Showing posts with label favourites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favourites. Show all posts

Thursday, 3 November 2011

October Favourites!

I've been trying out a lot of new make up this month, so it seemed to make sense to make a more make-up orientated favourites this month! I've found my skin has been a lot better recently so I will be writing a post on skincare and maybe haircare if you beauts want one?! Anyway onto the favourites, I'm currently on the hunt for a better coverage foundation for winter, my healthy mix just isn't enough coming into winter so I'm back testing out a few, I'll get back to you on that! But onto my favourites this month!

Look Beauty Triple Hit in Shade 1 'La Luxe'; When I saw LOOK magazines new make up range in my local Superdrug I couldn't resist giving some of their products a try. I went for this eyeshadow trio, because I love my brown shades! These are ridiculously pigmented and really handy for a quick smoky eye! I have been picking this up a fair few times this month, and anything I pick over my Urban Decay naked palette gets a massive seal of approval from me!
Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki; I must admit, I've hardly reached for this since owning it until this month, but as I've been trying out a few foundations this month I've really been reaching for this a lot and I really do like it. I hate foundation that looks really obvious on the skin and this really helps to buff it in and give a more natural look, love it!
Studio Makeup Line Styler Pen; I got this in my Boudoir Privé and I've been using it everyday since. The felt tip style applicator is so thin it really allows you to draw a really precise line, this is pretty much what I've been looking for since I've got into makeup. I don't really have any faults with it, and I'll definitely be repurchasing, in complete love!
Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara; I've reignited my love for this this month, I always forget how much I love this mascara until I use it again and then I fall right back into it's beautiful arms. I really love big dramatic volumized lashes and this always delivers, and for the price it really is a massive bargain! If you haven't tried this yet, you definitely need to get involved. The massive brush is still a bit overwhelming even now though, tiny bit scary!


The Body Shop 100% Natural Lip Roll-On in Berry; My lips are always dry, but it becomes a much worse problem in winter, so I'm forever in the look out for a new solution. When I saw these had launched in The Body Shop I couldn't resist giving one a try, and these really are gorgeous! They smell lush and they really add lots of moisture to the lips. I've been keeping this in my bag at all times, it's really handy to have on you and a massive bargain at £4!
NARS Lipstick in Scarlet Empress; Between Autumn and Halloween, I've really been getting into berry shades, and this is my personal favourite. I've been using this as a light tint on my lips rather than a really dramatic berry lip and it's absolutely beautiful!
GOSH Long Lasting Lip Marker in Berry; carrying on the berry lip love, GOSH's range are my favourite lip tints on the high street, and this one gives such a gorgeous colour I've been reaching it for it a good few days. It's a bit dramatic for everyday but I've been loving it going out at night, especially as with a tint you don't get the really classy lipstick marks all over glasses, perfect!


Rose Petal Salve; Another beaut I got in this months Boudoir Privé, I really can't say enough about this product. It's a multi-use product, useful for dry skin, lips, using as a highlight, to tame unruly brows, literally everything! I don't know how I coped without this in my handbag, this is a complete lifesaver!
Benefit High Beam; I love highlights, and I've been using this on my brow bone and cupids bow all month to add a bit of glow! Absolutely beautiful, but I can't say I would repurchase the full size, far too expensive to justify it and dupes work just as well!
Sleek Brow Kit in Light; I've been looking for a good brow kit for ages, but I found a lot of versions had far too many colours in, and for someone who never dyes their hair, I only really need a light brown. I bagged this as part of the 3 for 2 deal in Superdrug and I'm so glad I did, it's perfect and definitely a needed addition to my makeup bag!

What have you been loving this month?!
xoxoxoxox

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Extremely Late September Favourites!

I feel like I've majorly been neglecting my blog recently, I really haven't had a spare ten minutes, let alone a couple of hours to blog. I should start having more time on my hands soon so blogging should be back to more regularly, but please stick with me! Haha, anyway I know this is incredibly late, but I can't see these things changing anytime soon, I've tried stepping up my make up game recently and trying not to go for the whole "primer-foundation-concealer-eyeliner-mascara-red lipstick" combo that I work everyday, and swapping and changing a bit more, and these are definitely things I've been appreciating this month.


