November Favourites

I can't believe it's Christmas time, December is definitely my favourite month of the year. I love getting my Christmas shopping done and visiting family, everything is very festive in the McKenna household at present. In my last post, November Empties I was fretting about getting my Christmas shopping sorted, I really shouldn't of worried at all. I'm almost half way there so hopefully by the end of next week I'll be sorted. I may of bought some bits for myself aswell so don't be too surprised if you see a Pre Christmas haul sometime soon. Tonight we are finally putting the Christmas tree up in my house, which I'm so excited about. My Mom has the nicest Christmas decorations around, maybe too many at times but the whole sitting room always looks fantastic. I seriously can't believe I'm sitting here writing my December faves for you guys, 2012 was such a quick year that went by ridiculously fast. At the end of the month, I'll be doing a 2012 favourites featuring all my favourite products from this year. I remember writing my 2011 faves which shows how quick the year has gone. There has been quite a number of products that I've been loving this month so let's get cracking.

Most of the products in this post haven't been featured in my past favourites, all except my Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation and Real Techniques brushes. The latter are my favourite makeup brushes ever, I've bought MAC brushes in the past and they don't compare. I find they shed ridiculous amounts and aren't worth the price at all. The buffing, powder and blush brush are stand outs from the range but I seriously love them all, I have no fault with them at all. I couldn't choose one to  feature in my November Favourites so I thought I'd mention the brand as a whole instead. If you purchase their brushes you won't be disappointed. Now onto a Christmas product, The Body Shop's Vanilla Bliss Body Butter* is from the brand's Seasonal collection. As I've said in previous posts I love products that are either Cinnamon or Vanilla scented as this falls into the latter category it ticks all the right boxes for me. This have a gorgeous sweet vanilla scent which doesn't smell artificial in the slightest. I love The Body Shop's body butters they are so moisturing which is much needed as my skin gets very dry around this time as of year like everyone else. I can see myself using this body butter all through this month, I'm in love with the shower gel of the same scent aswell. I may treat myself to one of the Vanilla Bliss gift sets closer to Christmas as I do think this scent will be a hit and will be almost impossible to get after Christmas. 

As I mentioned above I've had my Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation for a while now and I've included it in a Monthly Favourites post in the past. I stopped using it in favour of my Rimmel Match Perfection that I love too! I use the shade 2.0 which is a perfect match for my skin, from what I've seen they do numerous shades so there's sure to be one for everyone. They are also pretty generous with samples so if your not too sure on forking out for it, I recommend going in to get shade matched and try out the mini sample. This is what I did and I ended up being so pleased with it I had bought the full bottle come payday! The foundation itself is quite light but it gives a gorgeous even coverage which I need. I'd be happy to use this day or night which you can tell as I am nearly all out of the bottle. I'm going to repurchase this after Christmas when the new Naked Basics Eyeshadow Palette comes out, I think I need this in my collection. I can't get enough of Urban Decay's palettes I love them, I think I may be a tad bit obsessed with them. I purchased the Sleek Contour Kit while I was in Manchester during the Summer. I use the shade Light which I find to be just right for me. I swipe my Real Techiques Contour Brush (Core Collection) across the bronzer, I only use the tiniest bit of this as it is very pigmented and I don't like the orange look too much. I use this to contour my cheekbones and my jawline, blending as I go. I love this product alot, I notice such a different when I don't use it. The powder highlighter in this kit is gorgeous aswell so believe when I say this product gets a lot of love. I wish we stocked this brand in stores over here as opposed to always having to purchase it online. I've been using this product a hell of alot during the month and there isn't a dip in it yet. I think that's good value value for money right there and I'll be definitely picking up another one of these when over the other side of the pond early next year.

I'm almost sure that Loreal Paris Elnett Satin hairspray* is only the second hairspray to make it on to my blog. I know you are going to be shocked to here I hardly ever use them. I just don't like how it sometimes leaves my hair feeling as stiff as a rock which is seriously not the look I tend to go for. Like a lot of girls I know I have baby hair and because I have no fringe it doesn't blend into anything resulting in me looking absolutely ridiculous. When I straighten my hair, these tiny bits of hair are the torn in my shoe, they stick up making  me look like Alfalfa (Little Rascals anyone?) I've had people comment on it in college, as soon as I went home out came the hairspray like lightning. I was surprised when I first used this product as it doesn't leave my looking or feeling stiff. Being a ultra fine spray it leaves my hair looking nice and shiny whilst holding the style in place which is the most important thing. If you live in Dublin you'll know that during the Winter months it's unbelieveably windy, I don't like arriving at my destination with my hair looking like a bird's nest. Next time I'm in Boots I'm going to buy the full sized can maybe at the Dublin Blogger Meet Up tomorrow who knows.

