1st Birthday ~ Beauty_IWant is One Year Old!

So yesterday was my blogs first birthday! I genuinely can not believe it has been a whole 12 months since I decided I would start writing this little blog. And more than that I can't believe how far it has come. This time last year I never imagined I would have just under 100 people following me, and reading the post that I love to write. It's so strange to find that people enjoy reading what I have to say and I absolutely love being able to have this little space. 
It's my dream one day to be a writer and being able to express myself about the things I love and things that I go through really has helped me to develop my writing, it's style and myself too! 

I just wanted to thank everyone who has left me kind comments or liked my posts, it really is lovely to know that people like my content and I appreciate you all :)
I hope this year is just as good as the last if not better and I am not going anywhere! I love blogging even more now than I did when I started and only have more of a drive to continue. 

Stick around to find out how the second year of Beauty_IWant pans out, I hope it will be amazing!

I thought I would do a little round up of my favourite and your most loved posts, just to celebrate the journey of the past year.

It's so funny to look back and see how my format, theme and layout has changed. My writing style has definitely changed however is still the same in parts. I love how the aim of my blog was to allow myself a chance to be creative in a way I cant in my everyday life and how it also allows me to share my love of beauty and cosmetics with other like minded people :)
Overall I have to say the community it an amazing part of this 'world' we have online and I have met some lovely people so far.

I thought I would write out some aims for the next year so that I can look back and see how much further I have gotten with my blog in general.

• Take more time to participate in group chats e.g on Twitter, to meet more people.
• Be more organised and plan/draft posts so that I can post even when I don't feel up to it or have writers block.
• Put more effort into photography and present my post more aesthetically (I'm a graphics student fgs, I should do this automatically)
• Make more OOTD/FOTD, GRWM and follow me posts
• Expand on previous point and do more lifestyle posts!

So I'll check back this time in 2015!! and see how well I've done with those. Thank you all again and I hope you have had a great weekend. The sun has been kind to us :)

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Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoos

I initially bought Metallic Pomegranate when I was looking for some more berry/ rosey shades a while ago, I had heard these stayed a long time and wear pretty affordable, so I decided to pick one up. However I didn't wear this one as much as I'd hoped I would as I'm not really as brave as I thought I was. So when my birthday came around I strongly hinted to my sister that the next two shade: Permanent Taupe and On and On Bronze, were top on my wishlist.

I am extremely pleased with these and have developed a new love for wearing eyeshadows since these. Initially Permanent Taupe was the one I thought I would favour as I love the colour and how matte it is, yet I found this began to crease towards then end of the day; I was quite shocked at this as neither of the other two have done this. I got On and On Bronze because I had heard so much about it from the blogging world and all the rave reviews made me majorly inquisitive, this one has actually turned out to be my favourite and most worn shade of all three, which shocked me to say the least. 

These are very creamy and easy to apply, last all day without a problem and have amazing pigmentation. I have no faults with them (except PT creases slightly after a few hours) that would prevent me buying them again or more of the range.

Overall I love all of these and think they are brilliant for chucking on without having to worry. Will definitely look into buying a few more colours and maybe steal my sisters black one.

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Maybelline FitMe Concealer

Swatched

Blended in 

This is a concealer I have been using for a very long time now, and that is purely down to the quality of the product. To begin with, I tend to find it quite difficult finding a concealer that isn't to dry and that stays all day on my skin; I won't lie this concealer doesn't last all day but it does last a lot longer than most others I have tried on my skin and with a bit of re-powdering throughout the day to keep it in place this product does a decent job at keeping my covered throughout long days. The one major thing I love about this product is that it isn't at all drying; I have quite a lot of dry patches on my face and especially around spots or blemishes when I get them, so the fact that this concealer so emphasise those or cling to them is perfect. It's part of Maybelline's FitMe range which means it is one of an impressive range of shades made to match the tone of your skin as closely as possible, I have to say the colour match is pretty perfect and that is one other thing I struggle with when looking for a concealer as I am so pale! It is also not orangey at all, even when built up. In the pictures it does show up a bit dark and slightly orange toned, however in person I assure you it is not. I find this doesn't have amazing coverage however it can be built up without going cakey which makes up for that. 
I have also heard that this is claimed to be a drugstore dupe for Nars Creamy Concealer, I haven't tried that so I can't give a comparison but if that's true then it saves a hell of a lot of money!

A few down sides to this product is that just like the Collection Lasting Perfection packaging the writing has rubbed off, as you can see in the pictures (it has rubbed off a lot more since these pictures, almost totally), which is a little irritating although nothing drastic. Also I have found that the concealer can build up around the top and over time this can get squeezed out when being twisted shut, so I would suggest when (and if) you also notice this that you just clean it off so that it doesn't get all over your makeup bag and it's content. We all know how irritating that can be! 

Overall I think this is a brilliant concealer and very affordable; even though it may not be perfect in every way it does everything I need it to and I will definitely repurchase this when it runs out.

