Model - Bex (Becky Wortley)
Photographer - Becky Wortley
Photo Editer - Becky Wortley
Makeup Artist - Gemma Irish (me)
Links:
Becky's Facebook Page
Becky's Instagram Account
My Instagram Account
My Facebook Page
Thursday 29 January 2015
23-1-15 Photoshoot With Bex - Model!
Model - Bex (Becky Wortley)
Photographer - Becky Wortley
Photo Editer - Becky Wortley
Makeup Artist - Gemma Irish (me)
Links:
Becky's Facebook Page
Becky's Instagram Account
My Instagram Account
My Facebook Page
Thursday 22 January 2015
The 10 Best Beauty Products Of 2014!
How fast did 2014 go?! It's so hard to believe we are fast coming up to the end of January already. 2014 was a massive year for me in terms of beauty, as having three months off work in the middle of the year gave me a lot of time to practice my techniques and find new products. Listed below are the ten products that I could not have been without throughout the year and that I will be repurchasing time and time again. Let me tell you this though, narrowing everything down to just ten items was exceedingly challenging and while there are still several things that could have made it into this post, I am so comfortable putting these up there at their well deserved pride of place.
1: Bourjois Instant Dry nail enamel dryer.
£5.99 - Boots.
These nail drops are outstanding. I bought this around November and I am already way past half way through with it. Using 1-2 drops of this solution rapidly dries your nail varnish which is excellent for someone like me who is severally lacking in patience. You can use this between coats or last thing as a finishing touch. Personally if I am doing a nail art design I will use it between coats as it helps prevent the thickness that usually occurs which causes smudging.
4: Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation. (B 40 Beige)
£30.50 - Boots. I Paid £2.99 - Samaritans Charity Shop.
So I won't lie, the reason this foundation made it into my top ten is mainly due to the price. This was a huge bargain and I felt so lucky when I found this. What are the odds of finding one YSL foundation, in the perfect shade, un-opened and about 10% of the price it should be. This is probably the most high end makeup product I own (maybe along side my Estee Lauder items) and quite frankly it is worth the massive price tag. This foundation provides a gorgeous dewy finish with great coverage. It applies easily with both hands and brushes and the finish is just perfect.
5: Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush Palette. (Hot Spice)
£6.00 - Superdrug.
This palette could easily pass as my most used palette of 2014 even though it is only a blush compact. It contains six different shades of blush and two highlighters, all of which are beautiful. There are quite a few similarities in the blushes with the exception of the one coral/orange shade however while the rest do all look a smoky pink colour, there is just enough difference when applied to give a whole different look with each. The quality of these blushes is fantastic as the are super highly pigmented and very true to the colour once applied. I would highly recommend this palette to anyone who is just starting out with makeup, or a beginner of contouring as there is little way you can go wrong with these.
6: Max Makeup's Cherimoya gel eyeliner.
£3.99 - Online. I Paid £2.50 - TK Maxx.
This tiny gel eyeliner pot has been an absolute godsend this year. It came with a small angled brush for application however I much prefer using it with the Real Techniques liner brushes, particularly the silicone liner brush. It applies so fluidly and perfectly with no dry clumps, no smudging throughout the day and a jet black liquid liner look finish. This is one of those products that I genuinely do not know what I would use if it were not in my collection and I honestly do panic a bit that it's from an unusual brand that I have not heard of previously or since.
7: Cargo Cosmetics Bronzer. (BZ01 - light)
£20.00 - Debenhams. I Paid £3.99 - TK Maxx.
This bronzer is beautiful. There isn't much more I can say about it. Cargo is a brand that I hadn't seen much hype around but once I discovered a range of theirs brought in to our local TK Maxx I started my very own little hype party. I ended up buying this and two liquid lip colours all that are fantastic. This bronzer however pushes all the boundaries to the limit. It is a perfect shade for my skin tone and does not have any of that awful orangey tone that, lets be honest, most bronzers have. I love this for contouring with or just wearing alone for a nice tanned look.
8: Maybelline New York's Color Tattoo 24hr cream eyeshadow. (35 - On and on bronze)
£4.99 - Boots.
Just like the for mentioned concealer this is a product I learnt of in 2013. I believe I was watching a YouTube video by Lily Pebbles where she used this as a daily eyeshadow. She mentioned that it was buildable, smudged out well into a smoky eye and looked lovely as a wash of colour too. She as usual was right. If ever I am lacking inspiration on what to do with my eyes I will pick this up and with my ring finger apply a thin layer of this to the eyelid and wear with mascara. It gives a little something else to a natural every day looks and also works great as a base for other brown toned shadows.
9: Maybelline New York's 'The Falsies' mascara.
£7.99 - Boots.
When I initially bought this mascara it was ok. I say ok as it really was nothing special and I genuinely didn't wear it for months after trying it out a few times. However around September time I picked it up with the intention of trying it again and something changed. I don't know what it was but suddenly this mascara was amazing. When wearing this my lashes look longer, thicker and much more voluminous. Even better, there is no fall out or smudging throughout the day in the slightest. At £8 it is great. A standard price for a much more than standard mascara.
10: Maybelline New York's Color Drama lip crayons. (L-R: nude perfection, red essential, berry much)
£4.99 - Boots.
I thought I would end this post on what was easily my favourite launch of 2014. The Maybelline Color Drama Lipcrayons. WOW! These are formulated amazingly and are so affordable it's insane. Obviously my favourite is nude perfection (as shown by the midget pencil in the picture below) which fairs for the perfect every day colour. It is just a tad darker than your average nude lipstick and looks gorgeous with an even darker liner. I think my favourite thing about these pencils is that they're all matte which mean they stay longer on the lips. They have a gorgeous creamy texture and as far as I've used them I have had no colour running or smudging. The pigmentation is well on point and with the darker colours they have a kind of tinting property to them. I use these so often that I really do get my moneys worth out of them.
1: Bourjois Instant Dry nail enamel dryer.
£5.99 - Boots.
These nail drops are outstanding. I bought this around November and I am already way past half way through with it. Using 1-2 drops of this solution rapidly dries your nail varnish which is excellent for someone like me who is severally lacking in patience. You can use this between coats or last thing as a finishing touch. Personally if I am doing a nail art design I will use it between coats as it helps prevent the thickness that usually occurs which causes smudging.
2: Nivea Express Hydration primer.
£4.99 - Tesco.
I have grown so obsessed with this primer and use it literally every single day. It provides an insanely gorgeous base for application of makeup and as it is a moisturiser as well as a primer it gives you the opportunity to put two steps of your makeup routine into one. It is extremely purse friendly at under £5 especially for the amount of product you get. This has been my best friend this winter as it has prevented my skin from drying out in the cold weather and kept my skin both looking and feeling healthy.
3: Seventeen's Phwoarr Paint concealer. (Fair)
£5.49 - Boots.
As most who follow me on Instagram will know this is by far my all time favourite concealer. I discovered this late in 2013 and I must have used this basically every day I wore makeup in 2014. What is most outstanding is that I have only just (within the past week or two) purchased another of these as a refill so to speak, and my initial one hasn't completely ran out yet. This concealer provides an amazing coverage to dark spots and blemishes anywhere on the face, while blending perfectly. A little of this goes a hell of a long way and there is no creasing at all when applied with the fingers which I find the best way.
£30.50 - Boots. I Paid £2.99 - Samaritans Charity Shop.
