Urban Decay Spring 2015 Collection

With winter finally starting to ebb away and the first touches of spring starting, the spring beauty releases are coming out in force. I love spring collections; they're the perfect in-between of bold, warm shades we turn to in winter, with a hint of the lighter, bright shades we all love in summer. Most season collections are full to the brim with gorgeous products, the majority of which are usually limited edition and sell-out in a flash, often leaving loyal customers scrambling to get their hands on their favourite products from the collection before they're gone for good. This spring Urban Decay have stepped up their collection-game, with a stunning array of new product launches - that are all permanent additions to the Urban Decay range! 

Finished Reading | February 2015

At the beginning of February I set myself a target of reading three books, which I shared in my post 'Reading in February'. Little did I know I would get completely swept up in the reading-bug this month, and I found it impossible to stop reading, finishing a total of 7 books - and I'm already half-way through another! Here's my thoughts on the books I finished this month.

This Month's Favourites | February 2015

With another month almost over, it's time to get stuck into the products which stood out for me the most this February.

The Cheek Brushes

I own a lot of makeup brushes. I find makeup brushes pretty hard to resist; I'm not one for using my fingers when it comes to applying makeup, so brushes are a pretty big must-have in my routine. When I was younger I had but a handful of makeup brushes, in the days when I didn't even know yet alone appreciate the importance of keeping brushes clean and washed regularly, hand-me-downs from my mum's brush collection. Over the past three years or so I've slowly built up quite the collection, forever adding more to my stash. For me, a good makeup brush is just as - if not more - important as good makeup; for me, without a good brush it doesn't matter how expensive my makeup might be, if you don't apply it with the right tools, it'll never look how I want it to.

The Empties #3

It's been a while since I last shared an empties post, but I'm getting through products pretty darn quickly recently, so I thought it was about time to share my thoughts on the products I've finished recently!

Psych Bites | What is anxiety?

Of all the most commonly known psychological disorders, anxiety is the one I see people making judgemental comments about the most, even more so than depression which has been more in the public eye over the years. It's no secret that over the past few years anxiety on a whole has become a much more talked about topic, with not just those with anxiety sharing their experiences more openly and online, but celebrities reaching out to share their own experiences with anxiety, too. Not a day goes by when I don't see a tweet, status or even news report that somehow relates to anxiety - and with that comes more and more increasingly frustrating responses from those who chose to ridicule anxiety and it's sufferers. I don't know about you, but I for one am pretty tired of the judgemental comments I see when someone is open about their anxiety. Self-assured comments that of course so and so is only saying they have anxiety for attention, and didn't you know, everyone has anxiety nowadays? 

Four Serums for Oily Skin

A few years ago if you've mentioned a serum to me, I wouldn't have had a clue what you were on about. Yet now, serums are as important in my skincare routine as a good cleanser. When you suffer with oily skin, finding the right products for your skin can be really difficult. I think that's the case even more so with a lot of skincare products like serums, oils and treatments, because not everything will work for you and some products can even make your oily skin worse. It's taken a lot of serums over the years for me to find ones which work in harmony with my skin type, and these are my top four.

The Brush Holders

I've no shame in admitting that I have a serious addiction to makeup brushes. I've lost count of the amount I own, constantly adding to my collection even though I don't need any more, I just find them hard to resist - after all, without the right tools, not even the most expensive makeup will look good. When you have as many brushes as I do, storing them can be quite the challenge.

Three Daily Rituals

Skincare regime and body care aside, there's three things I do on a daily basis, my three daily rituals, that I couldn't be without.

An ode to The Body Shop Body Butters

I love body lotions, crème's and even oils, but there's few things I love more than a hard-working body butter.

Models Own Hyper Gel Spring Shades

Last month I shared the new Models Own Colour Chrome Liquid Metal Effect Collection, which had more than a few of you excited! You can check out my full review here, but it's safe to say I'm still smitten with the new collection; lasting 11 days chip-free, I am super impressed with the formula and beautiful shades. On a roll with another gorgeous new release, Models Own have released a gorgeous new array of shades to the pre-existing Hypergel line.

More Budget Skincare Picks

Last month I shared some of my favourite budget skincare picks (see here), a post which seemed to go down really well with those of you hunting down the perfect effective skincare products on a budget. I thought I'd share some more of my favourite budget skincare finds, covering cleansing, toning and exfoliating. Here's some more of my go-to budget skincare picks!

February 2015 The Vegan Kind Box

Another month, another The Vegan Kind box! It's time to delve inside and see what treats are in the February box*...

The Detangling Brushes

Although Denman will always be my go-to for hair brushes, I've found myself completely addicted to detangling brushes over the past year or so, so I thought it was about time I shared my favourite brands for keeping hair knot-free!

