Beauty | High end products worth the hype

Hello there :)

How is everyone today? Hope you are all fine and dandy :) I've just got back from a family holiday in Wales which I must say is a beautiful country, however I'm not such a fan of the steep hills, heights are not really my thing! Do any of you like heights? I'm currently writing this in front of a lovely warm log burner, I don't know what it is about log burners but there is just something very calm and relaxing about them and they also make me feel very homely. 

I'm really enjoying writing some beauty posts at the moment, and have really been enjoying the #bbloggers chats on Sundays and 8pm and Wednesdays at 8pm! I love finding out what others think about beauty products and also finding out about what products others think are worth the hype which is kind of what inspired me to do this post. I have also seen similar posts so thought I would share my thoughts on which high end beauty products I think are worth the hype. I find posts like this incredibly useful as high end products are never on the cheap side so it's useful to find out if you are going to get your money's worth. 

There are so many beauty products out there at the moment all claiming they are the best so it can sometimes be difficult to pick one! I tend to read a lot of reviews before I purchase something as I want to make sure others have loved it as then I'm more likely to get on with it and especially when they are products that are going to make me spend a few penny's. I have in the past rushed out to buy certain products that I have then not got on with and I wish I had researched more into before hand.  

There are a number of high end beauty products that have been raved about in the blogging community and I thought I would share with you today the ones that I thought where worth the hype! You may already have some of these products and love them or hate them or you may be tempted to buy them! Either way I hope this post is either  enjoyable to read or helps you :) 

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation: Now I'm sure you all have either heard about this product or have it yourself. It is certainly a product that has been talked about non stop in the blogging community and I'm not surprised why. I must admit I heard about it through other bloggers and vloggers and I'm so glad I did as this has easily become my new holy grail foundation. I have quite dry skin in the winter and fairly normal skin the rest of the year so I wasn't really after a heavy or matte foundation. I was after something that would provide me with light to medium coverage and give me a healthy looking glow and Nars sheer glow has definitely met all of my requirements. It's super easy to apply and blend and gives such a nice healthy looking finish. I've been impressed with this product since day one of owning it and I can't recommend it enough. The other great thing about it is that it lasts all day, which is great as there is nothing worse than wearing a foundation that slips off your face throughout the day. Although this foundation is not on the cheaper side of things I can definitely see why people rate it so highly and if you are thinking about purchasing this personally I feel it's worth a little spending splurge on. 

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream: Now I'm sure lots of you again either own this magical cream or have heard about it. This was another product that I had heard being rated so highly throughout the blogging community and as it's winter and my skin tends to suffer I wanted to give this a try to combat some of my worst dry spots and let me tell you I am extremely glad I did. This cream is so moisturising and is great for lips and those dry spots other products can't quite seem to sort out. I tend to use it when I do my morning and evening skincare routines and you don't need much of it for it to work it's magic. My lips have been super soft since I have been using it, and it has really helped some of the dry areas on my face. If I'm honest I'm not a fan of the taste but that's probably because your not meant to really eat it so I don't recommend trying that. If your thinking of purchasing this product I say go for it you won't be disappointed I certainly wasn't!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wizz: Now I don't know about you guys but I'm obsessed with my brows and always have been since I was a young teen so am always on the hunt for the next best eyebrow product and well I think I may just have found it. I'm sure lots of you will have heard of the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow range as Anastasia is the queen of brows after all. I have tried a couple of other brow products on the market but nothing worked as well for me as her Brow Wizz has done! I'm officially in love with it, and the best thing about it is that it makes my brows look great without looking fake or drawn on. I really want to try the brow promenade but I don't quite trust myself with it as it's a gel and well me and gel products have a love hate relationship but it's something I want to try in the future for sure. The Brow Wizz has a wax pencil at one end and a spooley brush at the other end. It's a great product for filling in your brows quickly and easily. It's certainly a product I can see being in my make up bag for a very long time in the future. 

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara: Now I'm sure you will have all heard of this product! It has been talked about non stop recently in the blogging community as it is Benefits newest mascara and there was a free sample in the latest ELLE magazine which everyone including myself jumped at the chance of trying. When I first heard about this product I just thought it would be another one of those products claiming they can make your lashes look insane but always being disappointed when you actually try them. However Benefit have got this one just right, I have been beyond impressed with this mascara, and even my mum has who has short lashes with no real curl. Now we both have super long curled lashes and I can see why everyone was raving about it. I currently only have the tester version but both me and my mum will be purchasing the full size versions of this product. I have found my holy grail mascara.

Hourglass Ambient Blush Palette: Hourglass is a brand that I have only stumbled across in the past few months and I'm sure glad I did, the blogging community is partly to thank for this. They are a more expensive high end brand but the quality of their products is incredible. I stumbled across this palette and fell in love so got my aunt to pick it up from America for me for Christmas as it's much cheaper over there and I'm so glad she did. You get 3 different shades of blushes in this product; Luminous Flash which is a champagne rose colour, Incandescent Electra which is a peach colour and Mood Exposure which is a plum colour. All of these shades also have a illuminating powders in which make the colours look amazing. The great thing about these blushes is that a little product goes a long way which is great as it means this is hopefully going to be a long lasting palette that you get your money's worth from. I've been super impressed with this palette every time I have used it and is a great addition to my makeup collection. 

What high end products do you think are worth the hype? Have any of you managed to find any dupes for these products? 

Now today's Barney picture was taken by my lovely father, I thought I better give him credit for this photo as he took it and it will make him feel special! He's cute and reads all my blogs too so hi dad this photo is a shoutout to you! This Barney photo was taken on our last walk in Wales on our holiday, I think someone was holding a stick for Barney to pose like this, he loves sticks and there were plenty of them in the woods we walked in. Poor Barney did get a bit confused with what was a stick and what was actually still a tree at times. 

Hope you are all well and jolly :) 

Anna-Louise

xx