Surviving Party Season

It's that time of year again where our social calendars become fuller than ever and every weekend has an aray of parties, meals and meets that keep you busier than Santa himself!

With that in mind I thought I would share with you a few of my must-haves for getting through party season, I know alot of you with be juggling parties, piss-ups and work shifts all within the same 24 hours so take note as some of these could be lifesavers for you!

Beat The Blisters

First up, Compeed Blister Relief plasters*! A Christmas/New Years party outfit wouldn't be complete without a fabulous pair of heels and if you're anything like me, you would have bought new ones! After hours of walking, mingling, dancing and whatever other moves you're pulling out of the bag you're feet (unless you have magic soles and toes) are going to ache and you may even be getting some pesky blisters! Be prepared by keeping sliter plasters in your bag! These are great for shoes that are rubbing or even blisters on the bottoms of your feet!
Top Tip : Putting some Vaseline on your feet before wearing new heels can help prevent rubbing!

Refresh That Face

With all the naughty foods and drinks we will be consuming over the next 4 weeks our skin can really take a beating! Not only this but with all the events going on, your bound to be wearing make-up more than usual!
Doing a face mask every week can help keep your skin looking bright and healthy! Rodial's Hangover Mask* is one of my favourites for this, it keeps my skin feeling rejuvenated and clear from any build up and nastiness!

Eyes On The Prize

There's a couple of beauty bits in life that can completely change your look in seconds, one of those things is false lashes! If you don't have long to get ready and want to make yourself look more glamorous than usual - whack on a pair of lashes! These lashes are from Nouveau Lashes and they are from the Let's Go Lashes*  range! As you can see in the picture below these lashes are gorgeous full-on fan lashes and I am so excited to try them out over this holiday season.

"I got that red lip, classic, things that you like" (Yup, I'm quoting TS)

Red lips, red lips, red lips! I love a red lip at this time of year (unless you're rocking a pink dress!)! This one I've including is one of my all-time favourites! Rimmel Apocalips - Big Bang - is a super bright pillar box red and it is perfect for transforming yourself from drab to fab! Plus red is super festive!

Bloat No More

Tight bodycon dress for NYE? High waisted skirts/trousers to rock on Christmas Eve? Being bloated is the worst! Peppermint tea is a great way to relive any bloat and keep your digestive system in check! I like to have one every evening before bed, it's really refreashing and calming and makes me feel like I'm kind of being healthy... especially after the 600 mince pies I've probably eaten already!

Bags Be Gone

Finally it's time for a pick me up for after all those late nights! I love this eye bag slayer, for one.... it is a play on Buffy the Vampire Slayer... the greatest show ever made and my fav! I keep it in the fridge so it is amazing for reducing puffy eyes and also fab for headaches.... coz you may have a few of them after those heavy nights!

I hope you guys liked this post and have a great time over the next month, partying and celebrating :) 

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Spring Lip Favourites

I've spotted sunshine! Yes it's official this past week or so we have had some lovely days here in the south of England, full of sunshine and summer breezes! 

So I think it's time to say goodbye to some of those dark sultry lip shades we have been wearing through Winter and say hello to some fun, bright lip colours for Spring!

I've narrowed it down (believe me it was hard) to my favourite 8 lip products/colours for Spring for you all!

Spring for me is about cute, fun colours, florals & generally pretty girly things. It's the time where fashion starts to change and it isn't such a crime to wear bright and pastels shades daily and I love it!

So here are my top picks for Spring lip products!

Yes, it's plain to see here that I have a major love for pink lip colours - the amount I own is ridiculous but these are the few I've picked out for a perfect Spring time look!

1. Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Lips - 5 Capella

A total newbie in my lip collection - you may have seen my post on this new collection from Barry M last week. This is just such an easy colour to wear, perfect for everyday and the hi shine it gives is gorgeous!

2. Barry M Lipgloss - 5 Bubblegum

If you've read my blog since it started properly last May you will know how much love I have for these lipglosses! I have worn these constantly for years - not only is this Bubblegum a gorgeous colour (who doesn't love Barbie pink) but it smells like bubblegum too, so yummy! If you are after a new cheap, good quality lip gloss - I highly recommend you try this beauty!

