Anastasia Cream Contour Kit

No long ass introduction required for this one; I got the Anastasia Cream Contour Kit from CultBeauty and it is beautiful.

I already own the powder version of this palette and I love it, it's perfect for the every day subtle contour look. However, it's no secret that I love drag and drag makeup. My queens give me life and a yearning for some serious contour looks that powders just can't quite provide. Thus enters the Cream Contour Kit. 

Being the ghostly pale girl that I am, I decided to go for the 'fair' kit; it comes in fair, light, medium and dark. (Can I just say I am loving the inclusion of a palette for us fair people out there, reppin' the Casper look.) The fair palette gives me two matte highlight shades, 1 shimmery highlight and 3 cool contour shades. As far as I can tell, the fair palette is the only one of the 4 to include a shimmery highlight and the other two highlight shades are as pale as you can get without being full-on white. It's a dream. The first of the contour shades is gorgeously grey-toned, giving an un-clockable contour. The other two contours are definitely more on the brown side, but super blendable. I like to use the darkest shade right next to my hair line to really define those shadows. Something to note is these do not look orange at all. Nobody wants an orange contour. 

The creams in this are so highly pigmented that I've taken to wearing this without foundation. The highlight shades are close enough to my own skin tone anyway that if I blend enough with my trusty Real Techniques sponge, I can create a flawless and foundation-less finish. Although the creams are very thick, they do sheer out a lot when blended, especially with a damp sponge. The finish isn't overly tacky or slippy and I like to set with a loose powder all over the face before spritzing with my Urban Decay Setting Spray for a totally budge-proof finish. 

Eager as always to try out all the new makeupz, I wore this for a casual trip down the pub with my friends and lost track of the amount of compliments I received. 'Has your face lost weight?' was my personal favourite of the evening. I tend to measure a good product by the amount of compliments I receive so Anastasia, you've done it again.

2015 IN REVIEW

Seeing the #2015bestnine hashtag on Twitter, where you can view your most liked Instagram posts of 2015, has inspired me to have a look back over the past year and highlight all of my favourite things about 2015. It's been a strange year of learning how to be a grown up and learning how to go out into the big world all alone and I think I killed it. In a good way. I think.

• Started a new job in an office, which I swore I would never do. But it's helped me grow as a person, mature and learn how to work in an adult environment. And I'm still there 11 months later!

• Learned how to adult. Sort of.

• As a musical theatre nerd, I crossed plenty of shows off my list this year: Wicked (for the 6th time), Matilda, Jersey Boys, War Horse, Phantom of the Opera, Gigi, Hedwig & The Angry Inch and The Woman in Black. Next up: The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

• I made a pact to myself at the beginning of the year to read at least 20 books and I swear I'm almost there! Personal favourite of the year? After The Crash by Michael Bussi.

• I WENT TO NEW YORK. Again. This time with two friends and I navigated the week long trip like a pro. Me and NYC are made for each other, my one true love.

• Finding myself in a new environment and surrounded by a constant stream of negativity, I've had to become a beacon of positivity and love for myself and other people, meaning my outlook on the world really had changed for the better.

• I saw Idina Menzel live for the second time and cried like a baby when she sang No Day Like Today.

• Through binge-watching Rupaul's Drag Race on Netflix multiple times, I have discovered a love for everything drag. It has opened my eyes to new parts of my community, new people and has cemented my love for everything and everyone LGBT. If you're at all curious, check out my favourites Jinkx Monsoon, Courtney Act, Violet Chachki, Alaska, Miss Fame and Katya, you won't regret it.

• I crossed something major off my bucket list by going for afternoon tea at The Ritz for my 21st birthday.

• For 10 months I worked 6 days a week, at two jobs. I like my sleep and I love my bed, so I've always thought of myself as a very lazy person but the fact I worked 6 days a week for so long has proven to me that I'm actually not lazy at all. I just like my bed, okay?

• I learnt how to save money. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to get better at saving, and now now on the 28th December, my savings account balance is looking very healthy indeed. Go me! 

• In September, me and my sister flew out to meet my Grandparents in Dubai. It was the best week of sun, relaxation, shopping and food. Oh lord, I cannot tell you how good the food is in Dubai. Plus me and my sister got upgraded to a suite because I won't go in lifts. Score.

• The Pretty Little Liars finale. No spoilers, but can I just say that I guessed who A was months before it aired and everyone laughed at me saying how stupid my theory was. WELL WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?

• Halsey released Badlands. I died.

