Sorry!!

I realise I've really neglected my blog lately and I'm so sorry!

I've been on holiday and now I'm in the middle of my A level exams so the stress levels are rather high. As soon as I get my exams out the way I'll be back on track with posting, I have lots of ideas lined up.

Here's a little snap of me and my boyfriend in Turkey for our 3 year anniversary :)

Thankyou!!

Speak Soon♥

My top drugstore makeup

I thought I'd do something a little different and share my top drugstore makeup with you, most of these products you can get for under £10. *BARGAIN ALERT*

I tried to get a wide range of different types of makeup but some I only have high end versions of them so I couldn't give you an honest opinion...

First is Foundation

I love Rimmel's Match Perfection (£5.00) and Wake Me Up (£8.99), they both give great coverage and come in a wide range of shades. I wear Match Perfection in colder months and Wake Me Up when it starts to get abit warmer as the light reflecting minerals give the skin a healthy, radiant glow.

Concealer

It's got to be Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer (£3.99), if you watch alot of beauty guru's on Youtube like me then you'll of already heard the rave about this product. I can't big it up enough, it covers blemishes, dark under eye circles and hyper-pigmentation with just a small amount of product. It comes in a tube with an applicator making it easier to apply.

Eyeshadow palette

My top drugstore eyeshadow palette is Sleek's "Au Naturel" (£7.99). You can check out my review of this product here (includes swatches). This is a great, natural palette which can be used to create a range of looks, especially a smokey eye. I love the colour "Taupe" in this palette, I use it most days. It's a gorgeous shimmery, champagne colour which I like to apply with my finger as I find it's looks more pigmented.

Pencil eyeliner

I love my Collection Black Kohl Eyeliner (£1.99), it applies really well and doesn't smudge. I like putting it on my bottom lash line to make my eye look more defined.

Liquid eyeliner

I recently bought L'Oreal Paris' Superliner in Black Lacquer (£6.49) and I'm so glad I did. It creates perfect cat flicks, glides on easily and lasts for hours.


Gel eyeliner

I love MUA's Gel Eyeliner in Underground (£3.50), it comes with its own brush (although I use either an angled liner brush or a pointed liner brush). Underground is a classic black which can create a range of looks, I usually use it to line my upper lash line to create the illusion of fuller, thicker lashes when paired with mascara.

Eyebrows

There's only one eyebrow product I use and it's been repurchased plenty of times. It's MUA's Pro Brow Kit (£3.50), it has 2 different shadows to fill in your brown, a highlighter and a gel to set the shadow in place. This kit is just a great product for creating defined brows, although it always seems to be out of stock (must be due to popular demand).

Mascara

This is a quite recent purchase of mine, it's the Maybelline Falsies Big Eyes Mascara in Black (£8.99). It has a mini brush for your bottom lashes and a bigger brush for the top lashes. I love this mascara already, it's an updated version of Maybelline's The Falsies Mascara and makes the lashes look so much longer.

Highlighter

This one is a right bargain, it's MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter (£3.00). I honestly love this and for the price you can't really resist!

Blusher

This is a new purchase too, L'Oreal True Match Blush in Sandalwood Rose (£7.69). It's a gorgeous rosey shade that gives a gorgeous flush of colour on the cheeks. It's not too bright and it's not too dull... Just right.

Lipstick

Oh myyyyy gosh! It has to be Rimmel Kate Lipstick in Shade 19 (£5.49), I applaud Kate Moss for creating such wonderful shades. I have a few different shades but this shade is a great colour if your not brave enough to have really bold lips but still want a pop of colour.

