Juicy Couture 'Couture Couture' perfume

Perfume is something that I never normally buy for myself. It's the thing I leave for Christmas and Birthdays as the surprise present. And that's exactly what it was this year! My sister and her family bought me this one for Christmas just gone. I've obviously heard of Juicy Couture but never of this exact perfume. I know perfumes can be so individual therefore hard to buy as a present but I can say my sister did a bloody good job this year. I absolutely love the scent of this perfume!

I will firstly apologise for my lack of ability to describe scents. Now that's out there this has soon become my favourite go to perfume. It's a really subtle scent with both floral and fruity undertones. The top notes of this perfume are; watermelon, mandarin, pink passion fruit, green leaves, water hyacinth and marigold flowers. So as you can see it's a complete range of both floral and fruity. I'm not keen on really floral perfumes so this one is perfect for me as it just has subtle hints within it.

The packaging is not my favourite packaging of a perfume ever but the scent does it for me and I'm really not fussed about the packaging because of it. But I do find the packaging not quite to my taste although it definitely represents Juicy Couture and just by looking at it you'd be able to identify the brand. Which is a great concept just unfortunately not to my perfume packaging taste!

Overall, as I've said, this has fast become my new favourite perfume. The scent is now my absolute favourite and I'm definitely leering towards this one in the mornings before work. This bottle is a pretty decent size so think it will definitely last me a while but I will also have to repurchase this one for myself when I've run out. I love it that much! I'd love to know if you've tried this perfume or any others from Juicy Couture? :-)

Bed side table evening essentials

It's a definite must to keep everything that I need, when it comes to night time, close by. I hate it when I'm tucked up in bed and something I need is on the other side of my bedroom, super frustrating. So I like to make sure that my essentials are on my bed side table and ready to use. I use all of these products on a nightly basis and am currently enjoying them so I thought I would share them all with you.

My first essential of course is some Vaseline. I always find if I do not put a lip balm on before I go to sleep then I wake up with really painful and cracked lips. Vaseline simply does the job, nothing spectacular, but it works well for me. I know if I put this on before bed then my lips won't be painful when I awake in the morning so I can't really go wrong. I do also like to apply this when I wake also just to super soften my lips.

Next is a hand cream, this particular one from Cath Kidston. It has super cute packaging and a nice floral scent to it. I much prefer to apply hand cream before bed and then I find I do not need to reapply throughout the day again really. This one is super nourishing and leaves my hands feeling really soft, not sticky.

Then I always have to keep a spot treatment nearby, at the moment I'm currently using one from Elemis. This essential always chops and changes as I like to buy a different one each time, this is just my current one at the moment. I always, always apply a spot treatment every night in aid to help reduce current blemishes or past scarring. You can read my review here.

After applying my spot treatment I then use my Freederm serum which is great when you have lots of blemishes or that one big, nasty spot. It's a really soothing cream which is night to apply in the evenings and works whilst you sleep. It can take a couple of minutes to sink into your face though so I tend to have one last small check on social media whilst it does just that. You can read my review here.

Finally, again whilst I'm flicking through my phone, I spray my Avon pillow mist onto my pillow. The smell of this spray is really calming and genuinely nice. Since buying this product, I have used it every night since. I really do love using this product and I think it does make a difference to my nights sleep. You can read my review here.

And that's the contents of my skin care bed side table essentials! I honestly love using all of these products before I go to sleep and really think they help. I would definitely recommend these products and would love to know if you have tried them. I also love to hear your bed side table essentials :-)

5 Ciate favourites

December just gone I finally got my hands on a Ciate advent calendar (you can see my review here). Behind every door I got such a variety of different shades, colours, glitters and shimmers. It was such a lovely advent calendar so I thought I would share my top five shades from it with you. When I put them all together they actually look super pretty next to each other, which I was secretly pleased with. I have previously tried Ciate nail varnishes so I know they are great quality and worth it.

The mini size of these nail varnishes are great! It actually means I may finish one for once! They are super cute and easy to take a few more with you than usual when you are travelling. As I mentioned the range of colours I received was incredible and I could have chosen many more for this post but wanted to stick to five. So onto the shades I picked as my favourites..

