MUST-HAVE BEAUTY PICKS

It's certainly been quite a while since I last spoke about my beauty favourites (bar of course, my massive US beauty haul ahem). I thought it was high time I shared with you what has been tickling my beauty fancy over the last month or so. Buckle on down and brace yourself for this beauty stash in' picks...

Leopard Print Bag - Next £22* ∙ Mini Drink Up Intensive Mask - Origins £11 ∙ Pure Argan Oil - Josie Maran £35 ∙ Flower Bomb - Vicktor & Rolf $29 ∙ Creamy Eye Treatment - Kiehls £20

∙ Technically an across body bag, this leopard print offering from Next has been housing all my make-up bits on the move. Stashing my beauty must-haves for after work touch-ups, it's study and appears far more expensive than it is. Just whip off the detachable straps.

∙ This mini Origins 'Drink Up Intensive Mask' has become my staple night time cream, is that naughty? I just can't get enough. Deeply moisturising with an exotic fragrance, i'm all over it.

∙ Now available in the UK, I can finally sing it's praises. Completely different from any other facial oil I've used previously, my skin simply drinks up the Josie Moran Pure Argan Oil overnight and boy do the benefits show come morning - softer and smoother skin on the asap.

∙ Viktor & Rolf Flower Bomb is my go-to winter fragrance. After snubbing it for years, I relented and snapped up the rollerball on holiday. A true handbag savour for fragrant pick-me-ups.

∙ An new beauty try, the Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment has been on my beauty list to buy since forever. Deeply creamy, this cool avocado concoction has been saving my winter under-eye circles.

Full Cover Concealer - Make Up Forever £22.50 ∙ Ballet Pink Shadow - Laura Mercier £18.50 ∙ Eyeshadow Primer - Nars £19

∙ With only a smidgen needed, Make Up Forever's Full Cover concealer is a beauty godsend. This bad boy covers the nitty gritty without being cakey, simply serving up a flawless face. Invest now!

∙ Finally succumbing, the Nars Eyeshadow Primer was eventually mine. Worth every single penny, don't hesitate like I and add this long-lasting primer to your eyeshadow routine.

∙ The Ballet Pink shadow by Laura Mercier is a neutral lover's haven. Packed full of shimmery goodness, this champagne shade is an all round winner, whether as a partner in a smokey eye or an all over lid shade.

Guy Bourdin Blush Palette - Nars ∙ Silk Road Eyeshadow Duo - Nars £25 ∙ Instant Lip Perfect in Peach - Clarins £17 ∙ Watts Up - Benefit £24.50 

∙ The Nars Guy Bourdin Blush Palette is a beauty lovers dream - and that, shall all that need be said.

∙ Another staple for everyday, the Silk Road Nars duo has become my latest love affair. Brightening neutral shades that work beautifully with blue eyes.

∙ The perfect cheat to lipgloss, the Clarins Instant Light Perfector balm is still a must have favourite of mine. A pretty peachy shade that leaves your lips feeling moisturised, it's worth the hype.

∙ A mini sample of Benefit's Watts Up has changed my perspective on highlighters, a gleaming golden shade that flawlessly blends in - hello hollywood glam.

BB Cream - Smashbox £27 ∙ Pale Barley - Burberry £22.50 ∙ Sweetheart Lipgloss - Laura Mercier £18.50  

∙ Never one to even dabble in the BB cream territory, the Smash Box BB Cream has had me tossing my foundations to one side and falling in love with barely there skin. I cannot begin to even share my love for this!

∙ Last years favourite, Burberry's Pale Barley is a cool-toned light brown which paired with a little smudged kohl gives Kate Moss a run for her money.

∙ Laura Mercier knows how to dish up a lipgloss, the ideal formulation of moisturising, glossy with no stickiness. Sweetheart is no exception.

Have you tried any of these products? 

WRAPPING UP IN NAVY

Coat - River Island (£65)

As the weather started to cool, out came last years coat offering with a wrinkled nose. For each year, quite the tradition has begun: the quest for the new perfect winter coat. Having searched rather high and low this year, I'm not quite sold on the pink trend neither the overlarge boyfriend style. Ever on the hunt for a cream woollen tailored number (only ever seen in the sights of Burberry) I came across this navy pea coat from River Island. Adorned with a faux fur collar and military golden buttons, it sung to me. Admittedly, rather similar to the five other navy coats I own (ahem), it ticks all my coat requirements. Coming in at a very affordable £65, this navy pea coat is a sure winner in my books. 

Have you found your perfect winter coat? This season's offerings seem to have got thinner yet more pricer don't you think? May have my eye of this navy duffle delight too.

AN EVENING WITH THE BISCUITEERS

I was first introduced to The Biscuiteers when I was kindly gifted a leaving present from a past freelance position. Housed in a beautifully illustrated blue tin, tucked inside lay an assortment of iced biscuits. Deliciously scrummy, intricately designed and nothing short of having the wow-factor, I suddenly became a fan of their work.

Eagerly excited doesn't even begin to cover my feelings when I was kindly invited down to the Biscuiteers HQ in Nottinghill to take part in an icing workshop. Setting off my lovely work friends, we were in for quite the sweet treat.