Lastly I've featured three makeup products in this month's favourites and there all for the eyes. Over the past month I've been using them all to create my everyday eye look. The NYC HD Colour Quad in Best of Broadway* contains four pretty neutral shades that will in my opinion suit anybody. I never steer far way from the old trusted natural eye look so this palette is perfect for me. All the shadows are well pigmented which is amazing for a eyeshadow palette that retails for €3.49, seriously what a bargain. I think this would be great to throw in your makeup bags on holidays or nights out, if you lost it you'd be able to replace it with no hassle whatsoever. I hate when I lose eyeshadows from MAC as I always feel like I have to spend a small fortune to replace them which I probably do! I'm going to do a full post with a Face of the Day showing you the look I come up with using this palette. Sometimes I feel this brand can be looked over but it seriously is a big contender with some of their products, I think there great. I've been pairing this look with a small stroke of Soap & Glory's SuperCat Liquid Eyeliner on the lash line and Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara*. The latter has been a lifesaver for me as you probably all know by now I lost some of my lashes after my friend applied fake eyelashes on me wrong. I know it was a complete nightmare, now that my lashes are growing back I've been trying to find a mascara to make the best of them and I think I've found it. Eyes To Kill gives my lashes a boost with length and volume, leaving them looking amazing. I know this mascara is expensive but it is definitely a holy grail product for me and I'd no problem forking out the money for this, though I will have to wait for payday! It took me a while to try Soap & Glory's SuperCat liquid eyeliner as I wasn't too sure if it was going to be any use or not. After reading a few reviews I'm glad I did. This stuff doesn't budge all day and it has such a fine nib which makes drawing the line a doddle, even for people like me who don't have the steadiest hand. I also love Soap & Glory's packaging and it's no different with this product. I've already bought two of their Boots eyeshadow sets, both gifts for people for Christmas, the palettes contain this eyeliner and I hope both girls love it as much as I do.

Well that comes to the end of my November Favourites, I can't believe my next one will be at the beginning of 2013. Unless your one of these peope that think the world is going to end in like a week??!! I have such a busy week ahead of me, with college, some events and on Wednesday I'm going to see Florence & the Machine!! I'm so unbelieveably excited I can't wait, I've had my tickets since August and the concert has come around so fast. It's a fancy dress themed concert so if you have any suggestions on what I should dress up as let me know. I'm absolutely rubbish at dressing up I just don't like it at all, so your comments will be so helpful indeed.

Are you all sorted for Christmas? What made it into your November faves?

Laura<3

November Empties

I can't believe it's exactly three weeks and counting til Christmas, can't you tell I'm very excited. The only thing I need to do now is start buying presents for people. I'm not going lie when it comes to this time of year I leave everything til last minute which is never a good idea. I always get things done in the end which is the main thing. I'm currently writing a list names of people I still need to get presents for and it's growing by the minute. I decided to take a quick break from all that and show you guys my November Empties. I've definitely used up alot more products than I did in October. I guess I wanted to make room for all my Christmas presents! I have quite alot of shower products in my empties this month. This seems to be the case every month, either a hoard of shower products or skincare. Funny I may mention the latter as skincare bits will be featured in this post also, surprise surprise!

My first two empties are shower gels, one is from Bath & Body Works while the other is from Philsophy. I like both of these alot, they've both lasted me ages which is a surprise as everyone uses my shower gels in my house Cinnamon and Vanilla are my favourite scents so of course I was going to love Cinnamon Buns from Philosophy. This can be used as a shampoo, bubble bath and shower gel, I've been using mine as the latter of the three. I like how it's a multi purpose product, I doubt I'd ever use it in my hair though. As you probably all know Bath & Body Works isn't available in Ireland (BOO!) which is a shame for us as it's such a gorgeous brand. My lovely Youtuber friend Chie from the States sent me over the Pink Chiffon shower gel with a few other products from the range a while back. The Pink Chiffon scent is gorgeous and I wish I hadn't run out of this as it's going to be impossible to pick up over here. At least I still have a body lotion and triple moisture cream in the same scent to keep me going for another bit. My last shower empty is The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach Body Scrub. In October I bought this and the body butter in the same scent as they were on special. If you love peaches, you'll love this! I always fly through scrubs in general, so I finished this one quite quick too. I probably will buy this or another Body Shop scrub soon, I have my eye on the Vanilla Bliss scrub from their Christmas collection. I just wish they weren't so ridiculously expensive. As you can see I photographed a deoderant in with my shower empties aswell. I just thought it would fit in better here than in with the makeup. This can of Palmolive Soft & Gentle Sensual Aromatherapy last me for ages. The scent is Wild Rose & Vanilla which I'm undecided on. I like Vanilla scented things but I didn't get a whiff of it from this, it definitely smells more like rose in my opinion. That's not saying I wouldn't purchase this again, it just didn't really grow on me this time around.