3. Rimmel Apocalips - 102 Nova

Apocalips are a fab collection. Last summer I lived for these. I love this shade, it is my most worn of the collection. Such amazing pigmentation and they stay for ages!

4. Seventeen Stay Pout - Delinquent

Delinquent is a fab fuchsia colour which only needs one swipe to create a flawless look. Perfect to wear both in the day and on a night out, this is a great lipstick and for under £5 I have no complaints. 

5. Mac Lipstick - Impassioned

Obviously a mac lipstick had to be in this post. Impassioned is a bright pink, creamy lipstick which is one of my favourites from my mac lipsticks! Here's my post all about it - here.

6. The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick - Rush Of Pink

A lovely moisturising lipstick, with a slight purple tint this is gorgeous. Slightly sheerer than the rest but keeps the lips hydrated and smooth.

7. L'oreal Colour Riche Lipstick - 371

A peachy pink colour for L'oreal I love that this is a slightly different shade than the rest. Ill definitely be wearing this alot this Spring/Summer - I definitely want some clothes to match it too - cute! 

8. Rimmel Matte Kate Moss - 110

Kate Moss lipsticks are my favs, for the price they are incredible an have such a good range of shades! This is a super bright orangey colour which really lasts. Can't wait to rock this with a tan!

What are the lippies you've been reaching for now the sun has appeared?

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Top Beauty Finds Of 2013 Tag

Right girls and guys , for a while now I've been wanting to share with you the products that I have been so so happy to find this year. Products that I now cannot live without and don't know how I lived before they entered into my life.

But this also got me thinking about how much I would love to see everyone else's top products of the year SO.... with this is mind I thought to my little old self, why not make a tag for everyone to join in with?
Totally simple and easy to do - just share your top 5 products that you have discovered this year. (don't worry if you can't think of 5 or have more than 5 - you can choose as many as you like... I just thought 5 would be an easy number for everyone to find!)
 Things that you hadn't used before 2013, hadn't even heard of or maybe they were only just released this year!
I thought this is a tag post that more or less any beauty blogger can get involved in and I would LOVE for as many of you as possible to join in!
These products can be anything beauty related (we are beauty bloggers of course!)- make-up, hair, skincare, body products, an electrical item, an accessory - anything!
It is most likely aswell that if you have LOVED a product that you have shared it previously on your blog - so make sure you link all your previous posts about them too for everyone to read and enjoy!

So here we go - My Top 5 Beauty Finds Of 2013 ..........

First up is the Apocalips Lip Lacquers from Rimmel!
 After purchasing 2 of these beautys at the beginning of the summer (big bang and nova feat. in my June favs) I was actually lucky enough to WIN the complete set from Rimmel via a twitter competition! I'd been using my first two for weeks and weeks so was so so excited to be getting the whole lot! 
These have been my favourite lip product this year. For me they are the perefect mix between a lipstick and a gloss. The pigmentation is incredible and they are so easy to apply and look gorgeous on! I was so happy when they added a few newer darker shades to the collection back in the Autumn and of course bought some of those too! Click here for my first post all about these bargain beautys and ... click here for my more recent additions to my Apocalips collection.

Number 2 on the list (and these are in no particular order!) is the Morrcoanoil Treatment which I featured on A Yellow Brick Blog back in July! This is one of those products that I really don't know how I lived without before!
 It is by far the best hair oil I have used and it is going to take alot to beat this! These tiny bottles that I buy last for months and I have to say for a couple of days in which I was without I noticed a serious difference in my hair.
I use this everytime I've washed my hair, just tip a pea sized blob onto my fingers and smooth in through the mid-lengths to ends of my hair. Since using it my hair has felt alot stronger, softer and it is certainly alot less dry and "ratty"! My hair product of the year!

Now onto a range of products that I have used more or less everyday (minus those lazy make-up free days that I love!) since getting them!

