I'm Back! What I Got For My Birthday: Beauty

Hello strangers!
I'm back! Yes I finally managed to sort out my stupid computer and although its still giving me grief the good news is it will at least let me upload pictures now so I can get back to blogging! I'm so excited I've really missed taking pictures and writing for you guys. I checked the dates and (excluding my last post about why I couldn't post) the last time I wrote for you guys was the 19th of May! That's almost a month ago! Well now my computers working again I promise there will be no more gaps of absence, at least not for that long anyway!
Since I last spoke to you guys I turned 19, moved out of my halls at uni and have returned home to Bradford where I have been reunited with my family, been to Slam Dunk festival, seen friends I haven't spoken to in months, sorted out some work experience and got myself a summer job so everything is hunky dory where I am!
And now to todays post, as some of you know it was my birthday on the 20th of May and I received lots of lovely presents from my darling friends and family and so I thought I would share some of them with you today!
Disclaimer: I am not trying to show off with this post I am simply sharing these products with you all because I think they are lovely and I thought you might like to hear about them.

This is the Bodyshop's Cocoa Body Butter and it is divine. My lovely flatmate Zana bought me this and it was just in time as I'd run out of it and was devastated! I've always loved the Bodyshop's Body Butters and had many a tub when I was a young teenager but I stopped using them because the scents were too fruity for me. I hadn't bought one in years until back in January when my skin was suffering because of the bitter cold of Newcastle and I wanted something to make it feel more alive again.
I went into the Bodyshop in Leeds with my Mum whilst sale shopping and bought a tub like this one which cost £12 and I fell in love again. This one is delightful, its really smooth and sinks into your skin leaving you smelling beautiful. I usually put this all over my body when I get out of the shower and it leaves my skin feeling lovely all day long. The scent is not at all overpowering and its not sickeningly sweet like some of the other Bodyshop Body Butters so its perfect for me as I prefer strange and subtle scents when it comes to beauty products. I really love this stuff so thank you very much to Zana for giving it to me.

This next present was given to me by my two best friends Katie and Megan. This is Giorgio Armani's new fragrance Si and it is beautiful! Seriously, it is truly gorgeous. I have been in desperate need of some new perfume as I've been wearing the same one since I was 14! I've never really had much money to spend on perfume and only ever acquired top-ups for birthday or Christmas presents and so always asked for the same one because it was easy and I didn't really know which one I wanted.  After all this time however I'd decided enough is enough and I was going to find a new scent. I asked Katie and Megan to buy me some new perfume and the week before my birthday I met Katie in town to choose a new one which we quickly decided on. Unfortunately Megan wasn't able to help me choose it as she is living in Australia and I missed her very much on my birthday but the lovely message she sent me on the day made me feel much better, thank you Meg.
I'd seen a sample for Si in Vogue a few months before and thought it was lovely and with Katie's approval decided that this was to be my new scent. As I said earlier I'm not one for florally or fruity perfumes and so this one is perfect, its quite subtle and delicate but its refreshing and elegant which is exactly what I wanted.

Megan and Katie must have been on the same train of thought as Zana as they also very generously bought me these! The first one is the Cocoa Butter Body Scrub and the second is a smaller tub of Cocoa Body Butter, both from the Bodyshop, (it really is no secret how much I love this collection!). The Body Scrub I use in the shower and it is great, the sandy texture is really good for exfoliating your skin and it lasts too as a little goes a long way with this product. The cocoa scent isn't very prominent with the scrub but it doesn't need to be, its a lovely product.
The Body Butter is exactly the same as before but the smaller tub is really handy and would be perfect for travelling or staying over at a friends house so I'm saving it until such an occasion should occur. Thank you ladies!

These next presents came from another of my best friends, Billy. Billy, Katie and I went for a meal together the day after my birthday as they too are studying in Newcastle and the three of us are practically siblings and so they acted as my family for the day. Billy rung me on his way to my flat and said "I'm walking through town looking for a present for you, is there anything you'd like for your birthday that you've run out of?" and so I requested some more of Lush's Volcano Foot Mask.
This is another of my favourite products at the moment its glorious! I bought my first tub about two months ago as summer was approaching and I tend to neglect my feet during the winter cause I'm not a massive foot fan (who is?!) and so I thought I'd better give them a little TLC. I love this product however it is a little bizarre; the first time I smelt it I thought it vile as it has a peculiar scent because its made with pumice and china clay but now I love the smell. Its also a little strange as you cover your feet in it then wrap them in cling film for ten minutes before you wash it off but its great fun and your feet feel lovely and soft afterwards.
Because Billy's such a star he also bought me some Sexy Peel soap which admittedly does look like a large chunk of cheddar cheese but it smells wonderfully citrusy and is full of lemon zest.
I do wonder with receiving all these body and scented products if my friends are trying to tell me something...

Now for the beauty products my parents gave to me for my birthday. The first of which was a YSL Touche Elcat Radiant Touch Highlighter in the shade 1.5 Luminous Silk. I had yearned for a Touche Eclat for years as my Mum has had them before and they were always brilliant. I'd never bought one before because they are quite expensive at £25 but they are fantastic. They usually last quite a long time as well, some of Mum's have lasted her years. I use this product under my eyes to brighten the area and make me look more awake, I also apply it over any red areas or if I have any blemishes and it covers them in a flash. Its really light as well which is a nice break from my current concealer which is the Rimmel London Wake Me Up Concealer which is quite thick and heavy. Thank you M & D!

My final beauty related present to show you guys today are these Bodyshop Make Up Brushes. I have been in desperate need of a good set of make up brushes for a long time as I was given some a few years ago but I'd lost a few of them and they needed replacing as the brushes weren't as nice as they used to be. I had originally asked Mum for a collection of Zoeva make up brushes however they didn't have any left in stock on the internet and so we were going to wait for them...until we went to McArthur Glen Outlet Centre just outside York.
We had planned to go in the hope of finding new dresses as my Uncle is getting married in August and both of us jump at any opportunity to buy new frocks but unfortunately it was not to be our day. We did however do well with other things, I bought a pair of Levis shorts for £32 (score!), we stocked up on flaxseed from Holland & Barrett, Mum bought some new Whittard mugs for the kitchen and we came out of the Bodyshop in a state of shock.
We only went in for some face wash for me and some mascara for Mum but then we saw their Ultimate Brush Collection which seemed like too good an offer to turn down! Eight lovely brushes for £51 reduced from £85 and I have to say they are the best make up brushes I have ever seen! They are wonderfully soft and it is a complete collection so I have brushes for everything! The collection includes:
- Face and body brush
- Foundation brush
- Blusher brush
- Eyeshadow brush
- Slanted eyeshadow brush
- Blender brush
- Lip and concealer brush
- Brow and lash comb
It truly is a brilliant set and the brushes are divine, I don't know what I did without them until now! The reason Mum and I were so shocked at how well we did in the Bodyshop was because this set alone cost £51 and we had also bought mascara, face wash and a bottle of toner and somehow through a crazy amount of discounts only ended up paying £49 for the lot! It still baffles me.
So that is it for today, I hope you all enjoyed this post and now that my computer is working, sort of, there will be lots more over the next few months and they will be far more frequent, I promise. I hope that you all have splendid weeks and that if you are currently in the middle of your exams I wish you the best of luck and to everyone who has now finished I hope your summers are off to a terrific start. I'll see you all later on this week for a fashion-y post seen as my last few have been beauty related, I'll keep you posted.
Love Holly x