My 5 Favourite Mascara Wands!

Hey friends! As I have been absent from blogger the majority of March, due to constantly being at work, I thought I would do a cheeky little post considering my favourite types of Mascara wands just to show you all that I'm still around. Recently I have been really getting in to mascara and the different looks you can create with the different shaped wands. I used to stick to big thick long lashes but I've found that other looks can suit the timing of the day and such so much better. So here are my 5 favourite mascara wands.

1: Big False Looking Lashes.

This is Rimmel London's Scandaleyes Lycra Flex mascara in '001 Black'. For months this was my go to mascara as I adored the look it gave. The wand on this is large, thick and has tones of bristles packed tightly together. When the product is applied with this wand the lashes don't become extremely separated but sort of stick together to create that gorgeous volume, which is due to the space between the bristles being so small. This also means that more of the product stays between the bristles and coats your lashes so thoroughly giving the illusion of them becoming longer. It can be a tad tricky to use a wand this size as it's so large, I have poked myself in the face multiple times using this so you do have to be a bit more cautious when using this. However the wand being so large does make it easier to reach to all the lashes ensuring that they are equally coated. This particular mascara retails at around £7 however cheaper variations are available, such as Collection's big fake ultimate fake lash effect mascara which comes in around £5 or under and has a very similar wand but does dry out a little faster.


2. Defined lashes.

This is Rimmel London's Sexy Curves Full Body mascara in '001 Black', which is said to offer extra volume and shapely curves to the lashes. This does neither so in terms of advertisement it's a bit of a touchy subject. This neither adds volume or holds any kind of curl to the lashes in the slightest. However this mascara is what has led me on to writing this post. I have been using this daily pretty much all throughout March as I just love what it does to the lashes. As you can see in the picture the wand is extremely unique and is made of three small ball shapes. This wand gives such definition to the lashes and keeps them beautifully separated. This results in gorgeous naturally full looking lashes that appear soft, as if you weren't wearing any product at all. This mascara really surprised me and as it is a few years old now you can get it for around £3 - £5 online which is a complete bargain. I'm yet to see a mascara wand like this but I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for one to compare this with.

3. Elongated lashes.

This is Maybelline's define - a - lash volume mascara in 'Brown' and has the most perfect wand for creating longer looking lashes. As you can see this has extremely short bristles with a lot of space between them. This helps the packaging get rid of all the excess mascara from the wand as you take it out, so your lashes avoid looking clumpy and too thick. They do however end up looking a lot longer than imagined. Avon's super extend mascara has a similar wand to this, and was very nearly features in this post. However the Maybelline wand has a beautiful shape to it, curving in the middle which helps to keep the natural shape of the lashes whilst also gaining more grip to the outer and inner corners. Again this is super old and is available for only £2.50 on fragrance direct so if you want really long looking lashes I would highly recommend bagging this up while you still can. Also, if you do want a tad more volume I would recommend you combine this and the previous mascara, using this first and applying the other once your first coat is completely dry.

4. Curled lashes.

I find that keeping your lashes looking freshly curled all day is often quite the challenge, and that you need a really thick and strong setting formulated mascara to really hold those curls in place and keep them looking beautiful. This was until I found this, Seventeen's 'Doll'd up' mascara. As you can see the wand has a slight curve to it, which fits most women's natural lash lines thus helping to really get a hold on to even those wispy thin lashes in the inner corner. When using this your lashes sculpt to the shape of the wand and so added with the fact there are numerous short plastic bristles, you end up with absolutely beautifully full, separated, thick and most importantly curled lashes. I've found that you really don't even have to use your eyelash curlers with this as the wand gives such a great outcome alone. If you want to really see how curled your lashes look then a good tip is to turn your head and check your lashes from a sideways view. Use your hand to block out the background to get the best view. I find that this is an excellent thing to practice as most of the people you interact with during the day see you from the side as appose to face on.