Zoeva brushes have slowly climbed to the top of my favourite brushes that I own, closely followed by real techniques.

Another lucky moment from me here but I actually won these from Zoeva on twitter (seriously twitter is the place to be for comps I tell ya!) - they are such amazing quality and there is a brush for everything, I have been seriously impressed with them and like I said use them every single day! Fabulous for creating a great base and the eyeshadow brushes are brilliant! For more photos and info check out my post I did on them :)

A body beauty favourite now - and if you've bene reading A Yellow Brick Blog for a while then this is going to come as absolutely no surprise to you. It is the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash. I am such a huge Soap & Glory fan and the sugar crush line is something I fell in love with this year.
 As well as the body butter and the body scrub I have been using this body wash for months. I don't think I could change to another body wash now, it smells amazing, you don't need alot each time you use it so it lasts for weeks and weeks on end and it leaves my body feeling so fresh and clean. A total beauty bargain, I have bottles of this stuff stocked up so I am never without!

Last but not least is another make-up product. This stuff is a god send and I urge you all to go out and try it! It is the Skin Wow! 3-way Highlighter from Seventeen. 
Seventeen have seriously gone up in my make-up books this year - their new products released have just been getting better and better and this has been my favourite.
A gorgeous pearly pink highlighter that you can use 3 ways - as a base, mixed with your foundation or alone as a highlighter (my favourite way to use it)!
I can't rave on enough about how much or a bargain this is, only £5.99 - a fraction of the price of Benefit's high beam and it is a great dupe for it!
 I have used this everyday since purchasing it in September and have only used probably a 1/6 of the bottle! This is another product I have stocked up on so I am never without, although I have a feeling these bottles are going to last a long long time!

That's it - my Top 5 Beauty Finds Of 2013! What do you guys think? Have you tried any of these?

I would love for you guys to join in and share your favourite new finds of 2013! It is a great way to bring the year to a close and also find out about some great products from everyone - and I'm sure more or less everyone is going to have a different 5 to share!

If you are anything like me you buy new products weekly so for something to stand out and be a favourite of the year then it is definitely worth sharing with the rest of us beauty addicts!

Make sure that if you join in with this tag you share your link below so we can all be nosey and have a lookie at what you have LOVED this year!

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Rimmel Apocalips - Across The Universe & Eclipse Review

If you have read my blog or my tweets over the last few months you will know that I LOVE the Apocalips range from Rimmel. 
If you haven't tried them yet then shame on you, you are missing out! For more information and too see the original 8 shades check out my post about them that I wrote back in July!

So when I heard there were new shades being released I got highly excited and had to head to Boots to invest in more of the collection!

I picked these 2 shades of the lip lacquer as they look perfect for Autumn/Winter. I've been buying alot of darker, warmer colours recently and have really fallen in love with them!
As you've probably read in my other posts in previous years I haven't had the confidence to wear darker, vampy colours but now I am all for it and feel much more confident in wearing bolder shades!

Across The Universe is a deep red and Eclipse is a dark purple shade - both perfect for A/W! I've been wearing these alot and know they are going to be used just as much as the rest of my collection which I have been living in over the summer!

They are £6.49 each and I think they are worth every penny! 

The formula for these are just perfect, as thick and pigmented as a lipstick (they are basically a liquid lipstick!) and they stay on for hours and hours. 

They have a really creamy texture with no stickiness and in my opinion are the best of both worlds. I cannot recommend them enough!

Have you tried any of the Apocalips range yet? I give Rimmel 10/10 for them!

ApocaLOVE ApocaLUST - APOCALIPS

So, if you have read my blog recently you would have noticed I have mentioned the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer's a good few times.... ( To be exact 4 different posts! - Beauty Buys Of The Week, June Favourites, Day To Night in 4 Steps & What's In My Bag?) so when I saw that Rimmel were holding a competition on their twitter to win the complete collection I was all over it in a millisecond! (and guess what.... I only went and blooming won!)

Obviously this had me VERY excited and I also thought - what a great blog post to do!

