The holiday season is upon us! If you're anything like me, you spend these days wondering what you should get your loved ones this Christmas. I thought I'd write this post to hopefully ease your pain in finding the perfect gift for a beauty lover, like myself, whether it is for Secret Santa, for stocking fillers or as simple gift ideas.  These are my top 5 picks!

1. Mascara. There are millions of brands out there, and some pretty good ones too. One of my most used and repurchased is the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. It is affordable, lengthening, holds a curl very well and lasts all day. ​
2. Boomfbomb. This is not exactly a beauty-related gift but I had to mention it. If you're looking for a fun yet personalized gift, I would suggest checking out the boomf website. I just found this website recently through a friend's Instagram and was so impressed! One of my favourites is the Boomf Bomb - a card that jumps from its envelope in an explosion of confetti, a nice change from the conventional Christmas card, allowing for an element of surprise yet leaving you with a keepsake of your favourite memories with that person.  To understand what I'm saying just check out this video on YouTube. They have various other gift ideas too!
3. Bath bomb/ bubble bar.  For my Secret Santa this year, I decided to be a bit extra and go for some of Lush's products. To be honest, Lush products are unfortunately not available locally for me, so indulging in such products feels like a treat. However, I had the pleasure of trying out some of Lush's products during my trip to Valencia last April, falling in love instantly. The smell in the shop drew me in completely, so since then, I've made quite a few online deliveries and I've never been disappointed. As a bonus, all of their products are fresh, handmade and 100% vegetarian. So, after that little rant, (haha, sorry!) some of my favourite products include The Comforter bubble bar (which is big enough for two baths! - yaas!), as well as the Christmas Sweater Bath Bomb which has a warm, spicy scent, making it the ultimate gift for a cold winter night. 
4. Eyeliner. ​You can never go wrong with an eyeliner! It's such a staple thing in every beauty lover's collection, and I never seem to have enough. A classic budget friendly option is the 3INA Pen Eyeliner - a marker pen-style eyeliner that makes defining the lash line simple, allowing you to create the perfect flick! It is quick drying and waterproof, making it just as good as my higher priced eyeliners.  
5. Body Butter. To add a luxurious feel to your stocking, throw in a body butter. My favourite is The Body Shop British Rose Instant Glow Body Butter - a velvety soft moisturizer which gives an instant all-over healthy looking glow, perfect for normal to dry skin. It leaves no residue after being absorbed, yet it hydrates the skin and leaves a soft rose scent which lasts all day. 

​So, what is on YOUR Christmas wishlist? I'd love to know so make sure to leave your comments down below!
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​Until next time,
Christine xxx

​P.S This post is not sponsored and all products were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Some people might think that wearing makeup everyday is too much, and I can understand that to a degree. Personally, I think you should do whatever makes you happy and more confident and if that means putting on some concealer and mascara, I say go for it! Talking about myself, I like to put on makeup only if I'm going somewhere where I think it'd be nice to look a bit more put together, so when I'm at home I don't bother doing anything. But to each, their own!

If I do feel like making an effort for everyday use, I tend to put a pump of the Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer on my hand and then spread that across my face using my fingers. After that, I reach for my beloved MaxFactor Face Finity All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation. I've been using this foundation for more than a year now and it's definitely the best drugstore foundation that I have come across so far. So much so, that I own this in two shades: Golden and Bronze, depending on the season. Then I love to take my Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer and apply that right underneath my eyes, as well as on the bridge of my nose to highlight and give a bit more dimension to my face. 

To make sure that my face is set and it will HOPEFULLY stay on all day, I like to set it using the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent. I then apply a tiny bit of bronzer to add some warmth to my face. I'm currently loving the Bourjouis Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder, for a more subtle and natural look.  To finish off my face, if I have the time, I might even use my MAC blush in Margin, a peach toned blush with very subtle golden shimmer which gives you a very natural glow. 

I usually never have time to put anything on my eyes except for mascara (at the moment I'm using L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara), but when I do, I like to use one of the Maybelline New York Color Tattoo 24hr Gel Cream Eyeshadows as they're so easy and quick to apply with your fingers. I then take a blending brush and just blend the edges. My most used ones are On and On Bronze and Pink Gold. To finish off, I put on NYX Butter Gloss in Angel Food Cake on my lips and I run out the door! 

That's it! What about you? Do you wear makeup everyday? And if you do, what are some of your mostly used products? Let me know in the comments! 

Until next time, 
Christine

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Where has the time gone? I hope that you have enjoyed any end of year celebrations you may have had and ate lots of food (cause be honest, who hasn't?) I really like this time of year because I feel as if it's a fresh start. But I'm not letting go of 2015 just yet, as today I will be going through some of my favourites from this last year. I think it will be really interesting to look back at this a year from now and see whether any of the mentioned products will make the cut next year. Anyway, let's just get started... (Prepare yourself, it's a long one.)