Lipgloss

I'd just like to congratulate Tanya Burr (if you don't know who she is; 1- Have you been living under a rock? 2- She's a fabulous beauty guru which you can find on her blog or on her Youtube channel). I love Tanya Burr Lipgloss in Aurora (£6.99), now I've always been nervous when it comes to wearing a shiny pink lipgloss but this is just fabulous! It's moisturizing, feels gorgeous on the lips and has a doe foot style applicator which makes it super easy to apply. *HALLELUJAH*

Makeup Brushes

These brushes are very very popular and I'm sure most of you have heard of them, they're the Real Techniques Brushes by Samantha Chapman. They come in different colours; the gold ones are for creating that flawless base, the pink for the perfect finish, purple for enhanced eyes and white for the limited edition duo-fibre brushes. Most can be purchased in kits and are amazing quality (especially for the price!)

Hope you enjoyed and thankyou!

If you like these sort of things, please follow this blog it would make me so happy (I'm on Bloglovin' too!)

Speak Soon♥

*These products were purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own*

February Favourites

Ooooops sorry it's a tad late but I've been super busy *hides face in shame*

Apart from my disappointing timing, its the FIRST MONTHLY FAVOURITES of 2014 wooo!

I had a bit of a splurge at the beginning of last month which means there's gonna be quite a few new products that I love...

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

Oh my goodness gracious me, this purchase got me rather excited! I absolutely love this palette, the rosey tones look so sweet and are perfect for creating cute, spring looks. It comes with 12 gorgeous shades which are a mixture of matte and shimmers. The matte white 'Strange' is great for highlighting the inner corners of the eye, the brow bone and lightly pressing underneath the bottom lash line to make your eyes look bigger and brighter giving you a fresh, youthful look. I could go on about this all day... (P.S there will definitely an individual post coming up with swatches and a more in depth review of it)



YSL Touche Éclat




Oh my goodness gracious me, this is honestly one of my favorite buys!! Although slightly costly at £25.00, this is well worth the price. It covers dark under eye circle whilst highlighting, making you look more awake and youthful. 







Benefit They're Real Mascara




There will be a few Benefit products because as you might of seen from a previous post, I had a bit of a Benefit haul! This mascara makes my lashes so much longer and thicker, without going all horrible and clumpy (my pet hate). 







Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Bare Perfection Foundation

Sorry it looks a little messy in the picture, it's took a bit of a battering in my makeup bag (oops!) This foundation gives a light coverage which reflects light to give a natural, glowy look. I find that it doesn't spread very well and feel like a have to use more than I usually would but this is probably because it's only a light coverage.






Benefit POREfessional Face Primer



Hallelujah for this! It's just fab, pores disappear and my skin feel so silky and soft after putting this on!










Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil




I got this in the colour 'perversion', it's a jet black colour and literally 'glides' on and stays put! I love it and it is most definitely going to be a repurchase.






Benefit Rockateur Blush




This blush looks gorgeous on the apples of the cheeks, and it even smells gorgeous!









Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder




I use this to contour and love it, there's not much else to say about it other than buy it!









Rimmel Scandaleyes Thick and Thin Eyeliner




This is great for cat flicks and lining the upper lid. It's really easy to line the eye first with the thin bit then filling in the line with the thick part.





Eylure 'Cheryl' Girls Aloud Lashes




These lashes look absolutely gorgeous and are definitely my favourite out of their whole Girls Aloud collection. They aren't too 'in your face' but still make a massive difference.








Benefit How to Look the Best at Everything: Flawless Complexion Makeup Kit




I got this in 'Light', it's a great starter pack for Benefit beginners who want to try out before buying the full size versions of the product. This kit comes with a mini POREfessional, mini Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation, 2 different shades of Boi-ing Concealer and Hello Flawless Powder in 'I love me IVORY'. It also comes with a little brush too.




Just as a bit of a change I have 2 random favourites too...

Jelly Belly Very Cherry Candle




I have an obsession with cherry scents so my boyfriend got me this for Christmas, it smells SOOOOO good I can't even describe! Because I love it so much, it's not going to last very long so I will have to get myself another one!







Patch Flower Cushion




This was actually made by my boyfriends mum, how cute is it?! I absolutely love it and it just goes with my bedroom theme of roses.