So I won't lie, the reason this foundation made it into my top ten is mainly due to the price. This was a huge bargain and I felt so lucky when I found this. What are the odds of finding one YSL foundation, in the perfect shade, un-opened and about 10% of the price it should be. This is probably the most high end makeup product I own (maybe along side my Estee Lauder items) and quite frankly it is worth the massive price tag. This foundation provides a gorgeous dewy finish with great coverage. It applies easily with both hands and brushes and the finish is just perfect.
£6.00 - Superdrug.
This palette could easily pass as my most used palette of 2014 even though it is only a blush compact. It contains six different shades of blush and two highlighters, all of which are beautiful. There are quite a few similarities in the blushes with the exception of the one coral/orange shade however while the rest do all look a smoky pink colour, there is just enough difference when applied to give a whole different look with each. The quality of these blushes is fantastic as the are super highly pigmented and very true to the colour once applied. I would highly recommend this palette to anyone who is just starting out with makeup, or a beginner of contouring as there is little way you can go wrong with these.
£3.99 - Online. I Paid £2.50 - TK Maxx.
This tiny gel eyeliner pot has been an absolute godsend this year. It came with a small angled brush for application however I much prefer using it with the Real Techniques liner brushes, particularly the silicone liner brush. It applies so fluidly and perfectly with no dry clumps, no smudging throughout the day and a jet black liquid liner look finish. This is one of those products that I genuinely do not know what I would use if it were not in my collection and I honestly do panic a bit that it's from an unusual brand that I have not heard of previously or since.
£20.00 - Debenhams. I Paid £3.99 - TK Maxx.
This bronzer is beautiful. There isn't much more I can say about it. Cargo is a brand that I hadn't seen much hype around but once I discovered a range of theirs brought in to our local TK Maxx I started my very own little hype party. I ended up buying this and two liquid lip colours all that are fantastic. This bronzer however pushes all the boundaries to the limit. It is a perfect shade for my skin tone and does not have any of that awful orangey tone that, lets be honest, most bronzers have. I love this for contouring with or just wearing alone for a nice tanned look.
£4.99 - Boots.
Just like the for mentioned concealer this is a product I learnt of in 2013. I believe I was watching a YouTube video by Lily Pebbles where she used this as a daily eyeshadow. She mentioned that it was buildable, smudged out well into a smoky eye and looked lovely as a wash of colour too. She as usual was right. If ever I am lacking inspiration on what to do with my eyes I will pick this up and with my ring finger apply a thin layer of this to the eyelid and wear with mascara. It gives a little something else to a natural every day looks and also works great as a base for other brown toned shadows.
£7.99 - Boots.
When I initially bought this mascara it was ok. I say ok as it really was nothing special and I genuinely didn't wear it for months after trying it out a few times. However around September time I picked it up with the intention of trying it again and something changed. I don't know what it was but suddenly this mascara was amazing. When wearing this my lashes look longer, thicker and much more voluminous. Even better, there is no fall out or smudging throughout the day in the slightest. At £8 it is great. A standard price for a much more than standard mascara.
£4.99 - Boots.
I thought I would end this post on what was easily my favourite launch of 2014. The Maybelline Color Drama Lipcrayons. WOW! These are formulated amazingly and are so affordable it's insane. Obviously my favourite is nude perfection (as shown by the midget pencil in the picture below) which fairs for the perfect every day colour. It is just a tad darker than your average nude lipstick and looks gorgeous with an even darker liner. I think my favourite thing about these pencils is that they're all matte which mean they stay longer on the lips. They have a gorgeous creamy texture and as far as I've used them I have had no colour running or smudging. The pigmentation is well on point and with the darker colours they have a kind of tinting property to them. I use these so often that I really do get my moneys worth out of them.
I have thoroughly enjoyed using these products so far and I can see them being used well into 2015. If you would like any extra information about these products then do feel free to comment below and ask.
Much Love, G xo
Sunday 26 October 2014
Empties And Dissapointing Products.
It's been a long while since I have done an empties post, that long in fact that I'm not sure if I've actually done one on this blog or whether that was my old one. Regardless, for some reason I take absolutely ages to use up products. Hang on, that reason is quite possibly because I have WAY too many things to use! I really need to stop shopping and control myself ha! Today I thought I'd bite the bullet and have a bit of a clear out, however I could only find a few items that were worth throwing out due to being empty or just utter rubbish! It's very disappointing when you have such high hopes for a product, and it just turns out not worth the money you paid! These things happen though and I would prefer to enlighten you to stop you making my mistakes!
So the first thing in my empties collection is this Skin Wisdom eye make up remover. Skin Wisdom is one of my all time favourite budget skin care lines simply for the fact that they are extremely affordable yet do the job good! I believe when I purchased this it was around £2-£3 and I used this up in no time at all. Although this is obviously classed as an 'eye make up' remover I find it is outstanding at getting rid of foundation and other base products quickly and effectively. Usually I'll go in after with a proper cleansing routine after, as without this step the product leaves the face feeling somewhat sticky and not well cleansed at all. I would say 'I would recommend this product and will be repurchasing it', however I am already nearly through with my second bottle of this so I guess that it goes without saying! However I'm not sure how popular the brand is so what I shall say is that I highly highly highly recommend the brand in general. It's widely available in most Tesco's and they have an excellent rage of products from removers to cleansers, toners, face masks etc. Everything a girl could ask for! So if you have a couple of extra quid this week check it out! I can nearly guarantee you wont be disappointed!
Secondly is this teeny tiny sample of Benefit's 'The pore fessional' primer. I received this (like most other beauty bloggers) in some magazine a few months back and have been literally dying to mention this on here, I just haven't had enough other things to write about! Sadness. So this is a sample size of 7.5ml which did not last long enough at all! I know the reaction you're probably looking for and I can tell you now, you're right to expect it. This primer is absolutely fantastic. From the gorgeous matte texture packaging, to the way it makes your skin feel like some kind of silk sent from the Gods, right down to that gorgeous apricot scent that makes my brain tingle with happiness. I cannot find one single fault with the product! Oh wait, yes I can, THE PRICE! This typically starts from around £20-£25 for a 22ml size product, although on John Lewis at the moment you can get a 44ml size for just under £30 which is quite bargainous! I am quite a newby to Benefit products along with other quite costly brands (must say I'm a budget girl!) however it's products such as this that make me understand why people pay the money they do for them. Don't get me wrong you can get some gorgeous quality products in the high street, MUA for example, but I think the general gist of things is that you get what you pay for! If you can afford this, go pick one up. I know as soon as I have £30 spare I will be on that John Lewis website faster than you can say 'bankruptcy'.
Next is the Big Fake Ultimate false lash effect mascara, Collection (2000). Look at that wand! Ladies, if like me you're a girl who is all about heavy duty, thick, voluminous, elongated, flirt accelerating lashes then this is the mascara for you! This retails at around the £5 mark in most stores which you can't argue with on the high street now can you? Beauty is a massively expensive business right now so to find a product as extremely decent as this at such a price is on par with winning the lottery in my opinion. This mascara has served me very well indeed for the short time that I had it. I do have to point out that this lasts a few months at best as the formula is extremely thick and dry. Of course thick is great for voluminous lashes however it's not so great for the product itself. It quickly becomes very flaky and unmanageable making it hard to work with. However whilst new it is perfect and for the price it's just a dream. When a product is that affordable it seemingly doesn't matter how fast it runs out! I will definitely be repurchasing this, I promise!
