September 2015 Birchbox

It's a special month for Birchbox UK as it's their fifth birthday! My Birchday Birchbox arrived today in the most cutest box with some exciting products inside.

July 2015 Birchbox

I've recently re-subscribed to Birchbox which is a monthly subscription service, where you receive a box of five beauty samples and a lifestyle product. It is £10 a month plus £2.25 P&P. I received the July 'box' last night and was so excited when I opened it, it is the best box I have ever received.

Transition Into Autumn // Makeup

Autumn is right around the corner - yay - so I thought I'd round up a few products which are perfect for Autumn as they're all warm and earthy shades.

Birthday Make Up

As promised here is the make up I wore on my birthday!

July 2014 Birchbox

YesterdayI received the July Birchbox and when I opened it I was quite pleased with the contents. I definitely preferred this box to the June box and will most definitely get use out of everything in here.

June 2014 Birchbox

I've been wanting to try out a beauty subscription box for a while now so I thought I'd go ahead and try out Birchbox. I was hoping to get a beauty blender which I knew was in the June box, but unfortunately I didn't get it, but I guess that's part of the game of a subscription box.

FOTD #6

Here's a face of the day from last Saturday when I went to The Fable for dinner and drinks to celebrate my friend's birthday. I went for a full face but while still looking quite natural.

January Favourites

Woo, time for January favourites! I have all but one new products to talk about today. I tend to get a whole new bunch of stuff at the beginning of the year (mainly cos I go crazy in the sales, as seen here).

FOTD #5

Woah, I haven't done a face of the day post since April! My bad... Anyway, I thought I'd share with you all the look I wore to a philosophy seminar (yup) and dinner with uni friends.

2013 Favourites Make Up - Face

Today I'll be covering my stand out face products from 2013. I've talked about these products on my blog before, so again, I won't go into too much detail.

What I Got For Christmas 2013

Well, Christmas is over, boo, but I had a very lovely day. And I received some very lovely gifts so I thought I'd share them today (plus as this is like my online diary, it's nice to be able to look back and remember).

Benefit Dallas

I forgot to mention Benefit Dallas in my last monthly favourites so I thought I'd give it a quick but worthy mention.

Review: Benefit That Gal Brightening Face Primer

Hey everyone! So today I thought I'd share my views on one of my favourite products from Benefit - the That Gal Brightening Face Primer.

Collective Haul

Hola! So, I've been spending again... there's a shock. But this wasn't all done at once, more like the past few weeks so it's okay...

FOTD #4

My Go-To Products and Tools

Short Trip, Long Journey Essentials

I'm finally going to see my Booba (Emma ;) ) up in Scotland! I'll be going on the coach with my friend Chloe, yes, the coach, from London, our poor butts are going to be subjected to almost 11 hours of numbness. But it's worth it! For this quick post I'm just going to be showing you what I'll be taking with me for my weekend trip. We're leaving London at 1am and arriving in Scotland at around 12pm on Friday then on our way back we'll be leaving Scotland at around 11pm and arriving in London before 7am on Monday, fun times.

Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Cream Wash - Simple Cleansing Wipes - Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub - Nuxe Reve De Miel - Origins Drink-Up Intensive Mask - L'Occitane Shea Butter - Nivea Creme - Alien Thierry Mugler - Garnier Eye Roll On - Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter - Bath and Body Works Midnight Pomegranate Body Butter

MUA Undressed Palette - Sephora Eyelash Curler - Dr Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream - ELF Coral Mineral Blush - Collection Concealer - Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - Revlon Just Bitten Stains Crush and Honey - Maybelline Gel Eye Liner - ELF Eyelid Primer - Benefit Highbrow - Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil - Rimmel Scandal Eyes Black Eye Pencil - MAC Sunny Seoul

For the long coach rides I need some reading material and music so I'm bringing along a couple copies of Empire, The Tempest (I have to read it for audition preparation, sigh), my iPad, iPod as I don't want to kill my phone's battery and iPhone. 

