Nine Products I Regret Buying.

So I've been busy during the weekend and what not so I haven't really had time to blog until now. Hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday with their dads! As a "family occasion" I took it as an opportunity to wear next to no makeup out, I'm trying to ease myself out of the eyeliner habit ready for my holiday, I'm hoping to get myself a tinted moisturiser at the airport, but I know a lot are pretty hit and miss so I'll probably stick to my healthy mix and a bright lip for daytime and adding mascara and a nice nude eyeshadow for night. I like the fact on holiday you're wearing sunglasses the majority of the daytime so the need for mascara etc is gone and you can focus on a gorgeous lip colour!

So onto the nine (I know, I should of counted earlier and made it ten) products I regret buying. Now don't be moaning that you love one of these products and that they're really great, because I'm well aware that different things work for different people so this is just my opinion etc etc!

Barry M Lip Paint in 100;

I just hate this! I bought it purely on the hype and I heard it was better that 101 Marshmellow known for the gorgeous "foundation on lips" effect it gives. It's a matte white pink, now Barry M Lip Paints are known to be a bit hit and miss, I have a gorgeous coral (151) that is moisturising and just beautiful on the lips but this I have 1 word for - CHALKY. The main selling point is that it stays completely put, but when it looks this awful I want it to disappear instantly. It shows up every problem area of your lips and you can make it look decent by having a good scrub at your lips before and shoving a lip gloss over the top, but for my skin tone it just washes me out completely, and even if it didn't, it's all too much work for me. In contrast Sleek Lipsticks, about the same price are consistently good for pigmentation and not too drying on the lips, even the matte shades. If you were to buy any of the lip paints I'd definitely try before you buy to avoid any disappointment, because some of the shades really are good quality.

Avon Calming Effects Foundation in Ivory;

I'm not even sure if this is available anymore, but I can't stand it. Mine smells like playdough? I don't even know. I got this in the lightest shade "Ivory". I think it must be the shade that every brand gets most wrong. It's always either too orange or the pink undertone too strong. This comes out a light salmon colour, which I've got to say I'm not really a fan of. I like foundations that cover my redness, so a foundation that makes my entire face the same colour as my rosy cheeks just ain't a winner for me. It seems to highlight the dry parts of my skin and just looked cakey shortly after application. The bottle is cute though, so it looks quite nice on your dressing table, that's the only positive I really can give it. 

Rimmel Match Perfection Powder in Ivory;

I know you shouldn't write off brands completely, but with Rimmel and their "Ivory" shade I can safely say I'll never be buying from their range again. Should I ever decide to fake tan, this shade would work. But for my skin tone? No. I heard a bit of hype around the time Rimmel released the range and I headed down to pick up this powder. I thought it looked a little orange for my skintone, but figured it wouldn't come out too strong. How wrong I was, this just makes my face orange. Which when you've got a pale body, doesn't look all that great. Something I've literally never reached for since buying it.

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse In Ivory;

Does this give you lovely memories to being about 13 and thinking this was the best foundation ever? When on the hunt for a new concealer a few months ago I bought this purely to act as one. I must of been looking at this through rose tinted glasses when I was 12 because on my dry skin this just looks horrendous. It makes me break out in probably record time and I don't even have really ~ sensitive skin ~. This is probably the reason I had horrendous skin when I was younger, and used even more of this to cover it up, which in turn would again make it worse, what a vicious circle! This would probably work ok on oily skin, I don't really know but, on me it just looks cakey.com

2True Cheek 'n' Lip Tint;

Now this cost £1.99 so not the biggest loss of the century, but I was disappointed. Anybody who's even vaguely into makeup can see this is a dupe of "Benetint", with a massive difference in price. Now although this isn't the worst product ever, it's far from the best. the applicator, similar to a nail polish applicator is quite stiff and I really struggle putting this on my lips because it's so bloody ticklish! It doesn't give an amazing colour, but a "my lips but better shade". My main problem with this is the taste. I know you're not supposed to lick the lipstain but, it tastes so chemical and just not good at all. It's a bit too watery in my opinion to even attempt to put on your cheeks and having pale skin, I'd probably end up resembling a clown.