Also by Collection is the Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer. This retails again for around £5 like most of Collection's classic products. I had this in the shade 'Natural 2' which was probably the best colour matching concealer for my skin tone I have ever had. Now, some of you may know that, unlike every single other beauty blogger in the world, I really do not care about the Lasting Perfection Concealer. I find it so average at best and I wish I knew why! I think it may be because it reacts oddly with my skin type and after about two minutes of applying it, it creases all over my lower eye lids and just looks atrocious. I will agree that it has good coverage, however I have several concealers that I find just so much better! Unfortunately, the illuminating touch concealer wasn't one of them. I do prefer this to the lasting perfection one simply because it is so much thinner and doesn't crease on the lids. However as you'd expect that means coverage isn't so tops! It does brighten the eyes really well and so I ended up using this more for a highlight on natural make up days, but really it was just to use the product up! I do like the functionality of this product and wish that more concealers had this format of clicking the product up through the bottom and applying with the more soft brush than the typical wand. I genuinely don't think I'll be repurchasing this any time soon as it was just another meh product.
The final empty product of mine is the Pantene Pro-V 2min Colour Damage Rescue Masque. Oooooh this was just lovely. I initially went to purchase the Herbal Essences Bee Strong hair mask as I use other products of that line more frequently, but of course my luck meant that it was out of stock. So instead I ended up with this one which was just a pleasure to use. It claims to 'help repair two months of damage in two minutes' and when you pick up a product like this that leaves you hair feeling super soft and luxurious after just two minutes it is a beautiful beautiful feeling. Of course it is better to use products such as this on coloured and damaged hair than it is to use nothing at all, so if you have coloured hair I would recommend you try a product like this. Hair masks are great for a kind of 'quick fix' when you want nice manageable hair. I generally use a mask or another intense conditioner once a week and I do feel the benefits of it so there's no reason you wont too! Also I have noticed this in my local poundland recently!
So that's it for this empties post! I hope this has helped in giving you a bit of insight into these products and I would love to hear your thoughts on them too. Let me know what you want to try, or what you have tried or even what you will never try. Also let me know if there are any specific posts you would like me to write up.
Much love, G
xo
So the first thing in my empties collection is this Skin Wisdom eye make up remover. Skin Wisdom is one of my all time favourite budget skin care lines simply for the fact that they are extremely affordable yet do the job good! I believe when I purchased this it was around £2-£3 and I used this up in no time at all. Although this is obviously classed as an 'eye make up' remover I find it is outstanding at getting rid of foundation and other base products quickly and effectively. Usually I'll go in after with a proper cleansing routine after, as without this step the product leaves the face feeling somewhat sticky and not well cleansed at all. I would say 'I would recommend this product and will be repurchasing it', however I am already nearly through with my second bottle of this so I guess that it goes without saying! However I'm not sure how popular the brand is so what I shall say is that I highly highly highly recommend the brand in general. It's widely available in most Tesco's and they have an excellent rage of products from removers to cleansers, toners, face masks etc. Everything a girl could ask for! So if you have a couple of extra quid this week check it out! I can nearly guarantee you wont be disappointed!
Secondly is this teeny tiny sample of Benefit's 'The pore fessional' primer. I received this (like most other beauty bloggers) in some magazine a few months back and have been literally dying to mention this on here, I just haven't had enough other things to write about! Sadness. So this is a sample size of 7.5ml which did not last long enough at all! I know the reaction you're probably looking for and I can tell you now, you're right to expect it. This primer is absolutely fantastic. From the gorgeous matte texture packaging, to the way it makes your skin feel like some kind of silk sent from the Gods, right down to that gorgeous apricot scent that makes my brain tingle with happiness. I cannot find one single fault with the product! Oh wait, yes I can, THE PRICE! This typically starts from around £20-£25 for a 22ml size product, although on John Lewis at the moment you can get a 44ml size for just under £30 which is quite bargainous! I am quite a newby to Benefit products along with other quite costly brands (must say I'm a budget girl!) however it's products such as this that make me understand why people pay the money they do for them. Don't get me wrong you can get some gorgeous quality products in the high street, MUA for example, but I think the general gist of things is that you get what you pay for! If you can afford this, go pick one up. I know as soon as I have £30 spare I will be on that John Lewis website faster than you can say 'bankruptcy'.
Next is the Big Fake Ultimate false lash effect mascara, Collection (2000). Look at that wand! Ladies, if like me you're a girl who is all about heavy duty, thick, voluminous, elongated, flirt accelerating lashes then this is the mascara for you! This retails at around the £5 mark in most stores which you can't argue with on the high street now can you? Beauty is a massively expensive business right now so to find a product as extremely decent as this at such a price is on par with winning the lottery in my opinion. This mascara has served me very well indeed for the short time that I had it. I do have to point out that this lasts a few months at best as the formula is extremely thick and dry. Of course thick is great for voluminous lashes however it's not so great for the product itself. It quickly becomes very flaky and unmanageable making it hard to work with. However whilst new it is perfect and for the price it's just a dream. When a product is that affordable it seemingly doesn't matter how fast it runs out! I will definitely be repurchasing this, I promise!
Also by Collection is the Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer. This retails again for around £5 like most of Collection's classic products. I had this in the shade 'Natural 2' which was probably the best colour matching concealer for my skin tone I have ever had. Now, some of you may know that, unlike every single other beauty blogger in the world, I really do not care about the Lasting Perfection Concealer. I find it so average at best and I wish I knew why! I think it may be because it reacts oddly with my skin type and after about two minutes of applying it, it creases all over my lower eye lids and just looks atrocious. I will agree that it has good coverage, however I have several concealers that I find just so much better! Unfortunately, the illuminating touch concealer wasn't one of them. I do prefer this to the lasting perfection one simply because it is so much thinner and doesn't crease on the lids. However as you'd expect that means coverage isn't so tops! It does brighten the eyes really well and so I ended up using this more for a highlight on natural make up days, but really it was just to use the product up! I do like the functionality of this product and wish that more concealers had this format of clicking the product up through the bottom and applying with the more soft brush than the typical wand. I genuinely don't think I'll be repurchasing this any time soon as it was just another meh product.
The final empty product of mine is the Pantene Pro-V 2min Colour Damage Rescue Masque. Oooooh this was just lovely. I initially went to purchase the Herbal Essences Bee Strong hair mask as I use other products of that line more frequently, but of course my luck meant that it was out of stock. So instead I ended up with this one which was just a pleasure to use. It claims to 'help repair two months of damage in two minutes' and when you pick up a product like this that leaves you hair feeling super soft and luxurious after just two minutes it is a beautiful beautiful feeling. Of course it is better to use products such as this on coloured and damaged hair than it is to use nothing at all, so if you have coloured hair I would recommend you try a product like this. Hair masks are great for a kind of 'quick fix' when you want nice manageable hair. I generally use a mask or another intense conditioner once a week and I do feel the benefits of it so there's no reason you wont too! Also I have noticed this in my local poundland recently!
So that's it for this empties post! I hope this has helped in giving you a bit of insight into these products and I would love to hear your thoughts on them too. Let me know what you want to try, or what you have tried or even what you will never try. Also let me know if there are any specific posts you would like me to write up.
Much love, G
xo
Monday 20 October 2014
Beauty Hacks I Live By!
