Tuesday 25 February 2014

Haul/Reviews: Mac, Illamasqua, Maybelline & More...

Lately, I've done a little bit of make up shopping (not even sorry) so I thought why not share what I've bought and what I think of the them! Brace yourselves, this could be a tad long!

First of all, MAC...
MAC Pro Colour x4 Compact £6.50 and MAC Eye Shadow Infill in 'Grain' £10


I actually picked up the palette just after Christmas when I actually had money to spend on beauty bits, and I intended on filling it up straight away, but that never happened, but a few weeks ago I eventually picked up 'Grain' I picked this as I just want a nice neutral colour that I could just slap on for daily wear, when I swatched this in the shop it actually seemed a lot more pigmented compare to when I used it with a brush when I got home, I was quite disappointed, it's not exactly what I was looking for, I'm not using this as a highlight as I find it looks a little pathetic as just an eye shadow, so at least I'm still getting a use out of it! 

MAC Frost Lipstick in 'Plastique' £15
I also picked up this stunning lipstick in 'Plastique' it has a frost finish which is just lovely! It is such a metallic bronze colour which really suits my skin tone, I've been wearing it quite a lot since I bought it, I really love it! It will look even more perfect if I ever get my tan back! ☺

MAC Tinted Lipglass in 'Orange Descence' Retail Price £12, Bought for £6.40 
Now this beauty I actually bought off a seller on the Depop App! I believe this colour is now discontinued and is only sold at places which sell any discontinued MAC products, which is such a shame because this is such a beautiful colour, it's like a frosty light orange and is so perfect for everyday use! However if you don't like the colour or you can't get your hands on this, MAC have many other lipglasses and I really recommend them if you are looking for a high-shine lip gloss!

Illamasqua Lipstick in 'Pristine' £16.50
I literally bought this on the very last day of the Illamasqua sale! So I actually got this for about £6! If you're looking for a black lipstick, this is definitely the one, it has a matte finish but I find it's still a tad glossy (which I like!) the formula is beautiful and it is so pigmented so it would probably stay on your lips for a long time! I'm so happy with this lipstick, I will definitely be purchasing more from Illamasqua! 

Sleek Pout Paint in Peek-A-Bloo £4.99, Bought for £2
This is another product I picked up from a seller on the Depop App (I went a little Depop crazy) as I am quite daring when it comes to lipstick, but also I figured this could come in handy for fancy dress & things also, couldn't go wrong for £2 really! Anyway... I LOVE this, it is so bright and so beautiful, I put this over the top of my Illamasqua Pristine Lipstick to create a gorgeous navy, I've fell in love, I really want to try more Sleek Pout Paint's so keep an eye out for future posts!

Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick in 'Beehive' £4.79
I picked this up when I was browsing Boots, as when I spotted it I remembered the lovely velvetgh0st mentioned it in one of her YouTube videos (Drugstore Beauty Haul 2014 | velvetgh0st ♡) so obviously, I just had to get it & I'm so glad I did! This is such a lovely natural lipstick, it's really close to the colour of my natural lips so it just makes my lips look naturally perfect. What I love most about this though, is the packaging, I think it makes it look more expensive than what it is and the mirror is SO handy! I will definitely be trying more shades from this range!☺

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in 'Apocaliptic' £6.49
I'm such a big fan of the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers! The formula is just so amazing & come in a range of gorgeous colours! I don't have much to say about these, just buy them, you wont regret it!


OK, that is the last lip product I bought, but I'm still not done, sorry!

No7 Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipes £7
I got these when Boots were giving out the £5 off vouchers so I actually only got these for 42p (with staff discount at the time!) which is incredible, however, I wouldn't actually pay full price for these! £7 is too much for a pack of 30 wipes in my opinion, even with a £5 off voucher, I'm not sure I'd even pay £2 for them! In my opinion they're just like any other wipes I've tried! Very dissapointing (sorry No7!)

