcalfe’s unique flavours & seasoning. Pret was the first place that stocked the magic stuff & from there, the company quickly gathered a growing legion of fans."

Metcalfe's Skinny Corn'ers are described as being Topcorn's "macho, nacho cousin" - they are flash griddled, corn crisps which are super healthy and have 30% less fat than the average tortilla crisp! To be honest, when they arrived I was expecting them to be a lot like Doritos - even down to the flavouring they reminded me of my favourite crisps but no, oh how I was wrong! These crisps actually remind me more of triangle shaped snack-a-jacks. They have a very similar texture, almost popcorny instead of crispy, if that makes sense. They are absolutely gorgeous tasting though! 

My favourite flavour has to be the Chilli Tweet flavour. I love the name for a start, it's so quirky! They taste quite like chilli mixed with tomatoes, they are so tasty and delicious. I literally gobbled down the whole packet so quickly. The chilli flavour does have a bit of a strange after-taste but don't let that put you off! The Cheese Louise flavour was also really yummy, I can't describe this as anything other than a normal cheese flavour though - but if you like cheese, this is the crisp for you.

Overall I really loved these crisps, they are definitely my new favourite snack. Plus they are super healthy like their topcorn cousin and are only 132 calories per pack! Much better than most of the crisps on the market at the moment. I really recommend that you pick up a packet of these if you see them whilst shopping, you really won't regret it.

You can buy any of Metcalfe's Skinny products here.

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Max Factor Whipped Creme Foundation

Oooh such pretty packaging! Max Factor are one of my absolute favourite brands and I am ALWAYS in need of a new foundation - so here we are. Max Factor Whipped Creme Foundation in Light Ivory!

As with a lot of Max Factor products, on the offset this product seems quite expensive - £9.99 for a tiny 18ml glass jar, but being a very big fan of Max Factor I decided to get it anyway! 

Max Factor's Whipped Creme foundation is a demi-matte finish which is great for Autumn/Winter. It glides on perfectly and really matches my skin tone. It reminds me a lot of Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse but without the thickness. The foundation is light and airy and doesn't stick to any dry spots on your face (which is the main problem I had with Dream Matte Mousse.) It's such a nice finish and leaves a light to medium coverage which you can easily build upon but really, a little goes such a long way for this product! 

My favourite thing about Max Factor's Whipped Creme foundation is that it has a hydrating effect. Like I said before, most (if not all) matte creme/mousse products tend to dry my skin out to the point where it goes all red and sore. Then the foundation sticks to it and get's all flaky and horrible. I've found that with this foundation it has the opposite effect and really makes my skin feel moisturized and soft. 

Overall I'm really happy with this purchase and can see myself buying it again! It's been such a life-saver these last few weeks and I've been using it none stop whilst it's been freezing cold outside! The hydrating effect really, really helps in this weather and I definitely think that every girl should have a pot of this foundation in their makeup bag! 

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Still Laptop-less BUT Life Update Post

I'm writing this at Uni because I am still incredibly laptop-less and it's driving me insane. I wasn't going to blog til my laptop is sorted because I just didn't see the point but I am actually going insane. On the plus side I have absolutely LOADS of life updates to share with you all, and since my laptop's dead you've also got away with not having to read my boring instagram posts (haha). 

So much has changed in the last...well week and a half. It's amazing how much life can just turn around in a few days. Two weeks ago I was informed by my friend that she would be leaving our course at Uni, basically making me the last person on the course - awkward. At first I was completely distraught, with everything that's been going on at Uni recently (having no teachers, having to teach myself ect) I just felt completely hopeless and I took a few "personal days" off Uni to sort myself out. When I arrived back into Uni one of my tutors sat me down and basically said that as long as I was at Uni, there would still be a course. Which is great to know because I was 99% sure they'd stop my course. He also went through all my work with me to make sure I'd be able to hand everything in on time, because a lot of my work was group based and now there's no group. Thankfully I think everything is on track, but I've only got a month to get 4 projects done so I really need to get my head down.

A few weeks ago I also handed my CV in to a few places. Desperate for work and way into my overdraft, I trolled the internet finding somewhere to hire me. Nothing. Then I found out that Blackburn was getting a Waterstones and I literally jumped at the chance to work there. I spent a whole day writing out a brand new CV and an amazing cover letter. At the beginning of last week I got a phone call from Waterstones saying my CV and cover letter was one of the best they'd ever seen and that I should come in for an interview on Thursday! On Friday I was hired!!!!! I started work on Saturday and worked all weekend and I absolutely bloody loved it! It was so much fun and such a good job, doing something I actually want to do and like. Brilliant. 