I apologise for the evidently rushed post and photos, I have a long, busy day today, but I wanted to blog before I left.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! I'll have some sort of photo diary up next week after I come back to London, be prepared to be jealous of photos of beautiful waterfalls and lochs ;)

-Kiran xo

2012 Favourites

I didn't have any particular December favourites, so I decided to gather my favourites of 2012, hope you enjoy :)

Hand/Nail Care

Soap and Glory Hand Food - You've heard me ramble on about this before. Best hand cream ever.
OPI Nail Envy - Amazing base coat - it strengthens your nails (not that mine needed strengthening, but it still made a difference to my nails).
Sally Hansen Problem Cuticle Remover - Manicures made easy. This is a great product to help get rid of those pesky hangnails and such.
Bath and Body Works Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel - I am a little bit of a germaphobe (touching, OCD...) I travel on the buses a lot, so a hand gel is very important to me. I go through the stuff like crazy (more than any normal person should, I admit). I like the Bath and Body Works ones as they're so cute and small and they smell amazing.
Ever Since Mineral Cuticle Treatment - A lovely cuticle oil, helps moisturise the cuticles and keep them looking purdy.
C.O Bigelow Rose Salve - I use this salve at night times on my cuticles for extra moisturising.

Body/Lip Care

Soap and Glory Heel Genius - A foot cream...it's good, I promise.
Carmex - My trusty tattered carmex tub still going strong, and I am still loving it.
Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip Balm - Best. Lip. Balm. Ever. It is so soft and it smells divine. It glides on the lips like a dream.
Soap and Glory - Righteous Butter - one of the best body moisturisers I have ever used, absolutely love it and oh, the smell...
Korres Lip Butters - I have Wild Rose and Jasmine (which was hiding in one of my bags), these lip butters are wonderful, so moisturising and I love the tint they give to the lips.

Shower Stuff

Soap and Glory Clean On Me - I adore this shower cream, so moisturising, cleansing and smells ah-mazing.
Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean - I really enjoy using this cleansing milk whilst in the shower, it feels really nice on the skin and again just smells so good. As soon as I started using it, I felt my skin felt cleaner and brighter.
Soap and Glory Flake Away - One of the best body scrubs ever. It's not too gritty, and it leaves the skin feeling so moisturised - and guess what? ... It smells so damn good.
Moroccan Oil - This product has changed my life, no it hasn't, but it has made my hair softer and curls bouncier. Review here

Make Up - Face

Dior Skin Nude Foundation - I j'adore Dior this foundation (see what I did there?). The colour is perfect for me, it feels good on the skin, it's a good coverage, leaves the face glowing and blends in very well.
Dior Bronzer - An amazing bronzer, it's matte, which is perfect for contouring. It has been my saviour these past few Winter months - my skin has lacked colour, and this has just brought the colour back in my face.
Sleek Face Form Kit - I love the highlighter in this kit, it's so lovely. I also like the contouring shade for my nose, but I'm not the biggest fan of the blush colour.
Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - A really lovely foundation, it brings life back into your face and leaves you looking wide awake (even when you're not.) Review here.
Smashbox Blush in Radiance - A really pretty pink blush, it's just a good, plain pink. I love the colour pay off, it's not powdery  and you can definitely build it up...which I'm not sure you'd want to do unless you're going for a Barbie doll look.
Benefit Dallas Blush - A lovely, purpley blush. It's just perfect for those days when you want colour but not an in-your-face colour like the Smashbox one for example.