First on the far left is a shade called 'pillow fight' which is a muted purple/grey colour. It's such a beautiful colour and perfect for this time of the year. Next to that shade, up the top, is a similar shade but in blue which is called 'chinchilla'. If you follow me on Instagram (@natalieellis23) then you will have seen my post wearing this exact shade. Again perfect for this time of the year. Underneath that shade is a glitter called 'snow globe'. It has iridescent chunks of glitter included and also small pieces too. It is honestly the prettiest glitter shade and would look perfect over any of the two polishes I've just mentioned. Back up to the top is a shade called 'starlet'. I don't know if this kind of polish has an exact name but it's kind of pearlescent and in different lights it looks different colours. Such as grey, blue, purple and gold. It's such a beauty and I'm not sure any photo would do this justice. The final shade is called 'fit for a queen' which is simple a plain silver shade. The glitter is intense and just looks amazing by itself on the nails.

There we have it, 5 Ciate favourites which fit into the January blues category pretty well. They will cheer up any girls nails this dreary month. I honestly cannot wait to continue testing out the rest of the nail varnishes I received in the advent calendar. I'd love to hear your favourite Ciate polishes and I hope you all had a lovely weekend :-)

Montagne Jeunesse black seaweed peel off masque

Now I know this is only one application for a face mask so for it to have it's own blog post it must have impressed me. I purchased this from my latest Boots haul (here), one of the main reasons being that I've never tried a peel off mask, crazy hey. But also as I've heard seaweed is great for the skin and for blemishes so I couldn't not pick it up. Also this small, one off face mask is only £1 on Boots which is great considering the results.

I simply applied this after cleansing my face and it went on like a dream. Easy to apply and it didn't irritate my sensitive skin. I left this on for a good 20 minutes, it advises 15-20 minutes but I did find that I still had some wet patches which I knew wouldn't peel off. So after waiting for those random patches to dry, it was ready to peel off. My gosh, at first it felt super weird. Considering I had never tried one before I had no clue really of what to expect. The mask didn't peel off all in one go but was pretty easy and I peeled it off in around 3-4 pieces if you will. After the mask was all gone I rinsed my face with warm water just to make sure it really was completely clean.

The results were great! My skin felt super duper soft and really felt as if it had had a deep clean. It sounds silly but I just kept touching my face, which is naughty, but it really did feel great. This mask is such a great "pick me up" mask due to the result it leaves. My skin was definitely in need of a good clean and this mask 100% done the job for me. In the future I will definitely pick up this mask again when I feel my skin needs it.

This is such a great mask for the price you pay, you really cannot go wrong. I would definitely love to check out the other face masks from this range. Let me know if you've tried any and also have a great weekend :-)

January Topshop blues

1. Camel mac

2. Black high neck jumper

3. Electric blue jumper

4. Dinosaur shirt

5. Paisley top

6. Purse

Argh why in January do shops, especially Topshop in this case, have so many pieces I love? A long 5 week month, just after Christmas, how taunting of them. It's always the way as well that you find pieces you love when you have the least money. I mean there's no way that I need all of these pieces, my wardrobe is pretty over flowing and could definitely do with a sort out. But they are so attractive that I have drawn to them, book marked them on my laptop and now made a wish list post about them on here. Now they are embedded into my brain when they really shouldn't be.

A mac coat is such a staple style and a style of coat that I don't own. I think they are timeless and would be perfect for Spring when the weather starts to get a little warmer but when you still need something on. The two jumpers are just gorgeous, I love Topshop knitwear. This winter I actually had a clear out and realised that I literally only owned one thick knit jumper which was crazy. I don't know why now seems the right time to invest but it's still freezing in the UK so they are definitely a must. The black one has been out of stock in my size for some time now which makes me want it even more! The dinosaur shirt is something else, the first time I saw this I fell in love. I knew I should have purchased it there and then because it is now out of stock completely. I'm a sucker for a paisley print so this top fits the bill for me and my wardrobe mainly consists of blue items so again fits perfectly. Finally a teal green purse with an added piece of snakeskin. I would really like a new purse and this one really stood out to me. Although they are many different colour variations if this colour is not for you.

Overall Topshop are killing it at the moment and alongside these six items, there are many other items that I could have included. Let me know what items you're currently lusting over in Topshop and which of the items I've included you also love :-)

Seche Vite dry fast top coat

This is such a hyped up and raved about product in the beauty blogging world, I cannot believe I hadn't tried it sooner. It's a relatively pricey product, for a top coat, but I recently found it on Amazon for just a little over £4 which was an absolute bargain. So I couldn't resist and I caved and purchased it. I was super excited about trying it and was praying that I wouldn't be disappointed and I can tell you I wasn't.

