Infinitely Gigi

Tuesday 26 January 2016

BIRCHBOX JANUARY 2016

Ok so I know I may have made a post about how I subscribed to Glossybox last month but I might of unsubscribed and subscribed to Birchbox instead, so I mean I did...it just seemed like a lot more people were subscribed to Birchbox and that it included brands that were more popular and well known. They do not disappointment I'm so happy I subscribed, they're January box is so nice with much better products and if you are subscribed to Glossybox I would definitely recommend having a little look at the Birchbox subscription!

I was so glad when I saw that Benefit's They're Real Tinted Primer was included in this month's box, it was the first thing that jumped out at me because I've been wanting to try this for a while after hearing good things about it but I didn't want to dive into the deep end and buy it full size before trying it. I've only used it a couple of times and I have noticed my lashes looking much longer and thicker, you just apply one coat on your lashes from root to tip before applying your mascara. I do think this is a great product, however there is a but...I'm not sure whether I would fully commit to a full size product because the one thing I hate about spending money on mascara is that they just dry up in the end. I think with a lot of them you see a great difference when you start using them and your lashes look so much thicker and longer but then this first effect sort of wears off and then your back looking for the next great mascara and I think this could be the case with this one. Although I will still continue to use it to see whether the long and thicker looking lashes last, if any of you have tried this please let me know what you thought.

The next product I have tried is the Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle which is a spray that helps condition and detangle your hair as well as minimise frizz. This product does do all three as well as protect against UV and heat styling which is such a good thing for my hair as I frequently straighten my hair which is a habit I really need to get out of. The reason I was most looking forward to using this was to see if it made a difference in how static my hair is, and I'm so glad to say it does because I was about to shave my hair off because of how irritating it was, as soon as I had dried or straightened my hair it immediately went static but after using this on my hair after washing it when its damp it's much less fine and static. I may need to buy the full size of this once I've used this all up!

Another product I have never tried or heard of is the Rituals T'ai Chi Foaming Shower Gel, I haven't tried any of their products before but a lot of their products are about taking the everyday products we use in our daily routine and turning them into more meaningful, indulgent moments. The majority of their products contain a lot of natural ingredients like white lotis and yi yi ren which are two ingredients of the T'ai Chi Foaming Shower Gel, so I am looking forward to giving this a go and seeing if it relaxes me ever so slightly so that I'm in a better mood going to work. The other product I was unsure about was the Absolution L'Eau Soir et Matin, this is a purifying cleansing water to remove your makeup and the dirt in your skin and uses ingredients such as hazelnut oil and aloe vera to leave your skin looking and feeling refreshed and soft. I haven't given this a go yet because I'm slightly weary before trying new skincare products on my skin because of how sensitive it is but maybe I'll give it a go and you might see this in a monthly favourites, I will let you know how I get on.

My favourite thing from this month's box is the Eyeko London Fat Liquid Eyeliner, this may have actually saved me because I hadn't realised I had ran out of my eyeliner so it's a good thing this was included! This has to be my favourite purely because you can never have enough eyeliners, plus I haven't used a nib this big before so it was interesting to see if it would create a different look, and it's great at creating a thicker bold cat eye. This is a great eyeliner and I love using this when I want a bolder eyeliner look because its so easy to use the thicker nib with just one sweep of it across your eyelid, I definitely need to have a little look at their other eyeliner products possibly their Eyeko Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner which is much thiner nib compared to this one.