Make Up - Lips

Yes, the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains made it to my yearly favourites and took the crown for longest name in the world. You knew this was coming. I absolutely love these things. I just can't praise them enough, yes, still. The colours are great, they last such a long time and they are a balm so they moisturise too! A win win if you ask me. These are so easy to apply which is great for when I quickly need to add some colour and moisture back into my lips in Law class when the teacher isn't looking...
Cherish - Crush - Sweetheart - Honey

These are the Mac lipsticks I've been loving this year.
Morange - This is such a bright, perfect orange. It's an Amplified lipstick so it's pretty bright and pigmented.
Sunny Seoul is the colour I have been wearing mostly during the days, it's just a nice, wearable everyday pink. It's a creme sheen finish so it's a bit more moisturising than the others but it also means it doesn't last the longest.
Impassioned - Also an amplified finish, this is just such a gorgeous pink/coral.

Illamasqua Magnetism - Of course this lipstick had to make the favourites, it's such a gorgeous colour! I just wish it lasted a bit longer on the lips though especially considering the price I paid.
L'Oreal Rouge Caresse in Aphrodite Scarlett - This was something I wore a lot during the Summer, it's a very pretty light, sheer colour which was perfect for the warmer months.
Make Up Forever Matte 5 - This is such a nice matte lipstick, the colour is so lovely, a really soft pink.

Make Up - Eyes and Brush

Maybelline Great Lash Blackest Black Mascara - A mascara I used a lot this year, it's pretty cheap and it worked really well with my lashes! To be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot from this, but I'm glad I picked it up as it really lengthens my lashes and definitely makes them look thicker.
L'Oreal Super Liner - This is such an easy product to use to line your eyes and create a flick. I definitely found it easy to use and I'm useless at eye liner.
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Highlighter - I was so excited when I got this but honestly, I hated it at first, turns out, I was using it when it wasn't best for me to use it. I now know to use this when I have minimum under-eye baggage going on, because then it works wonders. A lovely product, and lovely packaging.
Rimmel Scandal Eyes Pencil - You know I love this. Best eye pencil ever. Soft, very pigmented, lasts forever and easy to use.
Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil - I don't have huge problems with my eyebrows (only when I become chewbaca and need a trip to my beauticians ASAP) so this does me well. You get a brush with it too, which is great, especially for carrying around in your bag.
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - A great concealer for only £4.19, it beats my Make Up Forever Full Coverage which cost me around $30 I believe. This concealer covers whatever you need it to cover and lasts a long time.
Real Techniques Buffing Brush - I love this brush, it's so soft and great to blend in whatever foundation I am using.

Accessories

I got my Michael Kors Quilted Hamilton along with a purse and a watch for my 18th birthday from my mum and I absolutely love it. I wanted a Michael Kors bag for so long and when I saw this one, I knew it was the one I wanted. I think it looks classy and gorgeous and pulls any outfit together. I tend to only use it when I take a trip to Central London though as I feel like that's where it deserves to be used!

Topshop studded clutch - I love studs and I love clutches, so why not combine the both? This clutch has done me well since I have bought it, it's real leather, so it's going to last a decent amount of time, and it's just so gorgeous. It's really big too, I used it when I went to a premiere and I stuffed it to the brim and it still looked awesome.

ASOS Skull bracelet, Michael Kors Watch, Topshop Peace Earrings, Peace Bracelet from eBay, Topshop Studded/Spiked Bracelet.

I hope you enjoyed my rather long post! And more importantly, I hope you had a lovely 2012. Personally, I can't wait for 2013, I need a fresh new start, so I am hoping 2013 will offer that. I hope everyone has a beautiful new year filled with lots of happiness and peace.

-Kiran xo

Products I've Used Up #1

Versace Red Jeans 
My all time favourite perfume. I repurchase this perfume every single time it finishes, I think this is around my fifth bottle? It's my everyday perfume and yes, people do associate this smell with me. If someone is wearing this perfume and that person is not me, it is wrong!
Repurchase? Yes. Of course.
Recommend? No, it's mine. Haha, I'm joking, it's a lovely perfume, so I do recommend it and the price is so hard to beat.

Benefit That Gal Primer
I've had this primer for a while, and I was quite disappointed when I twisted the little twisty contraption (mmhmm) and nothing came out. I really like this primer, some days I would just wear it alone for a fresh, dewy look as it gives your skin a little more oomph.
Repurchase? Perhaps, it did last a long time but there are other primers I'd like to try out.
Recommend? Yes.