 So many people on twitter have been asking me about them and the different colours and this is the perfect way to showcase all of them and what they look like! 

They honestly are officially my new favourite lip products out there on the market at the moment! So thick, pigmented and they last for ages without being sticky, tacky or drying out the lips!

I'd been dying to try all of the shades and I am happy to say that none of them have disappointed  such a good variety and I have finally found a red lipgloss I LOVE with Big Bang! (Been looking for what seems forever!)

                  

There is literally a colour here for all occassions and I can't wait to wear them all! Normally on a day to day basis (and when I go out in the evenings!) I wear a lipstick with a gloss over the top to get a good opaque colour, shine and to stop my lips drying out but with these I don't need to do that! 

They are all that in one in jut one tube and I love it! I can't recommend them enough!

Sorry the photos below aren't the greatest quality but hopefully you get the gist of what they look like on! (Big Bang is alot redder in real life but you can see that in the arm swatch!) 

Have you tried any of the Apcoalips? Which one/s are your favourite? Did you find this post helpful? Please let me know below and if you liked this post and my blog make sure you follow via GFc & Bloglovin (links in sidebar!)

June Favourites

Another month down which means, another favourites post! June has been mostly a great month, with a few lows! My highlight of the month has to be the Isle Of Wight Festival, I had such a great time with my boyfriend and friends (check out my 30 Day Snap for some pictures of my weekend)!
Here's just a few other things I have been loving in the month of June!

A bit of a mixture of things this month and I've actually already mentioned a few of them in previous posts aswell, but these are my top picks from the last 30 days or so!

First up is the Sally Hansen Moisturising Nail Polish Remover for dry, brittle nails (aka mine!)

I actually was going to put this in my May favourites but totally forgot about it, so Iknew it just HAD to go in this months!

I have been using this stuff for  a few months now (after stealing it from my Mum) and really love it! 

My nails are so so brittle and flaky and always have been. They don't grow and if they do then they just break - which is why I love have extensions and shellac! Not only can I feel this stuff befitting my nails but it works so so well as a remover. Just one cotton pad with this stuff gets all my nail varnish from both hands off first time, not alot of removers can do that! (if you go looking for this in the shops it is the blue Sally Hansen remover .... you can't really tell that in the photo!)

Next is the Face Contour Kit by Sleek in the shade - Light. I mentioned this in a haul post called Thank You Mr. Postman and have used it everyday since! (Well everyday that I've worn make-up)! I use an angled blush brush from the elf mineral bamboo line for the bronzer along my cheek bone and then the real techniques contour brush to apply the highlighter above it! I then use the blush brush again from Real Techniques to blend them together to avoid any harsh lines. I love the effect and the quality of the product is amazing, I keep getting asked if I'm wearing High Beam (a Benefit highlighter) on my cheeks - well worth the price it is now a staple in my make-up bag.

Pretty isn't it? Yup I've got myself a new bag this month, so clearly it has to be in my favourites!

This is the mini shopper bag from Zara (I'm sure you've all seen it before!). I don't have a Zara anywhere near where I live so I always get my stuff from their online store. Originally I did want the orange version of this bag but unfortunately they didn't have that one available on the website so I settled for this gorgeous green colour. (Although black is a great colour as it goes with everything I fancied something a little different this season)! I think this bag is such a bargain for the price -  only £22.99 - and the size, for me, is perfect! 

I always seem to manage to have everything in my bag, I feel the need to be prepared for any situation or outcome so space is a big thing for me and although it looks fairly small it really isn't! I've used this everyday for weeks and keep getting loads of compliments on it, if the orange shade ever goes online I will 100% be buying that one too! (What's in my bag? post will be up later this week!)

                 

First of all ... LOL at my foot sneaking in the photo, I've only just noticed this as I'm writing this section - doh!

