OPI Go Nudes Nail Polish Set

Hey beaut's!

I love a nude nail polish, theres something so classy and sophisticated about a nude nail isn't there, plus their so versatile because nude nails go with pretty much anything and everything! OPI currently have the most beautiful 'Go Nudes' Set which is a Travel Exclusive in World Duty Free at the moment and contains every nude shade you could ever want! 
The OPI Go Nudes Set* contains six mini bottles of polish all in OPI's best selling nude shades, firstly theres Step Right Up - a sheer soft light pink, Bubble Bath - a neutral toned pink, Passion - a pale pink, Tickle My France-Y - a brown toned nude , Dulce de Lech - a warm toned brown-y nude and finally to complete the set theres a mini bottle of OPI's RapiDry Quick-Dry Top Coat which not only adds a glossy shine to your manicure but protects the nails too.

t's no surprise that the quality of these nail polishes are amazing, the O.P.I formula is so good! Each shade applies like a dream without any bubbling or streaking, the only shade that really needs building up is Step Right Up because it's such a soft shade, they all last really well on my nails too which is really saying something because I'm quite heavy handed! I honestly have nothing but love for these shades and the tiny bottles are absolutely perfect for travelling and super cute.

You can find the OPI Go Nudes Nail Polish Set HERE for £16.35! 

nopin

Beauty Wishlist!

Hey beaut's!

It's been such a long time since I done a beauty wishlist and seeing as theres so much on my wishlist right now I thought it was the perfect time to get back on the wishlist train! Theres so many new things out at the moment and surprise, surprise they are all catching my eye, mostly the gorgeous new brush set by Spectrum, I mean how stunning are those Valentines themed brushes though! Makeup Revolution are also killing at the moment and their new concealer is at the top of my wishlist, I've actually been in three Superdrug's to get the concealer in my shade and their all sold out as well as being sold out online, their like bloody gold dust I swear! Too Faced also have a couple of new releases I NEED in my life, their glitter face mask looks incredible and I'd be interested to see how they fair in the realm of skincare, I also really want their Chocolate Gold Palette, it looks so pretty!
Beauty Wishlist

January Beauty Favourites!

Hey beaut's!

Yayyy we are finally nearing the end of the longest month everrrrr, anyone else feel like we are on day 70 of January? Usually when I write my favourites posts I always say how the month has whizzed past but wow January has dragged and I'll be glad to see the back of it, atleast it's finally pay day though woohoo.
Anyway I'm going to kick this months favourites off with the PIXI Glow Mist, I love this stuff so much, not only is it great for the skin but it leaves my skin looking so glowy and dewy. I've been using the Glow Mist everyday either before makeup to create a luminous base or if I'm looking slightly too matte after my makeup application I add a spritz or two  because it adds the radiance back into my skin. Arhhh then we have my beautiful Spectrum Mean Girls Makeup Brushes, I got these for Christmas and have used them everyday since, their just the best quality brushes and I mean just look how gorgeous they are! For fragrance I've been obsessed with my Snow'ella Body Mist, it's such a lovely fresh scent perfect for everyday and I even have the mini bottle in my handbag for on the go because I'm that obsessed he he! 
My lippie obsession at the moment is the Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipstick in Chihuahua, it's a beautiful dusty mauve shade which I literally wear everyday at the moment and the formula is just stunning! The PIXI Endless Silky Eye Pen is my new kohl pencil obsession and I'd go as far as saying it's become a holy grail product of mine, I used to think the Rimmel Scandleyes eye pencils where amazing but PIXI's offering throw Rimmel out of the water! I've never known an eye pencil to look the exact same at night as it did after being applied first thing in the morning until now - I don't know how you've done it PIXI but wowza your eye pencils are seriously impressive! My final favourite this month is The Ordinary Foundation, this had so much hype and I manged to knab a bottle from ASOS last year and I've been in love ever since! I have a review HERE if you fancy a nose!

What have you been loving this month beaut's? I'd love to know!

nopin

Gingerbread Cupcakes Recipe

Hey beaut's!

After going though an extremely crappy time over the last month and a half I decided to get back in the kitchen and do some baking, my kitchen is my happy place and baking is something I absolutely love to do, not only do I get a tasty treat at the end of it but it's so therapeutic for me so it seemed fitting to whip up a batch of my yummy gingerbread cupcakes. I actually posted my recipe of these back in 2016 but it was a very Christmassy post and I've tweaked the recipe ever so slightly now so I thought I'd share my updated version!
What You Will Need For The Cupcakes
Half a cup of granulated sugar
Half a cup of Stork with Butter, softened
Half a cup of black treacle
2 eggs
2 cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 and a half teaspoons of ground ginger
Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of ground allspice
Three quarters of a cup of water

