In the spirit of the season, I recently had a beauty stash spring clean: getting rid of expired and unused products, organising my collection and repurchasing essentials. Forcing myself to be really strict, I got a bit carried away and ended up chucking out of over half of my older, well-loved makeup brushes, with the idea of replacing those that I use regularly. But, instead of buying more from the usual suspects such as Real Techniques and MAC, like I always do, I finally decided to purchase a few from a brand I've intended to try for ages - Zoeva. 

When it comes to coats, Bows Boutiques certainly don't do things by halves. They have a massive selection of fur-lined parkas, but I thought I'd choose the gorgeous Ameera Padded Faux Fur Coat*, as I didn't have anything similar in my wardrobe already. The padded design fits like a glove and hugs your curves when zipped up, which helps to accentuate your waist and give you some shape whilst you keep warm, rather than drowning your figure completely. And just look at that hood, it's amazing!

Have you got your eye on any Black Friday bargains?

AGB X

The craze for MAC makeup has definitely died down a lot, as of late. Rewind a few years and I'm sure you were just as obsessed as me, desperate to snap up every shade of lipstick and eyeshadow or entire limited-edition collections as soon as they launched. Whilst I still adore the iconic brand, the urge to open a pop-up shop in my bedroom isn't quite as strong as it used to be and I've significantly downsized my collection. That doesn't mean I'm not tempted by some treats every once in a while, though; I just tend to restrain myself and avoid any purchases that I know I'll regret. Viva Glam Gaga ring any bells? My recent MAC marathon was solely focused on new eyeshadow pans to spice up my much-loved, but same-y, palettes, after having them for so long. Surprise, surprise - I plumped for four, neutral shades, all of which are permanent.

As a new season approaches, it’s natural to start thinking about changing up your style to suit the next, few months. Especially eager, as A/W is by far my favourite half of the year, I’ve already packed away my shorts, sandals and bikinis to make way for boots, knits and black jeans. My cosmetics bag has been experiencing a bit of a shake-up lately, too. Ocean Credit Cards kindly invited me to take part in their blogger's beauty haul project and refresh my makeup bag. So, in preparation for the influx of burgandy hues, vampy lipsticks and fuller-coverage foundations, I’ve waved goodbye to my summer essentials and popped to Boots to hunt down some autumn appropriate products that will update my stash and get me in the mood for candle-lit evenings, Halloween festivities and chai lattes, even more.

As the seasons change, I think everyone likes to mix up their beauty stash and experiment with different looks. What better reason do we need to go and splash some cash and find some new additions to our stocks. To make up for a few months of a beauty-spending ban, I headed to Space NK and picked up some items to arm me against the A/W weather. I think that defeated the whole object of the ban, but hey, it was my birthday at the weekend (#feelingspendy). Of course, extravagant hauls like this don't occur on a regular basis and I did get a bit greedy, but I think it's good to treat yourself once in a while! Some products I've already tried out, but most are still waiting in the wings, before I give them a good going-over. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for these products making an appearance in upcoming posts.

On a lovely trip to Chester the other day, I initially went into Debenhams to pick up a few bits from MAC. Being the weak individual that I am, I was drawn to the Dior counter, yet again! After umm-ing and ahh-ing for what seemed like hours to my boyfriend - I'd say it was actually about 10 minutes, maximum - I decided to purchase a gorgeous palette of five eyeshadows and another Rouge Dior Nude lipstick, much to my OH's disapproval. Now to show you my wares...