If you read blogs alot, watch youtube, go on twitter or hell, just use the internet you are going to have heard so much about  these already! Baring this in mind I shan't bore you for long. These are some of my Real Techniques brushes - the best brushes I own. From left to right you have - the Powder, Buffing , Blush, Stippling, Contour & Expert Face brushes. I use most of these daily, they are so soft and give the best results for someone who wears a full-face of make-up like myself - a fantastic investment.

Now, I could do a whole post about these. If you are a regular reader (thank you) you would have already seen me rave about these in my recent post - Kirstie's Beauty Buys Of The Week. A few weeks ago now I purchased the pink shade on the right - Nova. I immediately fell in love with the feel and result of it and knew I would be purchasing more.

 After searching high and low for a new red lipgloss I knew this was going to be the one - Big Bang (left) is such an amazing colour and I love that I have the look and stay of a lipstick and the shine of lipgloss all in one!

 These lip lacquers are faultless I'm going to be buying more this week!

Guilty confession to make with this one. I copied my Mum! She has the larger version and this one and I always think they look so cute! So this week when I saw this on sale for half price I had to buy it! 

It is from M&Co (I think this is actually the first thing I've ever bought from there) and was down to £6 from £12. I've put all my small stacking rings in here and it's replaced the glass ashtray that was featured in my Make-up Storage post with it.

In my last favourites posts I shared with you my favourite album of the month and this month is going to be no different!

 I cannot stop listening to Demi Lovato's new album - Demi! This is my sort of music, girly, fun, a few ballads and great to sing along too! It is one of those albums that you only have to listen to once and you know you love it, I have been playing it non-stop for weeks and weeks! My favourite tracks are Nightingale, Warrior, Made In The USA & Really Don't Care (which features Cher Lloyd!).

What have you been loving this month?!

Kirstie's Beauty Buys Of The Week

So Monday hit this week and I was overwhelmed with the Monday morning blues ("boooo you whore"). Best thing for that you ask? A spot of shopping, duh!
 Retail Therapy makes me VERY happy (don't act like I'm the only one) and I've had my eye on these bits for a while now and I thought today was the perfect time to splash out and purchase them! (Also included is some basic necessities which I was in desperate need of!)

So I hit TWO shops, crazy I know, (.... I live on a small town and I was on my lunch hour alright!) Boots & Liz Earle and actually ended up spending alot less than I thought I would (got to love promotional deals!)

First up Liz Earle...

I went into the Liz Earle store for one reason and one reason only - I had run out of cleanse and polish and was on the verge of a breakdown without it!

 The thought now of taking my make-up off with anything else sets me on edge! I think I wear quite a bit of make-up (especially layers of mascara) and I haven't found anything else that gets off 100% of it and leaves me feeling fresh as a daisy!

I seriously love it and would recommended it to anyone! I needed some new muslin cloths aswell so I went for the "starter pack" which actually works out cheaper than buying the polish and cloths separately (little tip for you there!) 

As Liz Earle are lovely people I got to choose a free miniature aswell to go with my purchase and guess what I chose .... Yup - cleanse and polish! (you can never have too much of a good thing!) and at least it will keep me going for a bit longer!

Now onto Boots - this includes things I have been looking at for a while to buy and some basic necessities that I had run out of ......

First up, some Lee Stafford hair products! I am obsessed with Lee Stafford products and have been using the hair growth shampoo and conditioner along with the hair growth treatment religiously for months and months and have loved the affect they have all had on my hair! 

Saying this, recently I've noticed my hair isn't as blonde as I would like (I'm blaming lack of sunshine) so these two products look like the perfect choice for me! These products are for getting rid of brassy and orangey tones from blonde hair which is exactly what I want!

I'm sure you've all heard of the "silver shampoo" that everyone uses to get their hair a whiter blonde, well this stuff more or less seems like the same thing.... Just a nicer brand/name/scent!

 I trust Lee Stafford (and would buy his products over any on the market) so I don't mind paying the extra for his products! (also Boots have a buy one get one half price deal on at the moment so it worked out perfectly!) 

I'll be using these once a week from now on and I'll keep you updated with the results! Have any of you tired these?

Next I've got some of the boring basics that us beauty lovers can't live without! 