Thanks for reading, it feels so good to have a post up again that is not on a Sunday! I will definitely be drafting some more this week so that I can post them even if I am to busy to be writing them :)  

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#2014BloggerChallenge Top Seven Photo Diary

First of all apologies again, I actually didn't realise this was late, but hey it's only one day. Life has been so hectic the past week or two with coursework and deadlines again, that I haven't even been able to think about blogging so I'm sorry. However I'm hopefully going to be writing and drafting a few post these next to weeks to make up for that and to cover whilst I'm revising and cramming for my exams. Honestly, July could not come any sooner!

Anyway for my little photo challenge, I decided to do a little Get ready With Me Photo Diary for when I went out for a meal on Mother's Day, I was pretty happy with how my make up turned out considering I'm not the best at eye shadow!

Body

I began by washing my hair with Alberto Balsam's Mandarin and Papaya shampoo, washing my face with Garnier's Pure Active Fruit Energy Face Wash and exfoliating my body with The Body Shop's Cherry Body Scrub. I love this combination because it's so fruity and I come out of the shower smelling so fresh and feeling really clean; I then moisturised my body with the matching Body Shop Cherry Body Butter. 

Face

I then spritzed a little of the Body Shop's Vitamin E Face Mist on my face for extra moisture, followed by my La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo[+] on my blemishes and red areas and finished it off with Garnier's Express Hydration Primer, which I use more as a moisturiser. Finally I put some Vanilla Carmex on my lips to prep them for lipstick later on.

For my make up I used:

• Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 100 Ivory (not pictured sorry!)
• Maybelline FitMe Concealer in 15
• Bourjois 123 Perfect Eye Cream Concealer in 21 Ivory
• Rimmel Stay Perfect Powder
• Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Cream Blush in 03 Honey
• Maybelline BrowDrama in Dark Blond
• E.L.F Eye Primer in Sheer
• No7 Eyeshadow in Cappuccino
• MUA Heaven and Earth Palette
• Lula and Belle Face Palette
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Eyeliner in 004 Taupe
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Lengthening Mascara- Black
• Bourjois volume glamour Ultra Care Mascara- Black
• MAC Crosswires Lipstick(not pictured either due to last minute addition, sorry again)

For eyeshadow I used the No7 shade all over the lid with the shade marked on the Heaven and Earth Palette in the crease and the white shade from the L&B palette as a browbone highlight and in the inner corner of my eye. I chose to use my fingers with the cream blush as I find you can get a more even colour and it blends a lot easier. I won't bother to explain the rest as it is pretty self explanatory.

Outfit

For my outfit I chose to go simple with a statement jacket, I absolutely love this bomber jacket, the pattern is so pretty and even though its a very thin fabric it surprisingly holds in a lot of heat! I got it from eBay here, If you are considering buying it also I would suggest going a size up as it is in Japanese sizings and the UK8 size listed is more of a UK6. I then chose to accesorise quite a lot to make the outfit more interesting, most of my jewellery was gold however I wore my permanent piece which is my Pandora Bracelet that I always wear and the silver ring from Accesorise. I know that some people don't like to mix colours with jewellery however I really don't mind it and sometimes I think it can look really nice. I then wore my chain effect ring from H&M and by black reflective stud earrings and this statement gold necklace from Dorothy Perkins.

My whole outfit consisted of a black vest top, black leggings, patterned bomber jacket and my brown wedges (before leaving the house I panicked that I felt practically naked on the bottom half so threw on some black denim shorts over the top, which didn't make the outfit look a whole lot different but made me feel a lot more comfortable). I was determined to wear these wedges as I bought them summer time last year and have not found a reason to wear them yet, so I based my outfit around them. I think they are so cute (even if they are stupidly high) and surprisingly comfortable! and being short they give me a lot of much needed height.

Hair and Final Look

I was pretty happy with the overall look and felt just dressed up enough without feeling over dressed (like I normally do), I put my hair into a messy bun inspired my Zoella's tutorial video and really liked it. I now use it as one of my go-to hairstyles when I dont have much time as it is so easy to do, looks like you've put the effort in and gets all your hair out of your face too! (perfect for meals out). I also shoved on MAC's Crosswires before I left as I felt my makeup wasn't quite complete. 

I hope you enjoyed this Get Ready With Me Photo Diary attempt, I may do more of these in the future if you would like me too? :) 

Happy Sunday everyone and I hope you all had good weekends!

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Ps. I hit 80 followers today! Thank you so much everyone, wanted you all to know I really do appreciate it! :)

March Favourites!

Shocker I know, I'm on time this month!

So this month I've been loving practically all new things! I had a bit of a spending spree throughout Feb and the start of March so I've had the joy of discovering new loves!

To start I'll dive straight into brows! I've never been one for brows much before as mine are reasonably ok and I saw it as an extra chore in the mornings and unneeded money spending; however when I saw boots had a 3 for 2 on I picked Maybelline's Browdrama up as I'd seen quite a few reviews about it. I intend to do a review of this myself so won't go into too much depth but I've been loving it!