5. Lower lashes.

Ok, so this mascara wand has to be my ultimate favourite wand in the world, ever. It wins hands down simply for the cute factor. This is L'Oreal Paris' telescopic explosion mascara and apparently offers fanned out lashes, and a spectacular look! Honestly, this is a little disappointing when it comes to using it as a regular mascara, simply because the wand is far too small. It becomes time consuming and is quite difficult to manage with it being so light against the upper lashes. However, I have found this absolutely perfect for my lower lashes! After using this my lower lash line looks as if it has sprouted double the lashes that have tripled in length and volume. Thankfully this avoids that whole 'spider leg' lash look and gives you that much loved voluminous sexy look that I personally crave! Now when it comes to the upper lashes this wand isn't completely useless. I'm sure you'll have heard of Benefit's 'they're real' mascara, which is essentially the UK's top selling drug store mascara. One of the main appeals with that mascara is the wand, as the bristles aren't just down the sides like with most mascaras, but they continue on the top of the wand for the purpose of pushing those bristles against the base of the lashes to push them up and add volume and dimension. As you can see in the picture the telescopic explosion mascara is literally a ball of bristles so you can use this in exactly the same way and get a pretty spot on look. The Benefit mascara retails around £20 per purchase, where as the L'Oreal mascara sells for just £5.50 on fragrance direct, as it is from past seasons. So if you have a tight budget but want the look of the They're Real mascara this is absolutely ideal for you!


If you follow me on Instagram you may know I started this post over a week ago, which is just completely ridiculous. However my work life is taking over and what with having a social life and a love life and a family life to try and squeeze in I am left only with time to sleep, just about. So I do apologise for disappearing on and off but I bring exciting news. As of today I have only one 13.5 hour shift and a stock take to complete before I am off for two whole weeks! YAY!
In that time I am planning on doing my March favourites, and perhaps a birthday haul/favourites. We shall see but I do promise to try and cram as much as I can into this little time. Do keep tabs to see what happens and leave me some comments with suggestions of what you'd like to see.
Much Love, G x

February Favourites!

Hey friends! So this morning I was asked to go into work two hours later than I was supposed to so I thought, why not begin my February favourites post? And here we are. February has gone so quickly for me and now that we're in to March the waiting game has begun for me. I hate March, every single year. My birthday is April 2nd and so March drags like hell for me, and what with this birthday coming up being the big 21 I just know March is going to go on for about three years. Give me strength! However February was good this year, busy but good. Let me show you what I've been loving.

First up is this deodorant by Sanex. This is the dermo sensitive lactoserum 24hr anti-perspirant deodorant, with 0% alcohol. Try saying that after a few mojitos! I used to really struggle finding deodorants that I liked and went through so many different brands. I did have a massive roll-on phase at one point as well but after everything I tried I would always go back to the original Sanex. When I found this version of Sanex I grabbed it and haven't looked back since. It has a very nice powdery scent that reminds me of baby powder, but also has undertones of flowers which is just lovely. Now I have been using this for about a year now (I don't know why there's a 'new' sticker on there as its really not) and I simply love it. It leaves me feeling fresh and more importantly protected. With my job I'm very active and can be rushing about for 12 hours without so much as a sit down so of course a good deodorant is key. As embarrassing as that sounds, we all sweat! Anyway this really is good! This has stopped me from trying every deodorant under the sun and why not? I've found something I like and that works for me so I am just going to stick with it and be happy! This is also really nice as well as you can't particularly smell it whilst wearing it so you're still completely free to wear whatever perfume or body spray takes your fancy without getting a clash of scents.