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Birchbox
#No filter Birchbox compact mirror
Rituals T'ai Chi Foaming Shower Gel
Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle
Absolution L'Eau Soir et Matin
Eyeko Fat Liquid Eyeliner in Black
Benefit They're Real Tinted Primer

THE CAMEL, TAILORED COAT

I love cold weather and this time of year is my favourite, even though Christmas is over, I love January because usually it's the start of cold, dry days where you can just wrap up in the biggest and cosiest coat and scarf. This tailored, camel coat is my new favourite and I love the length on it because although I have a similar coat it's also completely different in a few ways because of the length. This camel coat came from the wonderful cheap and cheerful Primark and for only £25, Primark have some great coats in at the moment and I may have picked up about 10 different coats when I was in store but limited it down to this one and a lovely grey coat that fingers crossed you'll see in another look. But honestly you should really consider buying a camel coat, they are everywhere at the moment and I mean why wouldn't they be, they make every outfit ten times 'chicer' and will no doubt be back in next year so they're a great investment!

I'm also loving scarfs at the moment especially this grey Topshop one, I honestly haven't taken this off since I bought it and for good reasons. It's such a lovely soft cotton scarf and great quality, but I may also have to purchase it in camel as well, not to mention it's great at hiding a bad hair day by easily just tucking your hair under the scarf. I love layering clothes in winter, cosy sweaters, oversized coats and scarfs, with a pair of chunky boots like these River Island oxblood chelsea boots. I love the heel on these, it's not too high but high enough to make me look like an average sized person but still easy to walk in, it's quite a chunky, square heel as well, these are my favourite because they suit my figure better and give the illusion that my legs are longer. I love the colour on these as well, I don't have anything like them and I wear them everywhere! Keep an eye out for another 'Tailored Coat' post coming soon!

THINGS I MENTIONED:

Primark camel coat

Topshop grey scarf

Topshop grey sweater

Topshop black bag

Primark black jeans

River Island chelsea boots

2015 FAVOURITES

It's about time I did my 2015 Favourites, and this is most likely going to be the longest post and the most rambling post I've done so I've limited myself down to 10 make-up products and 5 skin care products! But let's start by saying Happy New Year to everyone and thank god 2015 is over and let's pray this year is much better! I'm going to jump straight in with my first favourite, it's the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette which is probably the prettiest palette I have and I'm obsessed with it and now need some more Hourglass products in my life because they're such great products not to mention how pretty they look. This is a great product purely on the basis that you get to try quite a few of their powders out, if you aren't sure where to begin or don't want to commit to a full sized product, here you get to try a bit of everything. Another quite pricey product that is so worth the price tag, is basically anything by Charlotte Tilbury! My two favourites are her Matte Revolution Lipstick in the shade Sexy Sienna and the Filmstar Bronze & Glow, not only is the packaging beautiful in it's rose gold glory but the products are amazing and 100% worth the price! If I had to recommend one high end brand to splurge on it would be Charlotte Tilbury, every one of her products are great and I've never heard anyone say anything bad about her products, she know's what she's talking about when it comes to make-up and has created such amazing products!

My next favourite is something I have no idea why I didn't buy it sooner, it's the Urban Decay Naked palette and I seriously cannot live without this! I'm so glad I went with the first Naked palette, there's so many looks you can create with this, everyday more natural looks and then the full smokey eye look which is probably my favourite. My favourite shades have to be Smog, Darkhorse and Hustle, I also love using the shade Half Baked as a highlighter because all the shades are so pigmented and just apply so well and I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on the Urban Decay Smoky palette! Another favourite look is eyeliner for me, I never not have eyeliner on and hate not wearing it, I think everyone has that one thing that they can't not wear and that's definitely eyeliner for me! I don't really invest in high end eyeliner's because it's something I use all the time so I constantly run out of it so it's not something I want to spend huge amounts on. My favourite eyeliner and the only eyeliner pen I use is the Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner, this is a really boring favourite for me because I use it all the time but it is a great product, affordable and I continuously buy this but if you guys have any other eyeliner recommendations that are worth mentioning let me know. Another everyday favourite that I have to mention is the Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation because this is the only foundation I ever really use, it has great coverage and it doesn't dry my skin out or go patchy so this has to be my favourite foundation of 2015! A high end foundation is definitely on my makeup list for 2016 so if anyone again has any recommendations please comment down below, so far I have the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation and the Nars Sheer Glow foundation on my list. I can't not mention a MAC lipstick in my 2015 favourites and this one is quite a new purchase but I have fallen in love with the colour, it's a matte lipstick in the shade Honey Love. This is such a lovely nude, brown shade and there was no doubt I was going to love it because MAC matte lipsticks are my favourite, they apply so well so I had to include one!

