So it has been a while.../My Beauty Favourites

This past 4 months have just flown by and in that time I have been one busy bee. I won't go into the details because frankly, they are not that exciting, but I did want to start this post by telling you all about my 2015 highlights so far.

Back in February, I went to see Lionel Richie in concert and I am not exaggerating when I say that it was the best concert I have ever been to. Mr Richie is the ultimate entertainer and I will forever be a fan, dancing on the ceiling, listening to his hits. 

In march, after not seeing my best friend since last June, I finally made the nine hour train trip to London for a long weekend with Rebecca. We had cocktails in Shoreditch, went shopping at Convent Gardens, Oxford Street, Harrods and Liberties, and had a Alice in Wonderland inspired Afternoon Tea at The Conrad Hotel. A weekend with Rebecca would not be the same without a lot of gin and a lot of Naps, so this was a perfect weekend away. 

This year looks to be filled with more exciting experiences and trips away with another trip to London planned, The Foo Fighters and perhaps a holiday in the sun.

The next part of this post is all about what I've been loving this year so far in the beauty department. I have been embracing no makeup days and my skin looks and feels better for it. My number one cleanser for the past few months has been Lush Ultrabland. This gentle and oily balm textured cleanser is made with beeswax and rose and is brilliant at taking off all traces of makeup and leaving your skin feeling cleansed but soft. The oily-ness really put me off to start with, but please give this cleanser a chance to work its magic. My breakouts are at a minimum and my blackheads are pretty much gone after using Ultrabland for just over a month. 

For days when I need a little coverage to keep redness at bay, I have been grabbing either my Dior Skin Nude BB Creme or Nars Pure Radiance Tinted Moisturiser. Both of these beautiful bases have featured on GS many times over the years and I still continue to love and repurchase them. Both are light coverage foundations and both give a healthy glow to my complection. 

The eye palette I have been reaching for most days is the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2. Six matte neutral shades to compliment my big blue eyes, I love putting stark all over the lid and cover in the outer V and in the crease to give a bit of definition. 

I recently spent five hours in the hair salon getting my hair bleached and toned and I am super happy with the results. I just love being a blonde! The product that I have been reaching for to keep brassiness at bay is, Lush Daddy-O purple shampoo. This hair care treat smells just like Parma Violets and the fragrance perfumes your hair all day. It also does a pretty amazing job at brightening, moisturising and strengthening my blonde hair using Violet Leaf Absolute, Lemon and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.

Both my hands and body have been needing some extra TLC these last couple of months after becoming quite dry, probably due to the change in weather. (Aberdeen tends to have all 4 seasons in a day.) The hand cream I have been keeping on me at all times, is the Morrocan Tea Hand Cream from And Other Stories, it smells delicious and keeps my hands from becoming scaley and sore. The body moisturiser I have been loving and repurchasing every few weeks is King of Skin Body Butter from Lush. (Surprise! Another Lush treat.) The Lush body butters are incredible solid bars made from butters and oils to moisturise and condition the skin. King of Skin is made with a blend of; Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Bananas, Avacado, Oatmilk and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to leave the skin feeling soft and hydrated all day. 

I have been using and loving lots of other products but these are the stand outs that really deserve some recognition. I am wanting to blog a lot more from now on, time depending, but I would love it if you guys could give me some blog post ideas in the comments and inspire and motivate me to keep posting. 

The Sunday Post / Skin Care Favourites

Now that the Christmas festivities and New Years Eve Parties are left in 2014, it is time to focus on giving myself a healthier complexion and treating my skin to daily pamper sessions. Here are the products I like to use during my morning and evening routine;

Morning

Lush Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser 

This is an amazing morning cleanser, due to its fresh ingredients and mild exfoliant. I have sang the praises of this cleanser before (here) but it is still a permanent step in my morning skin care routine. Lavender and Rose work together to balance complexion and reduce redness, kaolin deep cleanses the skin and ground almonds act as a mild exfoliant. Angels on Bare Skin has transformed my skin type from being oily and blemish prone to normal and silky smooth. 

Lush Eau Roma Toner Water

This is a new addition to my skin care routine but it is working wonders when paired with Angels on Bare Skin, it is a lavender and rose water based toner water that smells incredible but also refreshes and soothes the skin after cleansing. 