Favourite Face Primer:
The Body Shop All-In-One Instablur primer - this stuff is amazing. I only discovered it in November, but I haven't stopped using it since. The texture of this is very similar to silicone, which helps blur out any imperfections that I have and reduce my pores.  It feels so smooth on my face and I really do think that it helps with the longevity of my foundation. It's been my holy grail so far!

Favourite Foundation:
MAC Studio Fix Fluid - This has definitely made the cut as my favourite this year. I love it so much, I bought 2 backups. Keeping in mind, that I have oily, sensitive and acne-prone skin, I like foundations which give a very good coverage and will stay on all day. After reading a lot of reviews online, saying how this foundation broke them out, I was kind of scared to try this out but around April I took the plunge, and ordered it online. I also had to guess the shade cause at the time we had no MAC stores here in Malta, but somehow I managed and it was a pretty good match for my skintone. I find that it really helps keep me matte all day, but at the same time, not too matte that it almost seems drying. In fact, this almost gives a like a natural glow which I love. Its coverage is medium to buildable and it manages to cover up any imperfections perfectly. I haven't had any problems with my skin and I'm probably going to have a really hard time, finding a better foundation any time soon.

Favourite Concealer:
Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer - I've almost run out of this, so I'll have to reorder it soon cause I love the way it conceals my undesired under eye circles. The formula of this is so good and the little doe-foot applicator that it comes with, helps it glide on the skin so smoothly. It gives just the right amount of coverage and it doesn't settle into fine lines.

Favourite Bronzer:
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer in Medium/Deep - This bronzer is my go to when I'm in a hurry. It's very pigmented yet super blendable and very easy to work with. Best of all, it smells like chocolate - can't complain about that. Being matte, it's very natural looking and I can use it to create depth and warmth to my face. Hands down, the best bronzer I've used.

Favourite Contouring Palette:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette - I use all the shades in this palette yet Fawn and Banana are definitely my favourites. They are the reason this palette is in my favourites. Fawn is perfect for contouring my cheekbones and Banana is great for setting my concealer especially under my eye. I do occasionally use Java and Havana for bronzing, but I also love them as eyeshadows - they make great transition colours. Vanilla and Sand are also awesome for a nice brow bone or inner corner highlight.

Favourite Highlighter:
Thebalm Mary-Lou Manizer - Although it's not the cheapest product, it is totally worth it. It's a very creamy powder and just a dusting of this on the cheekbones, will give the most gorgeous natural shimmer. It is very finely milled, smooth and the pigmentation is insane. I sometimes also reach for this as an all over the lid colour as it's a beautiful champagne colour.

Favourite Eyeliner:
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner Intense Black - I will probably continue to buy this eyeliner for many years to come. It makes creating a winged liner soooo easy. It has a great felt-tip like applicator which I find gives me so much control. Its lasting power is awesome and it doesn't budge at all even on my oily eyelids. However, if you're looking for a drugstore alternative I have also been loving the Maybelline Eye Studio Master Precise Ink Pen Eyeliner which I also find super easy to use and is a close second.

Favourite Eyeshadow Palette:
This is so hard for me as eyeshadows are my obsessions but I think that the one I used the most this year was the Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette. I love the formula of Urban Decay eyeshadows in general, but the pigmentation of this palette is to die for. The amount of smoky looks I can create with this is amazing as it offers a great range of shades so it's great to travel with. It's got a nice balance of shimmers and mattes and the packaging alone is also beautiful!

Favourite Mascara:
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - I honestly didn't think I was going to love this mascara cause I always like the plastic type bristles as I find they're so much better at creating a clump free look. However, I was intrigued about all the hype so I decided to buy it and try it out for myself. I'm so glad I did, cause I don't think I've ever achieved so much volume and length from a mascara. A must -try product!

Favourite Lipstick:
MAC Mehr - I have been given so many compliments on this lip colour. It's my go-to everyday shade as it's like a my-lips-but-better sort of colour. It is a dirty blue pink which goes so well with my yellow undertones. I'm so glad I picked this up as I can wear it with any makeup look and it would still look great.

That's it! (phew!) Told you it was a long one :) Let me know what products were your favourites in 2015. Maybe I can check them out.

Until next time,
Christine xxx

I do admit... this year I went a little crazy with the treating myself for Christmas kind of thing. I try to convince myself that my little hauls every now and again will benefit this blog helping me keep up to date with the non-stop ever growing world of makeup... but let's be honest I just want to try out all the hyped up products for myself :P

The first thing that I got was the BECCA x Jacyln Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Champagne Pop. This is BEAUTIFUL!! I had been eyeing this product for a very long time, but I didn't want to give in to all the hype. BECCA highlighters are known for their creamy formulas and I adore Jacyln Hill and love all the makeup looks she creates however I didn't think anything could top my beloved Mary Lou Manizer by theBalm. Having said that,  I think that this limited edition highlighter gives a truly unique glow. It is described as a soft white gold with pinky peach undertones which I find so flattering on my skin tone. It is a must for any makeup lover. I like to apply it using a fan brush, to ensure that it gives a nice subtle radiance to my skin.