Since January is such a long month in financial terms (who decided to place 6 weeks between paydays?!) I haven’t bought any new sparkly products. Sob. So instead I thought I’d try out Manuka Doctor’s Apinourish Rejuvinating Facemask. With purified bee venom. Bzzz.

Now, bee venom has been used in face creams and facials for quite a while. Caroline Flack reportedly uses a bee venom face cream; while Kate Middleton apparently splashed out on a bee venom facial (After Camila Parkour-Bowles recommended it) before the royal wedding. And who wouldn’t want a complexion like hers?

Bee venom works as it tricks the skin into thinking that it’s been stung by a bee. So far so obvious. When the skin believes that it has been stung, blood rushes to the area whilst the production of collagen and elastin is also stimulated. All of this plumps the skin and makes it more taunt. In 2013, 1 ounce of bee venom cost £30, 000. Just a wild guess, but I’m presuming there isn’t actually much bee venom in this. I’m not sure what other ingredients are in it – mainly because I haven’t looked into it- but they seem to work.

I got this little tube of miracles as part of my Tesco Beauty Advent Calendar over Christmas (you can read about it here) however I was yet to use it. I applied a very, very thin layer of this as I tend to be a bit wary about new creams as I have sensitive skin. I left it on for 30 minutes; however you can leave it on for as little as 15 minutes and still get some very good results.

I thought this would tingle slightly, but there was no such feeling. It went on a dream and seemed to sink into the skin quite quickly. The results were amazing! It left my skin feeling super smooth and kept it that way. Which is saying something, when you consider I’ve previously suffered from eczema and dry skin.

Being the lazy thing that I am, I didn’t use any face creams for about 3 days this week. In the last few years, this is something that I’ve never done. Once you’ve got into a routine and have moisturised your skin into behaving, it becomes something of an addiction. This time, however I felt like I could let it slide for a few days. Mainly because my skin was in such a good condition I thought I could get away with it. My skin stayed soft, and even my normal make up seemed look better once applied.

So there you have it, I’m a bee venom convert. Although face creams and masks containing bee venom can be on the pricey side, I’ll definitely be investing.

Since the astronomical rise of Cara Develinge, big brows have been all the rage, however things are a changing or so am I led to believe. Beauty in 2015 is still going to feature big brows (Hurrah – because let’s face it, who plucks their brows as much as they should?) however their no longer going to be in HD.

Now I’ve never really brought into the whole HD Brow thing for some reason, the main reason I think is that basically I don’t understand them…4D, 3D, what? So I admit I’m pretty chuffed about this news. The idea for 2015 is for beautiful brows that look strong but natural. Structure the face, but don’t over power it.

I think my sister may have the same news sources that I do, as she gifted me this rather lovely kit from Mii Cosmetics.

As you can see the kit includes both a powder tipped wand and some stencils. The stencils cover different styles such as ‘high arch’ (think Marilyn Monroe) ‘natural arch’ (pretty much what it states) and petite variations of these.

Although I love the idea of them, they are a faff. Positioning it, colouring it in… realising that you need an eyebrow wax. Swapping it to the other eye and getting it level or looking permanently sceptical. Pfft.

The wand however is great. My sister (who also got one for Christmas) assures me that the powder is kept in the lid; so that’s that mystery solved.

As I was blonde when it was bought she got me the lightest shade, but I think it’s dark enough for fair skin blonde or not. It’s easy to apply; going on surprisingly even. It also lasts a hell of a long time. In this photo I’ve been wearing it for over 12 hours through first day back in the office; and as you can see I still have eyebrows! Which is something as mine are naturally so blonde they might as well be shaved. Which is a bit annoying really.

Unlike me, he’s not convinced

Remember Black Friday? ( I bet all the retail workers will!) I succumbed to the sales and bought something; that I’m actually pretty still chuffed with – a rare thing for impulse buy. I’d wanted a beauty advent calendar since the magical day I’d learned of their existence, however with Christmas around the corner I could never justify treating myself to one.

On Black Friday however, Cosmopolitan tweeted that this Tesco Beauty Advent Calendar was half price… How is a girl to resist?

I bought it that night and opted for click and collect, so I didn’t have to pay postage. The grand total came to £25, total bargain. I got it on the 2^nd December which meant I got to open two doors at once (Yay!)