Number one - cotton buds! I can't tell you how many of these I get through, mainly on dodgey bits of mascara on my face and fixing my eyebrows after I've penciled and powdered them! They are so so handy for so many things! I buy the "baby" ones as I think they are more or less exactly the same as any other normal cotton buds BUT half the price - why pay more? Secondly I got some cotton pads. But no, not just any old cotton pads  I buy the 'Cotton Wool Double Faced Oval Pads' (posh right?.... no? okay...)! I love these as they are super thick and perfect for using For both my Liz Earle Skin Tonic morning and night and for nail varnish removers!

Lastly - some No7 face wipes! Now I'm not a big facewipe user (anymore) but it never hurts to have them around!

 I thought they would also be handy for giving my make-up brushes a quick spruce up when needed when I don't have enough time to full on clean them)! At the moment Boots are giving out No7 vouchers everytime you spend £4 or more so I used my voucher to get these and because you receive £5 off skincare with it it made these JUST £2! (originally £7 .... duh!) What a barry bargain!

People with straight white teeth are probably the people I envy most in the world! 
If I could have one thing perfect about myself it would be my teeth! I love trying out new whitening products but because I can get quite sensitive teeth I don't like to use to really harsh abrasive stuff (also I'm a massive wimp!). 
So a few weeks ago on twitter I asked everyone for their advice! 'A good whitening toothpaste which will is not harmful, super abradive or that will make my teeth sensitive.' (see I'm not even asking for alot....). Most people agreed with me and said most of the good ones are strong and can leave your teeth quite sensitive but a couple of people (including a friend who is a dental nurse) recommended this - Sensodyne's Pro Namel Gentle Whitening. This is also apparently the only whitening toothpaste recommended by dentists so I thought I would give it a go and hopefully I'll notice a change soon!

If you are anything like me then you never leave home without this stuff.

 Anti-bacterial hand gel has become a staple in my handbag wherever I may be going!

 This, along with the bath and body works products, has got to be my favourite anti-bac (it's from Soap & Glory so of course I'm going to like it!)

It smells amazing and reminds me of the first half of my travelling  in the USA as this was in my bag constantly! I love the scent and like paying a bit extra for a nicer smelling/looking gel.

Finally were onto the last two products and my favourites! 

You've seen me rave about Barry M lipglosses before on here and this one has got to be my favourite. 

I've lost count with how many I've bought over the years and being that my current tube is more or less empty I decided it was time for a new replacement! (Boots have also got make-up on the buy one get one half price offer so again, this worked out perfectly!) 

Not only is it an amazing bright pink colour but it also smells like Bubblegum! I love it so much, there's nothing worse than a lip product with a horrible smell and Barry M have got the scent just perfect on this AND the formula is amazing too smooth and pigmented.

Along with this I purchased the Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang. 

Now I've you've read my blog for a little while you know that I have been after a good thick pigmented red lipgloss for a long long time.

Not so long ago I had the Barry M red lipgloss which, like all their others, was amazing but it was limited edition so when it was gone - it was really gone! After not being able to find one which compared I was extremely excited when I bought the Apocalips in the colour Nova (a gorgeous dusty pink) a couple of weeks ago! 

This formula is amazing and I can see why everyone has been raving about them! As soon as I used Nova for the time I knew I was in love and realised I must have completely overlooked the red shade on the stand (schoolboy error!)

After asking the beautiful people on twitter I found out there was a red shade and everyone seemed to have the same opinion - it was the one!

 So happy I finally have a lovely red lipgloss that I don't have to pair with a lipstick -sometimes I just find it so much easier to keep re-applying a nice lipgloss throughout the day/evening rather than faffing around with a lipstick - the colour is so so great and I can't praise Rimmel enough for the Apocalips range.

Anyway that is just the few things I bought on Monday! I hope you have all had a lovely start to the week! Let me know in the comments below what you have been upto and what you have planned for the week along with your thoughts on this post :-) 

Thank you so much for reading, if you like this blog then please follow via GFC & Bloglovin' x