Moving on to the face I really must begin by mentioning the Montagne Jennesse peel off face masks. Now I love a good face mask and these are just such a classic. The range is absolutely brilliant but I think my absolute favourite of these is the green tea and ginger one. It smells SO good having a citrusy fresh scent to it and the qualities in it are really good for the skin. It has a detox and pore cleansing effect and leaves my face feeling so soft its crazy! I like to apply these after my evening shower once or twice a week, snuggle into bed and watch YouTube videos while they set, as it just leaves me feeling so relaxed and pampered. Also it's so strange when you suddenly can't move your face at all but the peeling off part is such fun! I have found that using these comes with trial and error and that there is far too much in a pack for my tiny pea face. I find that a very thin layer is just enough to get a good peel result otherwise if it's too thick it just won't dry. I really do think you can feel a difference after using these and as they're only £1 a pack at most places you can't go wrong for trying one or two. These would be absolutely perfect for when you need just a little pamper session or time to yourself to wind down, in fact I pretty much depend on these after a full shift at work.


Sticking with the face we have this Barbara Daly foundation in 'porcelain' from Tesco. I completely forgot to include this in my collective haul for some reason. When I picked this up I did so for a specific reason. This foundation is completely oil free and as I'd had a bit of a breakout at the start of February this seemed like such a good product, and it really is. I've used BD foundations before, both the version of this with oil and the face lift foundation, both of which I really enjoyed using. This however has really raised the bar for me now. It feels like silk on the skin, almost like a primer, but has excellent coverage and when set with powder this looks flawless for hours! I also very much like the packaging for this as well, as it is simple and understated sat in its little glass jar. Now this doesn't have a pump, it has a spatula which I find incredibly cute if not a little pointless. The only slightly off putting thing about this, and all other BD foundations, is the scent as it honestly smells like old ladies make up! Hopefully you know what I mean by that and I don't sound like a complete freak who walks found sniffing old ladies faces! It is a very strong almost chemical scent which does linger throughout the day, however if you can look past that for the sake of an excellent foundation, do so. Pick this up.


Now the final face product was mentioned in the collective haul and that is Seventeen's cheek stamp blush in 'blushin''. After using this for a few weeks now I have grown to love this immensely. I think the thing that completely wins this for me is the colour as it gives you such a pretty natural flushed look and is going to be an absolute go to product in the spring. Applying this is so simple as is the means of the product I suppose. It really takes no effort at all and is fun and time saving which is perfect if like me you have a hectic lifestyle. You literally just have to stamp it on your cheek and I find I get best results with blending it out with my fingers as appose to a brush. I have found that brushes pick up a lot of product and sort of remove it from the face where as with your fingers you do keep the pigment there and can really focus on your blending. Unfortunately blending is a big must with this product as without you'd just have a series of large pink dots on your face and would look cray cray!  I have been loving teaming this with my Collection blush (highlighter) in 04 trouble this past month as the two look so perfect hand in hand. I must go pick this up in some other colours as it's so fantastic and very reasonably priced at just over £5.

Moving on now to the eyes. I know I posted about most of the products in this post so recently but I can't help but include these in my favourites as I can't understand how I got on without them for so long! This is totally included in that. Rimmel London's Scandaleyes waterproof kohl kajal eye liner in nude has been an absolute godsend to me since getting it, as you can see from the gross little nub I have been using it to death, every single morning I apply this and seem to have made it a staple every day piece in my make up routine. Since using this I have had so many compliments from friends, family and even the occasional customer at work about how bright my eyes look. This really does add so much dimension to the eyes when applied to the lower lash line and as it's waterproof you get such good lasting power. My eyes look so much larger, my face looks so much brighter and I would say that generally I look much more awake since using this. Honestly this is a ten out of ten product and I highly highly highly recommend you go pick this up, especially considering the price of it!