I am the absolute worst when it comes to painting my nails and then having to wait until they're dry. I smudge a nail without a doubt every time and I get so frustrated that I've spent a lot of time painting them and then they're ruined. If you are in the same boat as me and haven't tried this product then I advise you to go ahead and purchase it right now. This product is absolutely insane and works wonders for me. I kinda knew it was going to be good but I didn't realise actually how good this was going to be. Honestly within less than a minute I felt confident enough to move and do something. Yes I was still careful with what I was actually doing but I could touch my nails and they felt dry.

The glossy coat this gives your nails also is incredible and they actually look really like gel nails. You actually apply this product onto wet nails which I was slightly curious about but it works and does not ruin your nails that you've just painted either. The lasting power is great as well but I find the main point of this product is the fast drying time. And that key point is more than enough to warrant buying this product. If you haven't tried this yet then I cannot recommend it enough. It really is the perfect product to use when painting your nails, whether you are in a rush or not. It just stops those smudges and marks you get before your nails are completely dry.

You can still purchase it from Amazon, not quite as cheap as I purchased it at but still cheaper than normal retailers. I'd love to know if you've tried this product and your thoughts on it. I hope you all had a lovely weekend :-)

Slightly random Boots haul

Sometime it just gets to that point where I need a total mix of different things from Boots due to current products running out. So basically this haul was a necessity, I wish! But I do love a random Boots haul that contains all completely new products that I actually didn't look into before buying. Occasionally before buying beauty products I'll give a few reviews a good read to see if I think they will suit me. Although it was rather nice for this haul to not do that for once and to test out the products for myself without any views already on the products.

Anyway so firstly I picked up two new face masks; Soap and Glory No Clogs Allowed and Montagne Jeunesse Black Seaweed peel off masque. Recently I had tried out a thermal heating mask and I loved it! So I decided to buy one of my own from Soap and Glory. I haven't tried any of these products yet but the claims this mask makes sound really good and also that it's good for blemishes which is right up my street. The second mask just randomly popped up whilst I was searching Boots online. I've heard a seaweed mask is also great for blemishes so thought, as it was super cheap, I would pick it up and try it out.

Next I was in desperate need for a new moisturiser. My skin has changed dramatically recently and nothing that I currently have has been working and that I can tell you is super duper stressful. So now I have very dry combination skin which I've never had before so unsure of how to treat it. I came across this Olay moisturiser which claims to be for normal/dry/combination skin so I'm hoping it will help sort my whole face out just with one moisturiser. (If you have any tips on this skin type I'd be so grateful to know!)

I then picked up a new hair detangling spray from Mark Hill. I cannot live without one of these sprays as my hair is constantly knotty and super difficult to run a brush through it. These sprays really help especially after washing my hair. I've tried many of these in the past and cannot wait to try this one out also. Finally probably the most random purchase is some ear plugs. I've never tried ear plugs before but a friend was talking about these specific ones from BioEars and rave about them. I am a very light sleeper and once woken I find it ever so hard to get back to sleep. So I figured that with the use of some ear plugs then maybe this would help solve the problem, so I will let you know how I get on.

And that's it for my haul, slightly random but super exciting to try out a load of new products! Let me know if you've tried anything I purchased and your thoughts on them. Also any make up or skin care tips on dry combination skin would be very much appreciated! Hope you all have a lovely weekend :-)

Maybelline Instant Anti-Age Eraser Eye Concealer

I absolutely love the concept of this product, I mean look at that ball of softness on the top there (please excuse how dirty the top looks, you can tell it's well loved hey). I picked this up from my local Factory Shop and yes it's all written in foreign. I'm not sure why but the product is completely the same as what you'd buy in the UK, I just believe the packaging and potentially name is slightly different. But on the plus side I picked this up for a fraction of the price and only paid £3 for this beauty.

I picked this up in the shade Light which when applied does look slightly orange toned but once I have blended this in it's the perfect match to my skin. This product's formula is super creamy which makes it a dream to blend in. I used my Real Techniques complexion sponge and they work together perfectly. I don't tend to suffer from huge, blue under eye bags but I do like to conceal under my eyes to get rid of any discolouration. It covers and evens out my under eye area amazingly. I just swipe this product under my eyes a couple of times and voila.

Obviously this product is slightly different to other concealers on the market. Yes, it has this strange done shaped sponge plonked on the top of it. But this is what makes this product stand out from the rest and make it unique. You simply give it a twist, a little product comes out and that's you done. I do find that sometimes one twist can give slightly too much product but it doesn't come off on your face. The product is kept in the sponge and therefore can be used the following day without having to twist again.

Overall this is a great concept for a drug store concealer and I love it for under my eyes. You can purchase the same product as this one here from Boots. But if you live near a Factory Shop then I would definitely check that out first!

