February Favourites.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is it that I still don't know how to spell February? Well anyway, I thought I'd get a few of my favourite things together that I've been loving this month. 

Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator: I have an undying love for Liz Earle products, and this is another product that always delivers. A good exfoliator is something everyone should invest in. Much like the famous Cleanse&Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, it is a thick cream holding fine jojoba beads to gently exfoliate away dead skin cells. An exfoliator which is too abrasive can scratch and irritate skin so this is perfect due to the size of the exfoliating beads, it is also contains cocoa butter and eucalyptus to calm skin. An absolute must have. 
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer: The ultimate concealer for amazing coverage, I use this under foundation as I think it's slightly too easy to wear on top. I end up with flawless skin and a little goes a long way. Can't argue with that!
Models Own Nail Polish in Nude Beige: Such a lovely natural colour, I'd never think of wearing this on my nails but it's gorgeous. 
Perfect but not too perfect eyebrows: I love my eyebrows, defined but not drawn on with a Sharpie pen. Eyebrows really frame the face and complete a look, so I think a brow brush, a small angled brush and some eyeshadow are all you need to create a perfect arched brow. 
Fresh summer scents: I love light and fresh perfumes, my most recent addition was my Marc Jacobs Eau So Fresh Daisy perfume but I also have other ones such as Chanel Chance and Chloe. They're really easy to wear and just add a gorgeous scent which isn't too overpowering. 
Film Cameras: Getting photos developed is one of my favourite things, I have quite a few film cameras and I think they're wonderful. They always come out so dreamy and pretty. I'm trying to hunt down polaroid film for my polaroid camera. 
What were your February Favourites? 

Weekend Haul.

Yesterday I headed into Superdrug to get some lipbalm, and ended up leaving with all this. I've raved about my love for this Neutrogena Scrub before, which you can see here. I was always going to repurchase this, because it really is amazing. 

I also got some Batiste Dry Shampoo for dark brown hair. I'm one of those people that has to wash their hair every day, I couldn't just leave it so this dry shampoo is more for adding volume to my hair than "washing" it. I have really soft hair, and it's impossible to do anything with. Backcombing won't hold, and my hair goes flat in minutes, so Batiste gives it that sort of dirty feeling that not-washed hair has, so I can work with it more easily. I have the original version, but I could never use it as my hair is too dark and the white powder could be seen. Even when I rubbed it in properly and brushed it through, I was still paranoid throughout the day that it was showing! 

So you can't imagine how pleased I was when they released a brown version! My hair absolutely loves this, I am actually sporting a top knot today which I could never achieve before because my hair just fell out of place. 

The smell is divine too! I'd definitely recommend this, especially for instant volume and body. It also comes in a few different varieties, including Original, Silver Shimmer, Gold Shimmer, Fresh, Nude, Brit, Tropical, Blush and Boho which you can purchase here.

I also bought this Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Ultra-Softening Lotion as I'd heard good things about it. I got the version for dry to extra dry skin, but there are others including one with Aloe Vera for normal skin and Mango for dry skin. There are a few others which you can check out here. 

The product is quite viscous which I think is important in a body lotion because it seems more appealing. It has the most gorgeous smell which lingers on your skin for a while. It reminds me a bit of suntan lotion. It rubs in easily and my skin feels moisturised and supple afterwards. I often get dry skin around my ankles so I'll need to see how it works there.

It claims that skin feels "hydrated for 7 days" but i'm not sure how this claim holds up as i've only had it for one day. It contains glycerin which is a humectant and a main ingredient in moisturisers as it increases the water content in the skin cells meaning skin isn't dry and dehydrated. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out for me, as I love a good body lotion. 

I also bought some nice things from Lush a while ago, including my favourite Honey I Washed The Kids soap (I did buy double of what is pictured but I cut pieces off and use them quickly) I adore the smell of this soap, it's gorgeous! 

I also bought this 'Its' Raining Men' shower gel, which was from the Valentines collection. Although it seems it is still available online (the online store is back up, having semi-recovered from the hacking). It's meant to have the same scent as Honey I Washed the Kids, and I've heard other bloggers raving about the smell, but I just don't like it! It does smell similar to the soap, but it has a funny after scent which is putting me off a bit, hence why it's hardly been used. 

Has anyone else bought this product and not fallen in love with the smell? 

Finally, I got the Catastrophe Cosmetic face mask, which is my favourite! This has actually all been used up, but I'm keeping the packaging to take back to the shop. It contains blueberries which are really rich in antioxidants and are just amazing for my skin. If you haven't tried this, I really recommend it because it's gorgeous! 

Wishlist #1: Missguided.

