My all time top 10 - part 1!!

Evening all!

Next week I hit the big 3-0, (think I may have mentioned that a few times...) and so I have decided to indulge myself on the blog this week in very much 'it's my birthday and I'll blog what I want to' style. So tonight and later in the week I will be bringing you my top ten products, my desert island products, my own hall of fame. Basically the products that I have bought time and time again, and would not want to be stranded on a desert island without. So in true top ten chart stylee (and at this moment I have the da duh da da duh da duh top 40 music chart countdown music in my head) flying to take the number ten spot is...

10. Aussie Miracle moist shampoo

I love everything about the Aussie brand, the laid back marketing style, the natural ingredients, and now these fab bigger bottles!! This isn't the only Aussie product I use, but it is the one I buy time and time again, and wouldn't regularly wash my hair with anything else. It deliver results, protecting my colour, nourishing my hair with much needed moisturiser, and leaves it soft and smooth. The big bottles retail for about £5.99 in high street chemists.

9. Bare Minerals Bisque

Another brand I am really passionate about, and use a lot of their products, but when I thought about the one I really could not live without, it was Bisque. A concealer that is so multi-purpose it's definitely worth its £16 price tag. I use it to cover blemishes, bags under my eyes, little thread veins, the possibilities are endless, it hides a multitude of sins!!

8. OPI nail polish

I have been known to try many different brands of nail polish, but I always come back to OPI. Yes at £10 a bottle it's expensive, but the quality really is there. The colours are vibrant and exciting, the brand does some really great collaborations, think the Muppets collection and the Nicki Minaj collection, putting a whole new spin on nail colour and who can fail to raise a smile at the names of the colours? 'Teal the cows come home' anyone? Love it :-)

7. Estee Lauder Double wear light

I rarely wear a liquid foundation, as I use mineral make-up. But when I do it's this one I reach for. So why is it in my top ten? I have been using this foundation (originally just the double wear version) for ten years. I try other foundations, but always come back to this one. I wear it on nights out and it really delivers a comfortable flawless face. This retails for about £26.

6. Decleor Hydra Floral moisturiser

This is my go-to moisturiser. It is great for all different conditions, in the Summer it's hydrating, in Winter it's great for dry, wind beaten skin. I have used this moisturiser for years as a staple in my skin care routine, and it really suits my skin type. It retails for £32 so it is up there with the high end products, but in my opinion it's oh so worth it!

So what do you think of my 10-6 countdown? Any guesses on what product will reach my number 1? What would you have in your beauty top ten?

Let us know by leaving a comment or tweet us @beautyu.

I will bring you 5 through to 1 on Thursday night.

Until then, stay beautiful!

Stace x

Winter Saviours

Evening all!

It's the first week back to work/school/uni for many, hope you're all staying positive about the year ahead, and that to do lists haven't got to big over Christmas.

The weather this week in England has been horrible, wind so bad you cannot walk in it, down pours, (especially when you are trying to dash out at lunch!) and today it has been freezing. It got me to thinking about a few new products I have added to my daily routine to help combat the Winter weather conditions, my 'Winter Saviours'.

The first is Aussie's 'Luscious long leave-in conditioner.' Currently just £3.49 for 250ml in Superdrug, and today I noticed in Boots Aussie products were 3 for £10, so if like me Aussie makes up your whole hair routine, Boots is the place to go! (No link as their website is down until the 6th January)

I have never been fond of the idea of putting something in my hair and just leaving it there, but just before Christmas my hair was not feeling the best. It was very dry due to home dying for 15 years and now salon dying, I love long hair so the scissors only frequent my hair twice a year, and the hair straighteners, hair dryer and central heating have turned my hair into a frizzy mess, so I thought I would give this a go, the back of the bottle describes me perfectly 'You flick it. You swing it. You twiddle it relentlessly round your finger...' Guilty as charged.

Very easy to use, you just spray this through damp hair, and then comb it through right to the ends. And as the bottle advise 'don't even think about rinsing out.' You've got to love Aussie.

The scent of the spray is not only apparent on first application, but I can smell it in my hair once it has dried, it's a really pleasant clean smell. The spray has helped to detangle my extremely knotty hair, makes styling in the morning easier and quicker, and as I rake my fingers through my hair now, I can feel a new level of softness. In love with this product right now.

Next we move onto lip care. Now I'm a lip gloss girl by day, but I was starting to find dry lips meant that applying lip gloss was becoming impossible. In my stocking for Christmas, my wonderful husband bought me a Vaseline set. As this was a present I don't know how much the set was, but Vaseline retails for £1-£2.

The Aloe Vera flavour is particularly moisturising and I have added this to my 'before bed' routine, ensuring I wake with super smooth lips, ready for my lip gloss to sweep straight on!

And last but not least is the hands. Just before Christmas I noticed my hands were in an awful state. Really dried out, despite wearing gloves every time I venture outside (I blame too much washing up!). This was not a good look for the party season when I wanted to show off my nails, jewellery etc. So I turned to an old trusted friend, Neutrogena Norwegian Formula concentrated hand cream. This retails for around £3.50 and I picked this up from Superdrug

Yes it is greasy, I know a lot of people say that, but I only use this hand cream at night, so it doesn't matter that my hands are covered in it. I also disagree with the 'just a dab needed' strap line, as I like to really work it in between my fingers. But it really does work miracles. My hands are now super soft, and with hands being one of the main things that give away our age, I am working on making mine look 21 right now!!

So those are the products I am using to help avail the Winter conditions. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this post, do you have any Winter Saviours you would like to share with us?

Mags is back from Christmas break and will hopefully be blogging again soon so watch this space!

Stay Beautiful!

Stace x