On Thursday I also passed my Apple Motion 5 exam so I can now happily say that I am an Apple Certified Pro and can teach and use the software professionally! How many people can say that they have that sort of qualification?I'm really starting to think that things are looking up. And with it being the beginning of December I'm really into the Christmas spirit at the moment. I finally feel so happy and like I'm worth something! I've been having such a great time these last few weeks and it's made up for a lot of the bad things and stress I've experienced this year. I just hope it lasts.

I have no idea when my laptop will be back. Or if it even ever will be. I may have to invest in something else, hopefully somewhere has got a laptop sale on - or if someone wants to sell me a laptop...well please do!! I'm sick of not blogging and it's incredibly annoying because for once I actually have loads of posts lined up in my head. I just need to get them out there!

Anyway, I hope you are all well and that your week has been wonderful! x

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My Laptop's Broken...Again! BRB

WAH! My laptop is broken (again) so I'm having to write this on my phone, which frankly, is incredibly annoying. I don't know how long it will be until my laptop is fixed or I get a new one so this is me saying BE RIGHT BACK! 

Hopefully shouldn't be gone for more than a week!

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Sleek Face Form Contouring & Blush Palette

I did something super naughty but with the way things have been these last few weeks it was necessary. I've spent all my money so I opened a typical student overdraft...and within 10 minutes of having said overdraft, I'd already spent about £50. Help me. One of the things I bought is this lovely Sleek Makeup Face Form Palette! 

I bought this kit because my contouring is non evident at best. I've tried but I just haven't found the right product for my face, I always end up looking dirty and horrible after I've made the attempt and I just got sick of it. Until now! This kit is the light version but there is a dark version for those who aren't as ridiculously pale as I am. I've noticed that there isn't much like this on the market right now, especially not something with three different face products in it and because of this I'd heard such great reviews. This kit is £9.99 and includes a contouring powder, a highlighter and a light coloured blush. 

Firstly, the contouring powder is a lovely, light brown shade. It's super pigmented and really compliments my skin tone. The only thing I would say is that for some reason it's just a bit too dark when I apply it to the edges on my nose - whether I'm applying too much, I don't know, but it does make my nose look a bit dirty. The highlighter is such a lovely shade in the palette but when applied it looses pigmentation, it takes quite a lot of brush strokes to get it to show up and it's probably the only thing I'm disappointed about in this kit. Thankfully I have my Topshop highlighter to use so it's not completely the end of the world. Lastly is the blush - this is Sleek's ever popular Rose Gold, I've heard so many great things about this blush, absolute rave reviews from bloggers everywhere! Rose Gold is such a gorgeous colour, it looks great on pale skin without looking too over the top. Its quite a peachy-red with gold and yellow undertones, it's so, so pretty. I really cannot stress this enough. 

Overall I really like this palette, I think it does the job and it's such a necessary thing that I think that everyone should own it. I'm so suprised there isn't anything else like this on the market at the moment as it's just so handy and helpful. The packaging is so sleek and small, it's great to just pop in your handbag! 

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The Christmas Tag

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What time of year do you start your Christmas shopping?

Usually pretty early, like October/November time but this year I've been awful because I just have no money at all so all of my Christmas shopping is going to be done last minute.

Do you have any festive recipes for food or drink you limit solely to the Christmas season to share?

Not really, I guess the only food I eat around Christmas time that I don't usually have is Brussel Sprouts (I luuuuuuuuurve Brussel Sprouts) 

Tell me how Christmas goes down in your home

We wake up super early and all go downstairs into the living room where all our presents are laid out into piles, then we sit in a circle together and open one present at a time. Then once all the presents are open we watch a Christmas movie, help make the food and then sit down to eat. We scoff our faces with delicious food and then spend the rest of the day slowly getting so drunk that we can no longer remember our own names - cute.

Do you have any Christmas traditions?

Unfortunately not.

Do you have a favourite festive coffee?

I can't drink coffee because I'm allergic to caffeine, but I do drink a lot of hot chocolate which is pretty festive in itself.

Do you have a favourite Christmas song?

Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues 

What do you do on Christmas Eve?

I sit with my brother and watch Family Guy/American Dad for hours on end whilst my parents are out with their friends. I also have the Norton Santa Tracker up because I like watching the videos.

What's your Christmas wrapping strategy? Do you have a strategy?

Wrap it as quickly as possible because it's the most annoying thing ever!

What's your dream gift this year?

Oh I actually don't know. I'd like someone to give me a plane ticket to Florida but that will never ever happen.

Describe your Christmas tree. How tall? Real or artificial? How is it decorated?