What You Will Need For The Icing
240g Stork with Butter, softened
400g icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
4 tablespoons of milk
Sprinkles/Mini Gingerbread Men to decorate (optional)

How To - Cupcakes
1. Firstly pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4 /180 and line a muffin tin with your cupcake cases.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the granulated sugar, butter, black treacle and eggs together with an electric whizzer until well combined.
3. Then add in your flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and the allspice, the mixture will become super thick and then thats the time to add in your water, this loosens everything up and makes such a smooth batter.
4. Pop a heaped tablespoon of the cupcake batter into each cupcake case and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until the top of the cupcakes are springy to the touch, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

How To - Icing
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric whizzer for around 5 minutes or until the butter has turned super pale and smooth, then start adding the icing sugar slowly to avoid the dreaded icing sugar cloud and again mix for another 5 or so minutes until smooth. Then pop in the vanilla extract and a couple of tablespoons of milk if you feel your butter cream is a bit stiff.
2. Pipe or spoon the icing on top of the cupcakes and top with some sprinkle if you like, I found these cute little gingerbread sprinkles in the baking section in Home Bargains!
These cupcakes where so incredibly easy to make and they taste and look so good, the cupcake itself is super light and moist and the buttercream really levels out the amount of spice within the cupcake. If your a lover of gingerbread then you HAVE to make these bad boys!

nopin

Benefit I PINK I Love You Set + Swatches

Hey beaut's!

Valentines Day is coming up and what better gift to treat yourself too or buy a loved one than this gorgeous Benefit I PINK I Love You Set which is available at World Duty Free for just £22.90, I mean who doesn't love combining a holiday or business trip with some makeup shopping he he.
The Benefit I PINK I Love You Set* is the prettiest pink toned set which contains everything you need to perk up your complexion, super-curl those lashes and give your lips and cheeks a soft kiss of colour all in miniature form, how cute!
The set contains a..... 
Posietint Lip & Cheek Stain - This is such a well loved Benefit product which is so quick and easy to use! It's a poppy-pink tinted stain with a liquid-gel formula which blends beautifully just with your finger tips - no brushes are needed to use this pretty - once blended it adds a cheery flush to the cheeks and lips that really lasts!
Roller Lash Mascara in Black - This is one of my all time favourite mascara's and I've gone through quite a few tubes of this stuff myself and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It literally grabs, separates, lifts and curls every single lash and doesn't budge on me what so ever, shes a beauty!
Dandelion Face Powder - This is a sheer, ballerina-pink face powder with a tiny hint of shimmer within it which can either be popped onto the cheeks as a blusher or used all over the face for a brightening finish. Because I'm quite pale this works well as a buildable blush for me, it really is the ultimate girly blush shade that I think it will look stunning during Spring.
 Dandelion Dew - This is the little sister of the Dandelion Face Powder, instead of being in powder form this is a liquid pink matte blush that leaves a dewy, delicate glow to the cheeks. I'm kind of in love with this, it looks adorably pretty on the cheeks and doesn't need as much building up as the powder does, it's lovely!
The set comes complete with with a white/pink iridescent makeup bag which is perfect to pop your handbag essentials in! 

I'm totally obsessed with this little set and cant recommend it enough for Valentines and Spring, not only is it adorable and super pretty but it's also a great way to test out some Benefit makeup that you might have wanted to try for a while, personally I had never tried both of the Dandelion products until now so it was great to have the miniatures to try before committing to the full size versions. 

You can find the Benefit I PINK I Love You Set for £22.90 HERE.

nopin

Makeup That I Need To Use More In 2018


Hey beaut's!

More often than not I forget about some absolute makeup gems within my collection, I'm such a makeup addict and buy so much makeup I just cant keep track of what I've got sometimes, and that means I miss out on using some gorgeous pieces even though their sat in my Alex drawers. I recently had a bit of a makeup clear out and organisation and picked out a few products that I know I definitely want to get some use of again so I thought I'd share them with you all today!
I switch up my lipsticks all the time and often forget about the 10 swimming in the bottom of my handbag but one I definitely need to use more this year is MAC's Whirl. Whirl is such a 90's throwback shade and is the prettiest medium-dark rosy brown with warm undertones and a matte finish, it looks lovely on and I cant believe I forget about it. Next up is a couple of foundations, I'm a creature of habit when it comes to my foundations and just repurchase my favourites over and over which means I don't get to use all the others I own, but two that I know I LOVE and need to get more use of is L'Oreal's Lumi Magique and the Too Faced Born This Way Foundation. These are both extremely good foundations, the Lumi Magique is super glowy, very light weight, silky soft, blends into the skin well and provides hydration all day and the Born This Way Foundation has AMAZING coverage without feeling heavy or cakey at all. Next is my Technic Metalix Eyeshadow Cream, I actually own three of these, two of which I use loads but the third in the shade Taupe Be has actually been lost for a while so that's why I need to get more use out of this beauty, I'm so happy I found it because the formula and colour payoff of these is insane!
Arhhh the adorable Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow Palette...I haven't used this much because in all honestly I wasn't blown away with the formula but I mean just look at it, it contains the most stunning looking powders which I NEED to make work this year. The highlighter shade creates a lovely peachy-champagne glow, the blush is the most beautiful shade of peach and is super dewy looking and the bronzer is nice and warm, I just need to become friends with the formula again and we will be fine hehe. 