If there's one thing I am always on the look out for it's new tips and tricks to make my life just a little bit easier. Some times the most simple things can make the biggest difference to efficiency and haste and so below are about three of the best hacks I have for a better beauty experience!
1: Use Old Brushes For Nail Art.
If like me you are a complete amateur at nail art then this is for you! I must have spent a good three years using pins to do any kind of detail on my nails. As I don't partake in nail art such a lot I didn't want to go out and spend money on tools, then today while going through my makeup stash I came across two empty products ( Collection's Illuminating Touch Concealer & Simple's Kind To Eyes Eye Make-up Corrector ) with brush applicators. It suddenly hit me that these would make perfect nail art brushes and after trying them out I was pretty impressed with the results. Both are easily cleaned with a tiny bit of nail varnish remover rubbed into the bristles with a cotton wool pad. Not only is this free and effective, but it's also recycling!
As an added tip you may note I put little dots of nail varnish ( Rimmel London's Rose Libertine & Vivo's Someday ) on to a torn piece of cardboard. The reasoning behind this is that for said years I was fiddling around attempting to get the polish out of the bottles which resulted in a lot of my products clogging up and drying out. So instead I now just place a few dots onto a piece of card which makes it much more easy to work with along with being easily disposable and a lot less messy!
2: Use Empty Tic-Tac Boxes As Bobby Pin Storage.
The magical disappearing qualities of bobby pins has been a long struggle for all of womankind quite possibly since the dawn of time! Regardless of how many you buy you end up with around one to four when you come to needing them! However, Tic-Tac boxes are the perfect solution to this on-going battle. I found this on the off chance one day where I found a whole stash of bobby pins and had an empty Tic-Tac box both in my hangbag. Call it fate. The boxes are the perfect size, really secure and equally amazingly compact. I now keep a box full in my handbag and have them to hand as and when needed! If you don't find the boxes eye-pleasing you can always paint them to your liking!
3: Halloween Special Tip.
So as a budding make up artist, and having a few jobs lined up for Halloween this year I have found extreme difficulty in finding a good white base for looks. I have purchased several white face paints in different price ranges none of which were any use to me, as they all dried patchy and looked awful. After testing out other ways of getting a white base (such as mixing white face paint with moisturiser and using talcum powder over foundation) I found the only way to get round this issue is to mix white face paint (the one pictured was £1 from Tesco) with any good coverage foundation (I used Rimmel London's Wake Me Up foundation in Soft Beige). Dependant on how dark your foundation is means you may end up using more or less white face paint than I do. I use a two part face paint to one part foundation and get the perfect white with enough foundation involved to stop patchiness. I believe that the end result is as flawless as you can achieve particularly if you're on a budget this Halloween.
I hope these tips are useful to some of you, and I would love to hear your tips so leave me some comments below!
Much love, G
xo
1: Use Old Brushes For Nail Art.
If like me you are a complete amateur at nail art then this is for you! I must have spent a good three years using pins to do any kind of detail on my nails. As I don't partake in nail art such a lot I didn't want to go out and spend money on tools, then today while going through my makeup stash I came across two empty products ( Collection's Illuminating Touch Concealer & Simple's Kind To Eyes Eye Make-up Corrector ) with brush applicators. It suddenly hit me that these would make perfect nail art brushes and after trying them out I was pretty impressed with the results. Both are easily cleaned with a tiny bit of nail varnish remover rubbed into the bristles with a cotton wool pad. Not only is this free and effective, but it's also recycling!
As an added tip you may note I put little dots of nail varnish ( Rimmel London's Rose Libertine & Vivo's Someday ) on to a torn piece of cardboard. The reasoning behind this is that for said years I was fiddling around attempting to get the polish out of the bottles which resulted in a lot of my products clogging up and drying out. So instead I now just place a few dots onto a piece of card which makes it much more easy to work with along with being easily disposable and a lot less messy!
2: Use Empty Tic-Tac Boxes As Bobby Pin Storage.
The magical disappearing qualities of bobby pins has been a long struggle for all of womankind quite possibly since the dawn of time! Regardless of how many you buy you end up with around one to four when you come to needing them! However, Tic-Tac boxes are the perfect solution to this on-going battle. I found this on the off chance one day where I found a whole stash of bobby pins and had an empty Tic-Tac box both in my hangbag. Call it fate. The boxes are the perfect size, really secure and equally amazingly compact. I now keep a box full in my handbag and have them to hand as and when needed! If you don't find the boxes eye-pleasing you can always paint them to your liking!
3: Halloween Special Tip.
So as a budding make up artist, and having a few jobs lined up for Halloween this year I have found extreme difficulty in finding a good white base for looks. I have purchased several white face paints in different price ranges none of which were any use to me, as they all dried patchy and looked awful. After testing out other ways of getting a white base (such as mixing white face paint with moisturiser and using talcum powder over foundation) I found the only way to get round this issue is to mix white face paint (the one pictured was £1 from Tesco) with any good coverage foundation (I used Rimmel London's Wake Me Up foundation in Soft Beige). Dependant on how dark your foundation is means you may end up using more or less white face paint than I do. I use a two part face paint to one part foundation and get the perfect white with enough foundation involved to stop patchiness. I believe that the end result is as flawless as you can achieve particularly if you're on a budget this Halloween.
I hope these tips are useful to some of you, and I would love to hear your tips so leave me some comments below!
Much love, G
xo
Wednesday 17 September 2014
A Weekend Of Bargains!
This weekend just gone was an absolute dream for me, not only due to the fact that my maternal grandparents were visiting, but also for the insane amount of outstanding bargains I managed to pick up! I know full well just how expensive beauty blogging can end up, and so I was thrilled when I found some drugstore makeup and also a couple of high end pieces all for well under said drugstore prices. And why on earth wouldn't I share these little secret spots with you?
Friday: Poundland.
Did someone say £1 Rimmel? Oh yes, me. Pound shops often do sell drug store makeup and I have had quite a few Rimmel products from poundland, but most of them have been unused testers or samples. However after hearing rumours of apocolips, I dashed in to town and went to see if the rumours were true.. and they were. Thank God!
I ended up picking three Apocolips lip lacquer's simply because at £1 you have to grab them while you can. Right now theses are £6.49 at Boots stores which in itself is quite a good deal but obviously is no where near as bargainous as a mere quid! The three shades I picked up unfortunately don't have names on them and most of the writing on the packaging is foreign, however I have been kindly informed by the good people of Instagram that the nude colour is called 'Nude Eclipse'. As you can see from the swatches I bought an intense coral shade which may be stored away until next summer, the for mentioned nude and a deep burgundy colour both of which I feel will be getting possibly overused this Autumn/Winter. Rimmel's Apocolips range is simply amazing in a whole sense, which was quite clearly shown when they were launched and the blogging world went in to mass hype about them, but there's not much to love! Even in the swatches you can see just how thoroughly pigmented they are. They are long lasting and extremely manageable! If the intensity of the colour's isn't for you then you can simply dab a smaller amount on with your finger and blend it into a more natural and less intimidating look. While these are beautiful, they are also just that. Intimidating. They take a fair bit of practice but one you have it down then you will never have boring looks again!
