Video: January Favourites | 2016

A round up of my favourite products during the first month of the year, including my birthday, make up, skin care and fashion! As always, please do subscribe to my channel and/or like the video if you enjoyed. A lot of the products I enjoyed during the video I will be popping up in depth reviews of on the blog, so keep an eye out for those!

What are your favourite products from January? xxx

January Favourites | 2015

Everyone always says they hate January as the weather is crap, Christmas is gone etc... but I actually love January! Not only is it my birthday month but I love winter and the prospect of what a new year can bring. On that positive vibe, I have been loving so many products this month - some new which I got for Christmas and others that I rediscovered after shopping my stash.

Makeup

001. Eco Tools Angled Eyeliner Brush: Last year I did a review on the set this brush came in but this was one of my least used in the collection. However, I've been favouring lining my eyes with black eyeshadow rather than liquid liner or pencil as it is less harsh and this brush makes it super easy to get a thin even line close to your lashes.

002. The Body Shop Clementine Lip Balm: Years ago back in school I was obsessed with the Body Shop lip balms and butters. I forgot about them but then received the lollipop gift set from my secret santa at work and fell in love with them again. The formula is so nourishing and glossy, the scents divine and they are great for popping in your hand bag. The Clementine scent brings back school memories and has glitter running through it to add a bit of your shimmer to your lips.

003. Benefit Hervana Blush: Again, Benefit blushes bring back memories of my youth and were one of the first make up products I bought. I love the packaging (although its not great for travel) and the recent addition of a tapered brush and mirror in the box is a great bonus. This blush is so pretty both in the pan and on the cheeks and I've been using it every day this month - you can see it in action here.

004. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette: The original Naked will always have a special place in my heart but I have been itching to add to my UD collection and was delighted to get this for Christmas. It is the more cool toned sister of the original and I adore every single shade in there. The formulation is buttery, super pigmented and easy to blend - just what you would expect from the brand. It's perfect for all kinds of looks and again I've been using this practically every day this month.

005. Anastasia Beverley Hills Brow Wiz in 'Taupe/Ash Brown': This product deserves every accolade it has as it is seriously the best brow product I have ever used! It is the perfect texture and colour -  I will be doing a full review of this but basically you need this in your life.

006. The Body Shop BB Cream in 01: Full review can be seen here so I don't want to go into too much detail! This is my favourite BB Cream it gives medium coverage without feeling heavy, covers pores and imperfections and lasts for a very long time.

007. Bobbi Brown Long Wear Foundation in 'Sand 2' : My favourite base for the latter half of January, this gives medium coverage without being cakey, lasts a long time and gives a 'my skin but better' appearance.

008. No 7 Instant Radiance Cream Highlighter: Cream products don't normally tend to be my thing but I adore this highlighter. It gives a beautiful natural sheen that is not glittery in the slightest and blends in wonderfully.

Hair

009. Paul Mitchell Full Circle Leave-In Treatment*: I got this ages ago (at my first event actually) but for some reason reached for other products in the range instead of this thinking it might be too heavy for my hair. This is actually very nourishing without weighing down my hair and I love to use it on occasions when I haven't used a hair mask or deep conditioner. It leaves hair soft and manageable and I've seen my natural waves/loose curls become more defined.

010. Schwarzkopf Hair Therapy Oil Miracle Spray: This product is a surprise gem. I received it in my stocking at Christmas which was good timing as I was looking for a new spray conditioner to help detangle my hair after washing. This is so light with a fine spray and makes it easy to brush out knots, leaves your hair silky soft and smelling beautiful.

Skincare

011. The Body Shop Eye Camomile Waterproof Eye and Lip Makeup Remover: My favourites always seem to include multiple Body Shop products at the moment, so apologies for that but clearly I am a big fan! I enjoyed the cleansing butter from this range and have just used up the oil so naturally when looking for a make up remover I picked this up. It has two parts so you need to shake it properly and it is oil based so makes removal a breeze, although it doesn't leave the eye area feeling heavy or greasy which is a big plus for me.