Finally we have the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eyeshadow Palette, I can honestly say these matte eyeshadows are the BEST quality matte eyeshadows I have ever used or owned. They are so well pigmented and blend like an absolute dream, matte shades can be chalky sometimes too and create a lot of fallout but these aren't chalky what so ever, I'm definitely going to use this beauty more this year!

What makeup from your collection do you want to use more of this year? I'd love to know beaut's!

nopin

ADEXE Sistine Petite Rose Gold Watch

Hey beaut's!

I've always loved the look of ADEXE watches, seeing them online or someone modelling one on Instagram or Twitter always left love hearts in my eyes, trust me you'll feel the same once you've had a nosey he he! For me a watch isn't always about it's functional purpose, of course that's a great factor but watches are the perfect accessory and can add the finishing touch to any outfit cant they, that's why I absolutely adore my ADEXE Sistine -Petite Watch in Rose Gold, it's such a beauty and so on trend!
The ADEXE Sistine Petite Rose Gold Watch* caught my eye because not only was it utterly gorgeous in all of it's rose gold glory but I think it looks really elegant and simplistic, I'm really not a fan of an 'out there' watch so something simple but pretty is always a winner for me. The watch itself has a hand-made mesh band with a clasp fastening which you can move yourself for the perfect fit, I love this because theres nothing worse than having to get links taken out or punching extra holes in a strap is there! The watch face is well proportioned, quite thin and lightweight but still robust and well made, the roman numerals stand out well so the watch is easy to read because theres nothing worse than having to squint your eyes to read your watch is there. The watch also comes with a 2-3 year battery which I think is pretty epic and activates once you take a tiny stopper out of the mechanism which adjusts the time so you get the most battery life out of your watch as possible!
Overall I'm so in love with my ADEXE watch, it looks stunning, it feels so well made and luxurious, it's comfortable and more importantly it keeps me on time for work (lol), it also looks super cute in the background of Instagram pictures - oh it's all about the gram isn't it he he. Seriously though if your looking for a new watch or want to gift someone a watch I cant recommend ADEXE enough, they have some seriously stunning pieces on their website!

You can find the ADEXE Sistine -Petite Rosegold Watch for £109.00 HEREYou can also grab 15% discount off of the ADEXE website with my code HAYSPARKLE15 

 nopin

Three New Skincare Additions I'm Obsessed With!

Hey beaut's!

I'm hugely into skincare these days, I think it's because I'm getting that bit older now and I've realised how important it is to have a good skincare routine in place. Whilst I've been perfecting my skincare routine I've been trailing and testing lots of different creams, lotions and potions and theres three new products in particular that I've been obsessed with since trying them out!
 Arhhh firstly I've fallen head over heels for the Pixi-Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse (£24.00), this is something that had been hugely raved about in the beauty world but for some reason I put off buying it for months, but once I tried it I realised I was a silly billy and should have tried it sooner because I loved it and so did my skin! This unique jar houses a solid cleansing oil and a luxe cleansing cream and my skin feels like it's had such a treat after using both. To use I simply start off with the cleansing oil which is solid in the jar but turns into an oil once it hits the skin much like coconut oil, this removes my days makeup and any daily grime my face might have picked up during the day! Once my face is clean I go in with the cleansing cream, this feels so luxurious and provides a further and more nourishing cleanse for my skin. I've been using this now for around two months and I just love it, my skins always feel so squeaky clean after use as well as super soft and smooth and somewhat plumped and supple, it's gorgeous stuff! 
Next up is the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic (£15.00), I've really been enjoying using this recently and although I've never really used a toner in my skincare routine before I just love how refreshing this gorgeous stuff is. I use the Instant Boost straight after every cleanse and it just leaves my skin looking so radiant and feeling squeaky clean, that refreshing feeling is super nice in the mornings too! Granted it's not an essential product to have in my skincare routine but I just really enjoy using it plus I am HUGE Liz Earle fan!
Finally we have another goodie from Liz Earle - the Deep Cleansing Mask (£17.50). My skins been quite combination over the last few months and this mask is perfect for combination skinned guys or gals because it helps reduce oiliness, draws out impurities, balances the skin and gives a toning effect without my skin feeling all dry and tight. I particularly love using this mask around my nose area, I'm quite prone to having blackheads on my nose and this mask makes them magically disappear, it's bloody marvellous, I've also had a bit of a stress breakout recently and after using this mask my skin was so much clearer. I've been super impressed with this beauty and definitely need to have one in my skincare stash at all times. 