I also picked up one of the eyeshadow paints in '002 Slate Grey'. I have to be honest with you here and say I am genuinely unsure of whether I bought this for the product or because it reminded me of the fifty shades trilogy which I am currently obsessing over (again). I am seemingly glad I picked this up though as it is quite pretty. Again this is an intimidating product because the initial outcome of the product is very dark and metallic and completely inappropriate for daily wear. It is much more of a night time look. However as shown in the swatch this blends out in to a lovely pop of colour which looks really very nice in the day time with just a small coat of mascara. It's very simplistic but I cant quite contain my excitement to use this on a night out when I can transform this into a gorgeous and glamorous smoky eye.
The last thing I picked up was this Lycra Pro nail varnish in '391 celebrity bash'. I picked this up because it reminded me of 'rapid ruby', also by Rimmel. Last year I could not put that shade down throughout autumn and so I felt this would be a good replacement. Of all the things I bought over the weekend this is definitely my least favourite due to it being such a stubborn product to use. It's one of those nail varnishes that takes up far too much time and patience as you really need three coats to achieve a perfect finish. Personally this product just pushes me way out of my comfort zone as I can't sit and apply three coats waiting in turn for each coat to dry, resulting in a messy finish. I feel as though there are so many better nail varnishes out there that match the price I paid for this. Particularly MUA cosmetics' nail varnishes that are also one pound each but are much faster drying. I'll definitely be heading in to Superdrug to see what I can find in that range.
Saturday: Boyes.
Chesterfield have recently had a Boyes store open up in the town centre, and as I'm from Hull originally and Boyes are a Yorkshire born brand I was really excited about the opening as I know how awesome Boyes is for bargains. The only thing I picked up was this W7 'In The Buff' Eyeshadow pallet for a mere £4.99. After putting this picture on Instagram I had a comment regarding the fact that this pallet is a near dupe for the Urban Decay 'Naked' Eyeshadow Pallet. Having not owned any of the naked pallets, I couldn't really comment on the similarities between the two. However what I can say is that the quality of these eyeshadows is simply impeccable. This pallet is of a similar standard to the MUA pallets I own which I obviously rave about for pigment, control and lasting purposes and although I haven't had this all that long I can comment that when I have used this the effects have been in turn exact to those of the MUA pallets. These are extremely pigmented and long lasting, and what I like most about this pallet is the range of colours. I'm very much a brown eyeshadow only girl and very rarely stray from neutral tones like this, so this pallet really is a dream for me. There are a mix of matte and shimmer shades ranging from cream to black, with golds and coppers between. The names of the eyeshadows Left to Right are Buff, Camel, Sand, Dust, Chocolate, Topaz, Earth, Storm, Silk, Wave, Thunder and Onyx. I dare say my favourite of all these shades (if I had to pick) would be Thunder. Everything about this pallet appeals to me from the gorgeous rose gold tin packaging to the double ended brush included and I think for under five pounds this is a pallet every girl should own.
Sunday: TK Maxx.
Okay so TK Maxx is where the real bargains of this weekend lie. I picked up two higher end products both of which I am raving over completely and have used daily since I got them.
Firstly is this foundation by Rituals. This is their matt finish foundation with SPF 15 in shade 2. This has a retail price of £20.50 and thanks to the gods that are TK Maxx I picked this up for a whopping reduced price of £4.99. I was amazed to say the very least. Not only was I lucky in terms of the price but also in the fact this was the only one there and was the perfect shade for me. I genuinely have used this daily since I bought it and part of me wishes I wouldn't do that, simply so it would last longer but I can see myself getting through this mighty quickly. This foundation gives initially a medium coverage but it is easily buildable without giving a cakey finish. I apply this using my real techniques stippling brush ensuring is it all buffed nicely into my skin. The finish of this is matte, as advertised, but not in a way that washes you out. It still has a nice glow to it that looks natural and exquisite. It lasts well throughout the day with minimum wear and stays looking fresh and gorgeous. This is one of those products that I feel absolutely great wearing, a real confidence booster, and the price of this has lured me in well and good. I know I will be replacing this time and time again.
The final product of this post is the insanely gorgeous lipgloss from Cargo Cosmetics. This was reduced to £3.99 from £7.50, again being a great cheap price for what you're receiving. I am fully aware that I purchased three lip lacquer's not two days before, but they have unfortunately been over looked by this. This is in the shade 'stockholm' and is a beautiful natural, sheer, pink that just complements the look of the natural lips to a tee. This smells like sweeties which is very enticing in itself, but what's better is the formula. Again this is a sheer but buildable product meaning you can control fully the look you want to achieve. This isn't sticky at all which I love about a lip gloss. There's nothing worse than getting hair stuck all up in your grill while wearing lipstick now is there girls? As this is a gloss it does need topping up every now and again but when a products this beautiful, that's not exactly a chore. I absolutely adore using this product and am very tempted to go back and see the other shades.
So that's it for this mini bargain focused haul. I hope you enjoyed it and that you have been inspired to get out there and search for some bargains of your own! Share what you find with me, I would love to know what else is out there.
Much love, G x
Friday: Poundland.
Did someone say £1 Rimmel? Oh yes, me. Pound shops often do sell drug store makeup and I have had quite a few Rimmel products from poundland, but most of them have been unused testers or samples. However after hearing rumours of apocolips, I dashed in to town and went to see if the rumours were true.. and they were. Thank God!
I ended up picking three Apocolips lip lacquer's simply because at £1 you have to grab them while you can. Right now theses are £6.49 at Boots stores which in itself is quite a good deal but obviously is no where near as bargainous as a mere quid! The three shades I picked up unfortunately don't have names on them and most of the writing on the packaging is foreign, however I have been kindly informed by the good people of Instagram that the nude colour is called 'Nude Eclipse'. As you can see from the swatches I bought an intense coral shade which may be stored away until next summer, the for mentioned nude and a deep burgundy colour both of which I feel will be getting possibly overused this Autumn/Winter. Rimmel's Apocolips range is simply amazing in a whole sense, which was quite clearly shown when they were launched and the blogging world went in to mass hype about them, but there's not much to love! Even in the swatches you can see just how thoroughly pigmented they are. They are long lasting and extremely manageable! If the intensity of the colour's isn't for you then you can simply dab a smaller amount on with your finger and blend it into a more natural and less intimidating look. While these are beautiful, they are also just that. Intimidating. They take a fair bit of practice but one you have it down then you will never have boring looks again!
I also picked up one of the eyeshadow paints in '002 Slate Grey'. I have to be honest with you here and say I am genuinely unsure of whether I bought this for the product or because it reminded me of the fifty shades trilogy which I am currently obsessing over (again). I am seemingly glad I picked this up though as it is quite pretty. Again this is an intimidating product because the initial outcome of the product is very dark and metallic and completely inappropriate for daily wear. It is much more of a night time look. However as shown in the swatch this blends out in to a lovely pop of colour which looks really very nice in the day time with just a small coat of mascara. It's very simplistic but I cant quite contain my excitement to use this on a night out when I can transform this into a gorgeous and glamorous smoky eye.
The last thing I picked up was this Lycra Pro nail varnish in '391 celebrity bash'. I picked this up because it reminded me of 'rapid ruby', also by Rimmel. Last year I could not put that shade down throughout autumn and so I felt this would be a good replacement. Of all the things I bought over the weekend this is definitely my least favourite due to it being such a stubborn product to use. It's one of those nail varnishes that takes up far too much time and patience as you really need three coats to achieve a perfect finish. Personally this product just pushes me way out of my comfort zone as I can't sit and apply three coats waiting in turn for each coat to dry, resulting in a messy finish. I feel as though there are so many better nail varnishes out there that match the price I paid for this. Particularly MUA cosmetics' nail varnishes that are also one pound each but are much faster drying. I'll definitely be heading in to Superdrug to see what I can find in that range.