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Peach;

This just isn't the right shade for me at all. I picked it up in a bit of a rush, it'd look beautiful with a tan but it just doesn't suit me at all, I think the only time I reach for it is when I'm swatching it, so a big waste of money.

The Body Shop Eyeshadow in 13;

This is just so heavily overpriced for what it is. I paid £6 for this, an off white colour that has literally hardly any pigment at all. I like nude eyeshadows, but there's a difference between an eyeshadow looking natural and looking exactly the same as if you haven't applied the eyeshadow in the first place. There is literally no difference between me applying this eyeshadow and not doing, it doesn't even act as a base. Completely useless product, and I could get 6 MUA eyeshadows for the same price, which are bigger in size and better quality. RUBBISH!

No7 High Shine Lipgloss in Whisper;

This tastes so nice, take note 2true! But seriously this has a really nice candy sweet taste I adore! But that's where the positives end. This is meant to be "high shine" so I went for the nudest "whisper" hoping I could put it over various lipsticks. Now made obvious by the clear tube, there is some shimmer going on. But this goes over lipsticks nearly completely opaque, with enough shimmer to keep ke$ha happy. But in all honestly, it's just not that wearable. It's just too shimmery, which is great is that's what you're looking for, but in a "high shine" lipgloss I wasn't and I'm glad I used a £5 no7 voucher because I definitely wouldn't buy this at full price £9.

Barry M Kohl Pencils in Light Blue and Navy;

I bought these to try and add some colour to my eyes during summer. But these are just, too damn hard! I have to press so hard to get any kind of colour payback, these just aren't worth possible damage, though the navy is better than the turquoise in terms of pigmentation. I've heard some people also have suffered from conjunctivitus after using these eyeliners, so whether that's true or not I don't know but I rarely pick up either of these.

What Products do you regret buying?!

xoxoxoxox

What's In My Bag?!

I've been meaning to do this post for so long. Now college is over, I've finally taken all my college stuff out and we're left with the interesting stuff (.... well not really, but MORE interesting)

I seem to spend half my life on the train, and I'm pretty sure there is some sort of unwritten rule on my train that you must either be reading something or playing on your phone AT ALL TIMES, and no eye contact with anyone else should ever be made. My reads at the moment are Red Magazine and Glamour :)

Meet my well kept diary. I searched through to find the busiest page just to impress you all with my skills. Feel free to have a look at all I revised for psychology unit 2! This lies around my bag the majority of the time, only seeing daylight when I have to write important things down, everything else I put in my phone.

So this is everything I keep in my little cosmetics bag. Mascara, eyeliner, concealer, nude eyeshadow, nude lipstick, solid perfume, a hairbrush, carmex and moisturiser (not entirely sure when I'd ever need moisturiser but you never know!). This goes with me pretty much everywhere, and we share many memories of wonky eyeliner and lipstick all over my face train journeys...

This is my "first aid kit" which is indeed, a baby wipe container. And yes, I look a complete fashion icon when I whip this out of my bag! I keep incredibly on trend Mr Sneeze tissues, plasters, paracetamol, hair bands, a safety pin, which for some reason I'm comforted by, and I do genuinely believe should any of my clothes ever split, one safety pin will suffice to fix the problem.

These two babies are taken everywhere with me. I love my baby blackberry to absolute bits, even though I seem to leave it everywhere (college classrooms, the canteen, the train....) and I've dropped it more times than I could count, but it still sticks by me! And no train journey is complete without my iPod, though I don't really get that much use out of it, I'd never sit with my friends listening to my iPod and ignoring them all like SOME people do! ;)

My leopard print umbrella! Matches my nails, and is usually booted out of my bag when it's too heavy, and then as luck would have it.. IT RAINS. Also gets left everywhere, but I've had it for a good few months now so has probably broken some kind of umbrella keeping and not breaking record.

My beautiful purse! This was quite a purchase from Topshop last year at just under £30, but my god was it worth it! This is probably one of my favourite items, and home to pretty much every store advantage card there is!

At the bottom of my bag you can expect to find these "goodies". Old train tickets (which BTW does anyone do anything with? I feel like I should do something quirky and imaginative with them but I really have no idea what), too many £5 No7 vouchers, receipts, broken nail files, half done Mcdonalds free coffee thingys, all the good stuff!