I was recently contacted by Missguided to advertise on my blog, and I decided to do a little post on some of the items I would like from their site. Missguided is a womens clothing website which offers lovely items for affordable prices.
I logged on to their website, and found that they'd changed their site layout since the last time I'd visited which really appeals to me. It made things easy to find, and it was speedy (no waiting hours for images to load!) and I found some lovely items really quickly.
The first is this crochet peter pan collared top, if you've followed my blog for a while now, you'll know how I feel about peter pan collars! This top is gorgeous, quite vintage style which is on trend right now and it looks like it would be easy to wear with a high waisted flared skirt and a skinny belt.

I noticed this navy applique dress, which looks lovely and casual for day time (perfect with the cream brogues) but also dressed up for evening with some nude heels and a cream cardigan. I love coral and navy together, so this would go well with a coral cardigan or bag. I love the style of this dress, especially the neck detail. It's quite 1940s I think.

The floaty nude dress is definitely something I'd wear on a night out. I love the one-shoulder dresses, and the colour makes it a bit more classy. This would go well with a lovely black clutch bag and some platform heels.

I love gold jewellery, especially cute pendants so this gold birdcage necklace is definitely on my wishlist. It instantly adds some style to any outfit, and would go well with the navy dress too.

The cream brogues are my favourite! I live in brogues, but don't own any this colour. Brogues are so easy to wear, they go with dresses, skirts, shorts & jeans. I'd wear these with a pair of grey skinnies and a peter pan collared top. I think out of everything pictured here, I definitely need these shoes in my life!

I have a love for black satchels, and i'm dying to get my hands on a Mulberry Alexa, but until then this lookalike black satchel is on my wishlist. It looks a lot like the famous Mulberry bag, but for considerably less. I don't go anywhere without a big handbag, and of course, black goes with everything.

There are heaps more lovely items on the Missguided online store, so it's definitely worth a look.

*This post wasn't sponsored. 

.com! & Maybelline & Models Own.

Welcome to www.gh0stparties.com! I hope you like the new domain, I'm very proud :)

Recently I bought this Maybelline One by One Volum' Express mascara and I am in love! I have been blessed with naturally quite long eyelashes anyway, but I do like a good mascara to accentuate them. I don't ever use eyelash curlers for some reason, I don't really like the feel of them so I'm always searching for a good mascara that curls & holds my eyelashes all day. 

I love the brush on this mascara, it's made up of heaps of tiny little rubber bristles, rather than the typical bristle brushes. I prefer rubber brushes, to be honest. I think it makes my eyelashes less clumpy and this mascara is really good at separating all my lashes. 

My eyelashes stay curled and voluminous all day, and my lashes are separated which is exactly what I look for in a mascara. 

A problem with having long eyelashes is that during the day, my mascara smudges again my brow bone and I get black marks under my eyebrows which is awful because no one ever tells me and I don't realise until the end of the day. My favourite thing about this mascara is that I have no smudgey marks! It is literally smudge-proof, which is amazing. 

I generally do love Maybelline mascaras, I think they're really good quality for the price and always seem to last a long time. I'd definitely recommend this mascara, especially as it costs around £6!

As it's 3 for 2 on most products in Boots at the moment, I picked up these beauties! Three Models Own polishes for £10, in Fuzzy Peach, Top Turquoise and Nude Beige.
Such lovely colours. I think I might go and get a few more... any colour recommendations?

ELF Products.

I was recently contacted by ELF to write about a few of their products. A week or so ago and also a few months back, I bought some ELF products but haven't had a chance to review them so this was the perfect opportunity.
I'm a massive fan of ELF products, their prices are very reasonable for the quality of the product and I often buy quite a few things from their online shop to make the postage worth it (always kidding myself into buying more).

ELF Eyelid Primer 
I've been experimenting with eyeshadows and new looks recently, so I'm really glad I bought this primer. I'm sure you've all heard how brilliant it is, it's been hailed as a dupe for Urban Decays Primer Potion, but I actually use my ELF primer far more than I ever used my UDPP. This product is £1.50, which is such a good price for the quality of the primer. I don't feel guilty when I use it because at that price I can always afford to buy another one.
Even when I don't plan on wearing eyeshadow, I like to sweep some of this primer on to my eyelids, as it makes them a lovely natural colour.
Of course, as with all eye products, it will eventually crease. That is inevitable. But I would say you get about 4-8hours of wear before any signs of creasing show.
I'd definitely recommend this product to anyone, if you're a fan of UD Primer Potion, then you really need to check out this!