It's artificial. It's rubbish, it's so small and it looks like branches are missing and it's really disappointing to look at (hahahaa)

Do you decorate just the tree or other areas of your house e.g. windows, bannisters?

We decorate everywhere to make up for how bad the tree is.

What do you wear to Christmas parties and what do you wear on Christmas day?

Usually I just wear whatever I can be bothered wearing. Most of the time it's just my pjs because why the hell should I get dressed on Christmas day?! 

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Christmas/New Years Dress Wishlist With Motel Rocks

Tis the season to be pretty and sparkly and fabulous fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!!

 I'm once again ill and I'm once again stalking the Motel Rocks website, making wishlists and praying to the God of Fashion that my Motel Rocks Street Team Credit goes in because I am too skint and I am in need of new clothes. I desperately want something nice to wear this year for Christmas and New Year as last year I just wore old stuff which I wasn't happy about. This year I will be prepared!

Below are a few of my fave dresses from Motel Rocks. I want them all! 

Don't forget you can get 20% discount at the checkout by using the code MINICHIMP2001

1. Motel Gabby Sequin Plunge Dress

2. Motel Criss Cross Bodycon Sequin Dress

3. Motel Sasa Dress in New Diamond Sequin

4. Motel Clarrie Cut Out Skater Dress

5. Motel Girly Occasion Dress

6. Motel Caprice Off Shoulder Skater Dress

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Cresty Semi Permanent Eyebrow Kit

I got this kit at a Wedding Fayre that I recently visited with my sister. At the fayre there was SO much hype around it, people were doing presentations and demos and loads of people were queued up to buy it. So, me being me, I had to get involved and I stood in the queue for a good 20 minutes to find out what was going on.

Everybody knows how much I love my eyebrows, or eyebrows in general. If you have bad eyebrows, I will slightly judge you (how awful is that?!), I just love eyebrows so much. They can completely change a face if done properly so when the woman at the stand told me that this was a 2 years supply of semi-permanent eyebrow powder I jumped at the chance to buy it. Unfortunately for me, this product was £30 so I'm still in debt with my sister - but hey ho! Never mind. 

For me the packaging is awful. For a £30 product this looks like you could buy it on the market for £3. One of the best parts about this though is that it's a kit. You get a double sided brush, the powder and three eyebrow stencils with it. Cresty cosmetics are quite a big company though so I do have a lot of faith in the fact that it will last 2 years, but we will see.

Cresty state that this product is perfect for those who want identical, perfect looking eyebrows (which we all want!). This product can be applied once in the morning and then you won't have to reapply it all day. I did many tests on this - I got my face wet, I got it sweaty, I tried to wipe it off and true to it's advertisement it didn't budge. It really did last the whole day. It's also such a nice colour, it's meant to be dark brown but it's actually quite light and you don't have to use a lot of product to fill in your eyebrows. 

The eyebrow stencils are also really helpful, especailly if you are like me and are rubbish at making things match. 99.9% of the time my eyebrows are uneven so this makes things so much easier. It also makes it so much quicker. It's just a sweep of the powder and BAM I'm done for the day! 

Though £30 is a lot of money for some powder, I do really like this product and would recommend it. It does exactly what it claims and it's just so easy to use that even a novice like me can use it! 

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No make-up, hair up, no bra - it must be pamper night!

Oh gosh, my very naked face! Tonight I have nothing to do, the boyfriend's in Lancaster, my friends are all busy and I am one lonely blogger. Corrie isn't even on to occupy me so I'm settling for Children In Need which is just making me feel sad, so to make everything seem that little bit better I'm having a mini pampering sesh...with myself. All alone. I may light some candles, really go for it. Make myself feel like a princess.

The makeup is off, the bra's off, the jammies are on, the hair is up and the wine is out. This week has been...stressful to say the least, in fact every week is stressful when you're at Blackburn University (especailly when you don't want to be there, but that's a whole other story) and I need some serious me-time! Tonight I'm going to have an amazing, relaxing bath and then I'm going to be pampering myself with a few of my fave cheap as chip products. 

Pamper Night Essentials 

✴ A clean towel

✴ A dressing gown

✴ Pajamas

✴ Wine

✴ Candles

✴ Various pamper products of your choice

Tonight I will be using:

✴ Nivea Moisturising Creme - My face is currently absolutely COVERED in this. I love Nivea because their products really do work, as we speak I can feel it hydrating my skin and it feels so silky and soft.

✴ ESPA Skin Radiance Mask - This is going to be step two, basically it's another moisturiser but this time a mask. ESPA are such a great brand and amazingly this radiance mask was a freebie. I can't wait to use it! 