The Biscuiteers HQ borders on the petite but an Aladdin's cave of biscuits is what awaits you. An array of delicious biccies adorns and dots every corner and shelf, inviting you to look a little closer. An impressive range of designs and themes, from birthdays to weddings, all a mouthwatering offering. An assortment of gifts, single biscuits presented in wonderfully illustrated boxes with a counter of treats for yourself behind the counter. You are spoiled for choice.

Why send flowers when you can send a box of Biscuiteers biscuits? A beautiful keepsake tin with these tasty delights..

We made our way downstairs to the Icing Cafe to try our hand at icing our own biscuits. Equipped with a number of Christmas themed biscuits and icing tubes, listening to festive tunes and drinking champers, we got straight to business...

Check out that concentration!

Not as hard as it looks, icing is rather calming and therapeutic. That however may of been the macaroons and many glasses of champagne consumed. Either way I throughly got into the swing of it and found my new calling in life.. icing!!

Not quite as speedy as the team of Biscuiteer's pro icers who can ice up a batch in no time, I was rather impressed with my efforts! The Buiscuteers offer workshops all year around, seriously fun if you fancy trying out something new. Or even pop along to their drop-in Icing Cafe, where you can ice any biscuit and take it home all beautifully wrapped up.

An insider tells me the Beckhams frequent quite often, just another fabulous excuse to book myself in for the delightful afternoon tea they offer (£35 for TWO - a bargain!).

With a few goodies bought for Christmas later and a copy of The Biscuiteers book, I cannot wait to bake up a Christmas themed storm and ice away till my hearts content (following their icing rules of course). Popped in clear cellophane bags and sealed with a ribbon they are the perfect gift. Or play safe like I did and buy a few from the Biscuiteer pros incase everything goes a little topsy turvy.

I hope you enjoyed coming along with me to the Biscuiteers evening, have you ever tasted their biscuits or stopped by the shop?

DRESSING IN MULBERRY

Crepe Tee Shift Dress - Topshop (£45.00)

Upon returning from my holiday I came to realise that my once genius plan of donating all my unloved clothes before I jetted off was not in actual fact a good idea. For it's never a good sign when your wardrobe houses more hangers than clothes. With this excuse in hand, I treated myself to this rich berry toned dress from Topshop. Perfectly plain it may be, but a beautiful accomplice to a statement necklace don't you agree? A wonderful fit and length, it's office friendly and the perfect throw on for dinner and drinks for a night out. Plus it didn't shrink in the wash, which is serious win for Topshop in my books. 

Pretty please will you bring this out in other colours Toppers? A forest green would be lovely thank you. Mind you, they do have these other shades to choose from, bit S/S though.

AMERICAN HAULIN'

I'm feeling particularly nervous about writing this post. I never planned to write it. But thinking about it my blog really isn't a place that takes it's self too seriously. I talk make-up and clothes, hardly groundbreaking. Emotions aside, I basically dropped a shit load of dollars in Sephora, no biggie. Aside from my dad nearly having a heart attack in horror. 

I just want to start by saying that as soon as I knew the holiday was happening I donated most of my unwanted make-up to friends (mainly shoved to Elodie) and saved, saved and saved some more. I made a list of things I wanted to buy, mainly US brands and products that are hard to get hold of over here, and patiently waited not succumbing to buying anything for months. 

So when I landed, I kind-of exploded and went bat shit cray.

Tom Ford Blusher in 'Frantic Pink' / Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment

Tell I lie, I cracked in duty free. 

Then being the BRUTE I am, I accidentally kicked this work of art on the plane.. sob.

A Cut Above / Set in Stone / Watermelon / Stylenomics

Essie is disgustingly cheaper in the US, so I just bit the bullet and went for it. Admittedly on the night I landed. 

Cover Girl Mascaras / It's a 10! Miracle Leave In Product / Macadamia Hair Oil / Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'Tough as Taupe' / L'Oreal Infallible Shadow in Iced Latte

In New York, Duane Reade practically dots each and every corner. A drug store haven, I couldn't resist the infamous Cover Girl mascaras, travel size hair products and two shadow shades that aren't available over here. 

Then I moved on to Sephora territory. Can we take a minute to admire this stand? Say hello to the miniatures.. 

Beauty brands are missing such a trick not selling these miniatures over here. I know i'm not the only one who would go weak at the knees at miniture Nars... ahem.

Sephora was such a dream. It was clean, organised and had everything you could ever imagine. I practically visited every central NY store, whilst my dad abused the free wifi, my mum people watched, I had a DREAM filling my basket. 

Urban Decay 'Sin' and 'Virgin' / Sephora Pencil Sharpener / Anastasia Brow Whizz / Urban Decay Travel All Nighter Spray

Treating myself to my favourite Urban Decay eyeshadow singles, they're firm favourites from my Naked Palette so I made sure to snap them up.. with a cheeky travel Setting Spray thrown in for good measure. A must-have on my to buy list was the Anastasia Brow Whizz. Hot damn, I'm smitten. There's a reason this bad boy is hyped. Look out for a more detailed post coming soon.

