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Zoeva haulin'

My makeup brush collection has not been added to for quite some time, so with some of my remaining Christmas money I treated myself to some Zoeva brushes. My mis-matched eye shadow brushes were no longer cutting the mustard and having read many good reviews of this brand, I went for four from the rose gold collection...

The 230 Luxe Pencil: this brush is perfect for applying eyeshadow to the upper and lower lash lines to create a smudgy and smoky effect

The 231 Luxe Petit Crease: this small tapered brush can be used in the socket to create quite a defined cut crease look

The 234 Luxe Smoky Shader: I like to use this brush for packing on colour to the eyelid- the rounded shape is ideal for this

The 142 Concealer and Buffer: this is the ultimate under eye concealer brush- fits perfectly in the contours of the face and nose

These brushes are very reasonably priced at £7.50 for the three eyeshadow brushes and £8.50 for the concealer brush, and the quality is definitely up there with the MAC brushes I own. As well as being impressive value for money, these brushes are certainly aesthetically pleasing with pale pink handles and rose gold ferrules complete with an embossed Zoeva logo. All the brushes in this collection are available in the classic Zoeva black and silver, but I had to go for the rose gold collection, because... rose gold...

What is your favourite brand of makeup brushes?

Vitamin c skincare saviours

The Vitamin C Cleansing Oil and the Daily Micro Polish Wash from Úna Brennan’s Superfacialist range are definitely among my favourite skincare finds of the year. These two cleansing products have a really luxurious feel for the reasonable price tags of £10.99 for the oil and £9.99 for the daily scrub.

Until now, I have always avoided using any kind of oil on my combination/ oily skin, however this cleansing oil leaves my skin feeling clean without leaving behind any greasy residue. I massage the oil into my dry skin using fingers, and add some warm water to lather it into the skin. I then remove it thoroughly- I find muslin cloths to be great for gently exfoliating without being too harsh. The golden oil has a lovely zesty scent and just a few drops are enough to cleanse the whole face. The only little nitpick I have is the packaging- the lack of pump is a bit of a pain, but it definitely won’t stop me repurchasing.

Moving on to the scrub. Gone are the days when I would scrub my face to death with chemical filled, stripping exfoliators (I’m looking at you, Clearasil). Although I have moved on from this teen habbit, I do like to use an exfoliator of some kind as my combination skin can get very dry on the surface. I find the Úna Brennan Mirco Polish to be gentle, whilst also being able to slough away dead skin as the particles are so so tiny (as the name would suggest). The smell is similarly citrusy to the oil, and when I use these products together, my skin feels truly clean, soft and nourished.

What have been your favourite cleansing products of 2015?

Desk (not so) Essentials

Stationary has always been a love of mine. There's no better way to make me feel motivated and organised than to purchase a brand new pencil case, pens and desk supplies. For as long as I can remember, the main perk of starting a new school year was the obligatory trip to WH Smith to choose the cutest stationary to impress my school pals with. Very little has changed and starting my first real job after graduating from University meant only one thing... A trip to Paperchase for a few desk 'essentials'.

All stationary addicts will know that walking into a stationary store to buy one item is a virtually impossible feat, so, predictably I left the store with more than I required (which was a simple notepad). I opted for a colourful metallic notepad with a magnetic closure (£6), and couldn't resist buying a pineapple printed mechanical pen (£2.50) to match. The Russian Doll highlighters (£3) were impossible to pass by and of course I had to buy a tiny pencil case (£4) to keep them in! Because Paperchase accept student discount cards, I was able to take advantage of the last few months of one of the biggest perks of attending University!

Does anyone else share my love of stationary? Where is your favourite place to buy your desk essentials?