Oh Snap! Add me on Snapchat

Hi there!

I recently joined snapchat so add me on there- dustyfoxes.

I don't know how to use it very well, but I've been posting a bunch of random things on there. Let me know if you want to see things like behind the scenes of blog posts etc.

Signing off now
Dusty Foxes,

PS:Yes I'm just being lazy about writing up a proper post, but it's Christmas and I'm feeling like chilling out

12 Posts Before Christmas: Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Today marks the last post in my 12 posts before Christmas series. I hope you've enjoyed them so far. If you missed any or are new to my blog and want to see what I've been posting about this past 3 and a half weeks, check out the 12 posts before Christmas tag!

I'm really glad I took the time to do this series as it's the first time I made a proper commitment to blogging and I loved doing it! I'll admit that towards the end, I lost a lot of interest in the project as I didn't have time to take the photos I wanted and that made me not want to write posts, but all in all I'm happy to have done it.

I may do more series on my blog if that interests you. So far I've done the 12 posts before Christmas and Sample Sunday last month. I don't think I'll be taking on any more projects just yet as I don't have many ideas at the moment but if you have an idea you'd like me to try out please let me know in the comments below!

I'm returning to my usual schedule of posting at 10 a.m. GMT on Sundays when I've had time to blog, so I'm not sure as of yet what my next post will be on. Check out the sidebar where I have links to follow me on twitter, bloglovin', Google+ and an option to follow by email. Please do follow me if you've liked what you've seen on my blog, it makes me feel really happy to see my follower count go up, but if you don't want to, that's fine. Please leave a comment on how you think I can improve my blog. I'm open to constructive criticism as I want to write content that people can enjoy.

 Anyway, I hope you're having a lovely Christmas Eve or a happy holiday if you don't celebrate Christmas and I hope to hear from you in the comments below!

Signing off now,
Dusty Foxes

12 Posts Before Christmas: Christmas Must Haves

Hello!

We're nearing Christmas so I thought I would talk about some of my must have things to make me feel Christmassy!

1. Quality Streets. They are available all year but it's at Christmas that Quality Streets make an appearance in my home. I love the Green ones the best.

2. Costa Black Forest Hot Chocolate. I first got this 2 years ago and every Christmas since it has been my favourite seasonal drink. It doesn't feel like Christmas till I drink my first Black Forest Hot Chocolate

3. Camembert/brie. 2 of my favourite soft cheeses, I only tend to have them at this time of the year. I love warm and gooey cheese melting in my mouth. I'm so hungry thinking about it!

4. Christmas parties. I posted my Christmas party makeup before, but I just love getting dressed up for a party and having fun with my friends (and eating too much food). On Christmas Eve and Christmas day, I tend to chill out and not wear makeup and stay in my pajamas as long as possible, so I enjoy putting more effort pre-Christmas at the parties!

5. Christmas carols! What is Christmas without carols. I love singing even though I'm not very good at it, and it's been a family tradition to sing Christmas carols in the evening. My favourite ones are Joy to the World, O Come All Ye Faithful and O Holy Night.


These are just some of the material things I associate with Christmas. There are a lot more, but these are the top things that immediately make me think - Christmas! Of course there are other things such as deadlines, exams post-Christmas etc, but I don't really like thinking too much about those when I want that "festive feeling".

Let me know what makes you think of Christmas in the comments below! Hope you have a happy holiday and a Merry Christmas!

Signing off now,

Dusty Foxes

12 Posts before Christmas: Zoella Bath Bombinis Review

Hello and welcome to my bathroom!

I recently got the Bath Bombinis from Zoella Beauty so I thought I'd pop up a quick review.

Bath Bombinis are part of the limited edition Christmas Collection and is basically the Fizz bar in a round form and packaged nicely. 

I really like the packaging. It's in a really pretty glass jar that you can keep cotton buds in after you've finished the bath bombinis (or like me take the bath bombinis out and use it for that immediately). I like the rose-gold foil around each one because it looks more luxurious than just paper packaging. I will warn that under the foil there is a plastic layer which has some rose speckled into the plastic. I didn't realise that at first and wondered why my bath wasn't fizzing.

