50 Random Facts About Me

If you can't have a collage of your face on your birthday when can you and as it's my birthday I thought I would do the 50 Facts about me tag as the lovely Lauren from www.bylaurenjane.co.uk tagged me do it in November. 50 facts seems pretty difficult to come up with but I'll give it a good go. I hope you enjoy the post and Happy New Year!

What I got For Christmas 2014

I originally wasn't going to do this post but I've enjoyed looking at everyone else's over the weekend so I thought I'd get one done. I've preferred just looking at the pictures so I won't go into each item just know that I am incredibly grateful for all the wonderful and thoughtful presents I received from my fabulous family and friends. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

Christmas Penguin Lush Cosmetics

Anyone that knows me will know of my slight obsession with Penguins, I love the little guys so it was inevitable that The Christmas Penguin would be coming home with me at some point. This cute bubble bar has been sat in my basket of lushness for quite some time because I couldn't bring myself to break its head off. Soon the need of a hot bubble bath over ruled that of keeping the penguin intact so off his head came.

My Little Box by Fleur de Force

When the first few reviews filtered through on My Little Box I couldn't help but fall in love. I held back for a few months though as it seemed too good to be true. Surely the second and third boxes wouldn't be as fabulous? They were and when I saw the first reviews on My Little Cosy Box, I subscribed that night. I received My Little Box by Fleur de Force last weekend and was surprised at how big it was. I was expecting Birchbox sizes so I'm glad I get them delivered to my work place as it wouldn't fit through my letterbox. 

Maxfactor Facefinity All Day Flawless Foundation

Maxfactor are the high street brand I go to again and again and their Facefinity All Day Flawless Foundation is one of my most repurchased foundations. I bought this again a couple of months ago as I was using too much of my Double Wear for work and needed a budget foundation that was just as good. 

Stop Asking Me to Work for Free

I'm not one for negativity and rant posts on Annie Writes Beauty. I like to keep it a place where I ramble about beauty and generally keep it happy. There's the odd bad review but that's about it. I mentioned in a tweet that I felt like I needed a rant after a couple of emails I had received in the last week. One of which prompted this post.

Christmas in Salisbury

As much as I love the festive period it does get a bit hectic so being able to go away for the weekend or even a day just before Christmas is something Arran and I like to do each year. This year we went to Salisbury in Wiltshire, staying in the Mercure White Hart Hotel. I'd heard good things about their Christmas Market so the plan was to visit that and have a good wonder around the town and Salisbury Cathedral.

Lola by Marc Jacobs

Lola by Marc Jacobs is my Winter fragrance and has been for the last five years. Around the end of October, out comes my precious bottle of Lola from the confines of its box where it stays during the Summer months. Lola is a heady, floral scent. I find it quite rich which is why I tend to wear it more in the colder months. I instantly associate this with dressing up in warm scarfs and winter boots.

Lush Cosmetics Butterbear

I have been working my way through the Lush Christmas range at rapid speeds lately. I'm a bubble bar girl through and through because I like that they last and I feel like I'm getting my monies worth but with Lush's festive helping I've gone bath bomb crazy. Enter Butterbear. 

Cloud 9 Magical Duet

Anything that has magical in the product name is going to get my attention so when the Magical Duet from Cloud 9 landed in my hands I was quick to get to work and make my mane more magical. Having bleached hair means I have to take a little bit extra care of it, something which I hate doing because I am incredibly lazy when it comes to my hair. 

November in Instagram

1. The cold weather well and truly hit Southampton so out came the dog tooth scarf and fur. 

Espa Facial at John Lewis

Back in October at a blog meet Tanya and I went to, we both had consultations with the fabulous girls from Espa and were given the chance to go in to store to have a facial. If it hadn't of been for Tanya just booking us both in I probably would of just discarded the appointment card but I'm so glad we went. Two weeks ago I met Tanya and off we went to John Lewis in West Quay for our appointment with the lovely Jo. We had met Jo previously at the blog meet so it was really nice to see her again.

Lush Cosmetics Haul

Lush may as well of just had my entire pay check this month because I have bought so much! This is one of my smaller hauls from last weekend when I just popped in because..well why not? Lord of Misrule had to go into the basket as it's one of my favourites and they won't be available again until next year! I also have another four in a basket as back up.