NARS Bronzer in Laguna; This is the love of my life. I've never really been that much of a bronzer girl until Bourjois and their block of chocolately bronzey loveliness came into my life, but I haven't even reached for it since this arrived. I know it's incredibly pricey for what it is, and I'm usually the last person to throw my pennies away but this really is something else, the hype is definitely justified.
Topshop Blush in Flush; This is something that had ended up shoved in my make up draw never to be seen again, but I spotted it the other day and the flame has been reignited, I can't believe I forgot what a beauty this is. I'm not really into massive pink cheeks but this gives such a natural flush to the cheeks (as the name would suggest) that I can't help but reach for it, especially when the winter months come and I look an extra off Twilight.
Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen; This is the first felt tip liner I've ever tried and it's just so much quicker to use in a morning than my gel liner. This is my new best friend when it comes to a good winged liner, incredibly easy to use and I would recommend it to anyone who wants an easy alternative to liquid liner, which just seems to equal disaster when I try and use it. 
The Beauty Parlour Lip Balm; I saw this stand in Superdrug, and it reminded me a lot of Soap and Glory with the retro looking packaging. I'm a complete pushover when it comes to buying lip balm, I just can't seem to go into Superdrug/Boots without coming out with one. This one smells and tastes like mint, it's just the nicest thing ever! I'm not sure how effective it is as a lip balm, my lips are in good condition anyway at the moment, but purely for the smell and taste it's worth the buy, so refreshing and gorgeous!
Avon Supershock MAX Mascara; This is probably the only favourite that genuinely upsets me, because I love it so much. Sadly every time I use it my eyes water like a bitch, and after one too many days of business men staring while I cry off all my sodding mascara on the train I've had to give it up. It genuinely upsets me because this is a fantastic mascara, and I've never had any problems with other mascaras before so for a while I was convinced it couldn't be to blame. Clearly though it is.
Avon Colourdisiac Lipstick in Red Hot Lips; I've been steering towards the fuchsia side of life late August/early September, but in time for Autumn I've converted back to good old red lipstick, this is my personal favourite, it smells fruity and lasts forever, I can shove this on at the start of a shift and 4 hours later it will still be just as bright and beautiful as it was when I first applied.

I've really been swapping up my face and hair routine too much to write about any products because I haven't used them long enough to form an accurate opinion. 
Hope you're all having a lovely (if not really rainy) week!
xoxoxoxoxox

Saturday, 6 August 2011

Products Under £5 I'm Loving At The Moment!

I missed the whole July favourites boat, so I thought I'd do something different this month! Being in college this year has meant I've really been on a budget, so I've tried a LOT of cheap makeup, and these are some of my favourite products. Everything mentioned are products I've used a lot, whether I got them a month ago or 6 months ago. I'm not saying I prefer these products to other products I've spent more on, but these are all more than decent alternatives and things that are always in my makeup bag! All these products are amazing quality and things I wouldn't think twice about repurchasing!
Face;
Natural Collection Tinted Moisturiser £1.99 - With a cheap company like Natural Collection you're never going to get a perfect product, especially not where foundation/tinted moisturiser is concerned. I've heard a lot of bad reviews off people with dry skin about this product, but I can honestly say I have dry skin and I didn't have any problems. I have to say I don't think it's moisturising AT ALL, and I still apply moisturiser before I apply this. I am incredibly pale, especially on my face and so I got the colour "fair" not exactly optimistically thinking it'd probably come out orange, as with a lot of drugstore brands lightest shades. However, this gives me a bit of healthy colour and glow without looking like a shiny orange, and I'd say a medium coverage. It has to be blended well do avoid any patches but it lets my skin breathe and with just a dab of concealer over the top, it's perfect for holiday or days you want to look more natural!
Collection 2000 Pressed Powder in Ivory £1.99 - I remember using this about age 14! I suffer from dry skin so I never want a heavy powder, because it leaves me with a cake face. However I like to use powder to buff in my foundation and concealer, and this works a treat! Something I wouldn't recommend to people who suffer from oily skin, because I don't think it would do a particularly good job about protecting against shine for the duration of a day, but if you have normal/dry skin, I definitely recommend this, it's so cheap aswell!
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19 - I couldn't NOT mention this! Best concealer I've ever used, I have a massive collection of concealers that are too orange, too light coverage, too cakey, the complete wrong shade, and this is just perfect! I do own one in "light" which is fairly orange, but the "fair" shades are perfect for anyone with really pale skin! 