Lush Cosmetic Lad Moisturiser 

Another new product that was recommended to me by a friend, is the Cosmetic Lad Moisturiser. This is a lovely hydrating cream that mattifyes the skin, in preparation for adding primer or foundation. 

Lush Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask 

My current Face Mask of choice recently has been the Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask. There is clearly a theme running through my morning skincare routine. Love Lettuce does not list lettuce as one of its ingredients but it does contain lavender. Kaolin, honey, fillers earth and ground almond shells work with the lavender to help absorb excess oil and deep cleanse and finely polish the skin. This a beautifully scented and refreshing mask that I enjoy using every time. 

Evening

Garnier Miceller Water 

I am a big fan of this great value Miceller water and it is perfect for removing eye makeup before a cleanse. It is super gentle and effective and I can't rave about it enough. 

Liz Earl Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 

My preferred evening cleanser is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. This breaks down makeup like nothing else and leaves your skin deeply cleansed and refreshed. Again this is another lavender and rose based product, but my skin just loves lavender. It is super satisfying seeing all your makeup come off onto a muslin cloth when using this cleanser. 

Lush Tea Tree Toner Water

I have repurched this toner again and again because of its antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. It is great for refreshing skin after cleansing and removing any bacteria that may still be lurking.

Lush Gorgeous Moisturiser 

Gorgeous is a beautiful rich moisturiser, perfect for use as a night cream/evening moisturiser. Lush have used the best of the best ingredients in this beautiful moisturiser and it the neroli in there helps it smell devine. This is definetly one of my favourite Lush products. 

Since using this routine, my skin is at its best, looking fresh, healthy, with a normal complection. What skin savours would you reccomend?

Valentines Day 2015 at Lush

After seeing and smelling how amazing the Lush Christmas collection was, I was excited to see their special valentines day offerings, and I was not dissapointed. There is plenty of love hearts and glitter and sensual jasmine amongst the Lush Valentines Day 2015 launch, which is available from Friday the 9th of January. The collection includes, bath bombs, bubble bars, a shower gel, a beautiful soap, and some kissable lip products.

Love Locket

A huge Jasmine, Vanilla and Neroli scented Bath Bomb that is big enough for two baths, or use the whole thing for a luxurious treat. Love locket contains a smaller bath bomb within, filled with Agar hearts for an extra romantic touch. 

Floating Flower

This beautiful floral bath bomb creates a colourful spectacle when placed slowly into the bath. It shares the same fragrance as the Flying Fox shower gel, a favourite of those Jasmine lovers.

Unicorn Horn 

My favourite product from the Valentines collection is the Unicorn Horn, with its rainbow colours and silver lustre. This bubble bar contains Lavender Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil and Neroli Oil, which makes a relaxing, comforting and uplifting bubble bath. 

Lonely Heart

This little sparkly love heart packs a beautiful fragrant punch with its Bergamot Oil, Rose Absolute and Jasmine. As well as creating lovely fluffy bubbles, Lonely Heart contains Corn Flour as an ingredient, which helps to keep your skin lovely and soft.

Heart Throb Bubbleroon

I adore the look and smell of this Bubbleroon! Two red love hearts glued together with golden, glittery Cocoa butter. Bubbleroons contain many beautiful essential oils and skin softening ingredients and Heart Throb shares the same subtle scent as the African Paradise Body Conditioner. Organic Shea Butter, Fair Trade Vanilla and Frangipani Absolute, come together to create this beautiful fragrance. 

Cupid's Love

This is a lovely, fruity scented, heart shaped soap made with nourishing Coconut Oil and Soya Yoghurt to soften the skin. Fresh figs and passion fruit juice create a unique fruity fragrance, along with a Rosewood Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil and Bergamot Oil.

Prince Charming

Prince Charming is our Valentines Day Shower Gel, with a unique tart, yet sweet scent. Fresh Organic Pomegranate Juice and Grapefruit blended with Marshmallow Root, Fair Trade Vanilla and Almond Oil, create this special must-have shower gel. 

The Kiss Lip Scrub 

I am a huge fan of the Lush lip scrubs, with their Caster Sugar and Jojoba Oil base, they help to create perfectly buffed lips for adding a bold lipstick. The Kiss Lip Scrub is a lovely candy pink with a sherberty, sweet scent and taste, it reminds me a lot of Love Heart Sweets. When you open your little jar, it has edible red hearts and sugar sprinkles. 

