Up until I started uni, I always kept all my makeup in my Alex drawers and took things out as I needed them. But now that I have limited time to get ready in the morning, I wanted to get a smaller makeup organiser that I could put my essentials in and keep on my desk. I was in Boots recently and found this little organiser, which is just perfect for holding the basics I need on a daily basis. Today I'm going to show you the products I reach for daily, although I tend to change around the products in here regularly as I always have so many products to test out!

In the first section on the left, I keep my Urban Decay Naked Skin Loose Powder, as it's quite bulky so it pretty much needs a section to itself! It's my holy grail powder and I have a full review of it here. Beside it I have my favourite perfume which is One Direction's Our Moment, and a Bath and Body Works Hand Sanitiser.

On the right side at the front, I keep my blushes, brow products and two lipsticks. I have my holy grail brow kit, which is the Kiko Brow Expert Styling Kit. It's the only brow powder I've ever used - I'm a creature of habit when it comes to my brows so I rarely change up my routine. I also have my Benefit Gimme Brow. I'm testing out two blushes from Catrice so I keep both of those there so I can rotate between them. I have two of my favourite lipsticks here too - Tom Ford's Spanish Pink, and Charlotte Tilbury's Very Victoria. While I don't wear either of these everyday, I just love the packaging so I like to keep them on the desk!

At the back on the left, I keep all of my base products. I have one of my favourite primers, which is Benefit's Porefessional. My two foundations of choice at the moment are Rimmel's Lasting Finish Nude foundation, and the new L'Oreal True Match. I'm currently testing out the True Match to see how it compares to the original formula. In terms of concealers, I have two of my current favourites - Urban Decay's Naked Skin concealer, and Physician's Formula's Twin Concealer. For contouring, I have my NYX Wonderstick and Too Faced's Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer.

In the final section at the back, I keep my mascaras and my Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette, which I've been using all the time recently. I also keep my Beauty Blender and two Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponges.

In the little drawer I keep my Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden, a Christmas Baby Lips in Sugar Cookie, my favourite colour tattoo from Maybelline in Creamy Beige, my Sephora eye pencil in Chocolate and a tweezers. A bit of a random mix, but I just wanted to fill up the drawer! 

So they are the products I keep on my desk on a daily basis. As I said, I tend to mix things around just to make sure all my makeup gets used but these are the items I've been loving recently.

What are your favourite products to keep on your vanity?

Zara :-) x

NYX Wonderstick Review and Swatches!

Without a doubt contouring has been the biggest makeup trend of the last few years, and every makeup brand has hopped on the bandwagon with their own contour kits. The majority of high-end and drugstore brands have powder kits, but it's rare to find a high quality cream contour on the drugstore market.

NYX launched here in Ireland last year and they've slowly been releasing their best selling American products to our market, and one of the most recent additions to the lineup is the NYX Wonderstick. It's a double-ended stick that boasts a cream contour and cream highlighter stick. It's by far the best contouring and highlighting duo I have ever come across - I'm obsessed.

Both the contour and highlight look like crayons, making it super easy to scuplt out your cheekbones. It reminds me of the Clinique Chubby Sticks, but much more accessible, both in terms of price and that this is just one product with both the highlighter and contour, whereas the Clinique highlight and contour are sold separately.

The Wonderstick comes in four shades - Light, Medium, Dark and Universal. This is the light shade, and while the contour shade is perfect for me, I find the highlighter a little too white for my liking. It doesn't bother me though as I prefer to use my Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer as my highlight. Sometimes I use the NYX highlighter if I'm opting for a dramatic contour, so I use it to define the line even further.

The Wonderstick couldn't be easier to use, and it's incredibly creamy so it takes seconds to blend it out. One layer is perfect for a natural contour, but you could definitely build it up for a dramatic, Kim K contour look. To blend out the contour I either use my Beauty Blender or the Real Techniques Sculpting Brush.

The NYX Wonderstick is the perfect addition to your makeup collection if you're a big contour fan like me. At €14.99, it's excellent value for what you get - I've been recommending it to everyone I know! 

What's your favourite contour product?

Zara :-) x 

Rimmel The Only 1 Lipsticks Review and Swatches!

When it comes to drugstore makeup, I really rate Rimmel - I rarely dislike their products and often find them comparable to their high-end counterparts. In particular I'm a huge fan of their lipstick collections, so when I found their new 'The Only 1' collection, I had to pick up two to try.