Sephora for OPI in 'Only Gold For Me' and 'To The Glitter End!' / Clinique Foaming Cleanser / Make Up Forever Rose Gold 28E Aqua Shadow

After Hannah informed me that Clinique was much much cheaper in the US, I made a beeline to purchase my favourite cleanser. Same applies to Make Up Forever, I could have bought the entire stand but I reigned myself in and choose the Aqua Shadow pencil (great shot I took there). The Sephora for OPI Glitter varnishes also made their way into my basket, so so pretty.

Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer / Becca Beach Tint Duo / Tarte Blush in 'Tipsy' / Josie Maran Cheek Gelee in 'Poppy Paradise' 

Ok I lied, the Make Up Forever stand had me crawling back. Since using the Full Cover concealer upon returning, I can tell you this product is the bloody bees knees. It may be pricey, but you literally need a smidgen. My technical beauty term there: smidgen. Next up was Becca, a brand that I had lusted over from afar from Kate's blog. In hind's sight I wish I had bought more from the range but I settled on this mini duo of Beach Tints, for a bargain of $16!  

Calling my name across the store, the blush junkie inside of me couldn't leave a Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush sitting pretty on the shelf. I may have left the shop with zebra swatch marks up my arm from testing each shade, but finally settled on 'Tipsy' - I'm smitten. Get your ass over to Britain, Tarte! 

Another US brand we cannot get our clutches on, how delicious does this Josie Maran cheek gelee look? Admittedly I haven't used this just yet (..a crime, I know) but it just looks so perfect..

Marc Jacobs Polish in Pretra

It had to be done, enough said.

For the non-beauty o'holics out there, Marc Jacobs cosmetic line isn't available over here just yet.

The navy, thunderstorm grey shade had my fingers tapping away asking to be applied.

Did you know in Sephora they have NAIL BARS where you can take off your own nail varnish and just apply whatever shade they have that takes your fancy? We are so neglected.

 Neutrogena Healthy Skin / Essie 'Lilacism' / Maybelline Colour Whisper in '55 Pearl' 

A CVS drugstore dash early one morning produced the Neutrogena Healthy Skin foundation (I can't even comprehend how good this is, but I refuse to discuss on the grounds you have to spend 6 hours on a plane to buy it), another Essie offering and a Maybelline Caress Whisper in shade 'Bare Lips'. Yes, I got so excited I bought the lip balm shade by accidentally. Ironically, I love it!

As soon as I entered the doors of Sephora, I signed up to their free loyalty scheme and snabbed myself a Beauty Insider Card. Every dollar spend racks up beauty points which can be exchanged for gifts. After dropping er quite a bit, I was treated to a sample of Glam Glow, Living Proof Hair Primer (um..) and a nail varnish which I have a sneaky feeling is sitting in my New Jersey motel.

The lovely Sephora sales assistant noticed that it was my birthday that month (ok, I totally told her) and she kindly gifted me this mini Benefit Birthday set including a They're Real Mascara and a 'What's Up?' highlighter. How freeking amazing? I then went to Sephora in New Jersey and kind of re-told the same story to another sales assistant and she GIFTED ME ANOTHER. Don't judge me. Let it be your birthday every time you visit Sephora. Wise words.

Mac Pro Long Wear Concealer / Jest & Woodwinked Eyeshadows

With some time to kill in New Jersey Duty Free, I hit up the Mac counter. The price of Mac is far kinder on American ground, so it would be rude not to take advantage right? I picked up the seriously underrated Pro Longwear Concealer and two eyeshadows I had been lusting after since forever, Jest and Woodwinked.

Meet the Sephora Superstars Set..

As soon as I booked my holiday I logged onto Sephora to create my wish-list (obviously). And there was one thing I needed. The Sephora Superstars Set (now sold out). Containing a cracking line-up of must-have beauty products, I needed in. Including many beauty products that I was going to buy separately, this beauty must-have retailed at the snip of $75 (a far cry from it's $200 worth). 

Notourisly hard to find in store, I kindly borrowed my American friends billing address and had it shipped to their house. It was love at first sight..

It includes: 

Deborah Lippmann Glitter Polish, NARS Orgasm/Laguna mini duo, Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Light (LOVE), Urban Decay eyeshadow duo in Sin/Mushroom, NARS lipstick in Dolce Vita, Bumble and bumble Surf Spray, Origins GinZing eye cream,  Josie Maran Argan Oil, Stila Stay All Day liquid liner, Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb rollerball, Too Faced Better Than False Lashes & Anastasia clear brow gel.

JUST LOOK at this mammoth size of my Jergen's moisturiser! That set me back a mere £4 - its massive!

Eucalyptus Mint, Pumpkin Apple, Leaves. 

Cliche Bath and Bodyworks purchase. Despite the fact I'm not allowed to light candles (long story - I accidentally set fire to a loo roll and it hurdled across my garden) it had to be done. 

And of course, a few holiday souvenirs in the shape of these..

Pepper Imps, Tongue Burners and Chocolate Frog from HP World.

Please don't think I'm crazy. It doesn't end there. I also hit up quite a few clothing outlets and basically bought most of J.Crew. Post to follow soon!