Saturday: Boyes.
Chesterfield have recently had a Boyes store open up in the town centre, and as I'm from Hull originally and Boyes are a Yorkshire born brand I was really excited about the opening as I know how awesome Boyes is for bargains. The only thing I picked up was this W7 'In The Buff' Eyeshadow pallet for a mere £4.99. After putting this picture on Instagram I had a comment regarding the fact that this pallet is a near dupe for the Urban Decay 'Naked' Eyeshadow Pallet. Having not owned any of the naked pallets, I couldn't really comment on the similarities between the two. However what I can say is that the quality of these eyeshadows is simply impeccable. This pallet is of a similar standard to the MUA pallets I own which I obviously rave about for pigment, control and lasting purposes and although I haven't had this all that long I can comment that when I have used this the effects have been in turn exact to those of the MUA pallets. These are extremely pigmented and long lasting, and what I like most about this pallet is the range of colours. I'm very much a brown eyeshadow only girl and very rarely stray from neutral tones like this, so this pallet really is a dream for me. There are a mix of matte and shimmer shades ranging from cream to black, with golds and coppers between. The names of the eyeshadows Left to Right are Buff, Camel, Sand, Dust, Chocolate, Topaz, Earth, Storm, Silk, Wave, Thunder and Onyx. I dare say my favourite of all these shades (if I had to pick) would be Thunder. Everything about this pallet appeals to me from the gorgeous rose gold tin packaging to the double ended brush included and I think for under five pounds this is a pallet every girl should own.
Sunday: TK Maxx.
Okay so TK Maxx is where the real bargains of this weekend lie. I picked up two higher end products both of which I am raving over completely and have used daily since I got them.
Firstly is this foundation by Rituals. This is their matt finish foundation with SPF 15 in shade 2. This has a retail price of £20.50 and thanks to the gods that are TK Maxx I picked this up for a whopping reduced price of £4.99. I was amazed to say the very least. Not only was I lucky in terms of the price but also in the fact this was the only one there and was the perfect shade for me. I genuinely have used this daily since I bought it and part of me wishes I wouldn't do that, simply so it would last longer but I can see myself getting through this mighty quickly. This foundation gives initially a medium coverage but it is easily buildable without giving a cakey finish. I apply this using my real techniques stippling brush ensuring is it all buffed nicely into my skin. The finish of this is matte, as advertised, but not in a way that washes you out. It still has a nice glow to it that looks natural and exquisite. It lasts well throughout the day with minimum wear and stays looking fresh and gorgeous. This is one of those products that I feel absolutely great wearing, a real confidence booster, and the price of this has lured me in well and good. I know I will be replacing this time and time again.
The final product of this post is the insanely gorgeous lipgloss from Cargo Cosmetics. This was reduced to £3.99 from £7.50, again being a great cheap price for what you're receiving. I am fully aware that I purchased three lip lacquer's not two days before, but they have unfortunately been over looked by this. This is in the shade 'stockholm' and is a beautiful natural, sheer, pink that just complements the look of the natural lips to a tee. This smells like sweeties which is very enticing in itself, but what's better is the formula. Again this is a sheer but buildable product meaning you can control fully the look you want to achieve. This isn't sticky at all which I love about a lip gloss. There's nothing worse than getting hair stuck all up in your grill while wearing lipstick now is there girls? As this is a gloss it does need topping up every now and again but when a products this beautiful, that's not exactly a chore. I absolutely adore using this product and am very tempted to go back and see the other shades.
So that's it for this mini bargain focused haul. I hope you enjoyed it and that you have been inspired to get out there and search for some bargains of your own! Share what you find with me, I would love to know what else is out there.
Much love, G x
Sunday 7 September 2014
L'Occitane En Provence: 5 Essential Oils Sample Review.
I recently picked up an issue of In Style magazine (October 2014 issue) and with it came two rather generous 50ml samples of shampoo and conditioner created by the ever wonderful L'Occitane. They are advertised as having 5 essential oils in the ingredients which are angelica oil, lavender oil, geranium oil, ylang ylang oil and sweet orange oil (the conditioner also contains sweet almond oil but the shampoo doesn't) so you can initially see how natural of origin the ingredients are which I love in a product. I'm not the sort of person who religiously purchases magazines for their content, rather their freebies, is that cheeky? When I saw these samples I could not resist picking up a copy and what was more enticing was the price of the magazine was almost cut in half anyway! So I took the plunge and after a week or so of traveling/coming home/sorting out miscellaneous things I finally got around to testing them out. I've ended up with mixed thoughts about the two products and I'd be extremely interested to hear what you thought of them if you have tried them.
Application.
So the first thing I noticed about these products (besides the gorgeously chic packaging) was the intense herbal scent they produce! You really do get a huge hit of something floral/grassy as soon as you start using the products which is reminiscent to me of medicated shampoo. A smell which you either love or hate, and I personally LOVE it! So first things first, top marks on scent!
When using the shampoo I was overcome by both how easily it lathered up in the hair and also how easy it was to work through the scalp and the lengths of the hair. And when rinsed out my hair felt really noticeably clean and quite soft. I did actually do a lather/rinse/repeat of this step as I'd previously had hairspray in but even with two applications of shampoo my hair was still feeling healthily clean.
I then went to use the conditioner and this is where things went downhill. Firstly I noticed there were no directions on the sample bottle so I was unsure how long to leave it in (I ended up going for around 3 minutes) which I find very disconcerting as I don't want to over condition my hair and end up looking greasy as a result. Once I rinsed out the conditioner my hair felt actually a lot dryer than it did after simply shampooing alone and in no way shape or form did it feel conditioned.
Drying.
I left my hair to sit in a towel for around 10/15 minutes before roughly towel drying it. Then I went to comb through it and was so past infuriated. This combination has absolutely no detangling properties in it at all (which are actually stated on the packaging of the conditioner) and so I had to spend around 5 minutes trying to get all the knots out before I could blow dry it, obviously, creating more damage which I have been trying exceptionally hard to avoid. Whilst blow drying I also noticed that my hair was feeling very heavy as if it were full of product and at this point I really was not having a good time at all. Once dry and brushed through my hair did feel quite soft at the roots but you could easily see the damage at the ends of my hair and there was absolutely no help involved for my frizz problem.
The finish of my hair after blow drying was so underwhelming. When I think about all the super oils in these products I expect gorgeous shiny, nourished, healthy looking hair and what I ended up with was a thin and dull hot mess! So while I didn't want to add any more product to my hair due to trying to review two products alone I felt I had to add some of my VO5 Smoothly Does It Heat Protect Serum. This calmed the frizz down, added some shine and set a protective barrier for the styling.
Styling.
At this point I was really fed up of looking at my hair and so decided to straighten it simply for haste and ease reasons. Things began looking up at this point as it straightened really easily and well for a change. Usually I do have to go over it a few times before the ends are straight but this time just once seemed to be enough and I wish I knew what this was down to! I ended up with actually a really nice finish but I can't help but wonder whether that has more to do with the VO5 serum as appose to the shampoo/conditioner. The finish was very lightweight and soft but my hair had absolutely no volume at all which was disheartening.