I always seem to have more than one spray in my bag, my current favourite is this vanilla body spray by boots, it costs about 2 quid and it smells AMAZING! I've already repurchased once, it's just SO nice! And this little spray from Avon which smells of vanilla and fruit (there is a pattern emerging here, I quite like the smell of vanilla....), is really handy when I want something that's going to last longer than the body spray!

There is always without fail, a half drunk drink and some form of sweets in my bag, This weeks choice is 7up and skittles ;)

A scarf if it should rain and I have no umbrella, the idea being i put it over my head and it will shield me from torrential rain. That's my logic anyway. 

A spoon is ALWAYS handy, I have one in each of my everyday bags, and they are great should you fancy buying some ice cream or yoghurt from a supermarket at dinner time... maybe that's only me. A mirror, this ones from Ruby & Millie and my current favourite, and a comb that's amazing for a bit of backcombing :)

Finally the rest, there's always some tictacs, a load of pens that usually don't work, a nail file, a ring of some sort and a highlighter in my bag. Not sure why.

I seem to keep a LOT of junk I'll probably never need in my bag, and then chuck out all the important stuff, which probably isn't the winning formula. I realized half way through making this, I have complete rubbish in my bag, so apologies!

xoxoxoxoxox

How Much Does Your Face Cost?!

 Face;

No7 Colour Calming Primer (Green) - £11.00

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 51 Light Vanilla - £9.99

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair 1 - £4.19

17 Shine Control Loose Powder - £5.49

Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder in 51 - £6.99

Eyes;

 Avon Eyeshadow Quad in Tigers Eye (no longer available) - £8.00 (used for brows and crease)

Avon Supershock Mascara in Black - £8.50 (First Layer)

Avon Super Full Mascara in Black - £8.00 - Now Only Available in US (Second Layer)

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Black - £7.99

Natural Collection Single Eyeshadow in Sea Shell - £1.79

Lips;

Carmex Lip Balm Tube in Strawberry - £2.69

Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain and Balm in Gothic - £7.99

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Bare All - £4.00

17 Mirror Shine On Lipstick in Beehive - £4.59

Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Raspberry - £1.99

Grand Total; £93.20

So honestly, I didn't expect it to be that much. I don't use high-end products, so I didn't even imagine, just the things I use everyday would add up to nearly £100! When you start picking out what you apply everyday, it's kinda scary just how many things you do pick up without realizing, I didn't even include blush! I did include two lipsticks, because I either use Sleeks Bare All or Revlon Lipstain combined Natural Collections Raspberry all the time, and I honestly couldn't say which I reach for more, it just depends on my mood. I can only hope nobody nicks my make up bag, or I'll have to break the bank to replace this stuff! I can't help but wonder what my entire make up collections worth, but frankly I don't think I want to know!

How much do you guys reckon your face is worth?!

xoxoxoxox

My 11 Most Reached For Make Up Products

1) No 7 Colour Calming Primer (green) £11.00
I bought this on a whim when i was trying to use up £5 no 7 vouchers, and for £6 this primer looked a bargain! I've always had red undertones in my skin due to being pretty fair, so I figured I'd give this a go so I could hopefully go a little lighter on my foundation, and it hasn't disappointed. I wouldn't call this a miracle product or a "must have" but it definitely takes out some of the redness, and I now feel confident going out without foundation if I'm low on time. The only thing I would say is that you only need a very tiny amount if you don't want a green tinge on your face!

2) Revlon Colorstay for normal/dry skin in Ivory £12.49
Pretty much my holy grail foundation. I've always loved a fuller coverage and I instantly fell in love with this foundation. It's a perfect shade for me which is rare in drugstore/high street make up brands, as a lot just don't cater for paler skin. It has SPF in it which is again, essential for pale skin that burn easily like mine does! I honestly couldn't recommend this foundation any more, I've repurchased several times, my only problem is the fact there's no pump and it's hard to control how much foundation actually comes out, but I can live with that!