Cheeks;
Beauty UK Baked Blusher in Peaches and Cream £3.99 - I've never really been big on blush, I spend half my time in a morning getting RID of my pink cheeks, but this is one of the first blushes that really converted me! I've always been a fan of glowy skin, and this blush is fairly sheer but leaves you a gorgeous peachy glow on your cheeks that I must say I'm a massive fan of. Most of the time if I do reach for a blush it's this one, and I've used blush more than I ever have before since owning it. If you're looking to try a baked blush, Beauty UK are definitely a good place to start!
W7 Honolulu Bronzer around £2 - Obvious dupe for Benefits Hoola, this is a matt brown shade, pretty much the only type of bronzer I'll use and fantastic quality for the price! I'm pale (as I've already mentioned 3582042 times so far on this post) and for a while I wouldn't step anywhere near a bronzer, let alone a scary dark one like this! It's highly pigmented, and I really have to use this with a light hand or I would end up with a dirt on face look, but it's what I reach for when I want a more bronzed look, as there's definitely more colour payback than my everyday bronzer, the Bourjois chocolate one!

Eyes;
Collection 2000 Big Fake False Last Effect Mascara £4.99 - I actually HATED this when I first got it. I've always loved massive dramatic lashes, and I've had my share of clumpy awful looking spider lashes along the way, and on a 3 for 2 deal in Boots I picked this up, oblivious of the hype surrounding it. I tried it, thought it was rubbish, threw it into a draw and in all honesty, forgot all about it. Then, maybe a month later, I started seeing blog posts and youtube videos going on about this mascara, so I decided to give it a go. It must of dried out a bit or something, but anyway it was WAY better than it was before! I personally prefer it as a second coat over another mascara, but its fine alone aswell. Definitely worth picking up if your looking for a cheap mascara!
MUA Eyeshadows £1 each - I must admit, until I started following beauty blogs and youtubers, I turned my nose up at those really cheap make up stands. 2True, MUA, Natural Collection, I just wasn't interested. I must admit, when I first used to look on the Natural Collection stand I used to sneak to it, grab an eyeshadow and run to the till as fast as possible. I don't know why, it just seems once you pass the 13/14 mark, there's a certain "look" you get off other women when you hit the stand; a similar look to what the audience give greasy haired chavs on the Jeremy Kyle show, maybe this is just my area but there's a fair amount of stigma attached to those sort of stands. Anyway, cheap makeup doesn't always mean bad quality, and although I'm not saying everything in their stands is top notch, you can't go wrong with MUA eyeshadows OR lipstick for that matter, It's ONE POUND, and personally if I'm thinking of experimenting with a colour, I'll look at the cheap stands first just so I can try it with different looks when I get home and see if said colour suits me or not. Definite value for money!

Lips;
Carmex £2.69 - Absolute staple, genuinely do not know what I'd do without it. Only thing that cures my dry lips, absolute holy grail product and for under £3 you can't really complain!
Barry M Lip Paint in 151 Sunset £4.49 - I find Barry M Lip Paints to be a bit hit and miss in terms of quality, there are a good few really chalky drying shades I would never leave the house with on, because they make my lips look bloody awful! But this one is moisturising and a gorgeous coral colour, something I definitely wouldn't wear without bronzer, but on tanned skin this looks amazing and the packaging is gorgeous for the price!
Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Heartbreaker £3.99 - I've been promoting these lipsticks no end and you're probably sick of hearing about them but they honestly are some of the best quality lipsticks for the price! There are so many shades you're easily going to find one to suit you, and the pigment is SO amazing I'm so in love. Definitely worth a try!