Also a repeat mention (I'm so sorry) is the pretty edgy pallet by MUA, luxe edition. I genuinely can not get enough of this and every day I seem to find new combinations to try out, most of which look incredible. There are two combinations that really stand out for me. One is wearing Antique (Top row, 1st) all over the lid, smoking a bit of Bow (Top row, 2nd) on the outer corners of the eyes and also adding a touch of Ruffle (Top row, 4th) into the crease. These are all quite light shades which create a perfect daytime look that should be impeccable during Spring. By adding Ruffle into the crease it gives the eye a bit more volume so to speak, making it much more defined. Another combination I love is much simpler. I like to wear Flounce (Top row, 5th) all over the lid, smoking in a bit of Lace (Top row, 6th) and lining the eye with Envy (Bottow row, 4th) both bottom and top lash line. This is a much darker look but is so stunning as the colours compliment each other so very well. This pallet has amazed me and I really did not think it would be this brilliant. And at £8 for 10 shadows in a gorgeous gold studded black case you can't ask for more. It is a dream pallet.


Now this month I have been adoring wearing nude and blue nail varnish and these three polish's I got in a massive set at Christmas are the perfect colours. The brand is called S&S and I'd never heard of it previous to receiving this. These polish's, which are all unnamed, are so pretty and wonderfully formulated being thick and pigmented but fast drying which I need! You seriously only need one coat to get the quality nail look you're after which is brilliant however I've found that, like most thick nail polish's, they chip quite easy so a chip resistant top coat is very handy when using these. The three pictured have been my most used shades this month. The first is a lovely plummy/brown nude, the second is a gorgeous royal blue and the third is just that perfect light nude colour.

There are two more blue polish's I have been wearing a lot this month, the first one being 'Misstique' by Missguided. I think I got this free in a magazine last year or something and unfortunately you can tell. The quality isn't super. It is a very thin varnish that needs a good 2-3 coats to get the right pigment and it does take a while to dry. I find using a drying aid spray works quite well with this and makes it tacky for a while rather than wet. Normally I wouldn't bother with a nail varnish with such a low quality formula however again it's the colour that sells it for me. This is the only turquoise toned blue in my collection and I really do love the outcome when I put in the effort, so until I find a better formulated version of this colour, it can stay.

The final blue and final nail polish that I've been mad about this month is 'Electric Spacedust' by Barbara Daly. This is a beautiful metallic blue polish that hits the light and shines so fantastically. It also has a gel finish similar to that of the Barry M gelly hi shines' which we all know look right on point. This is a really good polish and I've noticed that it seems to be quite chip resistant which surprised me. It does look best with 2 coats as it can initially be quite sheer but you don't need any more than that and it does seem to be fine without a top coat, although I probably should apply top coats anytime I paint my nails. Effort. I adore the packaging with the BD nail polish's. Seriously, floral lids? How cute can it get? While they're quite inexpensive at around £4 - £6 it is a very small bottle at 7ml however unfortunately that's the only size available. If I am completely honest though I would say that these are worth every penny and I myself will definitely be investing in some spring/summer colours from this range.

The very last thing on my February favourites list is this bracelet that I got for Christmas. This is from H Samuel I believe and was only £8, however it was on sale from £38 so it was quite the bargain. I adore this so much. As you can see it has two silver stars on it, one of which is solid while the other has a series of tiny diamante's all around the surface of the star. I think the reason I love this so much is because it's so simple and understated. The clasp is great as it's just a magnet fastener so you don't have that faff of hooks and such which I can never do with one hand! This is soft and comfortable which is wonderful and also it seems to be the perfect fit on me. I think the real reason I love this so much though, is because it was a gift from my Mum and we all gots to love our mamas!


So that's it for February favourites! Hopefully March will fly by and I wont have a list as long as my arm for March favourites! Do leave some feedback as I would love to hear what you guys have been loving over February! You can contact me on here, facebook or Instagram! I am toying with getting twitter again, but that's not a decision set in stone. I will let you know though. Until next time me sweets!
Much love, G x

Love Lips.. Goodbye Winter Berries!

Hello amigos! My little Love Lips saga has returned for part two, Goodbye Winter Berries, thusly named for the sheer fact we have hit Spring! (Apparently.) And so I thought it would be fitting to say our farewell's to the Winter by remembering some lovely Winter berry toned shade lippies! Shown in this post are a mixture of lipsticks and lip stains, some from well known brands and others from those that you don't quite hear of so much anymore which is often a great shame in my opinion.
So, without further ado let's kick things off with some of my favourite berry lipsticks!