✴ The Body Shop Mango Lip Balm - I need to keep my lips hydrated too, it's just as important! 

✴ Derma V10 Chocolate Body Butter - Ohh my whole body is going to feel so nice and smell so good. This is my favourite ever body butter, it smells gorgeous and it's so cheap to buy. You can get this for £1! 

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Ebay Christmas Jumpers!

1. Unisex Penguin Jumper - £12.99

2. Blue Santa Jumper - £10.99

3. Red Snowman Jumper - £9.99

4. 3D Rudolph Jumper - £11.99

5. Knitted Retro Jumper - £21.99

6. Official Coca-Cola Jumper - £29.99

Can you believe it's a month and a half away from Christmas!! Nope? Me neither. I am so skint it's making me want to cry. Nobody is going to get a good present from me this year, that's for sure! Wah. To get myself in the Christmas spirit I decided to have a look on good old Ebay for a Christmas jumper, and instead ended up making a list of jumpers that I want to buy! Above are my picks! Ebay is so great for cheap jumpers and clothing!

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Selling Brand New Motel Sarah Long Sleeve Dress In Polka Dot White Size S

I'm selling this gorgeous Motel Sarah Long Sleeve Dress in Polka Dot White - it's a size small which is around an 8/10. I've had it for ages but never worn, I tried it on last night and it's too small for me so I've decided to sell it.It's still got all it's tags and stuff on so I can guarantee it's brand new! Before I put it on Ebay I just wondered if anyone wants it? It's RRP is £20 but I'm happy for any offers! Postage is going to be about £4.

This is going to be a first come first serve basis - so if you like it then email me at minichimp2001@hotmail.com and we'll sort it out. If not I'll be putting this on Ebay in a few days! 

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Motel Blue Mandala Dress & Boot Out Breast Cancer Night

Last night I went out with the ladies in my family and my sister's friends to a charity event called Boot Out Breast Cancer at a Holiday Inn in Bolton. The night was lovely, filled with drinking, dancing, food and obviously raising money for such a good cause. We'd booked the tickets a few months back in memory of my Nana who died from a female cancer. Female cancers run in our family and many of the wonderful ladies I've known in my life have died from either breast cancer or ovarian cancer, so we thought this charity event would be a great way to raise some money and show some appreciation to those we have lost. When we got there we had champagne upon arrival and got to have a look at loads of cute little stalls which were selling things like candles and bath products. Then we sat down for a two course meal and a few games! It was so much fun and the charity definitely made a lot of money out of us! Towards the end of the night there was a wonderful band that played chart music and in typical drunken Jane style I was first on the dance floor with my shoes off! It was a pretty good night and I didn't get home til after 2am so all in all I would say it was a success! Hopefully Boot Out Breast Cancer made a lot of profit.

For the night I wore the Motel Blue Mandala Dress (here - or you can buy in red here - make sure you use the code MINICHIMP2001), I really adore this dress. It's so cute and perfect for wearing during the day and at night. It's so comfy too and looks great when you can't really be bothered getting dressed and you can just throw it on and feel fabulous without even trying! I wore this with fake Lita boots and very simple makeup and hair. 

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Topshop Highlighter in Crescent Moon

I've known about Topshop makeup for a long time, I've even owned quite a few items but I've always had to buy them online. So consider my shock (and happiness) when I walked into my local Topshop today to find a massive makeup counter. I nearly wet myself. And knowing that I had £10 on my Topshop card made me even happier, so I made my way to the counter to pick up the ever-raved about Topshop Highlighter. I've never actually owned a highlighter before (I am an awful beauty blogger aren't I?!) so I was really excited to try this out and to see if it could make any improvements to my makeup routine and well...my face in general.

I chose the shade Crescent Moon which is a light shimmery pinky-gold colour. The packaging is absolutely adorable, but I do find ALL of Topshop's makeup packaging to be super cute. I love how the stars look almost drawn onto the packet, it looks so quirky. The packaging is made of plastic but it's really sturdy and works really well with the product. The highlighter itself is gorgeous, it adds a very subtle shimmer to your face and would be great for highlighting any contours you've done. I really, really love it. It's so pretty and it just makes your face pop! It also subtle enough that I think it would look great on pretty much every skintone!

You can purchase this for £10 online and in many Topshop stores (or £9 with student discount!) 

What do you think? Have you ever tried a Topshop highlighter?

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October Instagram Update!

Wooosh, October was a LONG month for me! Can you seriously believe that it is now November? It's basically almost Christmas! This month has been filled with serious highs and lows. More lows than highs but thankfully it's over and I'm looking forward to the month ahead. 

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