And that's it! 10 products I can't live without, all for under £5. I tried to do it so you could do a whole face of make-up with each product costing less than a fiver and I think I just about managed it. I know a few other good lipstick brands for under £5, but I didn't want to take up the whole blog post with them, so I might make another blog post on lip products. I tried to include one of everything if I could, but I just don't own good quality products under £5 for every area, for example I always use gel eyeliners, all over £5, and to tell you one of the pencil eyeliners I use once in a blue moon and are a pain in the backside to put on are among my favourite products is both unrealistic and stupid. Again with highlighters, I don't own one that cost me less than a fiver and for that reason I didn't include it. 

Hope you're all having a gorgeous weekend!
xoxoxoxoxox

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

June Favourites!

Fake Bake Beyond Bronze Shimmer Brick Light;
This is so gorgeous! A new buy and straight into the favourites, this gives such a gorgeous glow for night time and also will be amazing for holiday! The highlight is so pretty and I use it everyday since I've got it. I also like using this underneath my foundation to create a really glowy look for summer, just gorgeous!
Avon Neutral Tones Palette;
Love this! Didn't use it a lot when I first bought it, but this month I've rediscovered it and it's just so gorgeous! All the colours are so wearable and easy to apply, and seeing as I only ever wear neutral tones in the daytime this palette is everything I'll ever need. Good selection of both shimmers and matte colours, all of which are good quality!
Natural Collection Tinted Moisturiser in Fair;
Again a new purchase, and something I didn't think I would like as much as I do. I bought this purely to see if I liked the tinted moisturiser way of life and I can safely say I am well and truly on the bandwagon, which is a surprise to me as much as anybody else who knows that a few months ago I was strictly a colourstay kind of girl.This is gorgeous for those hot days where foundation is just too much coverage, so for the past couple of days where in England it was HOT HOT HOT it was perfect.
Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Vixen;
This is my absolutely favourite red at the moment (yeah, they all look the same pretty much but that's irrelevant). I love the formulation of the lipsticks, Vixen is so moisturising as well as being crazy pigmented. I've been using this as either a "HELLO LOOK AT MY RED LIPS" bright colour or as a calmer, passing nod everyday type of red lip. Either way I adore this colour and the formulation and sleek are just amazing ok I'm done fangirling.
Topshop Blush in Flush;
This is such a pretty colour! I'm not really a blush person, but I've found myself reaching for this. I love how easy to blend these blushes are, and they then turn into a powder finish, which means they're not going anywhere! I definitely want to try more of the topshop range, I fancy the blushes "head over heels" and "neon rose", aswell as the gel eyeliner, more of the lipsticks, the lip crayons, etc etc. There have been rumours since the make up launched that the Topshop make up line is made by the same company that make MAC makeup, and the quality is definitely amazing for the price, £6 for a cream blush? Craaaazy! Complete with the gorgeous packaging, I definitely need to expand my collection.
Sephora Scented Spray in Pacific Curacao;
These sprays were discontinued a while back, and I'd completely forgotten I even had one. These sprays are about the size of a pen and are seriously handy to carry around. This scent, I have no idea how to explain, it's just like.... the ocean in a bottle. It smells kinda citrus-y and like none of my other perfumes (floral, fruity, sweeeet), but I really like it, and I can't believe I forgot about it. It doesn't last very long, but I'll be using it on holiday and I wish wish wish I could re-purchase this tiny 10ml bottle, damn A) sephora not being in UK and B) them discontinuing this little gem.

Oh, and I can't miss out how much I'm loving the SUN and FLOWERS and SUMMER!

Oh and I've also made sure my art GCSE isn't going to waste and completed such masterpieces as the one above ;)

also HOW amazing is this girls voice? I'm so in love with this track at the moment.

What products have you been loving this month?!
xoxoxoxoxo

Sunday, 29 May 2011

May Favourites - And I've Loved A LOT of things this month!

