Dear Santa...

Christmas is coming and, as usual, I am buzzing with excitement!! If I had my way, I would start the count down in September (I do in my head), but unfortunately that does seem to rather irritate those around me. Therefore, as I thought it might be a tad early to fill the Li'l Sparrow with Christmas mania, I wanted to get the season started instead by compiling my Christmas list. Here's a taster of the things that I will be asking Santa very nicely for this Christmas...

1. 'Daisy' by Marc Jacobs - £47.50

This fresh, floral scent is one of my all time favourites. I see it everywhere I go, whether I'm shopping or blogging, and there's a reason for that. It's a gorgeous smelling classic of which I simply can't get enough.

2. Fairy Dust Scented Candle by Lily Flame - £8.50

I've mentioned Lily Flame candles before on The Li'l Sparrow as they are my favourite scented candle brand. I've not yet found one that I don't like out of their beautiful collection and 'Fairy Dust' comes top of my list with its gorgeous warm, comforting scent. For those of you who love a Christmas candle (who doesn't??) Lily Flame also do a great seasonal range including 'Snow Fall', 'Christmas Pudding', 'Christmas Spice', 'Silent Night', 'Cranberry Crush', 'Comfort and Joy', ... honestly, the list goes on...

3. 'Pour Femme' by Dolce & Gabbana - £57.50

I got this perfume from Rob last Christmas and I am totally addicted. If you're looking for a delicious, feminine scent I would absolutely recommend D&G's 'Pour Femme'. Although it's not cheap, it has become my go to perfume and, with hints of marshmallow, raspberry and vanilla, I would quite happily sit smelling this gorgeous scent all day. 

4. It by Alexa Chung - £11.55

Need I say more really? Like a lot of people, I'm a huge Alexa Chung fan and would be so happy to live in her closet forever more if it was socially acceptable. Unfortunately it's not, so I'll just have to make do with reading her beautiful book instead.

5. Smock Dress from ASOS - £22.50

I've actually had this dress in my ASOS basket for months now, with some vague notion that if I wait just a bit longer, I might be able to justify spending the money on it becasue it's soo darn pretty. Unfortunately, that justification never came, but fortunately Christmas is nearly here AND it's been reduced! Bingo!

6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - £1.99

Just like everyone else, I was swept along with Gatsby fever this summer. However, I do feel utterly ashamed that I've never actually read the book. That's definitely something that I need to remedy. 

7. Bootie Slippers from Accessorize - £20

How adorable are these? I got some Accessorize bootie slippers a few years ago for Christmas and they barely came off my feet from that moment onwards. Sadly that did take its toll a little and I had to get rid of them for health and safety reasons, but then I saw these seriously cute 'Granny Boots' (as Accessorize are calling them). Toasty tootsies here I come!

8. Black Tote Bag from Zara - £29.99

I spotted this bag about a month and a half ago whilst out shopping and it's been top of my wish list since. This was then intensified when my big, black Primark handbag that I used nearly every day for Uni broke beyond repair. This Zara bag is quite large and is therefore perfect for fitting your books and a laptop in for those long days in the library or when you're heading to work. It also has a long strap so that you can wear it over your shoulder when your arm gets too tired and at £30 I think it's not badly priced either.

9. Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser & Moisturiser for Oily/ Combination Skin by Liz Earl - £24.75 & £19.25

Now, I know that there is no point in lecturing you all on the wonders of Liz Earle because, unless you've been living under a rock, you will have heard it all before. All I'm going to say is that I've used these two products since I was seventeen and it's a true love relationship. I have had brief periods where, mainly for financial reasons, I've tried other face products but nothing has ever come close. Unfortunately, these wonderful products do come with a pretty painful price tag and so every year they're always top of my Christmas list.

I hope that you've enjoyed seeing what's on my Christmas wish list. I'd love to know what you'll be asking for this Christmas.

Essie x

Review: Sleek Blusher

Sleek Blusher: £9.99

I've actually had this post in the pipe lines for ages now but, due to an incredibly busy last few weeks, I haven't got round to posting it (sorry). Whilst this means that I appear to be very late on the bandwagon with Sleek's 'Lace' palette, it also follows that I've tried and tested this product for a couple of months now, something that I think is important for a review as opinions can change so quickly (or is that just me?)

I'll be honest with you, blusher is something that I've always been a bit unsure about. I never know what colour is best for my skin tone, or even whether I'm putting it in the right place, and so I've never been fantastic at experimenting with it. However, after seeing this palette appearing on so many blogs and as the blusher I had been using for ages was at an end, I thought that it was about time to give it a try. As I hope you can see from the pictures, the colours in this palette are really gorgeous. I've done a swab of them at their most intense but the great thing with this blusher is that it blends beautifully. This also means that a little goes a long way and after about two months of daily use, I've barely got a dent in any of the colours. The colour that I currently use the most is 'Crochet', which pleasantly surprised me as I've never used a coral blush before. I do love the pink 'Chantilly' colour, although I sometimes think that it can bring out the redness in my skin if I'm having a bad blemish day. I like to use 'Guipure'  to create a  more natural, glowy look and also use it as a highlighter as it's got a real shimmer to it.