What skincare have you been loving lately? I'd love to know!
nopin


New Launches By Technic Cosmetics + Swatches!

Hey beaut's!

I've talked a hell of a lot about Technic Cosmetics over last few months on haysparkle.com and that's because I've really fallen in love with the brand, some of their products are now my makeup bag essentials so when they launch new pretties I cant wait to get my hands on them, lucky for me they have recently launched some gorgeous looking bits which I've been giving a whirl!
The first two newbies are Technic's VIP Colour Wave Eye & Cheek Palettes in Bronzed Bae* and Fairy Tale* (£6.99)! These are soooooo pretty, each palette contains five little wave segments of soft, baked colour which double up as eyeshadows where you can use each little segment separately, or you can swirl a brush through all the colours and use them as pretty epic highlighters. I've been using Bronzed Bae loads because it's so easy to use on an everyday basis and the highlight that the first 2 shades within Bronzed Bae creates is absolutely stunning! Fairy Tale is much more of a fun, daring palette, I absolutely love it because it just reminds me of unicorns and all things pretty and used together as a highlighter it's just 'wow', I've never rainbow highlighted before but it looks so cool on the cheek bones. You can also use both of these palettes wet or dry and really up the pigment and hi-shine if you wish but they do work really well dry in my opinion!
I think it's absolutely genius that Technic have launched their very own Shade Adjusting Collection, it so hard to find the perfect shade of foundation these days so any lightening or darkening drops that you can easily buy are a winner. As well as the light and the dark drops Technic also have Shade Adjusting Highlighter Drops* (£2.99) which I've been obsessed with! I'm all about glowy skin and a few drops of this gorgeous stuff mixed in with my foundation creates the perfect dewy, radiant skin, in the Spring/Summer months these drops are going to be an essential for me. 
Finally we have the Technic Shadow Sticks*, I LOVE eyeshadow sticks because their so quick and easy to use, you can simply scribble the colour on your eyelids and either use your finger or a brush to blend the colour out and your ready to go! I have the shades Frosting - an icy white perfect for highlighting the brow bone and inner corners, After Midnight - a deep blue/black with tiny silver sparkles running through it, Rose Gold - my favourite shade out of the four and the one I've been reaching for the most, as the name would suggest and its a pretty rose gold/copper shade and finally I have Chocolate Fondant - a super wearable metallic bronze! All four of these shades are super pigmented, blend out beautiful and can be worn alone if your in a bit of a pinch or they work great as base/primer shades for powder shadows, Frosting really helps bright eyeshadows pop too!

Are you a fan of Technic? Which products are your favourite? I'd love to know!

nopin

MAC Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish Review

Hey beaut's!

Like most makeup and beauty lovers I'm obsessed with highlighter, it's my favourite part of applying my makeup and if I don't look like I'm a glazed donut I'm not a happy camper! I've got quite a few highlighters in my makeup collection now but one I was missing and constantly longing for was MAC's Soft and Gentle, I had swatched it in MAC numerous times but for some crazy reason never bought it but bless my lovely boyfriend who bought it for me for Christmas so I thought I'd share my thoughts on it finally!
 MAC's Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish is a velvety soft, slow-baked powder with a radiant, pearlised finish. The shade of this highlighter is lovely, MAC describe it as a gilded peach bronze and when its on the skin it definitely looks like a peach, champagne shade with subtle gold flecks within it which aren't chunky at all. 
The product itself is lovely to use, it's got a good amount of pigmentation when used dry and creates the most beautiful natural looking glow to the skin that I think would suit most skin types, if you really want to go all out you can wet the brush with some setting spray or MAC Fix+ which really intensifies the pigment a lot. 
The baked powder picks up well on the brush and blends onto the skin with ease, I find that my Real Techniques Setting Brush applies better than my fan brushes so I tend to stick with my small setting brush. The texture of the powder is super soft and isn't chalky at all, I also feel like Soft and Gentle is going to last me years and years because you don't need to use much during each application and I've used my pan quite a lot since I've had it and it still looks brand new!

Overall I think MAC's Soft and Gentle is the perfect everyday highlighter, it's naturally glowy when used dry and when it's used with a damp brush 'hello glazed donut'! The only negative I really have is that I do think it's a tad pricey at £24.50, but then I think I'm going to get years and years worth of use out of it so it will probably be worth it in the long run! If your looking for a nice everyday glow then I cant recommend this beauty enough, if your looking for something super intense when used dry then maybe this wont be for you!

You can find MAC's Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish HERE.

nopin