3) 17 Shine Control Loose Powder £5.49
I stayed away from loose powders for a long time because I believed them to be just messy. But I was tempted by this, because it has got to be one of the cheapest translucent powders on the market, and it instantly became a necessity for my make up bag. Although ofcourse I still use my collection 2000 pressed powder in ivory for on the go, I use this mostly to buff and perfect my foundation in the morning and with having normal/dry skin I usually don't need to powder again. This really is a favourite of mine and something I'd definitely recommend, especially for the price :)

4) Natural Collection Blush in Sweet Cheeks £1.99
I've never particularly been into blushes because I naturally have quite flushed cheeks and therefore did everything to hide them not accentuate them! However when I checked out the natural collection 3 for £5 offer, I thought I'd give this colour a go. For the price they really are amazing blushes, and even though blush isn't something I wear daily, when I do this is the one I reach for straight away. And for £1.99 I'm seriously considering buying a few more!

5) Bourjois Bronzing Powder (lightest shade 51) £6.99
Probably the most raved about high street bronzer, ofcourse I checked it out :) This was the first bronzer I actually bought, I've always found a lot of high street bronzers to be too shimmery or just too dark, and I didn't really want to spend money on buying a higher end product. I never thought I'd be into bronzer, but I do adore this, I'm a bit lost if I don't have this to contour and just give a little colour to my face. I don't want to go on and on about this product because it's been discussed 348013201 times but it really does live up to the hype



6) Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair 1 £4.19
Again another product there is a lot of hype around, sorry for being a massive sheep! I stuck with my avon concealer stick for ages, and only when it ran out i went onto this. I never really liked the liquid concealer idea but this has completed converted me. I've spent so much money on concealers, but this really is the best I've ever tried, I always keep one in my makeup bag for college incase of any sudden breakouts and it really does what it says on the tin, it lasts me all day! Amazing product, and the colour is perfect for me :)

7) Sleek Storm Palette £6.49
This was something I wanted for ages and never got round to buying, but over the past few months it has become a product I literally couldn't live without. If i were to change anything, I'd maybe add a few more matte shades, but this really does have such a mix of neutral, everyday colours nobody should be without. I love using the beige nudes for barely there eyeshadows and the darker browns, greys and black to make the look more dramatic. beautiful, good quality eyeshadows, such a bargain!

8) Avon Supershock Mascara £8.50
My favourite mascara ever! I have about 5 tubes of this mascara lying around to make sure I'm never without it! Gives my lashes such length and volume and works with various other avon mascaras really well to elongate my lashes even further! Mascara is the only thing I never ever buy a different brand of to try, because I couldn't be happier with the way this mascara makes my lashes look. I literally have no complaints, I would recommend this to everyone :) The wand is plastic which i much prefer to brush, and I've never had any problems with the tube drying up before it's empty etc! just amazing :)

9) Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner £7.99
Fairly new addition to my collection, but I adore this eyeliner like no other! I've tried various gel eyeliners but always found that the eyeliner transferred to my upper eyelid, but i really don't have this problem anymore. This eyeliner is beautiful and goes easily on with the fantastic brush that comes with it, which gives you great precision! I love this eyeliner so much and I honestly couldn't go back to any of my other eyeliners, this is the only eyeliner I ever reach for.

10) Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Bare All (matte) £3.99
I've never really found the perfect everyday colour for me, and as a red lip lover, nudes and paler shades never really worked for me. However I took a risk a few weeks ago and bought this colour, and I've been wearing it ever since for shopping/college/everyday. It's a matte shade which for me is essential as I don't really like shimmery lipsticks. This is just the perfect shade for my skin colour because it doesn't wash me out, and I really do love the packaging on these lipsticks, they really do look "sleek" haha ;)

11) 17 Sheer Moisture Lipstick in Beehive £4.29
Another fairly famous high street product, this really is one of my favourite lipsticks, alone or on top of other lipsticks (such as the sleek lipstick above). This lipstick is so moisturizing I love how it feels on the lips, and as i do get dry lips if I don't religiously use my carmex, this really is lovely to keep my lips moisturized. For the price this lipstick is definitely worth checking out!






So these are my 11 couldn't really live without make up products! As you guys will see I don't like splashing out on makeup what with being in college and generally being completely skint, but I love all these products and for the price all of them are absolutely amazing and worth checking out xoxoxoxo