All in all I'm absolutely over the moon with this palette. It was only £9.99, which I think is amazing value for money. Sleek's made me feel far more excited about blusher and hopefully from now on I will feel braver and try out different colours and palettes. Oof, cheesy but true :) 

I'd love to know what you think of Sleek's palette if you've tried it. Have you got a favourite colour? 

Essie x

Review: L'Oréal's Ever Riche shampoo and conditioner

As anyone who knows me will be fully (and painfully... sorry) aware, my hair and I have a very bad relationship. This sad reality is due to the fact that my hair is exceptionally fine. So fine in fact that three different hairdressers have told me that I have the finest (and most tangley) hair that they've ever had the displeasure to comb (they didn't say it in quite those words...) This means that it dries out in a flash, gets horribly knotty looking if I don't brush it regularly and has next to no volume. You can imagine how excited I was therefore when I discovered a shampoo and conditioner that has turned all of this on it's head!

I started using L'Oréal's Ever Riche shampoo and conditioner about a month ago and, in a nutshell, I absolutely love it! The first point that I have to make is that this stuff actually smells like heaven. And I mean actually! It says that it's made of 'botanical oils, camelina and apricot seed', which doesn't really help describe the scent but it smells incredibly natural and so good that I want to try and eat it. Which I promise I won't do. 

In addition to it's heavenly scent, this product really has made my hair feel beautifully soft and much thicker than usual. A hairdresser once told me that L'Oréal is a great brand for haircare as they're owned by the same company that makes really good quality salon brand products, her thinking being that surely it's all the same technology that's used to create products that care for your hair instead of simply coating it in silicones and waxes. I obviously don't know how true this is, but the Ever Riche product certainly seems to prove her right. I have been using the one for dry, fine hair (although they have different types), which promises nourished and flowing hair that feels 'satin soft', and it's certainly delivered. My hair does indeed feel so much healthier, softer and is most definitely not as knotty as usual. It also feels really clean, and so, although I am no expert, I feel that the 'no sulphate' and 'no waxes' promise really does make a difference. The one thing that it doesn't do is add volume to my hair, but I've actually found that I haven't been as bothered about that as usual. Maybe becasue it looks healthier?

So, now I've finished getting more excited about shampoo and conditioner than I ever have in my life, I'd love to hear what your favourite haircare brands are? Do you use this product and if so, what do you think? Has it impressed you as much as it has me, or do you have another favourite that gets you as excited as I just have? If that's possible.

Essie x

Review: Nivea in-shower body moisturiser

£2.56 from Boots

The concept of this product is fantastic. Simply apply in the shower after using your normal shower wash, rinse off, dry yourself down, get dressed and you're all ready to go. Nivea then are promising a product that eliminates those cold, miserable mornings of standing around feeling sticky and uncomfortable whilst waiting for your moisturiser to dry. Err, I'll be having that then please!

Pros:
- It smells soo good.
- Your skin is definitely left feeling silkier.
- I found that it worked quite nicely as a shaving cream.
- The price is good for the size of the bottle.

Cons:
- It does feel quite greasy when in the shower, although not once you've dried off.
- Tougher areas such as knees and elbows aren't really left feeling any different and need an additional moisturiser.
- It just doesn't do the job like a body lotion.

Verdict: 
Although I will definitely be using this product in addition to my body lotion and not as a replacement, I'm still giving it a thumbs up. The reason is that I'm rubbish at moisturising and I know that sadly that's never going to change. Therefore, as this does leave your skin feeling softer it is perfect for those in between days when moisturising is just never going to happen. The hitch is that without using any other body moisturising product my skin has still started to dry out, and so Nivea's promise that there is 'no need to apply an additional body lotion' is simply not true. There may be no need to apply one everyday, but every now and then I will unfortunately still have to go through that uncomfortable, and oh so slightly miserable process of moisturising my body. Shame.

I'd be interested to know whether any of you have tried this product and if so, what you think about it. Also, if anyone has some alternatives to try and soften my dislike for moisturising (and therefore help soften my skin... sorry that was bad...) I would love to hear them!

Essie x

Sunny spells with the occasional shower

When faced with a rack of Topshop nail varnishes I simply don't know where to start. Their collection has such a beautiful and wide variety of colours that I go dizzy with excitement! As (unfortunately) buying every colour is slightly out of the question, I've chosen a couple of contrasting colours, both of which I think create lovely, summery nails.

 

Keepin' It Sweet

This is a peachy perfect, summer delight of a nail polish. My friends bought me this along with some other Topshop treats for my birthday back in February. Although I had tried it on, I hadn't worn it properly because I felt that it needed some sunshine and a tan to bring out it's full potential. Now that the sun has joined us (the tan's still slightly lacking), I thought that I'd give it a go and I'm so happy with the result. In the bottle it looks like a pretty-in-pink kind of a nail varnish (and it looks totally different on the website all together), but don't let it fool you. After a few coats it brightens up and is much more like a neon pop than a pretty pastel. Topshop's varnishes also have a lovely glossy finish to them, which means that if you're in a hurry and don't get a chance to put a clear coat over the top they still look really good, although of course it won't stay on as long that way. Ooh I can't wait to wear this on holiday! 