First up is of course that great Wintery classic, 107 from the Kate Moss collection of Rimmel London. This lipstick has become such a statement piece in so many girl's collections it is phenomenal. Honestly I can't recall the amount of times I have seen this pop up in Blogs or in YouTube videos and I can completely appreciate why. This is such a well produced product that it deserves the recognition it has received. After doing a little research in to Kate Moss's input in these lipsticks it became apparent that she wanted to maintain a collection of classic colours and go to shades. Obviously 107 is a shade that has done that down to a T. As you can see from the swatch photo this shade is a gorgeous deep red colour, with just that tiny hint of berry undertones in places where there is more product. The formula for the Kate lipsticks is utterly divine, being creamy and moisturising whilst staying highly pigmented for hours on end. The only two down falls I have found with this product is that it does stain the lips a little and any dry skin on the lips does look slightly darkened when wearing this. However that can be beneficial as it shows when you need to indulge in a lip scrub, which is always a treat. As this is such a bold shade I like to wear this with a very understated eye look. I found over this Winter that it looked lovely with a sweep of grey or kaki green eye shadow and a bunch of mascara. I do tend to steer away from browns and blacks with this lippy so eyeliner is pretty much a no with this for myself. However on a night out a good old winged liner look combined with this looks very very chic. Sadly I am not quite a brave enough person to wear this all year round so I will be putting it away until I grow a smidge more confidence. Very reluctantly as well!


Next up is a lipstick by Avon named 'very berry', how appropriate. As you can see this lipstick is initially quite sheer and so looks rather like a gloss when applied, however it is also extremely buildable. When I want a bolder look with this product I find I get the best results by using blotting sheets between reapplying. Blotting sheets are so much better than tissue for this as they're generally used for picking up oil so they do help rid the first coat of that glossy effect and give the extra coat something to grip on to. This range of Avon lipstick is pretty fantastic, they're so affordable and what's great is the packaging. If you can't tell from the photo the case is actual diddy, and stands at about maybe 5 or 6 cm tall, however you do get a full sized lipstick inside. This being so compact makes it great for storing in your handbag or in a makeup bag as it gives you that extra bit more room, maybe for another one of these lipsticks? I loved this through out this winter as it is extremely hydrating and really does battle the effects that the cold has on our lips. Unfortunately this is possibly the worst of my lipstick collection for reapplications as it does wear off repeatedly through out the day but I think for the result it gives that is something worth putting up with.


Now, remember me mentioning that some of these products are from lesser known brands? Well here is the first of two, an unnamed lipstick from Body Collection. The swatch below shows just one swipe of product and I would hope you'd agree that it is one hell of a pretty colour, showing the outstanding pigment quality. It is much more orangey toned that the previous two but it is simply gorgeous. Again this is quite buildable however as this is a pretty cheap lipstick the quality isn't up there with some other brands and building this can result in streaking and smudging. This appears to be quite an oily based lipstick so while it is great for nourishing the lips it can get a bit hectic and messy all up in your lip regions. However it's the colour that wins this for me. I adore coral/orange based lipsticks but 9 times out of 10 they're most suited in the spring/summer. Because this is so deep and does have that red tone to it I find it perfect for the winter making it the exception. I honestly wish that another brand would bring out this exact colour in their formulation but I haven't ever seen a colour like this from any other brand. In terms of that though, the formula, for this lipstick it's so far from a winner for me but the colour had kept me grabbing for this over the past season so something must be on form here.