Next I'm going to show you guys my skincare empties which consists of three cleansers and a moisturiser. I'm by no means finished all of the cleansers during the month of November, I've had these for a while. First up is my favourite cleanser of all times, the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish I've done a full review of this on my blog previously which you can see here. This is my fourth bottle of this amazing cleaner and I'll have to buy a replacement very soon. My skin always feels nice and squeaky clean after I use this as it takes my makeup off really well. A product I didn't like too much and I couldn't wait to be done with is the Boots Botanics Gentle Cleansing Cream. This by no means gentle on the skin. I ran out of my micellar solution during the month and I decided to give this a try and I can't say I was overly impressed with it at all. It claims to be for sensitive skin which I don't suffer with but I do tend to get reactions to products now and again. My face was left fairly red after using this cleanser and it didn't take my makeup off at all. I don't have anything good to say about this, it was definitely a waste of money on my part. I should of just bought another micellar solution as my skin gets on so well with them. The last cleanser I finished up this month is the Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel. I got this as a part of a set before I went to Manchester in July. I didn't start using it right away so that's why I'm only finished it now. This cleanser reminds me of  Bobbi Brown's Balm Rinse as it smells quite similar to it. The product itself is a thick gel which I apply to dry skin. When in contact with water this loosens the product up so it's easier to work into the skin. I really enjoyed using this cleanser and I would buy it again if it wasn't so expensive at around the €30 mark. The last skincare empty I have to show you is a moisturiser which is the La Roche Possay Effaclar Mat. I have oily/combination skincare that can look very shiny indeed. I've been using this moisturiser along with a primer before I put my makeup on and it leaves my skin looking nice and shine free! Effaclar Mat is such a lovely make up base, I'm so glad I got the chance to try it. It's not too expensive either from what I can remember so I imagine this will be making its way into my shopping bag very soon.

Lastly we have some makeup, well some 2 makeup bits and a nail polish remover. I'm going to start with the latter from Bourjois which is their Magic Nail Polish Remover. I really love this stuff alot as it's takes the hassle out of removing my nail polish entirely.The products lifespan was cut short though as I ended up spilling it absolutely everywhere in my room I don't recommend leaving the lid off this at all as it does contain liquid nail polish removers in it. I tipped off it by a complete accident and I ended up making a mess. Now last but definitely not least, my two makeup empties. The Clinique Bottom Lash mascara has served me very well indeed. I don't know what I'd do without it now, it's great how it's small enough to reach my tiniest lashes. I'm not the biggest fan of Clinique skincare at all as I had a really bad reaction to their products as a teen. I stayed away from the brand since then and the Bottom Lash Mascara had been my first purchase from them in literally years. I actually seen a set which includes this mascara as well as other mascara samples from the brand so I may pick this up instead of buying this individually again. My second makeup empty and the last product to be featured in this Empties post is MAC's Nubile Paint Pot. This came out in a Limited Edition collection last year called Posh Paradise along with numerous other paint pots. I picked up three from the collection itself but Nubile was by far my favourite. It's a natural peachy shade so it  was easy to wear everyday. I'm disappointed that it was limited edition as I would of definitely repurchased it again. I'm going to buy Painterly the next time I'm at a MAC counter, it's very similar to Nubile I think so it will be a great replacement. I just hope I don't get side tracked while I'm there and buy some bits from this years Christmas collection. I've seen it walking by at a glance and it looks so pretty.

What products have you used up this month? Do you enjoy Empties posts?

Laura<3

November Empties!

I've only finished three products this month which I feel is a fail as two of them were mini products. Things have been certainly going downhill since I finished seven products last month.

Benefit Dandelion Blush

I love this blush it's a gorgeous light pink shade that I find suits me very well. One of these blushes lasts for ever, but I'm still kind of disappointed I used it all up. The only thing I don't like about this product is the hefty price tag of €33.50. Very expensive don't you think?

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

This has been my favourite cleanser for a while now. The minute I finished this I rushed out to buy a full sized bottle. I love how it removes every trace of my makeup, aswell as being very gentle on my skin. I did a full review on this product that you can check out here

Benefit  It's Potent! Eye Cream
This is another product I loved from Benefit. I use this before I go to bed at night and my eyes feel so refreshed the next morning. This eye cream also smells so nice which is a added plus. I'd consider buying the full size jar of  It's Potent! eye cream but again the price (€33.00) is a big factor. I may pop it on my christmas list.

What products have you finished in November?? Have you used any of these products?


Laura<3