 

  

 

Rainy Day

This is not the usual pastel nail varnish that I would wear in the summer, but I think maybe that's why I love it so much (in fact I'm wearing it right now!) Rainy day is a very tricky colour to describe. On the Topshop website it's called 'fog grey', which I think is quite a nice description. In fact, it almost seems to change colour depending on what you wear it with, sometimes revealing hints of blue, at other times appearing quite purple and occasionally seeming very grey. The best thing is that it has a very soft, pastel feel to it, which makes it a great twist on the typical 'pastel nails' trend. I've been wearing it with really summery outfits, such as my new Urban Outfitters dress (see my last post), but it's also a great option for those who want to do summer without getting too 'bright', or for those who simply want something a bit different.

What do you think of my summer choices? Do you prefer to go bright and colourful when the sun shows his face or would you rather keep it subtle?

 

Essie x

Makeup Review: Highstreet Mini Haul

A few weeks ago I was watching a Zoella beauty vlog (love that lady), in which she shared some of her favourite highstreet makeup buys. As I'm trying not to be too excessive with my money at the moment (...massively failing), and as my MAC and Benefit are seriously running out, I thought that I would give a few of her picks a go. Here's a li'l review of what I got.

No 7 Exquisite Curl Mascara/ L'Oreal Superliner Perfect Slim  / Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

No 7 Exquisite Curl Mascara - £11

So I hate to be obvious, but this mascara does exactly what it says on the bottle; it curls! As well as being in a pretty pink tube (I do appreciate nice packaging), the wand is curved to create maximum curl effect. I've never actually used a wand like this before, but I really think that it makes a difference. This mascara is perfect for people who prefer a more natural look as I personally don't think that it layers very well, and if you want dark, thicker eyelashes then maybe this isn't the mascara for you (I'm going to invest in the Maybelline Falsies mascara for nights out). However, if you like long, natural looking eyelashes, this is the perfect product and I am loving it to create a more natural, summery daytime look.

L'Oreal Superliner Perfect Slim - £6.99

This eyeliner's black and gold exterior mirrors the Yves Saint Laurent Effet Faux Cils eyeliner, but thankfully comes without the price tag. I've tried several high street felt tip eyeliners in the past as they are generally so much easier to control and therefore perfect for creating a winged effect. The problem that I usually find with them is that they run out quite quickly and aren't as black as I would like (I like my eyeliner to be BLACK, if you know what I mean). As I've only been using this liner for a couple of weeks, it's difficult to say whether it will break the drying out trend, but so far it's my favourite. The tip is the perfect thickness and I find it very easy to control (even for li'l old me, who's pretty bad at doing wings!) However if you too like really dark eyeliner, I would advise going over it with a liquid liner. My FAV highstreet eyeliner of all time is the Collection 2000 Fast Stroke liquid eyeliner, which I've been returning to for years. It's really black, stays on all day, the bottle lasts aaages AND it's incredibly cheap at only £2.50!! The only thing I would say is that I sometimes struggle controlling it and my flicks can go pretty wonky. But hey, no need to fret because now: L'Oreal Superliner + Collection 2000 Liquid Eyeliner = Problem Solved! Hurray :) 

 

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer - £4.19
This concealer is a total bargain! It's a fabulous price at only £4.19, and as well as that it's just, well, fabulous! I've been applying it under my eyes and on blemishes and spots before I put on my foundation every day for the last couple of weeks, and I can't really fault it. It's quite thick, so if your skin's not too bad you could probably just use it to cover up blemishes and then skip the foundation (my skin's not fantastic, but I might try this when I'm on holiday). My only negative comment about this product would be that the packaging isn't great. The first tube that I bought had a crack in it somewhere and leaked all over my other makeup. Luckily Boots let me exchange it, however the black writing on my current tube came off all over my hands the first time that I used it and got everrrrywhere before I noticed (...got it on my face somehow). I'm not sure whether I was just unlucky but if this does happen to anyone else just take a makeup wipe and scrub the bottle (...and your face if necessary). It worked for me :) Anyway, as it's what's inside the bottle that really counts, I'm giving this product a big thumbs up!

I really hope that's helped anyone looking to fill their makeup bag with some highstreet bargains! I would love to know if you've tried any of these products, or if you have any other suggestions to keep me away from the Mac counter and my bank account looking a bit healthier. I'm feeling very excited at the moment as I've only got a week until I go away on holiday now and I can't waittt :) I'm a tad nervous as I'm off to Egypt (yikes!), but it's the safe touristy bit so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all will be fine. Anyway, expect some serious holiday preparation posts to come very soon.

Essie x