Advent: Week 2

  Christmas is getting closer and every day I get a little more excited. Now that I'm home (and super tired, thanks work) I'm really in the festive spirit. Something that's making me feel even more Christmassy is the amazing advent calendar that I got for my birthday - there are perks to being a winter baby! Here's a round up of all the goodies I got this week in my Net-A-Porter advent calendar.

Dec 8: Illamasqua Contour Gel Stick

  I'll let you in on a secret, I can't contour to save my life. I've always had a sort of 'fear' of contouring badly and looking like an idiot, but when I swatched this contour stick and saw it wasn't too heavily pigmented nor too dark (it looks ​way darker on the stick than on my skin) I thought I'd give it a go. 
  It turns out I have cheekbones!! I wasn't expecting to turn into Angelina Jolie as my cheeks have always been a lil' chubby, but I was very pleased with how the contour stick worked. I'll definitely be using it when I go out.

Dec 9: Chantecaille Eye Recovery Mask

  I love a good eye mask, especially when they're well-rated! I've actually brought this home with me to use after my horrific shifts over the Christmas period, so keep an eye out on my Instagram for my thoughts. My undereyes always need some love! 
  Also, how lush is this packaging?!

Dec 10: Dr Dennis Gross exfoliating moisturiser

  I was sceptical when I saw this; despite smelling and looking expensive, I was thinking what does exfoliating moisturiser mean? Like, surely it can't moisturise and exfoliate at the same time?! It certainly feels good, either way. 
  I've only used this cream once so obviously haven't seen any effects yet, but I've got no issues so far!

Dec 11: Algenist advanced retinol serum

  I've heard plenty of good things about acids and how good they are for your skin and in particular I've heard good things about Algenist's products. My problem? I'm shit scared to use this. My skin is very sensitive and I just keep getting visions of me waking up looking like a pimply tomato.
​  I promise, I will test it out soon (when I get the courage, lol) and will give you my thoughts after testing it out for a while.

Dec 12: Philip Kingsley elasticizer

  Honestly, when I opened door number 12 and saw this I was genuinely confused. Is it a skincare product, or what? Nope. This is essentially a 'primer' for your hair to put on before you shampoo. It sure does smell good and is used to make your hair super shiny, which is something I could use some help with. I've used this twice so far and I'm honestly surprised to say that I really like it. Still not sure what it does, but I like it anyway...

Dec 13: Brow Food brow gel

  I breathed a sigh of relief when I opened this, it's saved me from buying a new brow gel! I get through brow gel like there's no tomorrow so I was soooo excited to try this - and I loved it! Thanks to my fringe (that needs a cut so bad, I could cry) you can't actually see my brows, but this gel gives my eyebrows such a good shape and it smells amazing - not something you necessarily need in an eyebrow gel, but it's a nice touch.
  I also love the wand, which is something I'm very fussy about so that's an added bonus. This will definitely become an everyday item.

Dec 14: Dr Barbara Sturm face cream

  I love a good face cream and this did not disappoint. I've only used this once, but I already know that I love it. It's rich and moisturising without being too heavy and my skin felt so soft after using it - I literally saw instant results in terms of hydration. I know this will be a lifesaver for when my skin goes dry, which will inevitably be sometime soon.
  I don't want to become too attached to this, though, as a full-sized product is £132. Do you know how much that hurts me?! No wonder it's so good!

So, there are all the lovely bits and bobs I got from the second week of my advent calendar. You would have seen this a day earlier, but I'm useless and overslept yesterday. Anyway, I'm so pleased that I like everything so far ​- I'm still shitting it for that acid, though - and I'd absolutely recommend this to anyone. It's such a good way of trying boujee products without forking out! 

If you want to see what I got in my calendar last week, you can have a look here.
Want to see my ongoing thoughts? Follow me on Instagram.

Email: sophieelise.blog@gmail.com