Ahh Sephora, the beauty lover's dream. If you're about to visit one for the very first time you are in for a treat! The black and white stores are home to an extensive array of beauty treats from Marc Jacobs Beauty to their bar of mini products. It's been a while since I last set foot in a Sephora, but thanks to some lovely friends and YouShop I've been able to have another taster of the experience. To those of you off to Sephora soon here's a little shopping list to get you started..

The Eco-Friendly Loves

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Tipsy-These clay blushers have been on my wishlist since I started watching beauty videos on YouTube, so I had to get one when I made a YouShop order last month. Tipsy is a coral blush. It is matte, which I like as most of my blushers have some shimmer in them. This looks scarily bright in the pan but it looks softer once applied. It is easy to blend and is very long-wearing. I'm not sure if it has 12 hour wear (who wears their makeup for that long?) but it certainly doesn't fade fast like some other blushers tend to. Tipsy, it's love. 

Tarte Lights Camera Flashes Mascara-Aside from the fact this mascara can't be bought in New Zealand there isn't an awful lot to not love about it. It really makes your lashes look amazing, almost like wearing falsies. This mascara does not smudge and is incredibly long lasting, despite not being a waterproof formula. 

Josie Maran Coconut Water Cheek Gelee in Poppy Paradise-Like Tipsy, this blush looks scary bright in the pan. Don't let the colour fool you-it applies sheerly so you can build up the colour to your liking. For a creamier blush it lasts well and it doesn't leave your skin looking shiny or emphasise pores. The colour is stunning as well and would flatter a wide range of skintones.

The One-Swipe Wonder

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella-You can buy these outside the US but many of the shades are often sold out in the local Mecca Cosmeticas. These apply creamily and dry matte. Now I'm not overly fond of wearing matte products for long periods of time because they can be drying and uncomfortable on the lips. I wore this yesterday and didn't find it drying at all. The colour lasted well and only started showing signs of wear around the five hour mark. The colour is also a stunner. Damned is next on my wishlist but if you have any more recommendations leave them in the comments.

The Buffing Brush's Sister From Another Mister

Sephora Collection Classic Mineral Powder Brush #45-This brush was a bit of an Anna-inspired purchase and also a bit of a "there's so much to choose from, I'm overwhelmed" purchase. Thankfully it hasn't been a disappointment, although it is early days. I'm liking it for creating a flawless finish with my base of choice though. This is described as an alternative to the Buffing Brush-I'll keep you posted..

-Have you visited Sephora? What would be on your Sephora shopping list?

*I hope everyone's having a great week! I've been busy with life and university bits+pieces this week. The usual really. 

Summer is drawing to a close, although it certainly doesn't feel like it in Auckland. The days seem to just be starting to warm up now. Summer is my favourite time of the year-the fashion, the fruit, visiting the beaches when they're at their best. I love it all. Here's what I've been loving over the Summer from beauty to fashion accessories and some miscellaneous extras. Be sure to check back later on as you'll be able to win some of these products.

Beauty

Neutrogena Beach Defense Sun Spray*-Pictured is the sunscreen version of this product as I've now used the sun spray up. You spray this directly on to the skin and can leave it to dry on its own or rub it in yourself, either way it dries pretty fast. You aren't left with the sticky, sunscreen feeling either-major bonus! The spray and sunscreen both have a lovely tropical scent. It is an SPF50 product too so I've not been badly burnt at all this Summer. 

Essie Nail Colour in Watermelon and Set in Stones-When it comes to nails in Summer we all want something fuss free, which usually means it'll dry faster and last longer on the nails. Well, Essie's polishes do a pretty good job in both those departments. They have such an array of fun Summer brights but it's these two polishes above that I've been wearing the most. Honourable mention has to go to Mint Candy Apple as well. 

Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayons in Peach On The Beach and Orange Punch-Like nails, in Summer lips call for something fuss-free. Bring in the lip crayons which are super easy to apply. These Bourjois offerings are creamy, pigmented and fairly long-wearing. Orange Punch leaves a subtle stain behind once it wears away so you don't need to touch this up as often. 