Lime Crime Velvetines

Although my love for liquid lipsticks has intensified over the past year, dabbling in Sephora Cream Lip Stains, OCC Lip Tars, Hourglass and most recently Too Faced, it was Lime Crime who first turned my attention to liquid lacquers, and made me fall in love with the dreamy formula and highly pigmented lip colour liquid lipsticks provide.

Max Factor Excess Shimmer Eyeshadow

There's something about cream and gel shadows which I just love. They can work as a fantastic base for an eye-catching look, making shadows look more intense and even prolonging their longevity, or they can be the perfect wash of colour providing a gorgeous shade that just works on it's own. Usually I turn to high-end brands like MAC, Illamasqua and Clarins, whose formulas and shade ranges I adore, but recently I've been more than a little bit smitten with a high-street offering, at a much more budget-friendly price.

Laura Gellar Love Me Dew Lip Crayon

I adore lip crayons. By far my favourite way to apply lip colour in a quick, easy and fuss-free way. When lip crayons first started to take the UK by storm, in the form of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains, I was smitten. I added as many shades as I could get my hands on to my beauty stash, and for a long while they were all I used. Over the past year or so though I sort of grew out of them, opting again for my beloved traditional lipsticks and even dabbling in liquid lipsticks - but I think I've found a range which has rekindled my love for a quick and easy lip again.

Jo Malone Blackberry & Bay

Last year I expanded my high-end fragrance stash with two beauties from Jo Malone. Although very, very expensive, I adore the scents I have from Jo Malone and so I was pretty eager to explore more of the Jo Malone range. 

The Wishlist | Contour, Bronze and Highlight

It's been a long time since I shared a beauty wishlist, but over the past few weeks I have been completely obsessed with hunting down the perfect bronzers, highlighters and contouring kits. 

Limited Edition Smoky Poppy Collection

If there's one brand whose body care range I can never resist, it's The Body Shop. Their body butters are an everyday must-have for me and my favourite way to keep my body moisturised and happy. Every now and then The Body Shop release a limited edition scent range, and their newest Smoky Poppy range is going to be hard for anyone to resist...

Sigma Beauty Makeup Favourites

Sigma is by far my favourite brand for makeup brushes, but it's not just their brushes which leave me lusting. With an ever expanding range of makeup products on offer, I adore their makeup range just as much as their brushes and tools.

The long-lasting essentials

Whenever I have a date-night planned with the other half or friends, or an event to doll myself up for, there's certain products I always turn to which I know I can rely on to keep my makeup in place from morning to night.

Exploring Topshop Beauty

When Topshop first released their beauty line I loved the look of the products on offering. The packaging is always pretty beautiful, the shade ranges are quite expansive and the prices aren't too bad either. I tried a couple of products, some I liked, some I really didn't - and I haven't tried anything from Topshop since!

Urban Decay Naked 3

When Urban Decay released the newest full size palette to join the Naked family to the range, Naked 3, I knew I had to have it. It seemed like everyone went beauty obsessed with the Naked 3 palette, and mainly because of the packaging; beautiful rose gold, a colour every girl adores.

Too Faced Candy Melted Lipstick

I love Too Faced products, but so far everything I've tried has been for cheeks and eyes. The Too Faced Melted Candy Lipstick is my first dabble into Too Faced lip products, a range which had me lusting as soon as it was released.

Reading in February

Last month in my 'Reading in January' post, I shared the two books I wanted to finish reading that month. In the end I actually ended up reading double that amount, and you can read my full reviews of the books I finished in January in my 'Finished Reading | January 2015' post. With a new month comes a new set of books I hope to get through this month, it's time to share the books I've be delving into this February.

The 15 year old shadows

I am the worst at letting things go. I like to describe my house as 'cosy and homely', but realistically I'm just a ridiculous hoarder! I find it so hard to throw things away, and that used to apply to my beauty products too. I used to refuse to throw any products away that weren't completely used up - something I've changed over the years after realising how dangerous it can be to both our skin and our health to use products which are long passed their best-by date. Yet there's one little trio of shadows I still can't let go....

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish, worth the hype?

I've done quite a few 'worth the hype?' posts recently, and they're a type of post I actually really enjoy writing. When I first started writing Tattooed Tealady, I didn't dabble much in high-end products and I kind of dismissed them on a whole. Over the years I've learnt that my skin is much happier with higher quality ingredients, and my makeup lasts much longer (and looks a lot better!) on my naturally oily skin with the high-end products I have in my stash now. But does that mean the products I dish out money on are always worth the hype?

Birchbox UK February 2015 | The New Slimbox

Not only is the February Birchbox an exciting one contents wise, but the February Birchbox arrived in a very different way this month...