Another newbie in my makeup stash is Bourjois's 123 Perfect CC eye cream concealer, similarly I had never really bothered with under eye concealer as I don't have awful dark circles, yet I do have quite tired bags underneath and boy did I not realise the difference concealer made until I discovered this! Essie (yet again) raved about this, so I felt safe picking it up as it's quite expensive to me, as someone who doesn't bother with her under eyes. Wow, let's just say I love it and it has changed my face! My eyes look so much brighter and more awake when I've used this, I would definitely recommend!

Next onto La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo[+], I bought this on Escentual when it had an offer on french pharmaceutical brands as it was a third off and I hadn't been able to find it in stock near me. This has become part of my daily skincare routine, I use it day and night and I have definitely noticed a difference, especially in redness (my worst skin issue) however I am going to review this separately also so I'll leave my debate about it until then.

A not so new addition but new to use is Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze, I got this for my birthday from my sister along with two others, and surprisingly this is the one I have used the most! It is uber long lasting and super pigmented! It's great for a quick swipe of colour that doesn't take to long to put on and stays all day. Love love.

For my cheeks this month I have gravitated towards this little gem, MUA's powder blush in Lolly, it had it's moment late last year when everyone and their mother was raving about it and it's cheap price tag. Well I picked it up then and just forgot about it! It remained untouched until around Feb when I tried it out, and since then I have been obsessed. 

Last but not least, E.L.F's Bronzing Brush has returned to the love list! I use this along side MUA's blush and it just makes it so much easier to get the right amount of product in the right place! It's so cheap and does the job perfectly, thinking of grabbing another one of these.

So don't forget to check back here soon to see those reviews I mentioned above and you can also enter my giveaway right here. Have a nice Sunday lovelys!

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No7 Haul- Including a Gift Box!

*Warning this is a bit of a long one!*

Top to Bottom- Iridescent Purple Duo lighter shade, darker shade, cool mink shadow stick

So I was in Boots the other day whilst searching for items to go in my mystery bundle...oooh mystery. Anyway, so I was browsing the No7 counter when I saw there was an offer on, where if you buy two No7 cosmetic products you get a free gift box worth £20!! I was sold, I mean immediately. 

So I straight away picked up the eyeshadow duo in Iridescent Purple, my much researched dupe for the discontinued Estee Lauder Raisins Duo *cries at the fact I never got to even try it* which I have been dying to buy for ages now. And then I spotted this shadow stick in Cool Mink, which may I say stay for a bloody long time! I only swatched it on my hand and it took a bit of scrubbing to get off, which I'm hoping means it is a stick version of Maybelline's Colour Tattoo's which stay alllll day, without fail! It is a lovely brown-y, taupe-y colour and I think will be one of those that you can just slap on when you're in a rush, to make it look like you've tried with your makeup, even if you don't have time. I will hopefully do a post on the eyeshadow duo soon as I am so excited to use it, I think it will be a FOTD as I don't think I'm good enough to do a tutorial yet. 

So with those two products I received a cute little box with four mini products in. I received:

•  a mini Skin Illuminator Radiance Boosting Beauty Fluid in Peach
• a mini High Shine Lip Crayon in Delicate Pink
• a single Stay Perfect Eye Shadow-the middle shade from the Cappuccino Trio 
• a mini Exceptional Definition Mascara in Black

I'm really happy about what I got in this little gift box, two of the things (mascara and lip crayon) I have really wanted to try for a while as i have heard a lot about No7 products but not really delved into the brand before. I think this type of promo is a really great way to try out a brand and see if you like their products and what the quality is like. 

So far I have tried the lip crayon and the eyeshadow and I really like both, the lip crayon has great pigmentation and staying power, yet feels light on the lips and the colour can be built up from sheer to quite bright. The shadow is quite a light colour therefore brilliant for all over the lid and has brilliant staying power even without primer, it doesn't crease and no fallout. I am yet to try the mascara but No7 is notorious for their reputation so am excited to give it a go and I've never used a skin illuminator before so that should be interesting.

I hope you liked seeing this and make sure you go out and pick up this offer before it runs out! I'll see you on Sunday and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

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Spring Nail Favourites

So considering Spring is on it's way, and today has been vaguely sunny I thought it was about time I cracked out the pastels and the spring colours for my nails.
I'm not a massive one for painting my nails as they are quite crappy to be quite honest, but I do have a thing about buying nail varnish, so this year I'm going to try and make an extra effort to give my nails a little loving.

Without further ado, I wanted to show you my favourites for this spring. 
I'm loving Rimmel's 60 second nail varnish in Pillow Talk from Rita Ora's collection and also Essie Bikini so teeny, I think these pale blues make even my pale skin look more tanned, breaking in for that lovely weather I'm praying for this summer.

A mint colour is always necessary for spring, it's a tell tale sign that the weather is clearing up and the days are getting longer, so I thought Revlon's Minted was the perfect choice for this. Along with this a peachy coral shade is also a definite step towards spring/summer, just building up to the bright oranges and neons that equal summer.

And finally a nude nail is a classic, but it will always a compliment a spring outfit by toning down the accessories and keeping the focus on the clothes. Very simple chic.

I hope you liked seeing my choices, sorry it's a bit late today, but while you're here why don't you go check out my giveaway here! :)

P.S did you like how I managed to pop in some daffodils in the background? Spring is coming baby!

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