MAKEUP

Now when I saw Latest in Beauty were doing another Sunday Times Style Awards box...obviously I couldn't resist. I picked the box up last year and featured it as <a href="https://alicia-smith.co.uk/the-one-off-beauty-box-you-need/"> The One-Off Beauty Box You Need</a> and from the box last year I've discovered some of my favourite products that I still use to this day

Last week reality set in that Mother's Day wasn't far away and I hadn't even given it a second thought. Luckily <a href="https://www.oceanretailpark.co.uk">Ocean Retail Park, Portsmouth</a> allowed me the pleasure of browsing their small, but useful selection of shops. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Valentine's or Easter...I think we can all agree that Mother's Day is a day to celebrate.

Now it's been a while since I did a favourites post, they're not normally something I enjoy writing or find interesting to read...however this month I've been loving them for whatever reason. I blame this extreme heatwave.

Beauty boxes, I'm sure you're familiar with the concept and have most likely read several blog posts featuring the likes of Birchbox, Glossy box as well as the standard Latest In Beauty boxes. I, however, am more a fan of the one-off limited edition boxes.

A couple of weeks ago I was shopping in Next and spotted their makeup range and I'm all for clothing brands bringing out collections. Some of my favourite products are from New Look and Primark, so of course I wanted to pick up a couple items to give a try...even more tempting was that they were 3 for 2.

While I have products that are my ride and die, I always love mixing it up. I'm always scared of ending up with products gathering dust because I've forgotten about them and not used them...after all makeup isn't cheap. That being said I think I'll always stick to a foundation I know is reliable (even if I do love testing new ones out) as well as having a trusty nude lipstick I can always rely on to make me look and feel confident af.

So as much I love reading and watching people's monthly favourites, I personally hate writing the posts myself. I've attempted them several times in the past since they're typical "beauty blogger" posts. In honesty their not my cup of tea though. Instead, I'm going to talk about new discoveries I've made every month, but not go into too much detail.

So between Christmas and my birthday, I may have picked up one, two or quite a few new makeup items and I thought I'd put together an edit of some of my favourite things that I've picked up. Most of these are sure to become staples in my everyday makeup, or they already have.

The party season is very much upon us and while I haven't attended many Christmas parties, the ones that I have...let's just say I've not been prepared for. Last minute outfit shopping, dry shaving legs and applying makeup on the train <s>yes my life has been a busy one recently</s>

I remember growing up as a child, every summer the circus would come down and every summer I would be too terrified of the clowns to attend...despite the fact that I adored just about every other aspect of the circus. Luckily as the years have passed I've gotten over that fear of clowns, but I'm still yet to actually attend a circus...

Call me basic but I love nothing more than a dark plum or berry lip as the autumnal months hit. I mean who doesn't and it means I get to dig into a part of my lipstick collection that I tend to stay away from for the rest of the year

I've lost count of the amount of blog posts or Youtube videos I've watched on the hunt for the optimal way to achieve a perfect base, and all have fallen short of my expectations....until now.

Now unless you've been hiding under a rock you must have heard the hype around the latest Urban Decay release, Naked Heat.

I'm so happy to announce that I'm working with one of my favourite (lesser known) brands to create this post, not only have I been in love with their products for a while

So over the course of the past couple of weeks, I've gained a handful of new products to try, some of these I brought myself while others I was gifted at the Blogosphere Valentines Tea Party.

You're Only A Starter Until You Know The Basics I headed over to Twitter this week and ran a poll as to what post you guys wanted this week and the conclusion was a starter's makeup bag, I've decided to create a bag full of some of my favourite drugstore/high street products which I'd recommend to a starter. If you want to know what I have in my personal makeup bag then you need to read What's In My Makeup Bag. As a personal choice, I've not included any brushes as I feel the

Lipsticks have always been one of my favourite makeup items so over the years I've gained quite a collection of both high end and drugstore lipsticks; since I've already shared my favourite high end I thought it was time to share my favourite drugstore. I don't tend to reach towards drugstore lipsticks as much as I used to, however, these are some of my favourites and ones that I do reach for from time to time. Despite not reaching for them often I do find that most of my dru