Tangle Teezer Compact Styler-If you've got longer hair and it's prone to become knotty or tangled in Summer (thanks sea), then you need one of these in your lives. I like to use this after washing my hair too to get all the tangles out pre blow-wave. This compact styler in particular is great as it comes with a cover so the bristles don't get caught on things in your handbag. It's not as bulky as the original tangle teezers too so it will take up less space in your bag. I'd highly recommend picking up one of these if you don't already own one.

If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen the amazing parcel I got from one of my blogging friends Hannah last month. She knows I love beauty so she sent over a ton of products for me. I decided to split them all up, trial everything for a month and then write about them all over the next three months. If you're in New Zealand some of these things may be harder to track down but there are links so you can see where everything is from.

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish-Lip scrubs are designed to remove the dry flaky patches from your lips to make them smoother and softer. This scrub has a lemon and brown sugar scent to it. Unlike traditional scrubs this has more of a gel-like feel to it and the texture isn't chunky pieces of sugar as such. I rub this in to my lips, pat the excess off with a facecloth and then apply a lip balm. You will be left with super smooth, hydrated lips by the next day so this is a great one to use if you're wanting to wear a particularly matte lip product out.

NYX Butter Gloss in Merengue-When we were in Melbourne last November I found the NYX counter in Target. They must have just had a sale though because practically every product was sold out. These butter glosses receive a lot of love online and they totally deserve it. These are super creamy and have a cake frosting scent to them. These are not sticky or tacky in any way so if you find yourself having hair meets gloss moments then you will like these. I have the shade Merengue which is described as a lilac pink. I didn't think this kind of colour was going to suit me but it does at the moment, thanks Summer skintone(!). 

Burt's Bees Refreshing Lip Balm, Grapefruit Scented-I'm not sure if I have ever declared my love for all things grapefruit scented on the blog before but Hannah knew I love it and sent me this lip balm. We can get Burt's Bees in New Zealand but I don't think I have seen this particular balm before. Anyway, aside from the fact that I love the scent, this lip balm goes perfectly with the lip scrub as well. My lips always feel fantastic after using this and a scrub together.

It's that time of the month again! During December I've been loving colour, glitter, and everything in between. Sit back, relax, grab a cup of tea or a cold drink and have a read of this month's edit..

Bobbi Brown Nail Polish in Chrome, limited edition*-It's no secret that I love glittery things and this gold nail polish is no exception. This glitter is easy to apply and the fine glitter pieces mean you can layer this over other nail colours, super festive. It dries fast and is super easy to remove, unlike most glitters. I'm quite tempted to go pick up the other gold shade from this collection as well.

Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayons in Peach on the Beach and Orange Punch-I love the simplicity and ease of application that comes with lip crayons. These Bourjois offerings are pigmented, creamy and pretty darn long lasting. 

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub-My skin's been a little bit scaly lately, particularly around my elbows and ankles. This zesty lime, lemon and smashed brown sugar scrub solves that problem though. Using a scrub like this one in conjunction with a body butter leaves your skin incredibly moisturised. It also helps that this scrub happens to smell delicious!

Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Ore-Pigments are perfect for jazzing up eye makeup, particularly during the festive season. Ore is a stunning bronze with flecks of gold glitter throughout. I like wearing this by itself or layered over other eyeshadows with lots of mascara.

There is something about eco-friendly beauty that's always appealed to me, especially the simplicity of what goes into products as well of course the fact that they're more often than not cruelty free as well. Josie Maran is known for her argan oil based products but it was these cheek gelees that caught my eye during a Sephora browsing session (please tell me I am not the only one who does this..). My friend Hannah of Shedding Glitter kindly sent me one of the gelees in the shade Poppy Paradise and it is the only blush I've been wearing this month.

Cheek gelees are like cream blushes but as the name would suggest they have a jelly-like texture. These are not sticky or tacky in any way. The gelees are infused with coconut water which is known to be hydrating and adds a glow to the face. The formula of these blushes doesn't seem to emphasise pores and rather than add an obvious streak of colour, you are left looking naturally flushed.