Maybelline Brow Drama in Medium Brown £4.99
This is the first brow set/brow mascara that I've tried & this nifty little brow mascara has became one of my favourite products! It just add that little extra something to your make up look in my opinion and it just keeps your brow powder in place all day! I love this perfect little product ☺

Maybelline Dream Smooth Primer £8.99
OK, I saved the best until last! This is UH-MAZING, it is such a good dupe for the well known Smashbox Primer, it looks like it'll be really oily on your skin because of the texture & appearance, but it's surprisingly rather matte, it makes my make up go on 10x better & makes it last 10x longer. It's quite small in size which made me think that it perhaps wouldn't last too long but I've use this so much since I got it and it hasn't gone down a lot at all, you don't need to apply lots as a small amount will go a long long way. I'm so happy with this product I really recommend everyone gives it a try! ☺

Please let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these product and what you think of them, or if you have any recommendations of product for me to try, I'd love to know! 




Saturday 15 February 2014

Models Own Review...

So recently Models Own had a 50% off sale when they hit 250k likes on Facebook so I took advantage a little and ordered a few bits:


This is what I ordered (along with something for my friend for her birthday which I won't post for obvious reasons). First of all, I was so pleased with how fast my order came, it only took about 3 days and delivery was only around £3-£4, also the packaging is so pretty and all my items were securely wrapped which makes the delivery price worth every penny!☺




Cerise Shine £5
 So Models Own have just very recently launched their 'HyperGel' range, which I can't help but compare it to the Barry M Gelly nail varnishes, the colours are all very similar to Barry M and even the formula is similar, however I love the packaging & the brush better than Barry M, I was stuck for choice on what colour to buy so I went for this very girly pink 'Cerise Shine' as I don't own many pink colours so I ventured out my comfort zone a little. Overall I'm really please with this nail varnish, it ticks all the boxes in terms of high shine, long lasting and fast drying, I highly recommend! ☺


Obsidian £5
I actually only bought 2 nail varnishes for myself which is strange as I have a little addiction but all the colours I wanted to try were sold out (grrr) so secondly I got this black glitter varnish in 'Obsidian' from the Velvet Goth range, the bottle itself is so pretty, the lid is actually a velvet texture which really makes me love this even more. Unlike some glitter varnishes you don't need to put too many coats on for it to look amazing, I also found it easier to remove compare to other glitters I've tried. 


Eye Shadow Shading Brush £4
Next, I bought this Eye Shadow Shading Brush, I've been after a good shading brush for a while and when I came across this in the sale I had to buy it! This brush is perfect for blending eye shadow into your crease, its the perfect size and perfect texture, I don't feel the need to go on about this too much, if you're after a good eye brush, just go buy this one, you can't go wrong for £4!☺

Make Up Blending Sponges £8
So after seeing the beauty blender and all sponges in this shape being so raved about I had to try some! I didn't want to splurge on an original beauty blender as there are so many dupes just as good (apparently) when I found these I didn't hesitate buying them. However, I think they're a major disappointment! I've use these to blend foundation & concealer, but I just find that they totally absorb all your make up rather than blending it out they steal it all! I really don't see the hype about these at all, which is a shame because they look so pretty in your make up bag too!

Hope you enjoyed this post and that it was somewhat helpful to you!
Feel free to leave any comments ☺

D




Monday 10 February 2014

Tutorial: Brightening Dark Eyes...

I suffer from really dark under eyes and over the years I've tried so many things to help rid them and hide them, I've eventually found a routine that I love to help brighten my eyes and make them look nicer and even younger!☺
My top tip would definitely be moisturise! I think the main reason my eyes were so dark was because I never use an eye cream or anything in fact, I always kind of neglected them a little. Since using an eye cream I noticed a different within a week, they looked so hyrdated & youthful! I'm currently using Guinot Hydrazone Yeux which is available in certain salon's, you can also purchase this online at www.gproducts.co.uk (£30.49, 15ml) this is the only eye cream I have tried and I highly recommend it, it is worth every penny!
I haven't tried any drug store eye creams, however I have tried roll on's but I find these sting my eyes and are very irritating so I avoid them now.


So, you can see that my eyes are rather dark to start off with, but you can see in the next picture that after using my eye cream they instantly improve! After moisturising, use a lilac concealer, this neutralises the brown in the eye area making them instantly brighter, I use SBC however NYX Cosmetics do purple concealer in many different forms for a cheaper price! After the lilac, I always apply foundation around the eyes so they match my skin.