012. Super Facialist by Una Brennan Anti Blemish Pore Purifying Clay Mask: Una Brennan are definitely a brand that don't get enough recognition. The quality of the products are so good for the price and this mask in particular is amazing. I loved the teaflower version which I think has been replaced with the salycic acid version. It draws out impurities really well, leaves your skin feeling soft, nourished and more even toned and the inclusion of acid helps to clear up any blemishes that have been hanging around.

0.13 Baby B Browne Tan in 'Medium'*: This featured in a favourites pretty recently at the end of last year but I picked this up again a few weeks ago and was so impressed all over again! It rubs in so easily, the smell is so nice for a fake tan (think vanilla) and the colour develops and lasts so well. It is by far the best tan I own.

What were your favourite items this month? xxx

Strip Teas Teatox | Review

Embarking on a Teatox has always intrigued me. I feel like its the perfect place to start if you are a bit too lazy to start committing to juicing every day but want to kick start your health regime. For an avid across the board tea drinker this kind of detox is something I can get on board with. It is great for winter as you get a guaranteed 3 warm mugs of tea a day, and it also helps with your hydration, skin and metabolism.

The Strip Teas (great name) Teatox lasts for 14 days, and you get three very cute packages of tea for morning, day time and night. The bags are also ziplocked at the top which is very handy at keeping the contents fresh as well as featuring cute quotes on the back of each sachet. Each tea bag consists of loose leaf herbs housed in fully biodegradable pyramid bags, which look quite swanky and let the tea move about so it tastes better. It is worth noting that for the Daytime Teatox you can choose between Original, Berry Burst or Vanilla - I chose the latter.

Lets start with Morning Wake Up*. Normally I need a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea before I can even speak first thing in the morning and I was worried I would miss my caffeine hit by drinking a herbal tea, but I needn't have worried. The ingredients included in this tea are: Chinese White Tea, Yerba Mate, Lemongrass, Liquorice Root, Orange Peel, Ginseng, Ginkgo, Eucalyptus and Spearmint. I'm not a fan of liquorice normally but it didn't over power the tea, instead the flavours of spearmint, eucalyptus and lemongrass were most strong for me. It did a great job of waking me up and getting my metabolism going gently.

The second tea of the day is the Daytime Teatox*. You are meant to drink this shortly after your main lunch time meal - I like it mid afternoon around 3pm when I'm starting to feel sluggish after lunch and would normally reach for a coffee. The ingredients include: Chinese Oolong Tea, Fennel Seeds, Cinnamon, Pu-erh Black Tea, Schisandra Berries, Black Peppercorns, Calendula Petals, Sunflower Petals, Orange Blossom and Vanilla Flavour. The floral scents of this stand out for me and you get a smooth vanilla undertone. This tea is meant to aid digestion which is definitely does and also reduced bloating for me as well as aid fat burning by keeping your metabolism high.

The final bag is the Sleep Tight* tea. Obviously, you drink this before bed to help you relax and unwind for a good nights sleep. The ingredients include: Rooibos, Ginger, Ashwagandha Root, Chamomile, Lemon Balm, Peppermint Leaves, Hawthorn, Vanilla Pieces, Lavender, Vanilla Flavour. Normally night time teas don't do much for me as I dislike Chamomile, but the flavours were balanced so it didn't put me off. It was nice to have something comforting which wasn't heavy or caffeinated after dinner.

With all these teas I would advise not to over brew - 3 minutes is plenty to get a well balanced and delicate taste that won't dry your mouth out. The best thing about these teas is that they aid an overall healthy lifestyle - there are no laxatives included, instead using natural ingredients to amp up your metabolism and supress appetite.

I've really enjoyed the process of this Teatox and would recommend you to try it if you're looking for something different to kick start your healthy regime.

If you would like to try it I have a discount code for 10% off: LILMISSLIFESTYLE10 which you can enter at the checkout. Remember to let me know what you think!