Southampton Bloggers Meet

On 15th November, the day had finally arrived for the #SotonMeetUp, the second Southampton blog event organised by Amy and myself. It was held in Orange Rooms again, this time in the Lounge bar where we had extra space for our lovely companies and our very own bar woman, who was fabulous. From 1pm our 28 bloggers started to arrive, Weleda, Bee Good and Lush Southampton set up their stands for the afternoon and the cocktails began to flow.

Cinders by Lush Cosmetics

Lush is by far my favourite place to go at the moment, I have been doing haul after haul of festive bath bombs and have even dragged the boyfriend in on the action by getting him to choose some more manly bombs to try. I like quite spicy scents so Cinders was always going to end up coming home with me. Inspired by fireside gatherings, Cinders contains Cinnamon Leaf Oil, Almond Essential Oil, Sweet Orange Oil and Popping Candy! 

My Lip Saviours

I'm a big believer in super soothing lip treatments, I carry lip products in my bag all year round but when the evenings get darker and the weather draws in my lips need some extra moisture. These five products are what I'm currently using. The EOS Lip Balm in Lemon drop is really handy to have in my bag to just whip out and it smells lovely. It does leave a slight film on my lips but it also leaves them really soft. The Blackcurrant Balmi Cube is a diamond shaped balm that smells like blackcurrant chewitts. I have both of the shaped balms because of the novelty factor more than anything else.

ELF Baked Highlighters

Ever since Stereo Rose came home with me back in the Spring I've been having a love affair with highlighters. I couldn't imagine not using one now and have built up quite the collection. When I heard there were new highlighters gracing the ELF website a couple of weeks ago I was full of excitement. Three new baked highlighters all for a bargain £3.95.

Gift Ideas with Beauty Crowd

I was recently introduced to Beauty Crowd, a community marketplace jam packed full of fabulous brands you wouldn't necessarily come across. With Christmas right around the corner it is also the place to be doing your Christmas shopping with a cup of cocoa in your gingerbread pyjamas. I was sent a box full of exciting products to try out and I had the biggest smile on my face when I opened it. 

Barry M Starry Eyed Palette

In my Boots & Superdrug Haul from last week you would of seen that I bought one of Barry M's Limited Edition palettes. When I think of Barry M the first thing I think of is their nail varnish, I've never even thought to try out any of their make up. Starry Eyed caught my eye because of the beautiful shades in it, some of which I wouldn't usually use. With three mattes, three shimmers and one blush it's a handy compact palette. The palette itself comes in cardboard casing, much like the original Naked palette minus the velvet. There are two applicators and a good sized mirror inside.

The Goody Bag #sotonmeetup

Saturday 15th November was the day of the second Southampton Blog Meet, 30 bloggers from across the South Coast gathered in Orange Rooms, to mingle, eat and chat with some fab companies that had also come along for the day. Each blogger went away with a goody bag jam packed full of amazing products. Read on to find out exactly what was included...

Sienna X Q10 Bronzing Mousse

During the Autumn months I like to have a bit of a glow about me. I have quite pale skin and sometimes look quite ill so I tend to use the fake tan a little more than usual this time of year. I've recently been using a tanning mousse by Sienna X to achieve that. Sienna X Q10 Bronzing Mousse is paraben, alcohol and cruelty free. The Q10 is something I don't usually come across in tanning products but with it containing an anti-ageing ingredient, it definitely makes it more appealing to me.

Weleda Almond Soothing Facial Cream

Weleda are our sponsors for the Southampon Blog Event which is happening tomorrow and they have kindly provided the pretty goody bags and a number of products to put inside them. I was sent the Almond Soothing Facial Cream to try in the lead up to the event so I was looking in tip top condition and not a wrinkled, stressed out mess. Specially formulated for dry and very dry skin this tube of creamy goodness is exactly what you need this winter if your skin is taking a battering.

Merumaya Integrative Effective Skincare

I first came across Merumaya after they followed me on Twitter and I had a good snoop on their website, so when they were one of the fabulous companies who came to the Southampton Blog Meet I couldn't wait to get over there and have a good chat. We had the wonderfully passionate Lekha come and show case their best selling products. Lekha could not of been more perfect for the job, she spoke so confidentially about the products as she used them herself and could personally vouch for their claims.

Smashbox #FoundationFriday

Whilst at the Smashbox event for the Contour Palette I noticed a poster for Foundation Friday. I didn't know what it was but quickly learnt that Foundation Friday was where the first twenty people in store would get colour matched to the Studio Skin Foundation, receive a make over and get to walk away with a free full size foundation. I set my alarm for 6am the following morning to get up and out in time to grab my free Studio Skin and get to work for 9am. Dedication to foundation.