The product is scented with Zoella's original line's scent, which honestly I'm not the biggest fan of. It's quite a powdery scent to me and it's not really my kind of smell. I use 2 of the bath bombinis at the same time because I think one doesn't quite give the same feeling. It makes the water quite smooth and obviously scented but it's quite pleasant if you like the scent.

I think the packaging is the best part of the product and I would not be rushing out to try more of the Fizz bars. I will just say that I'm not the most fond of baths and not a fan of the scent, so that could be why I'm not too keen on the product.

Let me know what you think if you've tried this or what your favourite bath products are in the comments below!

Signing off now

Dusty Foxes

12 Posts Before Christmas: Skincare Routine

Hello!

We're so close to Christmas! I can't believe it's so soon. Today I will be sharing my favourite skincare bits. Since skincare is specific to the person, what works for me may not work for you, but these are my current favourite items.

Cleanser:

I am loving the Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil for taking off my makeup at the moment. It just dissolves it and leaves my skin feeling cleansed but moisturised. I use a muslin cloth to take it off as I find my face feels a bit oily if I just wash it off. In the morning I use Etude House Baking Powder Pore Cleansing Foam. I like that it's refreshing and leaves my skin feeling clean and ready for the day, but I think once I'm done with it I'll be looking to find a new product that's more easily available in the UK.

Toner:
I use the Etude House Wonder Pore Freshener morning and evening. I really like this because I find it helps clear my skin and I found my skin improved after using it. The cotton pads that came with this are brilliant as well.

Serum:

I've been using the Clarins Pore Minimising Serum for about 2 years now and I love it. I am quite self concious about my pores so I like putting this on every morning because I do think there is an effect. I use one pump in the morning and focus it on areas where I have more pores.  I've repurchased this so if that doesn't tell you how much I enjoy it, I don't know what will.

Eye cream:
I use 2 from Simple. I use the Kind to Eyes Revitalising Eye Roll On every morning as I like the cooling effect as it helps me wake up. In the evening, I use the Regeneration Age Resisting Eye Cream. I don't think I really need age resisting products just yet, but this has a very smooth and light texture, so I really like it. I've been using the Eye Roll On for about 3 years now and repurchased whenever it's been finished, but I've only used the Age Resisting one for about 5 months so I'm still unsure if I'll repurchase.

Moisturiser:
This is new to my routine but it has become such a staple. I raved about the L'Occitane Pivone Sublime Perfecting Creme in my Sample Sunday last month and I've recently moved on to a full size of it.I reviewed it here, so you can check it out in more detail if you like, but basically it helps my skin stay moisturised but doesn't add to oiliness and since I've been using it, I've had better skin than the past half year. I actually switched to a different one for a couple of days since I wanted to finish it before moving onto the full size of this and my spots came back. In summary, I love this stuff.


Exfoliator:
I use the Tea Tree Exfoliating Scrub about twice a week and I really enjoy it. Tea tree oil is one of those at home remedies for spots and I have tried it and it did help a lot so I knew my skin worked well with tea tree oil. I decided to try this scrub as it looked good and smelt nice and I think my skin works well with it. It feels really nice and my skin feels lovely after.


Masks:
I use a variety of masks, but I don't consider them as part of my routine as I always tend to forget to use them. I like the Superdrug line of face masks (I get the 99p ones)  or the Montagne Jeunesse peel off ones.


So there's my skincare routine of the moment. Obviously there are products I adore, but there are some I want to switch up once I'm done so leave me your favourite skincare products in the comments below. I'd love to try something new!

Signing off now
Dusty Foxes

12 Posts Before Christmas: Holiday Eating Tips!

Hey!

So, the holidays are drawing near and I don't know about you, but I tend to massively overeat during the holiday season. Mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, mince pies, Christmas pudding, Quality Streets....... Yum!