However, after around an hour of finishing the whole process I can still smell the product very very well which is just swell!
As I said I have been left with very mixed feelings about these products. I think if I saw the shampoo on sale/offer somewhere I might pick it up as that was really nice but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it. However the conditioner is just so ridiculous that I don't even think I'll be keeping the rest of the sample. I feel that the shampoo would be better either alone of paired with another conditioner so I might play around with that as I have about 4 uses of the sample left. Unfortunately I have been left extremely disappointed by the duo and genuinely wouldn't recommend them at all. Let me know what you thought about these products in the comments below. I do hope this was helpful to someone!
Much love, G x
Application.
So the first thing I noticed about these products (besides the gorgeously chic packaging) was the intense herbal scent they produce! You really do get a huge hit of something floral/grassy as soon as you start using the products which is reminiscent to me of medicated shampoo. A smell which you either love or hate, and I personally LOVE it! So first things first, top marks on scent!
When using the shampoo I was overcome by both how easily it lathered up in the hair and also how easy it was to work through the scalp and the lengths of the hair. And when rinsed out my hair felt really noticeably clean and quite soft. I did actually do a lather/rinse/repeat of this step as I'd previously had hairspray in but even with two applications of shampoo my hair was still feeling healthily clean.
I then went to use the conditioner and this is where things went downhill. Firstly I noticed there were no directions on the sample bottle so I was unsure how long to leave it in (I ended up going for around 3 minutes) which I find very disconcerting as I don't want to over condition my hair and end up looking greasy as a result. Once I rinsed out the conditioner my hair felt actually a lot dryer than it did after simply shampooing alone and in no way shape or form did it feel conditioned.
Drying.
I left my hair to sit in a towel for around 10/15 minutes before roughly towel drying it. Then I went to comb through it and was so past infuriated. This combination has absolutely no detangling properties in it at all (which are actually stated on the packaging of the conditioner) and so I had to spend around 5 minutes trying to get all the knots out before I could blow dry it, obviously, creating more damage which I have been trying exceptionally hard to avoid. Whilst blow drying I also noticed that my hair was feeling very heavy as if it were full of product and at this point I really was not having a good time at all. Once dry and brushed through my hair did feel quite soft at the roots but you could easily see the damage at the ends of my hair and there was absolutely no help involved for my frizz problem.
The finish of my hair after blow drying was so underwhelming. When I think about all the super oils in these products I expect gorgeous shiny, nourished, healthy looking hair and what I ended up with was a thin and dull hot mess! So while I didn't want to add any more product to my hair due to trying to review two products alone I felt I had to add some of my VO5 Smoothly Does It Heat Protect Serum. This calmed the frizz down, added some shine and set a protective barrier for the styling.
Styling.
At this point I was really fed up of looking at my hair and so decided to straighten it simply for haste and ease reasons. Things began looking up at this point as it straightened really easily and well for a change. Usually I do have to go over it a few times before the ends are straight but this time just once seemed to be enough and I wish I knew what this was down to! I ended up with actually a really nice finish but I can't help but wonder whether that has more to do with the VO5 serum as appose to the shampoo/conditioner. The finish was very lightweight and soft but my hair had absolutely no volume at all which was disheartening.
However, after around an hour of finishing the whole process I can still smell the product very very well which is just swell!
As I said I have been left with very mixed feelings about these products. I think if I saw the shampoo on sale/offer somewhere I might pick it up as that was really nice but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it. However the conditioner is just so ridiculous that I don't even think I'll be keeping the rest of the sample. I feel that the shampoo would be better either alone of paired with another conditioner so I might play around with that as I have about 4 uses of the sample left. Unfortunately I have been left extremely disappointed by the duo and genuinely wouldn't recommend them at all. Let me know what you thought about these products in the comments below. I do hope this was helpful to someone!
Thursday 4 September 2014
August Favourites!
We're in the last third of 2014, did that sneak up on anyone else or is it just me? So August has been and gone as has pretty much the first week of September. I genuinely cannot believe how fast this year is going! August was a pretty hectic month for me but a great one none the less and while I thought there would be loads of beauty products that I would be obsessing over I seem to have stuck to what I know with most things. Thus meaning this post isn't going to be the biggest favourites post ever. What I can say though is that all of the products mentioned have been well and truly loved this month!
1: Rimmel London's Wonder'full Mascara.
So Rimmel London released this mascara not too long ago now and from day one I wanted it in my life and on my lashes! It contains Argan oil which I believe is some what of a conditioner. It also has one of those fancy 'ultra flex' brushes which lets be honest, what's the point? Still, it's rather appealing in it's sexy copper packaging. However, £9 is just too much of a 'should I shouldn't I?' price for me so I was very hesitant on buying this, especially after seeing such mixed reviews online about it. Then came the day that I saw it in Tesco for a mere £4.99 and the deal was sealed! I can honestly say looking back I would have happily paid £9 for this as it's just magical. This has converted me from being a heavy lash lover to actually appreciating a nice natural look and more noticeably a lovely feel! This mascara wipes out that stiff feel to the lashes that often occurs with thicker products which leaves me feeling like my eyes are getting a bit of a break! In terms of giving you a 'full' look I wouldn't agree with that. While it is a lovely formula if anything it creates more of an elongated rather than a voluminous look. One thing I do like is that the brush picks up literally every single eyelash which I find to be a rarity and a very welcome one at that. Since I have used this every single day since purchasing it I felt it only right to include it in my August favourites!
2: Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in 04 Peach Club.
I am SO late jumping on this bandwagon but I am so glad I finally did! These Bourjois lipsticks are just insanely amazing and are all I could ask a lip product to be. Although they are called 'lipsticks' they're much more of a creamy gloss like substance and remind me a lot of Collection's Lip Creams. The Bourjois ones however are about twice the price but you really do get what you pay for. I chose the shade 'peach club' which is a very orange-toned pink/coral and is gorgeous to say the least. As is practically everything about these, from the classy packaging to the ridiculous staying power. I also love how versatile these are as you can create a very sheer sort of tinted look or a full blown bold lip, or if you're feeling adventurous take note that these work quite well as cream blushes too. Once applied this stuff isn't going anywhere, it doesn't bleed or fade even through general every day necessities like eating making it one hell of a high quality product. If you haven't tried any of these I highly recommend that you do. The hardest part will be picking your shade!
3: Maybelline New York's Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow in 40 Permanent Taupe.
I purchased this quite a while ago and was seemingly disappointed with it. I found it to be more of an ash grey shade than anything near the brown you would associate with 'Taupe'. It made a nice alternative eyeliner shade for a while but was a faff to apply so I gave up with it pretty quickly. That is until I decided it was time to start maintaining my eyebrows. I'm not usually one to bother with my brows as they've never really been unruly however I thought that it was time to neaten them up a bit and give them a bit of shape. I have relatively sparse hairs through my brows and so I was on the hunt for something to apply to them and all I could find was an old Rimmel brow pencil that was too dark for my now lightened hair. That's when I picked up this and got curious. Yep, it was a success. While it is still maybe a shade or two dark it's nothing remarkably noticeable and the ash shade works pretty well. I apply this with an angled eyeliner brush through my lashes to add definition and shape, and I am left with a very nice well groomed finish. I do love a multi-functional product!
4: Vivo's Under Eye Concealer in Shade 1 Light.