Spa Day at Grand Harbour Hotel

A couple of weekends ago myself and my favourite blogging girls, Mandy, Karis and Amy booked ourselves in for The Purity Spa day at The Grand Harbour Hotel. Arriving at 11am we found our way up to the Serenity Spa to check in, fill in our details and collect our robes, slippers and towels. The robes were the softest thing I have ever felt and I really wish I could of taken it home with me. 

Lush Cosmetics Massage Bars

We all know what Lush are better known for but I've recently been trying out their other products, namely their face masks, body butters and massage bars. I have four of the massage bars, Strawberry Feels Forever, Hottie, Therapy and Each Peach and Two's a Pair all of which I have collected from blog meet ups and events in goody bags. After talking more to the wonderful Rosie from Lush Southampton about how to use them and their benefits, I finally delved in my big basket of Lush goodness to have a play around.

Southampton Blogger Meet Number Two!

On the 25th October, a number of South Coast bloggers arrived at Orange Rooms for an afternoon of blog talk, cocktails and yummy food. I wasn't the original host but after a slight hiccup the night before and with 12 hours to prepare, sort out the final details and let all the attending bloggers know it was still happening, the day went without a glitch.

October in Instagram

1. Re:So Southampton relaunched in The Marlands a few weeks back. The launch was fab with yummy macaroons & prosecco. Read about it - Re:So Re-launch Party.

An Introduction to JorgObé

Not so long ago my sister introduced me to a Danish skincare company called JorgObé. I had never heard of them before so I was really intrigued to see what they did differently. Launched in 2010 with a clear idea of creating skincare for men and woman while using natural and active ingredients, JorgObé has become a best selling skincare brand, winning numerous awards and has been praised in international beauty magazines such as Elle.

Sparkly Pumpkin by Lush Cosmetics

Lush Cosmetics and Halloween are probably two of my favourite things, so when you throw a sparkly pumpkin into the mix, I am one happy girl! Bubble bars are the products I love the most from Lush and I bought the Sparkly Pumpkin when I attended the Christmas Launch at Lush Portsmouth the beginning of the month. Covered in golden lustre with a stick of cinnamon as the stalk it has Autumn written all over it.

Make Up Revolution Single Shadows

I'm going to assume you're familiar with Make Up Revolution, the budget make up brand taking the beauty world by storm. If not, where have you been? They are going into Superdrug stores at a rapid rate which was how I found myself swatching to my hearts content a few weeks ago. I bought some of the single mono eyeshadows as I have palettes coming out of my ears. 

Re:So Re-Launch Party

I recently attended the re-launch of Re:So situated in the Marlands Shopping Centre in Southampton. Launched in 2012, the award-winning Re:So Project was the first fully student-operated retail initiative in a UK shopping centre. Re:So has been relocated to a much larger, clean cut and contemporary space above Starbucks. Perfect for die hard fashion fans with an edge.

Bare Minerals Bare Guide to Color Warm

I've always been pretty dubious when it comes to mineral make up, sure it sounds great but I like a full coverage and I couldn't see how extra dustings of powder could give me that. I thought the best way to ease myself into mineral make up was with the Bare Minerals Bare Guide to Color in Warm kit. I love how you can pick up the try it kits from Bare Minerals before committing to full size products.

Brick Lip Pencil by MAC Cosmetics

MAC makes me happy, my lipstick collection is forever growing and Studio Fix is one of my favourite foundations so it was only natural I eventually ventured into their lip pencils. I love that Southampton now has a MAC Cosmetics counter but my bank account doesn't! There was a 10% discount day recently so I took full advantage and bought my first lip pencil in a gorgeous red shade.

Autumn Berry Lips

Autumn is my favourite time of year, I can finally embrace my love of dark colours, berry lips and layers. While routing through my lipstick collection a few weeks ago I found some old favourites and two new berry toned lippies I haven't stopped wearing so I thought I would share my favourites.

Lush Christmas Goody Bag & Haul

Yesterday I posted all about the Lush Christmas Launch I recently attended and today's post is about the wonderful goody bags we were given and what I bought on the night. We were able to choose four products to take away with us as well as the Comforter Bubble Bar we made which was huge!

Lush Christmas Launch

Oh Lush. You have well and truly pulled out the big guns this Christmas and I want EVERYTHING. I recently attended the Christmas launch at Lush Portsmouth with a handful of beautiful bloggers from the South. We were treated to a special showcase of all the bath and body products plus all their Christmas gift sets. Having only started using Lush products in January of this year, everything was new to me. Including their cult shower gel, Snow Fairy. I hadn't even smelt it before. I was like an excited child waiting to see Father Christmas.