There are also some amazing gifts that have been created and put together for Valentines day that I would love to receive. Lush always get it right when it comes to putting products together to create the perfect gift that will suit many different tastes. What product are you looking forward to most from the newest Lush Launch?

Party Season Red Lips #Blogmas2014

I love to rock a red lip all year round, but during the Christmas party season, red is always the colour of choice. Adding a little bit of red lippy can transform your look from being casual, to wow in one easy application. These are my favourite all time reds and I think they have a lot in common?

Lush Liquid Lipstick Strong

My first product from Lushes Emotional Brilliance make-up range was this orange toned red, liquid lipstick in the shade strong. I love both the staying power, and the hydration that these lip colours give. The range has a number of wonderful lip colours that I adore but it is this shade strong that stood out to me. 

Topshop Lips Rio Rio

An oldie, but a goodie that has stood the test of time and has been featured on Georgina Sparkles since this blog began! It is a matte true red that suits all complections and makes teeth look whiter. I will be sad if I ever found out they had discontinued this beaut! 

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks In Love with Ginger

I was obsessed with this launch last year and bought a number of shades from the range. My favourite? Of course it has to be this orange toned red In Love with Ginger, with great pigmentation and a formula that is not entirely matte, it has been a permanent addition to my collection ever since. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Hot Pepper 

I have spoken, at length about my obsession for these lipsticks. They featured in my November favourites and my Winter lipstick top picks post, so I won't go into to much detail about it, but, they are the perfect liquid lipstick, great pigmentation, nourishing on the lips and of course, they stay around all day! 

Mac Lady Danger

My only Mac red is Lady Danger, Surprise surprise, it is another orange toned bright red shade. 

Matte? Check. Pigmented? Check. and great lasting power? Check. I will be repurchasing this bad boy again and again. 

Lush Snow Fairy #Blogmas2014

Tis the season... To grab a bottle of the candy floss scented, bubblegum pink, glittering shower gel from Lush.

Every Christmas, Lush launch their highly coveted and much loved shower gel, Snow Fairy. Customers come in all year round looking for the shower gel, but it is only available during the Christmas period. (Although, there are some products from our permanent range that share the beautiful candy scent that everyone loves.) It is my favourite shower gel for a reason and I already onto my second bottle.

This year they have improved on the formula slightly and added an ingredient that helps the glitter to suspend throughout the whole shower gel, instead of collecting at the base of the bottle. Lush have also brought out a few familiar and some completely new products, for Christmas, that share the same sweet smell;

Christmas:

Father Christmas Bath Bomb

Snow Fairy Sparkle Massage Bar

Magic Wand Re-usable Bubble Wand

Permanent Range:

The Godmother soap

Mmmelting Marshmallow Moment 

Are you a big fan of Snow Fairy? Have you picked up a bottle this Christmas?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas #Blogmas2014

I have been adding a few festive details around my flat to get into the Christmas spirit. Decorating for Christmas is one of my favourite past times; putting up the Christmas tree while watching Home Alone, lighting the advent candle at tea time, and wrapping up all my Christmas presents, while singing along to a music channel Christmas special.

My flatmate has let me decorate the flat and I'm sure he is loving all the tinsel and candles. I have been loving buying my own decorations this year, choosing the colour theme, and hanging Christmas lights.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas:

I love all my Christmassy bits and bobs! All the knitted cuties, and my amazing Christmas jumper were actually home made by my Granny!

Festive Nails #Blogmas2014

I love that the nail game is raised in winter. Shades get deeper and everyone loves a little bit of glitter! My go to nail colour this AW14 so far has been Essie's Bordeaux, a deep burgundy shade, with a beautiful glossy finish.

I love Essie polishes, as they give opaque coverage in two coats and your nails remain chip free a few days longer than other nail polish formulas I have tried.
On my accent nail, Kim K style, I have used a Barry M Nail Paint in Majesty. I love this gold glitter as it is thick and opaque in one coat. 

This is the perfect Christmas party nail combination, dramatic with a hint of sparkle! 

Hope you guys are enjoying the party season!