• Demi Lovato released the Confident video featuring freaking Michelle Rodriguez. I died again.

• Cara Delevingne consistently being the hottest human being I've ever seen. Still dead.

• Series 3 of Orange Is The New Black featuring Ruby Rose. Hello.

• Brighton Pride WHERE I SAW RUBY ROSE IN THE FLESH. LIKE ACTUALLY STANDING IN FRONT OF ME. SHE WALKED HALF A METRE AWAY FROM ME AT ONE POINT. I'm having heart palpitations just thinking about it *fans self*

• Of course, starting this blog has to feature on the list! Even if I am rubbish at blogging. I'm trying to get better, promise.

• I hit 8000 subscribers on my Youtube channel which was all kinds of awesome.

• Me, my sister, and two of our best friends went away to Disneyland Paris for 4 days and had the most magical time of our lives. We're all Disney fanatics and getting to visit as sort-of-adults was just as magical as when we were 6. Nobody should ever be too old for Disney.

• I discovered my soulmate in MAC 'Soar' and we've been inseparable ever since.

• Continued having the best friends ever. You're all just awesome and I love you. But if you ever mention I said that I'll deny it.

• Took major leaps with my anxiety. This is something I never talk about online as I feel it's become a cliché. It's something I've suffered with for my whole life, especially when I was a child and it's taken me years to combat it. I still definitely have anxiety and those invasive thoughts are still very much in the forefront of my mind, but I've learnt how to manage it my own little way. I said to myself at the beginning of the year that I wouldn't let anxiety rule me anymore, and although it was a bit rocky through the summer, I've come back fighting. I've travelled the world alone (aka parent-less), tackled my fear of public transport and made a conscious effort to fight my social anxieties. I'm a work in progress, but I'm so proud of how far I've managed to come this year and hopefully 2016 will be even better. Maybe I'll even be able to combat my fear of lifts. Probably not though.

Hopefully in 2016 I'll be able to do even more awesome things and I'm already looking forward to writing my 2016 review this time next year. Maybe I should sit down soon and write my New Year's Resolutions post, you know, I might be able to actually stick to them if they're down in writing. For now though, I have 3 days of 2015 left to enjoy and I'm going to spend them doing what I love most. Sitting on the sofa and watching Rupaul's Drag Race on Netflix. 

Mini MAC Haul

I've been so restrained with my MAC purchases recently. I hadn't been into MAC for at least a month which is nothing short of a miracle, so I decided to treat myself. With a visit to MAC.

I went in with 2 very specific purchases in mind: 'Cyber' lipstick and 'Vanilla' pigment. Of course they didn't have either in stock so I switched up my game plan and even added two extra products to the basket to console my poor broken Cyber-less heart. And so we have four new products in the MAC family: eyeshadows in 'Coppering' and 'Amber Lights', alongside two lip liners in 'Nightmoth' and 'Soar'. (Yes, I FINALLY GOT A NEW SOAR!!!)

It's well documented that MAC eyeshadows are up there in my favourites, and so to quench my thirst for orange eyes at the moment, 'Coppering' was ideal. A true warm copper, packed with shimmer and super pigmented, this shade looks gorgeous swept over the lids and messily blended across the lower lash line for a 90s grunge-esque look. Even more shimmer can be found in 'Amber Lights' (What? It's Christmas!). It's a gold shade with that coppery undertone and will be perfect for the upcoming Christmas party I have to attend. 

As for the lip liners, I'm not sure I ever told you the tragic tale of 'Soar'. A real-life Romeo and Juliet. After months of searching, I found a lone liner hidden away in MAC Times Square and we fell in love. We were totally inseparable until I lost it. So, the hunt for Soar started again. When I say I searched everywhere, I mean it. Even the sales assistants in Dubai could smell my desperation. Finally, after three months we are reunited and the pink-mauve beauty hasn't left my lips since. 

'Nightmoth' came along when 'Cyber' wasn't in stock. I asked the sales assistant what the closest shade was and she suggested this, and I have to admit, it's very very close to the shade I wanted. A very dark purple, this seriously packs a punch when I layer it over my lips. Almost black. Not one for the faint hearted, and I love it.

Hopefully that'll stop my MAC itch for the moment, but anyone got any MAC recommendations if I ever maybe might happen to pop in again? Maybe.

Side note: in the 20 hours between taking the above photo and writing this post, I have also bought another lipstick in 'Viva Glam II' and 'Half-Red' liner because clearly I have a problem, but I'll save that post for another day.