Beauty Essentials

Although many might think that an essential beauty product would be concealer (me included), there are many things that people forget about, that we really need!

Cotton Pads - These are always an essential to anyone, they're very versatile, you can use them for anything. I tend to use them to apply my micellar water, toner, remove my nail polish and sometimes even to clean my mirrors, but you can also use cotton pads to press loose powder onto your face (t-zone especially) to help mattify. They're not expensive either, I get mine from Wilkinsons for 70p a packet.

Cotton Buds - Cotton buds are always a saviour when doing a heavy eye make-up. If you get fall out from your eyeshadows, you can roll a cotton bud over the eyeshadow and it picks it up, without ruining your base make-up. They're also great for applying spot treatments, just put a little on the bud and dab it onto the affected area. 

Moisturiser - If for any reason you don't have much money lying around to spend on skincare, but you want healthier skin, just buy a moisturiser! It's the most important, moisturisers re-hydrate your skin, making it feel softer and look brighter. When I started doing my Beauty Therapy course in September, the first thing I was taught was that moisturiser is the most important, and it's always stuck in my mind.

SPF - This is definitely something everyone should have, not just beauty fiends! No one likes to get burnt, red, flaky skin is just not something we want. Wearing an SPF everyday, even on no make-up days, will benefit your skin. I use a moisturiser with SPF in to make sure my face is protected everyday. 

Hand/Foot Cream - Moisturising your hands and feet are pretty important, no one wants to be able to see cracked feet or have dry tight feeling hands all the time. 

Lip Balm - Well, no one likes to have chapped lips, not only is it uncomfortable, lip products never look right! Keeping our lips hydrated with a lip balm will keep them soft and supple, lip products will go on smoother, and everyone will want a kiss from your smooth lips, haha!

Base/Top Coat - Out of these I think a base coat is the most important, it prevents your nails from staining when you're wearing polish and can also help strengthen them. A top coat helps to prevent chipping and lets you get your wear out of that nail polish you're addicted to!

Heat Protection Spray - If you use a lot of heat on your hair like I do, a good heat protection spray is a must. It helps to prevent your hair drying out and getting premature split ends. It doesn't need to be expensive, you can get one in Boots now on 3 for 2. 

Flat Shader Brush - A flat shader brush is essential for eye make-up, they're great for applying an eyeshadow all over the lid. You can always use your finger but I think as brush is a lot more hygienic and gives a better coverage. You can also use a clean flat shader brush to blend eyeshadows and even darken up your crease. 

I hope this helped anyone wanting to start a beauty collection or a starter beauty kit.
Thanks for reading!
Love, Jasmine x

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @andallthingsb and Bloglovin'

Neutral Eyeshadow Picks

I very rarely stray from neutral eyeshadows, I've no idea why it's just what I feel most comfortable wearing. They're easy to pull off and suit just about everybody. So I've decided to share with you some of my favourite neutral eyeshadows, to suit all budgets. 

L-R MAC Vanilla, Cork, Woodwinked and Carbon. Miss Sporty Studio Colour Mono in Classy. Naked Basics Palette. Maybelline Eyestudio Mono in Iced Fudge.

I made up this MAC palette when I went to New York last March, I think it's quite an expensive preference for eyeshadows but the quality is excellent. I picked Vanilla, a creamy off-white, to use as an inner corner and brow bone highlight, Cork, a warm light brown, to use as an all-over lid colour, Woodwinked, a darker brown with shimmer, to use in the crease, and Carbon, a matte black, to use as a liner. 

Next up I have the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette, less expensive than making up a MAC quad but still a little overpriced I think at £22. My favourite shades are Venus, a milky white, and Faint, a matte mid-toned brown. All the shades in this palette are matte so it's perfect for those days when you want a wash of colour or a matte crease. The only thing about this palette I don't like is the fact that I can never get it open! Please say it's not just me!

Next up are my two favourites from the drugstore! On the left is Miss Sporty Mono Eyeshadow in Classy, and on the right is Maybelline Eyestudio Mono in Iced Fudge (or Fudged as the label typo says). These two are both perfect for a wash of colour on the lids, a fuss free go to look for me. Both are shimmery shadows, with Classy being slightly darker than Iced Fudge. I'm definitely off to buy some more Maybelline eyeshadows after trying this one, it's amazing! It's very pigmented and has no fallout.

What are your favourite neutral eyeshadows?
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed.
Love, Jasmine x

p.s. This post is not sponsored, all products were purchased with my own money.