The Only 1 lipsticks are a brand new formula for Rimmel, with Rosa Fruit Oil and Vitamin E to moisturise the lips while providing long-lasting wear. There are also 15 shades on offer, ranging from mauve-nudes to vampy berries.

I absolutely love the packaging - I definitely think it makes the lipsticks look much more expensive than they are, and the cap is really tight and secure. I personally would have preferred the actual lipstick to be in a bullet like traditional lipsticks as I find it difficult to get a precise application with the flat top.

The two shades I have here are 'It's A Keeper' and 'Naughty Nude', which are two of the most neutral on offer. 'It's A Keeper' is more of a mauve shade, whereas 'Naughty Nude' is a brown-nude.

The lipsticks apply opaque, however they feel very light and glossy - almost like a lip balm. They provide intense colour that has incredible longevity - even after eating my lipstick stays in place! They're so comfortable to wear, and have become my go-to lip colours for going to college everyday.

The Only 1 Lipsticks are €8.99 and available now. I'm definitely eyeing up a few more shades to pick up!

Have you tried these new offerings from Rimmel?

Zara :-)x

Fit Life Tea Review!

There is nothing I love more than trying out new tea toxes for the blog - I love seeing how they improve my skin, and boost my energy. Some of the teatoxes I try are mediocre, or don't do much for me, so I don't bother to share them, but this brand is one that I couldn't recommend more!

Fit Life Tea sent me some samples of three of their teas to review - the 28 day Teatox, the Sleepy Tea, and the Energy Tea. The creators of Fit Life Tea aim to inspire and enable healthy living by empowering an active, healthy lifestyle with teas that make you feel and look good.

28 Day Teatox, $54.99

This is a 28 day organic teatox that helps burn fat, stimulate weight loss, boost the immune system and clean up your digestive system. This tea is packed full of organic ingredients such as hibiscus flower, elderflower, apple, rosehips and allspice. This gives it a slightly tangy taste, which I absolutely loved. As you can see in the picture, the tea bag is in a pyramid shape which extracts maximum flavour to infuse more essential oils and flavour into the tea. Not only does this tea help banish those extra pounds, it leaves you feeling incredibly fresh and revived as it really cleans and detoxes your digestive system. I would highly recommend this tea if you're feeling a bit sluggish, or just need an extra boost in your fitness regime! It tastes absolutely delicious, especially if you're a fan of fruity tastes.





Organic Sleepy Tea, $36.99

The Sleepy Tea is an organic botanical blend that includes chamomile flower, organic cornflower and stevia leaf. It's definitely the spiciest tea I tried, which I loved. It has a golden colour in the cup, and the scent is incredibly soothing, it reminds me of lavender. It's the perfect addition to my night time routine as it's a light tea that really helps me unwind before I go to bed. I normally work until about half 9 at night so I really look forward to coming home to a nice soothing cup of the sleepy tea to help me on my way! As someone who just did exams in June, I would highly recommend this tea for those who are feeling slightly anxious or stressed as it really is a wonderful drink before bed.






Organic Metabolic Energy Tea, $54.99

The Energy Tea was by far my favourite of the three teas I tested out from Fit Life Tea! It increases muscle energy and boosts mental agility as it's packed with potent antioxidants and natural caffeine from green tea leaves. I normally drink a cup before I go to work, and it releases dynamic ingredients that help stimulate your system and energize you for the day. I think this is an excellent alternative to drinking sugary energy drinks or powering yourself with fizzy drinks, as all of the ingredients in the Energy Tea are organic. This will be the tea I'll continue to repurchase as I feel it gives me a great boost of energy to do a long shift in work!

In addition to your tea, Fit Life Tea provide you with an exercise and meal plan to work in unison with your teatox. I found this particularly helpful as it gave me some excellent meal ideas and the workout card was brilliant. What I love about Fit Life Tea as a company is that they don't just provide the tea and leave it there, they go out of their way to ensure that their customers get the optimum benefits from the teas. They also provide some excellent tips and tricks on their website for you to avail of.








The Fit Life Tea collections are available online at http://fitlifetea.com/shop/ where you can also find great bundles if you'd like to try more than one tea.





Have you ever tried a teatox?

Zara :-) x