Last Minute Christmas Wishing.

With only 3 days until Christmas, there isn't much left to check on my to do list other than to pick my Christmas Eve PJ's and jot down the grocery shopping list before the colossal Holiday cook off begins. As I'm officially done gift-shopping for my loved ones, today I thought it would be fun to share with you the products that made it to my current wishlist, as I always enjoy reading about what other people are wishing for - and, who knows, maybe some of you are still looking for some last minute inspiration...

Black Friday Deals : My picks.

If you're anything like me, you've spent the last few days adding things to various carts on about a hundred websites trying to decide what you really needed to buy on Black Friday. Now that the day has come, I find myself with said carts full to the brim and a mail box literally overflowing with offers that really doesn't help. I almost lost it this morning, I'll be honest, but then I took a deep breath and focused only on the best offers.

A November to do list.

Hello November!
Sad as it was seeing October go, as it's one of my favourite months of the year, I'm so ready to move onto bigger things, or rather with Halloween out of the way now it's perfectly acceptable to start feeling excited for Christmas. There're so many thing I look forward to in the next weeks: the lights, decorations popping up in every shop window, steaming cups of hot chocolate, buying gifts for the people I love... It's going to be a busy month. Here are 5 things on my to do list:

Lush Halloween haul.

It's that time of the year again, when Lush drops its Halloween and Holiday ranges and a trip to the closest store feels pretty much mandatory, especially since bath weather is finally upon us. Whether you celebrate Halloween and wait a whole year for the chance to show your spooky makeup skills, or you're only in for the candies and the pumpkin spice lattes like me, I'm fairly sure you'll agree that the chance for a lovely, extra cozy pampering bath is way too good to pass up on.

Made Me Happy This Week.

September is finally here! It almost felt like this scorching Summer would last forever and I'm honestly so excited to see the hot season come to an end - I'm aware that usually is the other way around and most wish for an endless summertime but I always struggle during the warmer months, as I feel sluggish, drowsy and very unproductive most of the time. I have great plans for the rest of the year and I look forward to wearing light knits, ankle boots and my favourite trench coat in the next weeks.

Four Favourites from The Ordinary.

Although I do love the occasional drugstore makeup gem, I can't say I've ever been truly interested in budget skincare, not when my face is involved at least. Mostly because cheaper brands have the tendency to add lots of artificial fragrances to their products that can aggravate my sensitive skin, and in general I've always believed that you get what you pay for and good ingredients don't come for free. Then The Ordinary happened and took by storm not just the whole beauty community but also my skincare cabinet, and made me completely rethink my attitude toward skincare.

What I love about the brand is their minimalist, no-nonsense approach to products: they got rid of all the unnecessary stuff, such as fancy packaging, superfluous ingredients, fragrance and the like, and  bottled up just the pure actives that are what the skin really needs. By doing so they allow you to target directly your own skin concerns and create your perfect skincare regime without breaking the bank. Brilliant!
I've been trying a few of their products for quite some time and these are my favourites so far.

The everyday radiant base.

Although I do enjoy constantly changing my base products just to keep things a little interesting, sometimes I find a combination that works wonders for me and I end up sticking to it and wearing it over and over again. This is one of those times and I really need to tell you all about it.

A Lush Spring haul.

When the weather outside is absolutely dreadful and it feels more like November than mid May, it's totally okay to hide in the bathroom all day, forget the rain outside and enjoy a whiff of spring in the shower. Or at least that's what I've been telling myself to justify the ridiculous amount of time I've been spending soaking in the bath ever since I've got my hands on the Lush Mother's day selection. I feel like I say it every single time but I mean it, this might be the best collection yet. I would even go as far as saying that it's the mother of all collections - get it?

Valentine's day treats.

Whether you like Valentine's day or the sighting of red hearts and stuffed animals is enough to ruin your mood for the whole week, you must agree it's the perfect opportunity to treat your loved ones and yourself to some beautiful goodies and new releases. As if we needed another excuse, right?

I've put together a quick post full of gift ideas that would be perfect to spoil yourself or a loved one with and of course as a last minute inspiration for the boyfriend.

Quick morning makeup.

Even if my sleeping routine is much more regular these days, I still struggle with being a morning person and sometimes early starts can be a real nightmare. On those days my quick makeup routine really comes in handy and allows me to get ready and be out of the door in a handful of minutes. Having a look in mind is key to save time and mine is quite minimal and only requires a few products: it's all about a beautiful, luminous base and perky pinks to look fresh and awake.

A few MAC essentials.

It seems every beauty addict had a MAC phase at some point in her life - mine was at the very beginning, when I was itching to put literally everything to the test and therefore basically burning all my pocket money trying to keep up with their monthly releases -. Even if it's been quite some time since I bought that first pot of Studio Sculpt concealer that started everything, my love affair with them and their cult products is still going strong, hence this emergency shopping trip to the closest counter when I realized I was running low on a couple must haves.

As soon as my old bottle gave out the last spray, I had to race out to buy a new Prep + Prime Fix +. This super fine mist has been a staple in my routine for many years, because it has so many different uses and it's incredibly versatile - it's an hydrating primer and an alcohol-free setting spray, it's great to dampen your sponge for flawless foundation application or your brushes to increase the intensity of powder eyeshadows, but it also works as a makeup refresher to bring back to life old, cakey makeup. I can't be without it.
Speaking of multi-purpose products, I'm just going to blame Nettart for my next purchase, as before I stumbled on her IG account I never felt the need to dive into the oil trend. She uses Essential Oils for pretty much anything, from hydrating base to mixing medium to create all kind of gorgeous concoctions - try mixing a drop with Vanilla or Tan pigment and get ready to swoon. 

Of course, I had to get one of the new shades of Strobe Cream, which is another cult favourite I always go back to. It's a light, non greasy moisturizer with a fluffy consistency that is dreamy mixed with foundation for gentle all-over luminosity, but I simply adore wearing underneath my base whenever my skin looks dull and lacklustre, as it instantly gives it a healthy, non shimmery glow.  I went for Silverlite which gives a lovely pearly glow to the skin and looks especially good on fair skin tones, but I've made a mental note to go back for Goldlite very soon - you know I do love everything golden and champagne when it comes to highlighters.

I also picked up a bottle of Studio Waterweight Foundation, as I was looking for a less glossy but equally natural-looking alternative to the Face & Body foundation for my kit and I wasn't disappointed. I really, really like this foundation, it has the most beautiful your skin but better finish and on closer inspection you can't really tell you're wearing any makeup. It's a light to medium coverage offering, definitely more suitable for everyday wear and dry to combination complexions, and I find it's best applied with a damp sponge that allows to get the most out of the coverage, while foundation brushes tend to keep it on the sheer side. I wish there was a shade lighter than NC15 because this is still a little too dark for me, but other than that I can't really fault this base.

Finally, I've been meaning to jump back on the fake lash train lately, so I grabbed a Lash Applicator on my way to the checkout - this is supposed to make full-strip lashes application smooth and totally hassle free, thanks to its ergonomic shape. I haven't been wearing falsies in a while, but hopefully this little handy tool will help me get back into the swing of things.

Have you picked up anything from MAC recently?

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