The Best of Beauty 2017 | Skincare and Hair

Last year was a good year for new skincare and hair discoveries. I tried and tested a lot but there was only a few products that were standouts for me. Some of them I have used and repurchased numerous times over the last year or so and others were entirely new to me. 

My skin has been an absolute nightmare ever since I hit my teens, and it's still an issue now as I'm entering into my mid 20's. I have had so many problems with scarring, breakouts, enlarged pores. You name it, I probably have it. My skin has never been completely clear, and I've now accepted that it will never be entirely perfect, but thanks to a few skincare products I have noticed improvement and I feel so much more confident in my skin. 

As for my hair, well, I've had blonde balayage for the last two years which I absolutely love. It isn't too hard to maintain. I at least have a refresh once or twice a year, depending how I'm feeling or how it's looking. I tried a few new hair products last year that really impressed me, and now I use them on a daily basis.

The Best of Beauty 2017 | Makeup

I know, I know, we are nearly at the end of January already but I wanted to get my two cents in about the makeup products I well and truly fell for in 2017, so instead of ending this months with my favourites, I'll be talking to you all about The Best in Beauty from 2017 in multiple posts consisting of Makeup, Skincare, Bodycare, Haircare and Fragrance. As there isn't long at all left before January is over I will more or less compile one or two of those categories together. 

Today we are going to start off with Makeup because, well, it's my favourite topic, and I'm sure I have discovered more products within makeup than I have in any other beauty category. So many stood out to me last year. I was using pretty much every single one of these products on the daily and the rest of my makeup collection just got stuck in their drawers. Sorry, not sorry. This year I am determined to switch it up and try out some new brands.

The Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara

I am a huge fan of Urban Decay as a whole. Not only are they a vegan and cruelty-free brand but their Naked palettes are amongst some of my favourite eyeshadow palettes to use and the Naked Skin Concealer is a staple in my collection. I could go on and on about all of my favourite products from Urban Decay but I won't, there are far too many. I guess you could say they are one of my favourite brands.

Now last year was a good year for them in terms of new releases. The Naked Heat Palette was particularly 'hot' in the beauty community, but then came along their next release, the Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara. Now, I have only ever tried one of their mascaras, the Perversion Mascara and while I enjoyed it, it didn't quite achieve holy grail status so I was intrigued to try the Troublemaker Mascara.

Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula Range Review

Throughout the colder months my skin can be rather problematic. Not only does my skin breakout a ton but it starts getting drier too. I switch all(or most) of my lightweight moisturisers for something much heavier and richer. For years now, ever since I was a teenager I have always relied on one particular moisturiser to help me out, the Palmers Cocoa Butter Body Lotion. It has always worked a dream for me and I have repurchased it many times since then. I think that goes to show just how much I enjoy it. 

A few months ago I was offered the chance to try out Palmers new range, the Coconut Oil Formula Bodycare range to be precise, and I of course I couldn't turn it down as their Cocoa Butter Body Lotion is a favourite of mine.

The Hylamide Pore Flush Booster

I am totally late to the party in the sense that I have never tried a single product from Deciem. I am sure many of you have at least heard of them before, or perhaps tried a product or two from their many skincare brands. If you're not totally aware of them, Deciem are renowned for being creators of effective but affordable skincare, which you can appreciate, especially if you're not one to splash the cash on high end products.

One of the many brands from Deciem is Hylamide, consisting of three series of skincare products, the Core Series, Booster Series and the Finisher Series. The combination of the three series will create a skincare routine for you which is dedicated to work for your skin type.

What I got for Christmas 2017

Can you believe that we are already two weeks into 2018? I feel like it is going way too quick for my liking, although saying that, I'm looking forward to my birthday next month, but hey, let's not jump too far ahead. It just feels so surreal. I think that may be down to the fact that I've been so busy, it's just whizzed past. We had Christmas with Josh's family and then we spent Boxing Day with my family and then we had Alfie's third birthday just 4 days after Christmas. I haven't really been able to catch my breath. Oh, and just when I was ready to come back to this blog after the New Year,  I was hit with a nasty cold. Urgh, if you know me well, you know something small like that just completely knocks me back. 

With that little setback I wasn't able to share with you what I got for Christmas, until today. Now, I absolutely love reading those posts and watching the videos on YouTube too. I'm just so nosey and I love seeing what other people were gifted, so please bare in mind, I am in no way 'showing off'. I simply love these posts, and I hope you do too, and well, if you don't, god knows why you're here. I have only ever done one 'What I got for Christmas' post, but that goes back four years ago. If you're interested to see what I was bought previously then you can check that out here. I'd like to point out that my photography has changed so much since then, and I'm so proud of it.