How can it be the end of may already?! MADNESS! I warn you now, I've loved a fair few products this month, hence why I've taken pictures to try and break it up a little. Certain things I haven't included purely because I haven't particularly changed what I use eg. Mascara wise I still use Avon Supershock Mascara and I still love Maybelline gel eyeliner. I was careful not to include powders, because I think I'm going to do a review on some of the powders I've got, and while I'm varying it up I can't tell you one as a definite favourite. I've also kept nail polishes out because I'll be making a seperate post on my favourites! Apart from that I genuinely love ALL these products and I would recommend every single one of them!
Perfumes; 
This is definitely my favourite perfume of all time. I'm rubbish at describing perfumes, so all I'll say is that to me it's flowery and fruity and just beautiful. If you haven't already, go into boots/wherever and give this a spray. I fell in love with it months before I originally bought it, and put it off purely because I couldn't justify the price. But trust me, it's worth the money. It's so long lasting, it's my favourite throughout winter, I still use it in summer and it's what I reach for before going out at night. Mine is running out, so hopefully it will last out until July and I can pick up a new one at duty free before I go on holiday :)
This is my ultimate spring/summer scent. It's so light and fresh and floral and just lovely! Again I'm rubbish at describing scents so I'm not going to go on and on, but this is one of the only DKNY be delicious perfumes that I actually like, though it's not incredibly long lasting like Miss Dior Cherie, so it's not something that I would possibly repurchase at full price purely because I don't like re-applying perfume all the time. Other than that I really have no complaints!


This is in no way a "miracle" product or something that's completely unique, but I really do love this. It's so cheap and I'm into the smell of vanilla in a major way of recent, this is just brilliant for putting all over your body at night and waking up smooth and soft and smelling lovely! For the price definitely worth a try if you're looking for a cheap body lotion
This has been raved about loads so I'm not going to ramble on, but this is brilliant for those really dry patches, and I really do see overnight improvement. And for just under £3, you can't really go wrong.
I'm not really a great sufferer of spots I'll be honest, I seem to go weeks without a breakout and then BAM, in the duration of about 3 days spots just appear on random parts of my face. And when this happens, nothing really seems to help, Clearasil oddly makes my skin even worse, I just can't win. However when I use this I find that if I do have a breakout it's a lot less severe and they seem to happen a lot less. I love the idea that you can use this product as either a wash or a mask. I use it as a mask about once a week and my skin feels amazing after. Seriously recommend, though not really suffering all that bad in the first place I can't really say I've tried all that much else on the market.
My favourite scrub out there. I bought this from boots around christmas and I use it religiously, still not anywhere near empty. At £9, it was quite a lot to pay for a scrub at the time but the amount i got in the tub was unbelievable and this gets rid of all dead skin and after my skin is left so soft and smooth! Smells amazing and I love the fact it contains a lot of minerals really beneficial to the skin! Absolute BARGAIN, but I fear boots have stopped selling :(

Pretty much the queen of hairspray. My hair does NOT like hairspray, and some hairsprays literally have no effect at all, and others make my hair stiff and horrible, and who wants amazing hair when it's horrible to touch? Not me anyway. This is just amazing, and I've been getting a lot of use out of it recently. I love the fact it doesn't leave my hair really stiff but still keeps it completely in place. LOVE!
I could rave about this until the cows come home. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! My hair was in such bad condition until this little beauty walked into my life. I am in no way exaggerating when I say my split ends = gone! And trust me, before I used this I had more than a few. It smells bloody good too, it's just a completely amazing product. When I bought it I honestly wasn't expecting my split ends to be completely eliminated but they are! It says you can use it on dry or towel dry hair, but personally I wouldn't put it on completely dry hair because it probably would leave your hair sticky. You don't need to use this every day, so I just use it when I get out of the shower before I dry my hair and once my hair is dry there isn't a split end in sight. And I think the price is brilliant for the product, but if you're on a budget, this is on offer with all other selected herbal essences products in Boots for 2 for £5, and seeing this is £5.10 usual price, you're definitely quids in!
These are my shampoo and conditioner of choice at the moment, they leave my hair silky and smooth and smell gorgeous! That's about it really!