After Foundation, I use the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (£4.19) in Light, this is a shade that is slightly lighter than my skin tone, this really helps cover darkness, I then dab on some more concealer on any areas that still look dark, then, powder, again, use a lighter powder to help brighten those eyes! Then to finish, go in with a gentle highlighter to give them even more of a lift.
Another step would be to use a nude or white eye liner on your waterline to make your eyes appear more awake and brighter!

And you're done! I hope this was useful and this will help any issue you may have with dark under eyes!☺

Feel free to leave comments!

D


Tuesday 4 February 2014

Tutorial: Covering Red Spots...

I think most of us suffer from giant red spots now and again (or  like me, all the time) they're annoying, they're unattractive and when we have them we just wish they would go away! 

Firstly, I just want to recommend that you use some sort of spot treatment to actually help kill the spots and not just cover them and potentially worsen them! But they don't disappear overnight and always show up when you least want them, so hopefully this will help you make the invisible!☺


To start, you should use a primer to make sure that they stay covered all day, I would recommend Benefit's Porefessional (£24.50, 22ml) as this minimizes the pores as well as keeping your make up in place! Then, one of the most important steps; use a Green Concealer, why? Because green is opposite to red on the colour wheel so putting this over any redness will help balance it out, I used SBC however I'd recommend Natural Collection Corrector Stick (£1.99, Boots) be careful to not over-do it because you don't want to look like the Hulk! Just lightly dab it on over any red patches. ☺
Once you've made your spots green then dab on a normal concealer that matches your skin tone. I don't recommend Benefit's Boi-ing, just use a one that you like as this step isn't too important.

Now that your base is done, go in with your foundation, I would use a medium to high coverage foundation just to ensure that those spots get covered, I really recommend L'Oreal True Match (£9.99) as it is gives a fantastic coverage and is also has a slight matte finish, I would use a make up sponge to apply foundation over spots as you don't want to brush your base off. 
Afterwards I'd recommend using the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (£4.19) this is the best concealer I've ever tried, it's not too thick, not too drying and the colour matches perfectly, it's just amazing, especially for the price! The finally step is powder, I use Rimmel Stay Matte (£3.99) this is fantastic, it just gives you that nice matte finish at the end and will cover spots up even more, keeping your spots looking matte is important as it's going help control oily-ness throughout the day!

Ta-Dah! Now nobody will have to know about that giant red spot you're hiding!☺

Leave me comments about how you cover/rid spots or even tell me if you decided to give my tutorial a go!

D

Monday 3 February 2014

Real Techniques Brushes...


The other day I received my Real Techniques Eye Starter Set and I'm happy to say that I now only need 4 more brushes until I've got all the ones that I want!
It's took me a few months to get my little collection to how it is now as they aren't the cheapest so I've been buying them whenever I've had the money to splurge a little!

My collection so far...
From Left to Right: Powder Brush, Blush Brush, Buffing Brush, Contour Brush, Setting Brush, Deluxe Crease Brush, Base Shadow Brush, Brow Brush, Detailer Brush, Pixel-Point Eyeliner Brush and Accent Brush
My favourites have to be the Buffing Brush (from the Core Collection, £21.99) and the Setting Brush (£8.99) I use the Buffing Brush to blend in my foundation and concealer and it is just the most perfect brush to do so, does leave any awful brush lines it just makes application much nicer and smoother, the Setting Brush I use for powdering any oily patches (mainly my t-zone) and also around the eyes, I use the Powder Brush for a quick application all over the face but the Setting Brush really is the perfect brush for setting your make up in place!

The Smaller Ones...

The Larger Ones...


I love all the Real Techniques Brushes and I cannot fault them what so ever! I know for some they are pricey but they are worth every penny!
The only brushes I am yet to buy is the Travel Essentials Kit (£20.99) and the Silicone Eyeliner Brush (£7.99) so unless they bring out more amazing brushes I am only 4 brushes away from my complete collection and I couldn't be happier with them!

Leave me comments and let me know what your favourite brushes are (RT or not!) or if you want to know a little bit more about the brushes I own! ☺