ELF Studio Blush in Candid Coral
Before I bought this blush, I'd been searching for a coral blush for some time and couldn't find one that had more pink undertones than orange as I am reasonably pale. I love buying blushes and this is definitely one I've been reaching for a lot lately. It has a slight gold shimmer to it, which I love! I usually wear a highlighter but if I use a shimmery blush then I don't feel I need to.
This is a more subtle colour than other blushes I use, so it's better suited for daytime wear (although I sometimes layer it for a more noticeable glow at night).
I really can't fault this colour.

ELF Small Angled Brush

This has to be my favourite item purchased from ELF ever. I use this pencil to fill in my eyebrows, I have a thing about having nice arched eyebrows and this has really helped the way I shape them. Before this brush, I was using a brow pencil, which worked well but I can't imagine using anything else but this brush now. 

It's the perfect size for filling in brows (or maybe applying eyeliner or lipstick) and the slanted edge makes it easier to give my eyebrows a perfect straight edge and arch. I can imagine this would also be excellent for doing eyeliner, especially the flicks at the outer corner and I'm contemplating buying another one of these for that purpose. 

I highly recommend this brush for filling in eyebrows, you can see from mine that they're a nice shape and this takes literally minutes to do with a good coloured eyeshadow. 

ELF Mineral Lipstick in Runway Pink

This quality of this lipstick is amazing, it's even more amazing when you consider the price (£3.50/$5.00). This is a highly pigmented matte pink colour with a slight sheen, and it suits me perfectly. I wear this night and day and it goes with anything, so natural and easy to wear. It's actually very moisturising too, I sometimes find it hard to wear lipstick because it dries out my lips, but I've never had any issues with this. 

I also really like the packaging on this too, it's very sturdy and simple which makes it easy to find in my bag since I have the worst habit of throwing about 10 lipsticks and glosses in my handbag. 

L-R: Blush in Candid Coral, Mineral Lipstick in Runway Pink, Eyelid Primer

These are my favourite ELF products from the two hauls I've bought, and I'm definitely going to buy more. I love the quality of their products, especially the Mineral and Studio ranges and the price is amazing. Being able to buy good, honest products for less than £5 is incredible. I'm really impressed with their brushes, and I think they're definitely worth a purchase. 

I'm going to purchase another darker blush and more lipsticks, and I've also heard good things about the ELF eyelash curlers. 

It's annoying that ELF products aren't sold in stores in the UK, but I think the shipping costs are reasonable, and if you spend over £30 then shipping is free. 

Also, on the US site, there is shipping for $2 if you spend over $15. Which is definitely worth it if you live in the US. 

You can also check out this blog for an awesome review on the ELF Studio Endless Eyes Pro Eyeshadow Palette. 

All links here are to the US site (which has customer reviews of the products underneath), but you can visit the UK site here. 

MAC & Topshop LE Haul.

I decided to treat myself to a little bit of MAC today, so I picked up the Fanfare Cremesheen lipstick and Fleur Power Powder Blush.

Both colours look amazing, I can't wait to try them out.

I also got a couple of things from the Limited Ed. Topshop collection, including a gloss stick in "Ablaze" and a crayon in "Equinox" which are both lovely.

L-R: Topshop Crayon in Equinox, Topshop Gloss in Ablaze, MAC blush in Fleur Power and MAC lipstick in Fanfare

In this picture I'm wearing The Topshop crayon on my eyes and the Topshop gloss on my lips. 

I've really been enjoying Topshop makeup and I can't wait to get more pieces when they come in in the next couple of weeks. 

Tomorrow, Graeme is playing in Mint Lounge in Manchester so I'm going too. Haven't decided on what to wear yet, but I think my Topshop makeup will make an appearance. 

What's everyones plans for the weekend? 

5 Of the Best: Highlighters.

I think using a highlighter makes such a difference, especially as I don't have the best skin. A good highlighter will brighten dull skin, have light-reflecting pigments to cover blemishes and imperfections, and smooth over skin, hiding pores. For me, this is essential in my everyday makeup routine. 

A highlighter can brighten your overall appearance, and make tired-looking skin looking full of life. 

I'm going to introduce you to my five favourite highlighters, some of which are creams whilst others are powders. 

MAC Strobe Cream

I'm sure everyone has at least heard of this product. I use this every day, and I love how it transforms my skin. I've been using it for a few months now and I love it. MAC say "Brightens and clarifies with iridescent particles and antioxidants. Enhances the effects of light on all skin" which is exactly what we want. It uses botanicals, vitamins and green tea to add some life to your skin. I use this all over my face, on top of moisturiser. Although it can be used on its own (I wish!) I always wear foundation on top, which gives me a lovely healthy glow. I've recently had a few compliments on my complexion and it's all down to this little lovely. If you don't already have this in your makeup bag, then I'd really recommend it. It doesn't make skin shine, just simply adds a subtle but gorgeous sheen.