My final lipstick in this edition is another unnamed lipstick by Vivo. I received this in a kind of cosmetics lucky bag in Boyes, Hull last year some time and didn't really pay much attention to it as I did think it would be too brown for me. Once I finally tested it out though I was really pleasantly surprised. This colour compliments my skin tone so well. I don't know if it's down to me being so pale or if it somehow cancels out my blemishes a little but it is fantastic. This lipstick is silky smooth and feels so pleasant to the touch of the lips that it's a real joy to wear and the colour of this is so bold that it is perfect for winter. I like this having those brown hints to it too, as it's something really different and I find it very sophisticated. I absolutely love this teamed with my Collection lasting perfection ultimate wear foundation and a very small touch of bronzer in the form of blush, as all the colours melt together beautifully and radiate the face. I am pretty sure you can't get this from Vivo anymore as I know that the lipsticks are all in different packaging now so this is one I will hold dear for a while until I find another nice brown toned lippy!


Now for the first of two stains, we have Maybelline's super stay 10 hour tint gloss in '160 forever fuchsia'. Now although this is advertised as a 'gloss' this really does seep into the lip and stain it, also after 20 minutes or so all the gloss effect is gone and it's more matte than anything else. As you can see in the swatch it is the most pink of all the pigments in this post however I do think it is still the most gorgeous worn in the autumn/winter time as it's just too dark to be worn in Summer. I purposefully pictured this product opened as I wanted to highlight the brilliant applicator brush. This isn't quite a heart applicator but it's the same principle. It is essentially an oval with a hole in the middle that holds just the right amount of product for one application which I find ingenious. This product applies so perfectly and mess free which I do find essential with something that stains the skin as no one wants to be walking round with pink blotches all over them now do they? Something else I love about the product is the scent of it. It is a very familiar scent to me and reminds me of sweets and sugar however I can't quite pin it down to one specific thing. If you can tell me what this smells like leave me a comment below to let me know as it will honestly play on my mind every time I wear this. Now as for the formulation of this I would say it is pretty great, maybe nothing outstanding but it is a great product. The colour pigment is wonderful and the scent/taste is wonderful, I wouldn't say this lasts 10 whole hours but it does last a good 5 hours until it needs topping up. Wonderful!


Now for the final stain and the final product in the winter berry edition we have this lip stain pen in '104 prune flush' by a brand named Astor. I hadn't really heard of Astor before seeing this on fragrance direct but the price was so fantastic I thought I'd give it a go. These retail at about £4.99 but on fragrance direct they were only 99p which is such a bargain. Now this is a love/hate product for me as while I adore the lip stain, I hate the lip balm meant for sealing. I don't know if I am allergic to it or something but every time I use this I break out in a cold sore which is something I just can't deal with. Unfortunately this means my Rimmel 1000 kisses lip stain balm gets double use and is going to run out faster which is a darn shame. Now the actual lip stain part of this product is sensational. As you can see in the swatch it's that perfectly dark berry colour for winter and is very similar to 107 by Kate Moss that I previously mentioned, maybe just a bit more purple toned. This is a great coloured product however it does take a toll on the lips and can get quite drying after prolonged use. I find that when topping this up throughout the day your lips do end up feeling quite dried out and so this is probably more suitable for just a night out or a meal where you can wear it for a few hours and then take it off once you get home. I do like to treat my lips to a good scrub and an overnight Vaseline session just to give them the therapeutic repair that they need. So while this is a beautiful shade and colour it is also quite a bit of effort. So I'll leave you to deliberate that but I would recommend looking online at these products regardless. You never know!


So there we have it. My favourite berry toned shades for the winter time. Now that that's done and dusted hopefully the rest of this cold dreary weather will go and we can get stuck in to spring! If you would like me to post about a certain colour in my next love lips post do let me know either by commenting below, or messaging me on facebook or Instagram.
Also in my last post I did promise to let you know how the Seventeen flawless poreless primer is suiting me but I have a planned post coming up very soon which will reveal all about that so keep your eyes peeled for it. I do believe my next post however will be a February favourites post. (Late again of course). Busy days huh?

Much love, G x