Hope you enjoyed reading and thankyou!

If you like what you see, it'd mean the world to me if you followed this blog (I'm on bloglovin too!!)

Speak soon♥ 

*These products were purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own*

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Review

Finally, I got my hands on Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette last month EEEEK!

The palette comes with 12 gorgeous shades that are a mixture of mattes and shimmers. This is a great palette for creating neutral looks and smokey eyes! It also comes with a double ended Karma brush which is great quality too. 

From L to R: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted and Blackout.

For a smokey eye I use the colours: Foxy (inner corner of eye to brighten), Bootycall all over the lid, Pistol built up on the outer corner of the eye and then Blackout through the crease and slightly smudged under the lower lashes. 

For a girly look I use the colours: Foxy (inner corner of the eye to brighten), YDK all over the lid and Verve through the crease and underneath the eye creating a more innocent, brighter look.

You can purchase this palette here!

Hope you enjoyed and thankyou!

If you like these sort of things, please follow this blog it would make me so happy :)

Speak Soon♥

*This product was purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own*

DIY: How to clean makeup brushes!

Whilst I was giving my makeup brushes a good clean, I thought I'd share my way of doing it. Obviously there are so many different ways people do it and I'm not saying this is the only way, it's just the way I like to do it. Everything you need can be found around the house or are easy to get your hands on as there isn't anything special!

You will need

*My mum likes to use oil spray but it makes no difference as long as its olive oil*

• A bowl/container (to put the mixture in)
• Baby shampoo or any light shampoo (to clean the brushes)
• Olive oil (to keep the bristles moisturized and feeling soft)
• Conditioner (to keep the bristles healthy and nourished)
• Something to lay the brushes on (like a flannel, cloth or towel)
• Running water (I'm sure you're aware of a tap haha)

All you need to do

TIP: Make sure the brush is never upright, this is so the mixture or water doesn't run down the neck and makes the bristles loose or fall out!

• Mix the shampoo, oil and conditioner in with a small amount of water. 
• Dip the makeup brush into the mixture and rub into the palm of your hand in circular motions (you may have to rinse your hands if there's too much foamy stuff and keep going until the brush looks clean) 
• Wipe off any excess foam and just leave a small amount of the mixture on the brush, reshape the brush and lay flat on the flannel for around 5 minutes. (whilst a brush is left on the flannel I do the rest of my brushes instead of just waiting around, ooo productive!!)
• Rinse the brush under cold running water and make sure all the product is out the brush, reshape again and lay them on the flannel till they are completely dry, I like to leave mine overnight (I cover my brushes up whilst drying so that they don't get dusty)

I do have quite alot of brushes so it does take quite a while as you might be able to tell from the first picture to the one above (from light to dark outside), because it takes so long to do I usually do it once a month.

If I just want to give my brushes a quick spot clean (I do this more regular because it's quicker) then I just use my M.A.C brush cleanser (around £10) and a lightly damp cloth. Work the cleanser through the brush (keeping it upside down again) and once clean leave to dry for five to ten minutes and they should be all ready to use again. 

This is just how I clean my brushes, it works for me and I just thought I'd do something different like this little DIY.

Hope you enjoyed reading and thankyou!

If you like what you see, it'd mean the world to me if you followed this blog!

Speak soon♥ 

Benefit Cosmetics Haul!!

So I've developed a slight obsession for Benefit Cosmetics recently and spent a fair bit on their products (they're too pretty not to!!)

I've been wanting to try some products for a while so I went just to have a browse and maybe buy something, but I ended up getting quite a few things...