Rimmel Brow This Way Brow Styling Gel

Fairly recently there have been a few offerings on the high street of these brow styling gels. I have also tried the Maybelline brow drama offering which you can find here. I was really impressed with the Maybelline brow gel so when this version came out from Rimmel I really wanted to get my hands on it. The price was really appealing as well and I think I only paid £2.99 for this product which is a bargain.

The first thing that struck me was the brush, it's actually quite a large brush for eyebrows so was curious to see how this would work on my eye brows. The packaging is obviously pretty cheap and nothing spectacular but that's clearly down to the price. This product also comes in a few various shades which therefore appeals to all different hair shades.

On application I did find it slightly hard to not get this product on just my eye brows. I think due to the size and shape of the brush it's quite difficult to not get it on the skin around the eye brow. This is quite an annoying factor and in comparison to the Maybelline offering, the brush is so much better on the Maybelline version. Although saying that one down side, the rest of the product is actually pretty good. The formula is great and doesn't make your eye brows straw like which is always a bonus. If I'm in a rush then this product is perfect, just a couple of swipes and done. This product gives off plenty of colour so for those natural days there is no need for any other product underneath, for me. If you're looking for a night out product then this is great for putting over the top of another eye pencil.

Overall this is a great offering from Rimmel and perfect if you are on a budget. Again if I was to choose between the two offerings from Maybelline and Rimmel then I am leaning more towards the Maybelline brow drama, simply due to the brush provided. Although that definitely doesn't mean I am against this Rimmel one and will continue to use it up.

Have you tried any brow gels? Which ones are your favourites?

The Body Shop Chocolate Deluxe Edition Gift Set

I have always been a lover of The Body Shop gift sets which come out around Christmas time so when I opened this beauty on Christmas day I was super duper excited. Not only because it was a gift set from The Body Shop but because the scent of everything included is CHOCOLATE. Yes, you read that correctly.

This set includes a lip butter, body butter, body scrub and shower gel all in the same chocolate scent. Honestly this chocolate scent smells bloody amazing and I cannot get enough of it. I'm more than likely to just be seen sniffing one of these four products every so often. Every product in this gift set is amazing, I've always loved everything from The Body Shop. The lip butter is amazing and leave your lips feeling super smooth. The body butter leaves your skin feeling silky and smooth and makes the scent linger even longer. The body scrub isn't too invasive on the skin and is perfect for everyday use if needed. And finally the shower gel makes every shower worth it.

I'm unsure if this whole gift set is a special edition or whether just certain products included. So if you can, pop into your local Body Shop and just give this chocolate scent a sniff because it honestly will blow you away! It's nothing too overpowering just the perfect chocolatey scent.

Overall you can tell I absolutely love this gift set I received on Christmas from my mum, she knows me too well. If I can get my hands on more when these beauties have run out then I definitely will be doing so! You can browse The Body Shop website here :-)

Colab Dry Shampoo - New York

I do love a good dry shampoo in order to lengthen the time your hair can last in between washes. This one is the latest offering from blogger/vlogger Ruth Crilly called Colab. I was super excited to try this, the packaging looks incredible and also the offering of scents. There are 5 on offer which are; London, New York, Paris, Rio and Tokyo. Each city has a different scent and different colour bottle which relates to that city. I think this is a great aspect and I believe they look really up market.

As soon as this launched I was excited to try one due to the claim of it being a sheer invisible formula; meaning it doesn't leave any nasty white powdery marks in your hair. This is a really big claim to make, I feel, as most dry shampoo's unless you get one with a hint of colour, tend to leave that horrible white mark in your hair. I can say now that this dry shampoo leaves none of those nasty white marks in your hair at all which is absolutely amazing. I also sprayed in quite a lot of product and still no white marks. I was super impressed with this and I think that aspect pretty much makes the product in itself worth it.

The actual product when applied to your hair is really easy to massage in and it also doesn't leave your hair feeling crisp which I can find some other dry shampoos can do. I then brush it through with my tangle teezer and I'm ready to style my hair for the day without any oilyness in sight. It leaves my hair perfect for the whole day and gives me that little bit longer before actually having to wash it. The New York scent is nice and fruity but not at all strong or overpowering. It's just a nice subtle hint of scent which is nice to add to your hair to keep it smelling fresh for the rest of the day.

Overall I love this offering of dry shampoo from Colab and definitely think it rivals my Batiste dry shampoo with a hint of brunette which is my current favourite! You can buy Colab from your local Superdrug or Feel Unique. They are also reasonably priced and these larger cans are £3.50. I'd love to know if you've tried Colab and your thoughts on it :-)