Spring Nails Edit

Now we've finally entered Spring, it's time for some brighter nail polishes! It feels like Winter has been so long, I'm fed up of dark colours for now. I like pastels for Spring and it seems like they're going to be right on trend again. 

L-R Barry M Mint Green, Berry Ice Cream, Blueberry Ice Cream, Seventeen Pretty in Peach, Rimmel Little Bo Peep, Miss Sporty 544, 330

Most of these polishes are pastel colours, the Barry M polishes are from last years Spring collection, and pastels never really go out of trend so I thought they'd be good again for this Spring. 

I swatched all these nail polishes with 2 coats but I think on the nail, the Rimmel polish would need 3-4 depending on the strength of colour you want. I'm currently wearing Miss Sporty 330, I used 3 coats as it goes a bit streaky. If you couldn't tell, I'm a fan of mint green colours, but my favourite of these three is the Miss Sporty 544, it's a minty green with a hint of blue, just perfect!

What are your favourite polishes for Spring?
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
Love, Jasmine x

Follow me on Twitter @andallthingsb

Review: Montagne Jeunesse Face Mask

This is by far my favourite face mask ever! The Montagne Jeunesse White Chocolate Ultra Deep Cleansing Masque. There are so many good things about this mask, the smell being one! It smells like melted white chocolate, but be warned it doesn't taste like it! Obviously this is not an edible mask but I had to try. 

The mask claims to 'leave your skin deep cleansed and as smooth as the softest cream', and to be honest, they're right. My skin feels a lot cleaner and smooth. It's a clay mask so it draws out the impurities in your skin, leaving pores looking smaller and unblocked!

I've been using this mask every Sunday for the past few weeks and I have seen a difference in my skin, the pores on my nose are less noticeable, and my skin feels more soft and supple. If you're ever looking for a deep cleansing mask I really recommend this one, and it's only £1! It's great value for money, I normally get 2 uses out of one sachet.

What's your favourite face mask?
Love, Jasmine x

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, I purchased the face mask with my own money. 

Life Lately - February

Life Lately is going to be a monthly post telling you what I've been up to, where I've been and things I've loved. 

1. At the start of this month I went to see Rizzle Kicks live, it was absolutely amazing! I wish I had an outfit post for you but I couldn't take many pictures. It was the second time I've seen them as I went to their first tour back in 2012, but they're one of few singers who sound exactly the same as their CD's, no auto tuning!

2. I had to do a make-up assessment at college this week and this is how it turned out! I went for a photo shoot kind of look, although I think the blush could've been stronger, it went really well and I got a distinction!

3. I promised myself I would read more this year so I spent most of the money I received for Christmas on books! My favourite book this month is Divergent by Veronica Roth. I've also read Insurgent but I preferred Divergent. I love the portrayal of the main character, Tris, and of Four. I'm really looking forward to reading Allegiant (the next book) when I finally get round to buying it. 

4. I've been experimenting a bit with blusher this month as I normally wouldn't wear any. I bought the Natural Collection Blush in Peach Melba (link), which used to be something that was featured on blogs a lot but I've not seen any one talk about it for a while, even though it's only £1.99! It's a lovely colour and the only thing I don't like about it is the packaging. The pan has fallen away from the plastic container so whenever I turn it it's falling out and I'm afraid it's going to smash! Another product I've been loving is the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (link). I got this back in October when I went to ProBeauty North, it's the only time I've ever seen NYX in the UK! If anyone knows where I can get NYX products without expensive post & packing, please let me know in the comments! I put a little bit on my inner corners and smudge it out with a pencil brush for a nice bright-eyed awake look. The mascara I've been loving the Avon Super Extend Mascara in Black (similar here). It's perfect at separating my lashes and giving them that extra boost of length and volume. 

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
What have you been up to this month?
Love, Jasmine x


Tweet me @allthingsb
Contact me at andallthingsbeauty@gmail.com

Haul #1

So, I've been naughty yet again and spent money! I swear I have some kind of problem, as soon as I get money it's gone. I popped into town with my mum this past weekend and picked up a few things there.