The first day revealed Eyelure fake eyelashes; I haven’t worn them yet but with them being Eyelur I think it’s pretty safe to assume they are going to be great. On the second day of Christmas, I open the door to find a Tanya Burr nail polish. It looked like a sparkly dark Cadbury purple in the bottle, however on application it is a very dark purple – almost black, and the glitter particles (is that what they are called? You know, the individual glitter bits) are so small it looks more like a high shine finish rather than full on glitter.

I’ve also received soap (lemony and a bit like traditional school soap, from the good ol’ days) and a light up lip-gloss – an item highly coveted by my nine year old niece. I was pleasantly surprised that Tesco hadn’t gone down the route I presumed with this one. I thought most lip-glosses or lipsticks in here would be a soft ‘suits all’ pink, but this is bright and punchy – just how I like them.

As you can see, it also has a bit of a glittery shine to it.

I’ve also received four perfumes; 3 liquid and 1 solid.

Although I’m more of a one-signature-scent kinda gal, the perfumes are fast become my favourite things. THEY ARE SO CUTE! Like caps lock inducing cute. Unlike most perfume testers, that admittedly look a bit rubbish, these perfumes are all tiny replicas of the full size bottle.

Paul Smith Extreme

N’aww look how tiny it is!

The variety of perfumes are all quite ‘safe’ but all nice. There has been Paul Smith Extreme, Elizabeth Ardent Red Door, Candy Kitten and Meow by Katy Perry.

Katy Perry’s Meow is the solid perfume and as you can see from the photo does look a bit childlike but it still smells lovely – sort of a sweet girly smell with tones of vanilla. If you have any young girls around the house – this may be the one to let them ‘borrow’ (ie borrow, use and loose)

The packaging of the advent calendar itself is also worth noting. Firstly, the calendar is huge. On the night I came home with it, I took a photo of it next to the dog (a rather scruffy miniature schnauzer) for scale and as you can see he’s terrified by it.

Unlike me, he’s not convinced

It came in pretty gift bag that matched the theme of the calendar itself, both a stylish mix of white and silver. The subtle tree print blends into the white sky in a way that makes it look a lot more expensive than its original price of £50. Tesco have also (thankfully) stayed away from any obvious/strong branding so it would be perfect for treating somebody else.

The calendar has proved such a hit, it has become a sort of daily event. Every evening everyone who happens to be in the living room gathers round to find out what will be behind the next door.

If you’re after a beauty advent calendar next year, I can thoroughly recommend this one.

I thought it was high time I shared my favourite beauty buy ever. It’s a lipstick miracle by Maybelline (Colour Sensation) I wear it in Coral Tonic which is quite bright for a coral colour compared to most brands.

When I bought it and first applied it I was a bit like ‘uh-uh this was a bit brighter than I expected’ and tried to remove it. The lipstick, however had other ideas. It is amazingly long lasting, even when you don’t want it to be.

So after just blurring the edges and making it have slightly less ‘pow’ I thought sod it, applied it again and wore it to work.

Now my colleagues at the time often saw me in bright lipstick, but this one caught their attention. So much so, a girl I vaguely knew off another department (I worked in a department store at the time) came over to tell me that I was “brave” for wearing it.

I wasn’t altogether convinced this was a compliment, but I no longer cared. After catching sight of myself a few times, I’d grown to love it.

Unlike most long lasting lipsticks, it doesn’t dehydrate your lips. It does get that dreaded fading everywhere but at the edges look slightly (sob) but this is after seven hours and lots of drinks. And although you can see it, it is not glaringly obvious in a dodgy nineties lip liner way. So I think we can forgive that.

It does have an undeniable orange tone to it, as you can see in the photo.

Ok, this isn’t the most glamorous of photos, but it does show the colour. And I figured this was more important than being pinterest-worthy.

However as one colleague put it “It stops it looking tarty, with it being so bright.” It is also quite a warm orange (is there such a thing as a cool orange colour?) so even if you are as pale and pasty as me it looks good. I also think that this would look stunning on darker skin tones.

An added bonus is that this is the only lipstick I feel looks just as good applied with or without a brush, saving valuable minutes in the morning. Winner.