Monu Skincare Recovery Balm

Skincare is something I've really taken notice of the last year, what with getting older and realising it was about time I started looking after my skin. Monu Skincare is a company I've known of for a while and I've tried a number of their products over that time, the Hydrating Mask and Brightening Boost being two of my favourite products. I've been using The Recovery Balm for the last 8 weeks and I've been converted to yet another Monu Skincare product.

October Birchbox

When I saw the sneak peak of this box on the Birchbox Instagram page I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. A pretty pink pouch and a lipstick pen. Eek. The theme of this months box is Work It! with products enclosed to help you get motivated. There is also a handy little 14 day planner, with tips and tricks to tackle the day ahead plus motivational quotes. There's been a lot of thought and effort put in October's Birchbox and it really shows.

Magnitone Lucid Cleansing Brush

Cleansing Brushes are everywhere at the moment. Everyone's trusty muslin cloths have been slung in a corner, having been replaced by these little handheld beauties. The Magnitone Lucid is the travel version of the Magnitone Pulsar. I have the Aqua Green one from the Fashion Series which also includes Dazzling Blue, Plush Pink and Sunshine Yellow. I had never used a cleansing brush up until now, because I'm a little lazy with my skincare and they looked like they would scrap my skin off. 

Chanel Rose Petale

Chanel makes me very happy, especially when it's as pretty as this and comes in a little velvet pouch. I recently added Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose Petale to my ever growing blush collection.

Saint Germain by MAC Cosmetics

I bought this for a mere £7 a few months back after finding a Cosmetic Company Outlet in Portsmouth. I can't bring myself to spend over £10 for a nail polish because more often than not Barry M have a cheaper and better alternative. I'll happily spend £25 on a lipstick though.. go figure?! 

MAC Cosmetics Rebel

I posted my MAC lipstick collection last week because I was pretty sure I wouldn't be adding to my collection for a while, that was until I had six empties products and Back to MAC was in sight. I had pretty much made up my mind which one I was going to get, Rebel had been on my list for a while and I wanted to start building up my Autumn shades.

Benefit Cosmetics Lemonaid

Lemonaid is one of those products that has been around for years but isn't really shown a lot of love. When I went to repurchase this recently even the girls on the Benefit counter were surprised at how many times I'd bought Lemonaid in the past because it's one of their least sold products.

Burt's Bees 30th Anniversary

Today is the 30th anniversary of Burt's Bees, a brand we all know and love. They've been keeping our lips super soft for years and now have 170 products ranging from lip tints, face care and even baby care. I've used the Burt's Bee Beeswax Lip Balm on and off for years, it's a product I always go back too because it's so soothing, plus with the added Peppermint Oil it plumps your pout.

September Birchbox

There is no other time of the month I love more than Birchbox time and this months is a good'un! The September Birchbox arrived a few days ago and I tore open the package to find the Happy Days themed box in teal and hot pink! Adorable! The Happy Days theme is all about reminiscing about our happiest days, sunny memories and some of the best times of our lives. 

My Night Time Skincare Routine

Skin care is something I've only really taken notice of since the beginning of this year. I was the girl who used face wipes and almost always slept in her make up. I felt you wince as you read that. That was until I turned twenty something and was told by my lovely mother, I really needed to start moisturising. She was right, enter me tearing Boots apart looking for something to revert my skin back a few years. I've really taken notice though and have tried some fab products this year. 

Veil Cover Cream

When Veil Cover Cream first got in touch about reviewing some products I was a little skeptical, I knew it was used as camouflage make up and had an outstanding reputation among its clients but I didn't have anything to camouflage. I said yes because I was really intrigued about the products and when the Veil Cover Cream Demonstration Kit  arrived with 20 different shades and a dusting powder I was ready to get to work. 

My MAC Lipstick Collection

I recently posted about my favourite MAC lipstick, So Chaud which had me delving into my lipstick collection again. I've had tweets and emails in the past about posting a MAC lipstick collection but for some reason I just never got round to it. I'm on a MAC Lipstick ban at the moment because I'm still miffed they raised their prices again so my collection is staying at an uneven 17. There's nudes, pinks and reds, satins, mattes and amplified finishes and a couple of limited editions chucked in too. I hope you're ready for a pretty long post.