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My New Year Favourites

Happy New Year!

2017 was a year where I did some pretty awesome things; I graduated my MA with distinction, I was part of a team which raised £60k for charity, I got to do more travelling this year. However this year has also come with a lot of self-reflection and a lot of wake up calls. I am going into 2018 feeling lost in the world of work; with no more education to turn to and trying to find my place in society to earn a living. It's stressful and is tough, however, temporary as I am keeping positive and something will come my way! 2017 has been great for self-reflection and really focusing on myself, what I want and what I enjoy. Anyways, enough self-reflection for now! I wanted to kick start 2018 off by sharing with you some of my favourite things that are coming into the new year with me that I have been loving, will continue to use and recommend to you guys!

I will begin with some makeup bits. A big thing I have been doing in 2017 is mixing my foundations and it is something that I will probably be continuing to do throughout 2018. My skin has been extremely combination recently, so I find this ideal for my skin, and one of my favourite medium to full coverage combos has been mixing Nars Sheer Glow in Deauville with Make Up Forever Ultra HD Foundation in R230. With the Nars being too dark for me in the winter and MUFE being matched too light for my skin tone in a store with crappy artificial lighting, these two make a great match mixed together, giving great coverage and a slight glow to the skin so your imperfections are covered but it doesn't look caked on the skin. It is the combination that I wore on my graduation day where I was at my pale-est and wish I had bronzed more!

My concealer pick of the year is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in 51. I will begin by saying the blendability is fantastic! This is one of the best concealers I can use all over my face, under my eyes and covering imperfections well without having to wear foundation. It isn't a matte concealer as it does have very fine specks of shimmer in it, but I don't mind this as it isn't too obvious and provides some healthiness to my no-makeup days and it lasts a really long time as well.

I have finally found a decent eye base to wear as a primer under my eyeshadows, praise the lord! And it comes in the form of the Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo in Crème de Nude and before I continue any further; yes, this is a dupe for MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot. At a fraction of the price, I decided to give it a go; by applying it with my pinky finger to warm it up and blend it all over my eyelid it works like a charm to stop shadows from creasing, lids getting oily and for making colours pop! If you are hesitant about splurging on the MAC one, give this a try first!

During 2017 I have been experimenting with eyeshadow pallettes a lot, and the Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette is one which has been a favourite for my travels and for a variety of looks. With 9 shades, 4 matte and 5 shimmer I use this palette to create simple looks for job interviews as well as creating smouldering looks for New Years Eve. I love how versatile this is, however I won't ramble on because I have already done a review on it HERE.

I don't own many liquid lipsticks, I find them really drying and because I have pigmented lips it is really hard for me to find decent nudes without them looking too white based or too dark or just not quite right. However, out of the ones that do work for me, I absoloutely adore theBalm Meet Matte Hughes Liquid Lipsticks. I love the scent of these, the shade range, the texture, they aren't too drying and they last for ever and don't smudge and are slightly cheaper than other high-end liquid lipsticks. They are so underated in the makeup industry and I seriously recommend you trying them out, there will be a perfect nude in there for you!

2018 is the year where I will stick to a skin regime! And finding a great moisturiser where I have seen results will definitely help with that. I have been loving the Neutrogena Hydro-Boost Water Gel Moisturiser, has been a great addition to my skincare, so hydrating and is great for my combination skin keeping my oils at bay but helping with my dry areas. I use this every morning and every night and I have had no problems with it yet, my make up goes on nice, it doesn't break me out or anything.

I don't care what people say, I am a lover of make up wipes! However, I don't believe in splurging out on them, I've tried expensive ones which are terrible and don't match up to my favourite Superdrug Essential Cleansing Wipes for sensitive skin. Coming in at 99p per pack, these are great for my combo skin, they get everything off the skin and are really hydrating and soft on the skin. And for 99p for that good quality, you can't go wrong.

When it comes to nail polish, I have more recently been opting for more neutral and muted tones which is so unlike me! I have been loving Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Polish in Tiki Hut, a beautiful beige nude with warm undertones which goes with everything. I love the high street price, the stylish bottle, the applicator, the consistency and the way it is so long lasting and opaque after 2 coats; I would highly recommend this to anyone.

2017 was the year that I started my bullet journal and it is something that I am so excited to take into 2018! I use the Leuchttrumm1917 A6 dotted notebook as my bullet journal;  I use the A6 instead of the ever so popular A5 solely because of how practical the A6 is to just throw in my handbag. Bullet journaling is something that really works for me, I love getting creative with it and it is something that I can't wait to continue with this year.

It is about time I have read a book which isn't a uni book, and I am so happy that I picked this one up and managed to finish it in the space of a week because I just couldn't put it down. Sarah Knight is a brilliant author with offering very realistic advice in The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck. This book is life-changing, I kid you not, if you ever feel like you are holding back and are doing things you don't want to do, give your head a mental de-clutter then this is the book for you! I laughed, I had epiphanies, I seriously recommend this to anybody. I can't wait to get into Get Your Shit Together.

As somebody with a larger bust and a small back, I hate bra shopping with a passion and I have to be in a particular frame of mind when I need to buy a new bra do deal with all the frustration of not being able to find something; firstly that's my size, and then it needs to be a style that suits me and then it needs to be something that I actually want to wear and makes me feel good. 2017 was the year that all those worries went away when I discovered Bravissimo. With top notch customer service and knowledgeable staff who actually give a shit, I will no longer go anywhere else for bras as Bravissimo knows what looks good on me, what fits and what makes me feel good, I will never look back!

Some of these new year favourites have been quite random, but you are getting a further insight into me and my lifestyle I am happy about. I want to take a moment to wish everybody reading this all the best for 2018 and may the new year be fruitful and exciting for you)!

Elisa x


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