Benefits High Beam

Ahh the famed High Beam. I can guarantee that everyone has this in their collection, it's just one of those cult products isn't it. High Beam is a "complexion enhancer" which creates "that natural, radiant glow you've always desired" say Benefit. I've been using this product for years now, and we've been through a turbulent relationship in this time but I've finally accepted this product for what it is. Whilst I use MAC Strobe Cream all over my face, High Beam is destined for those special areas you want to be noticed, such as your cheekbones, your brow bone or down your nose. I use this usually only on my brow bone, which I think works amazingly well. High Beam is quite pigmented, more so than MAC strobe cream I would say (but it is more of a pink undertone as the picture shows). I used to apply this over my foundation to my cheek bones, but I found that it didn't blend in so well with my foundation. I now use a powder for this area. Once I had worked that out, I began to see High Beam in a whole new light. 

High Beam is a lot thicker than other liquid highlighters such as Strobe Cream, and it's also quite gloopy. 

Although I do recommend this product, you really have to find out what works for you. I absolutely love High Beam just under my eyebrow to accentuate the arch but you may find other uses for this. 

Smashbox Soft Fusion Lights in Baked Stardust

This is one of the first Smashbox products I've tried and I don't think I've put it down since. Smashbox say "The illuminating formula softens the way light reflects on your skin and wakes up your complexion for a radiant look" which is what it does. I apply this to my cheekbones (sorry High Beam!) to give a subtle sheen and a lovely glow. I don't use a bronzer, but this does have a slight bronzed look to it, so this sort of is my bronzer. I can't fault this product, it's less noticeable than other powder highlighters I've tried and the 5 different colours give such a nice natural glow. I'm quite pale (NW20) and happy with that, so it's nice to have a small amount of bronze added to your face which will catch the light and brighten your appearance. 

I guess you could sweep this product around your face, but I find it works best with just a small amount on my cheeks. 

Bourjois Illuminating Touch

I've always been a massive fan of Bourjois little pots, especially their blush pots. I found this about a year ago, and it's always been something I reach for. It's more iridescent than the other highlighters i've mentioned, and a lovely natural peach colour. Although it's a bit more glittery, it gives a subtle glow which helps to sculpt the face. I think this is a bit more natural than the other highlighters. 

I'd definitely recommend this product, it goes really well with a nice pink/peach blush and really injects some glow into your skin. 

Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam

Okay so I know I only bought this a few days ago, but I am seriously in love. This product is so lovely and pigmented, Topshop say it is a "Shimmering silky golden highlighter to add lightness and radiance to face and body". 

I know this will become a permanent product in my life, the lovely golden colour is gorgeous and it really does give you a gorgeous glow. I use this along my cheekbones and on my temples, but it can be used all over the body - on the collarbones or around your cleavage. 

This looks amazing on my slightly pale skin, but I know it will look lovely in the summer with a tan as well. 

If you don't already have this, you really need this in your life. 

So there is my 5 Best Highlighters, let me know what you think. I'm thinking about making this a regular feature so if you want to suggest something for me to review, I'd definitely be up for it. 

In other news, I'm selling two of my favourite dresses on ebay, which can be found here. 

Last nights FOTD.

Last night we decided to go out for some drinks in Leeds, so I thought I'd put up some pictures of my outfit & makeup.
I basically just wore the same outfit as yesterday, the peter pan collared crop top and black bodycon skirt, but put my cameo necklace on and some lovely Topshop heart suspenders.

I got them a while ago, probably in October/November but I love them! I don't like the Henry Holland suspender tights because I think they look odd (why the three suspender straps?!) but these are so cute.
I also added some eyeshadow from my Too Faced Natural Eye Palette and a touch of Topshop Brighton Rock lipstick.

MAC Studio Fix foundation 

L'oreal Touche Magique concealer

MAC Strobe Cream

Topshop Blush in Pinch

Smashbox Soft Fusions Highlighter

Benefit Brow Zings

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette 

MAC Prolong Lash

Rimmel Liner 

Nude Beach on my brow bone. 

Honey Pot on lid. 

Cocoa Puff on crease. 

And obviously my homemade studded leather jacket! 

Planning on doing absolutely nothing today! I love sundays. 

Film camera.

 

Somehow, I've managed to get a really bad cold. AGAIN. So I uploaded some pictures I took with my film camera, the pictures are mainly taken at my house in Scotland and the last two were taken in Russia. I used an ordinary Ultra Slim & Wide camera with some expired film.