Blistex Intensive Moisturiser
This little thing lasted me quite a while, I used to put it on every night but now I use Nuxe Reve De Miel, so a bit of a step up. I did like this product though, and it really did leave my lips super soft.
Repurchase? If I ever need a quick lip treatment, then yes, and for the price, you can't go wrong.
Recommend? Yes.

Palmer's Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Lip Butter
I've also had this for a long time, I lost it about 700 times, and found it under my bed again. I love the smell of this and it feels quite nice on the lips. I wouldn't really call it a butter though, Korres Lip Butters..now that's what you call a Lip Butter.
Repurchase? Probably not.
Recommend? Perhaps, it's a nice product but not the best. But for the price, I don't see how you can go wrong.

Soap and Glory Hand Food
Best hand cream ever? Yes. Yes it is. I love this stuff, and if you haven't tried it, you have to. This leaves my hands feeling so so soft, and is right up there with the more expensive hand creams, I actually think I prefer this to a Rituals hand cream I had. It's not greasy, it's moisturising and it just smells so damn good.
Repuchase? I already had a back up before this finished, so yes, yes, yes.
Recommend? YES.

Chanel Sublime De Chanel Mascara.
This was my second tube of this mascara, it worked well with my eye lashes after it had been opened and left for a few weeks (which is so annoying, but it happens with most mascaras.) The mascara is good, coats the lashes nicely, but if you're after dramatic lashes, this probably isn't the best choice. I love the sleek packaging, so chic.
Repurchase? No. For a higher end mascara, I prefer Dior Blackout.
Recommend? Yes, it is a nice mascara, but I like big lashes.

It's a nice feeling finishing a product (unless it's expensive and beautiful, then it breaks my heart). But it is a nice feeling finally being able to throw away empty product packaging, out with the old and in with the new, oh yes.

Just five more days until Christmas! Wooo!

-Kiran xo

Life of Pi Premiere - Make Up & Accessories

Firstly, I primed my eyes with elf's eyelid primer, it's not the best, but not the worst. Then I applied shade four in the MUA Undressed palette all over the lid, then used shade eight to create a subtle smokey effect, I also took shade eight along the bottom lash line, I lined my water line with the Rimmel Scandal Eyes pencil, created a thin top liner and flick with L'Oreal's Super Liner, brushed through my eyebrows and filled them in a bit more darker than usual with Rimmel's eye brow pencil. I then applied a bit of white shadow from an elf palette into the inner corners, applied two generous coats of Maybelline's Great Lash mascara after curling my lashes and then concealed my under eyes with YSL's Touche Eclat.

To prime my face I used Benefit's Porefessional, then I applied Mica Bella's mineral powder foundation, I then contoured with Dior's bronzer, I highlighted and contoured my nose with Sleek's Face Form kit in Medium and then applied Benefit's Dallas to the apples of my cheeks.

For lips I used a beautiful, pink Chanel lipstick.

The perfume I used is one of my all time favourites, and something I only like to wear for special occasions or night outs (so...not often ;P ) Thierry Mugler's Alien. It's a musky, deep, heavy scent. I adore his perfumes.

For nails I put on Essie Ballet Slippers, one of my favourite nail polishes. Such a delicate colour.

I love these earrings from Forever 21,  I thought they went really nice with the dress.

I took my beautiful studded clutch from Topshop and I filled it to the brim. Yup. (I can't find the exact one I have, mine has silver studs and cost £40 but the one I linked is basically identical except it has gold studs.)

And here are my 'killer' heels from Office. I didn't fall, guys! That is an accomplishment. I am proud.

I hope you enjoyed this post! To read more about the premiere and to see my outfit click here. I hope you all had a lovely Monday/Tuesday (it's 2.30am, I'm just still so excited and happy so I can't sleep!)

-Kiran xo