To help me cut down on the feelings of discomfort after having a huge meal, I've complied a list of tips I'm going to be trying to keep in mind this holiday.

1. Take smaller portions. Even though you may be starving and want 10 pieces of turkey, take a smaller amount like 2 slices to begin with. It's better to take less and go back for more rather than taking too much and feeling obligated to stuff yourself.

2. Eat slower. This depends on who you're eating with, but if you're chatting and eating at the same time, you're more likely to overeat as you're not processing that you're full. Also, it's just more polite not to speak with your mouth full.

3.Don't feel pressured to take seconds. Or as above, take small portions to accommodate for seconds. If you know that one family member who will pressure you to take seconds, be prepared for that and adjust accordingly. If you're really too full and don't want to eat anymore, say you're taking a break for now and will come back for it later. People will probably forget to ask you to eat it after a while and you don't have to deal with the "are you on a diet? But it's Christmas" comments.

4. If it's a buffet style, don't try to take some of everything as you'll probably end up with too much. At least that's how I tend to take foods. It's better to take the stuff you know you want and you know you will eat as opposed to taking things because you're in line and it's in front of you.

5. Enjoy yourself. After all it's the holidays and that slight discomfort after dinner is rather pleasant sometimes!


Let me know what food you're most excited for this holiday in the comments below!

Signing off now,
Dusty Foxes

12 Posts Before Christmas: Christmas Dinner Party Makeup

Hello!

Christmas dinners are quite common events, and as I'm a uni student, society dinners and dinners with friends have made my evening makeup routine become a lot more standard and this is my go-to look for a nice dinner.

For the face, I use whatever foundation I feel like at the time, usually I go with the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation because I like the high coverage and I like the fact it is a powder as I feel it helps a bit with the oil. I love contouring and highlighting so on my cheeks I use the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, and Bare Minerals Ready Blush in the shade the Whisper which I can no longer find online. I find that this trio works really nicely together to give a really pretty look. The blush is understated enough to not look too bright and the highlight is just gorgeous and reflective.

For lips, I know that a red lip is considered the Christmas classic, but at a dinner, I don't want to be faffing around with re-applying or worrying about my lipline, so I go with a classic nude. This year I've been loving Clinique Nude Pop which I got a sample of in last month's Glamour magazine, but my go-to option last year was shade 08 from the Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish line. Occasionally I also pop Rimmel Exaggerate lip liner in East End Snob underneath to help it last longer.

Since I go relatively easy on the face, the eyes are really the focus. If I have time before the dinner, I try and get my brows threaded to get the shape really nice, then I fill it in with the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade in Dark Brown. Then I use my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion or the Helen E Stage eyeshadow primer. For the shadows my go-to is my Urban Decay quad that I put together myself. Not all the shades are available in the permanent line though. I use the shade Melt all over my lid, then Buck in the crease with Snakebite deepening the outer corner. I use the shade Minor Sin or my theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer for an inner corner and browbone highlight. 

I love a good liquid liner and my pick is the Kanebo Kate Super Sharp Liquid Liner as I find the fine brush nib very easy to use. However, the Amazon link I've added is a over-priced in my opinion and it's hard to get the product here in the UK. An alternative which I've only tried once and therefore cannot say if it's as good is the L'Oreal Superliner So Couture. It's a similar brush nib. In the waterline, I love the Rimmel Scandeleyes Waterproof Eye Liner in Nude on the bottom and the black on the top.

Final step in my routine is eyelashes. I use Benefit's They're Real Mascara on my top lashes and Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara on the bottom lashes. I love these together for making my eyelashes look longer and more volumised, though the Benefit mascara does clump.

I know this routine may seem quite natural for some people and honestly it's just an amped up version of my daytime look, but I find that a lot of the time, my friends don't really wear makeup and I'd rather not be the only one with a smokey eye and glitter everywhere. Also, for a dinner, I feel understated makeup is a bit more suitable, but it's up to you what you decide to wear!

Let me know what your go-to makeup look for a Christmas party/dinner is in the comments below!

Signing off now,

Dusty Foxes