My nearest Benefit Beauty Bar is in my local House of Fraser and when I first went to have a look at what they had, the lovely Jade who works there offered for me to come back another day and have a *free* makeover so I would have a better idea of what I want to buy. A few days later, I went and had my makeup done going for a natural, radiant look. I literally loved ALL the products that were used, the products used where: Total Moisture Facial Cream, POREfessional, Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation (Shade 'Believe in Me'), Hello Flawless powder (Shade 'Gee I'm Swell'), Hoola bronzer, Rockateur blush, High Beam highlighter, Fake Up (Shade 1), Browzings (Shade Medium), POREfessional Agent Zero Shine powder, They're Real mascara and Fauxmance lipgloss. Now this sounds a lot of things on your face but honestly it felt really light and natural. My skin felt and looked amazing!

After my mini pamper session, I couldn't help but pick quite a few products that I fancied up.

First is their POREfessional



Now I've heard SO SO much about this product so it just seemed obvious that I had to try it for myself. It's silky, lightweight formula is said to minimise the appearance of pores and fine lines which I noticed that it did straight away. You can wear it as a primer or alone, as well as using over makeup as a touch up.






Next is their They're Real mascara

Again this is a product that I've heard a lot about and being the UK's No.1 mascara, I'd of been stupid not to pick it up! It is said to lengthen, curl, volumize, lift and separate lashes without smudging. It is a plastic applicator which I prefer for no reason at all it's just down to personal preference. I love this, it makes my lashes look a lot longer and the packaging is gorgeous too.



Next is their Erase Paste



I got this in No.1 Fair to match my skin colour,  this conceals and brightens dark circles, discolouration and dreaded imperfections. It's quite creamy based and acts as a camouflage for your eyes and face. It comes with lessons on how to use it for each area (dark circles, discolouration and imperfections) and a super cute mini spatula to make it easier to scoop out the product.





Another thing I bought is their Rockateur blush

Now I absolutely LOVE this blush, it just looks gorgeous. It gives a gorgeous flush of colour to your cheeks and even comes with a mini brush to sweep it across your cheeks (I rarely use brushes that come with products personally).






I couldn't help myself buying their Hoola bronzing powder



Another product that I've heard a lot about and it certainly lives up to its name. It creates a gorgeous bronzed glow leaving you with a lovely tanned appearance. It also can be used to contour which gives the face definition and a slimmer appearance.







I also got a mini It's Potent Eye cream and a mini That Gal brightening face primer in a set with my POREfessional


I can't help but love any mini version of things because they just look so cute! It's Potent fades dark circles and brightens up the eyes, creating a more youthful, fresh looking face. That Gal primes the face while giving it an instant glow, this could be used alone if your feeling a day that you don't want to wear much makeup on your face.





I know this was quite a long, rambly post but I just can't big up Benefit Cosmetics enough! I'm off back at the end of the month when there will be some new products coming out and no doubt I'll have  something to show you...

Check out all what Benefit Cosmetics have to offer:  http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/

Hope you enjoyed reading and thankyou!

If you like what you see, it'd mean the world to me if you followed this blog!

Speak soon♥ 

*These products were purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own*

Sleek's i-Divine au naturel eyeshadow palette review!

Hello again,

I've been looking for a natural eyeshadow palette for the colder season and this palette seemed like a great one to choose. There are 12 different colours with a mixture of shimmery and matte colours.

From L to R: Moss, Bark, Mineral Earth, Regal, Noir, Nougat, Nubuck, *Cappuccino, Honeycomb, Toast*, Taupe and Conker. 

*These colours are hard to see (sorry!)

My favourite colour out of this palette is the 'Taupe' colour, it's one of the shimmery shades and slightly reminds me of M.A.C's 'Satin Taupe'. It looks gorgeous on the eyes and is perfect for a warm winter look. 

For a smoky eye look I use the shades 'Nougat', 'Nubuck', 'Moss' and 'Noir' and blend the colours with a soft crease brush(I use my M.A.C 217 Brush).

The shadows in this palette are really pigmented and are good quality, I'd recommend them! (Price £7.99)

Check out Sleek's website for more: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/

Hope you enjoyed and thankyou!

If you like these sort of things, please follow this blog it would make me so happy :)

Speak Soon♥

*This product was purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own*