The packaging on this product has recently changed, but I'm presuming it's still the same product. A clear dupe of Benefits Moon Beam, but at a much more attractive price. I love this for a night out above cheekbones, it gives such a pretty shimmer and I definitely need to try out MeMeMe's "moonbeam" which has more pink undertones. Such a pretty product!
Apologies for mine looking a bit grubby, it's well loved! I've never really been a fan on bronzers so it's really a surprise to me how much I adore this product. It's beautiful and matte with only a little shimmer, so it's brilliant for wearing in the day aswell as night! Again it's a highly raved about product so I'm not going to go on too much, but if you're looking for a cheap bronzer this one should be top of your list! It's also done in three different shades so it suits both pale skintones like mine and darker ones. And to add to all that, it smells delicious!
I honestly didn't think I'd like this! I got it on a whim from savers purely because I noticed how much of a dupe it is for the brightening part of the Too Faced leopard complexion perfection palette I've been eyeing up for a while but unable to justify the price. I love the colour each of the parts of this powder make, and I love using this as a subtle blush. Such a versatile product and I can't get over how cheap it is!
I've never tried cream blushers but this one is a-mazing! I love the fact you can either use a little to add a subtle colour of build the colour up. It blends beautifully and I love this colour! There's definitely a few more I fancy picking up, there are 4 shades in this collection and I'll probably get all of them, too pretty!

It's a massive shock to me that I've strayed from Colourstay but this is absolutely AMAZING! After winter, I was finding Colourstay a bit too heavy coverage for what I was looking for. I'm sure my skin has improved aswell, so I picked this up because I know a lot of people swear by it. Although it's sheer and gives a glowy finish, it still has a solid medium coverage and it's possibly overtaken colourstay as the favourite. It took me a while for this to grow on me, but now it's what I reach for everyday without fair. Definitely worth a try, smells amazing and has something colourstay has never had... A PUMP! I'm in love.
Best. Concealer. I've. Ever. Used. And that's all I have to say on that one.

Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Raspberry - £1.99 (not available online)
I'm in love with this colour, and all the lipsticks in this range are lovely on the lips, so moisturizing and have pretty good keep for the price. I love putting this over my just bitten lipstain to add some moisture and even out the colour. Definitely need to purchase some more colours out of this range!
This shade is a matte colour, and one of my favourite sleek lipsticks. Every other sleek lipstick I have is a bright colour, but I love wearing this for college or when I can't be bothered messing about with brights. It's not a nude nude, it doesn't make me look like I have foundation on my lips or anything, it just gives my lips a subtle colour and lasts pretty well!
I've had bad experiences with Barry M lip paints, I think because I've always only bought those damn nudes 100 and 101, both which make me look like I thought foundation lips was a good idea. But this colour is a beautiful dark red/coral colour and I absolutely adore it! I own nothing like it and I bought it really without even looking at the colour during the boots 3 for 2 offer. I adore this and I've had it on so much over the past few weeks. Unlike my other Barry M lip paints it's not drying and it's really buildable, you can wear it everyday or build it up for a night out. Probably my favourite may favourite make up wise (did that make sense?!)
Best lip balm ever! Put this on every morning and night and leaves my lips beautiful! Lifesaver product!
I adore this colour! It's a bright red, but comes out a lot less bright than you think. Probably my favourite lipstain because it really does stay put. I love this shade, and although if you're not careful the lipstain can come out uneven, with the balm over the top, lipgloss or my natural collection lipstick, it looks perfect. I love this and I'm definitely going to pick up some more shades for this collection. I'm fairly new to lipstains so I'll be keeping you updated

AND THAT'S IT! phew, time for a coffee and a lie down!
Hope you guys had a lovely weekend, I stupidly watched Titanic and spent Saturday night with Mascara all over my face, blotchy skin and puffy eyes. NOT A GOOD LOOK!
If you stuck out til the end you deserve a gold star, I promise I'll make June favourites a lot smaller!
xoxoxoxoxox