I couldn't do a 2015 beauty favourites without mentioning the Zoeva brushes! I think Zoeva as a brand is so great and so underrated, their eyeshadow palettes are amazing and such great quality especially for the affordable price tag. But the reason Zoeva has to have a mention here is because of their amazing beautiful brushes, I love their brushes, they're honestly the best brushes and when you think about how much they are, how could you not want to buy them all! I seriously need to buy more of them and have my eyes set on the Rose Golden complete eye set not only because of how amazing they are but also because of how pretty they are and you all need to try them! Another favourite I need to quickly mention and could not live without is the Soap and Glory Brow Archery pencil, my eyebrows would not be the same without it and I absolutely love it! My last favourite has to be a favourite fragrance and it's the Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir cologne, I picked this up in Paris on a whim and it's not something I might have picked up back home so it's a good thing I did! This is such a lovely fresh, fruity scent, I always get compliments when I wear this and it's so long lasting so this obviously had to be mentioned!

2015 has been a bit of a skincare struggle for me, my skin will be dry one minute and oily the next so there aren't that many skincare favourites for this year but I think a New Year's resolution will be to definitely sort out my skincare routine and if any of you have any skincare products that you love let me know and please comment down below! My skin is so tricky because I have eczema but also get allergic reactions to some skincare products so finding a really good skincare product is really difficult for me. But something I have loved using to take my makeup off is the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, I was more of a Bioderma person before but the Garnier micellar water isn't as harsh on my skin and doesn't blind me if I get it in my eyes, not to mention it's much more affordable than Bioderma. This can sometimes dry my skin out because of my eczema but one thing I love to use when it does is the Body Shop Vitamin E sink in moisture mask, this is such a lovely moisturiser and so nice to use when your having a bad skin day, and just want to sit there letting it sink in while you watch a movie.

Another skincare favourite that has saved my poor chapped lips on numerous occasions is the Nuxe Reve de Miel Ultra Nourishing lip balm, this is the best lip balm I have and is great for using under lipsticks because it's not greasy and more of a matte lip balm so it helps the lipstick not to dry my lips out and can make my lipstick last longer. Although I do love this I'm still not happy with how dry my lips are and it doesn't work all the time, so if any of you have any lip balms that you love please comment down below! My last skincare favourite is the Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque, this is another lovely high end product that I picked up in Paris not only because I loved the packaging but I had heard great things about it. This is such a great quality product and I love using this when I want a full kind of pampering day, I don't use this all over my face but instead use it in the main areas I get blemishes and redness, and it's great at calming my skin and helps to reduce my blemishes. This is definitely my favourite skincare product and although Aesop is slightly pricier they're such lovely products to treat yourself to especially if you're looking to better your skin because it's being slightly crappy! There are a few products I have on my list to have a little look at, especially the Aesop Fabulous Face Oil!

I hope you enjoyed this slightly long post and hopefully now it's 2016 I'll start to get organised with regular posts being put up, let me know what you would like to see next and if anyone has any tips I'm definitely open to some advice on the whole blog front!

2015 BEAUTY RESOLUTIONS:
- For my makeup collection to grow immensely
- Invest in a high end foundation
- Sort out a permanent skin care routine
- Organise my makeup storage
- If anyone has any recommendations to any products please comment down below...

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Beauty:
Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick - Sexy Sienna
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow - Light to Medium

Urban Decay Naked palette
Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner

Mac Matte lipstick in Honey Love

Zoeva brushes

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Cologne