Miss Sporty - Studio Colour Mono Eye Shadow in 113 Classy (link) and Lasting Colour Polish (link)

Rimmel 60 Seconds in 713 Little Bo Peep (link)

Firstly I went into Superdrug on a mission to find a similar eye shadow to one I have from No7 which is years old and needs chucking out but I recently discovered a love for the colour! I looked at every single eye shadow in the shop and eventually found a similar colour from Miss Sporty. It's not a brand I'd usually go for (except the nail polishes) but it was the closest I could find and has good pigmentation. The packaging is a bit shabby in my opinion but I plan on buying a Z-Palette in the near future and depotting it into there. There was an offer on so I also picked up a nail polish from the same brand. I can't find a number or a name for it though which is a shame but I think it looks quite similar to the new Tanya Burr Nail Polish in Duck Egg. I also picked up another nail polish in Boots by Rimmel because I've been looking for a nice light grey colour recently and this one seemed perfect. 

St. Ives Apricot Scrub (link) Simple Kind to Skin Facial Wipes (link) Montagne Jeunesse Face Masks (link)
I picked up a few skincare items, I've recently made the swap from Boots own face wipes to these Simple ones so I thought I'd stock up. They're more expensive than the Boots ones but they're worth it. The St. Ives Apricot Scrub is a repurchase, it's my favourite face scrub from anything I've tried, it makes my skin feel soft and supple after using. I got the blemish fighting formula as I've been suffering with a few blemishes lately and I'm hoping this will help. I picked up three Montagne Jeunesse face masks in Asda, the Tea Tree Face Spa, which is a sheet mask, I've had a few times before and it smells amazing, just like spearmint gum. The White Chocolate Ultra Deep Cleansing Masque, to deep cleanse my skin and hopefully unblock my pores. I also got the Blemish Mud mask for the same purpose, it's a lot stronger than the Chocolate mask so I'm hoping it will help. It contains Aloe Vera and Witch Hazel which are good for blemish-prone skin but can sometimes be a bit harsh, so I'll be following with a heavy moisturizer after this.

Purse and Necklace - Primark
I needed a new purse as mine is falling apart so I went into Primark and found this one on sale for only £3! It's got a lot of card spaces inside which is good because I seem to carry a lot of crap in my purse! There's also a pocket at the back which is good for receipts or vouchers. I saw this necklace whilst I was walking to the tills and I just love the colour! It's a perfect mint green (although the picture doesn't seem it) and I've had a thing for gold jewelry recently so this is just perfect for me. It also came it a nude colour on a gold chain which my mum bought.

So that's all I've bought recently, not much but enough to empty my purse! What's caught your eye recently at the shops?
Love, Jasmine x

P.S. I know that my pictures aren't of the greatest quality but I'm trying to work with what I have at the minute, which is not a lot. Natural light and a Fujifilm Finepix Z. I'm saving for a new camera so hopefully the pictures will get better in time. 

Birthday Wishlist

My birthdays coming up soon and there's so many things I've been lusting after recently so I thought I'd show a little wishlist! Obviously I'm not expecting to receive all of these things as gifts but I've been writing things down on my Wunderlist app for a while and sharing them might give you inspiration of things to buy when you need a treat?

A lot of the things I'm lusting for are make up, but the two make up items that I've wanted for sooo long are MAC Eyeshadow in Sweet Lust and All That Glitters. I own some MAC shadows already that I bought when I went to New York last year and I was really impressed with the pigmentation and there's a huge choice of colours! I'd love to buy a 15 pan palette and be able to fill in but it's just so expensive! I'd also love to try one of Tanya Burrs new products, I think a lipgloss would be good as I don't own many lip products. 

One of my New Years resolutions was to read more books as I love reading but I just hadn't been making the time to do it. I'm currently reading Divergent by Veronica Roth and I love it so much that I've already bought the next book in the series, Insurgent, when it was on offer in Waterstones! So saying that receiving the next book, Allegiant, would be amazing! I'd also really like to read Beauty by Lauren Conrad and the Bobbi Brown Make Up Manual because as well as them being really interesting books about something I love, I think they'll help me with the Professional Make Ip course I've just started. 

I've currently got a thing for candles but I'm not able to burn them very often as my dad (a firefighter) has a thing about candles. I've been looking at wax burners and I think they're a great alternative. I've seen one in Asda Living for only £7! Saying that I smelt to Yankee Candle in Lime Vanilla whilst I was there and it was such a beautiful scent, a bit like the Soap & Glory Sugarcrush range but not as strong. They didn't have it in a wax tart but hopefully if I get a wax burner I'll be able to order it online.

What's on your wishlist?
Love, Jasmine x

P.S. I think I'll be blogging on Tuesdays and Fridays from now on. Hope you enjoy!