This is not the world's best concealer by any standards. In fact it is very translucent and weak. I bet you're wondering why this is classed as a monthly favourite. I have been loving this over the past month for it's highlighting properties. While it isn't shimmery it leaves the skin with a gorgeous dewy glow and so for most of the month I have been replacing my powder highlighters with this. I apply it in the same places I would a powder and just blot it in with my fingers. I am left with such a gorgeous healthy radiance, as though my skin is really well hydrated, but without the appearance that makeup has created this affect. It is such a natural and beautiful finish and is actually a lot easier than applying a powder as you can't really apply too much. I do use this under the eyes if I am applying makeup first thing in the morning not for the concealing effect (that isn't there), but as it has a metal rollerball applicator that is extremely cooling and seems to reduce any puffiness from my sleep. Again, another awesome multi-functional product.
5: Pro Formula's Radiance Melting Gel Cleanser.
I've gone and found myself another holy grail product! I picked this up in Tesco for a tiny £3, bargain! I am so obsessed with this. This is a melting cleanser and so when you apply the gel to the face and begin to massage it in, it turns into an oil which breaks up and dissolves makeup and other nasties. When you then apply water to the cleanser it turns to a milky substance and glides off the skin without leaving you feeling sticky. This product contains green tea and vitamin E complex and so smells absolutely divine and probably does a lot of good stuff for the skin (Can you tell I'm no dermatologist or what? haha). Since using this my skin had felt a lot more clean and nourished and a lot of the redness in my face has died down as the product has been clearing up my complexion. I am such a lazy person when it comes to skin care and admittedly baby wipes are my best friends, however since purchasing this I don't think there's been a day where I haven't used it. I enjoy using it so much and I just adore how it leaves my skin feeling afterwards. I already know this is going to be a repurchase product for a long long time!
6: Calcot Manor's The Lazy Evening Gentle Salt Scrub.
Another skin care product that I have been obsessing over is this salt scrub from Calcot Manor. Again this is an old product that got shoved aside and is now rediscovered and this time I can't put it down. I use this twice a week in the shower and my body is now so soft it's unbelievable. I was suffering from a few dry spots on my arms and after using this for around a week and a half they had completely cleared up. This is quite a harsh exfoliate with large bits of sea salt in it but it doesn't by any means irritate the skin as there is such a generous amount of almond oil which just hydrates and softens to no end! You really do not need a great deal of this product to do even your whole body so I can tell this will last me so long and there isn't much concern of it going out of date as there is a 36 month (3 year) use guideline on it. I feel as though I wont be putting this down again throughout autumn/winter which I am perfectly content with as it's such a treat to use!
Favourite Instagram Account: BOULTBEEABLE!
My absolute favourite Instagrammer of August was by no doubt Grace Boultbee. Why? Simply for the picture below. How immensely perfect is that winged liner? I am so jealous of that talent! Grace is from my hometown and is such a lovely girl. She always has something nice to say and our opinions on the 'bank of mum and dad' are extremely similar! Haha! Her Instagram account to me screams 'keeping it real', she hasn't got a themed account which I love. If she wants to post something she will and I admire that so much. Overall Grace is so beautiful and funny and deserves to be followed by anyone who is reading this now! So if you're not, why? Go follow her and show her some love!
Grace's Instagram Here.
So that's it for August! Although we're only 4 days into September I've already had so many awesome things happen that I could write about and when there's another three birthdays to come this month I'm sure there'll be a lot more happening. I'm aiming to post a lot more this month and already have a few posts lined up! Be sure to comment below if you have any questions for me regarding any of the products in this post or if you have any ideas of future posts for me. I love feedback!
Much love, G x
1: Rimmel London's Wonder'full Mascara.
So Rimmel London released this mascara not too long ago now and from day one I wanted it in my life and on my lashes! It contains Argan oil which I believe is some what of a conditioner. It also has one of those fancy 'ultra flex' brushes which lets be honest, what's the point? Still, it's rather appealing in it's sexy copper packaging. However, £9 is just too much of a 'should I shouldn't I?' price for me so I was very hesitant on buying this, especially after seeing such mixed reviews online about it. Then came the day that I saw it in Tesco for a mere £4.99 and the deal was sealed! I can honestly say looking back I would have happily paid £9 for this as it's just magical. This has converted me from being a heavy lash lover to actually appreciating a nice natural look and more noticeably a lovely feel! This mascara wipes out that stiff feel to the lashes that often occurs with thicker products which leaves me feeling like my eyes are getting a bit of a break! In terms of giving you a 'full' look I wouldn't agree with that. While it is a lovely formula if anything it creates more of an elongated rather than a voluminous look. One thing I do like is that the brush picks up literally every single eyelash which I find to be a rarity and a very welcome one at that. Since I have used this every single day since purchasing it I felt it only right to include it in my August favourites!
2: Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in 04 Peach Club.
I am SO late jumping on this bandwagon but I am so glad I finally did! These Bourjois lipsticks are just insanely amazing and are all I could ask a lip product to be. Although they are called 'lipsticks' they're much more of a creamy gloss like substance and remind me a lot of Collection's Lip Creams. The Bourjois ones however are about twice the price but you really do get what you pay for. I chose the shade 'peach club' which is a very orange-toned pink/coral and is gorgeous to say the least. As is practically everything about these, from the classy packaging to the ridiculous staying power. I also love how versatile these are as you can create a very sheer sort of tinted look or a full blown bold lip, or if you're feeling adventurous take note that these work quite well as cream blushes too. Once applied this stuff isn't going anywhere, it doesn't bleed or fade even through general every day necessities like eating making it one hell of a high quality product. If you haven't tried any of these I highly recommend that you do. The hardest part will be picking your shade!
3: Maybelline New York's Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow in 40 Permanent Taupe.
I purchased this quite a while ago and was seemingly disappointed with it. I found it to be more of an ash grey shade than anything near the brown you would associate with 'Taupe'. It made a nice alternative eyeliner shade for a while but was a faff to apply so I gave up with it pretty quickly. That is until I decided it was time to start maintaining my eyebrows. I'm not usually one to bother with my brows as they've never really been unruly however I thought that it was time to neaten them up a bit and give them a bit of shape. I have relatively sparse hairs through my brows and so I was on the hunt for something to apply to them and all I could find was an old Rimmel brow pencil that was too dark for my now lightened hair. That's when I picked up this and got curious. Yep, it was a success. While it is still maybe a shade or two dark it's nothing remarkably noticeable and the ash shade works pretty well. I apply this with an angled eyeliner brush through my lashes to add definition and shape, and I am left with a very nice well groomed finish. I do love a multi-functional product!
4: Vivo's Under Eye Concealer in Shade 1 Light.
This is not the world's best concealer by any standards. In fact it is very translucent and weak. I bet you're wondering why this is classed as a monthly favourite. I have been loving this over the past month for it's highlighting properties. While it isn't shimmery it leaves the skin with a gorgeous dewy glow and so for most of the month I have been replacing my powder highlighters with this. I apply it in the same places I would a powder and just blot it in with my fingers. I am left with such a gorgeous healthy radiance, as though my skin is really well hydrated, but without the appearance that makeup has created this affect. It is such a natural and beautiful finish and is actually a lot easier than applying a powder as you can't really apply too much. I do use this under the eyes if I am applying makeup first thing in the morning not for the concealing effect (that isn't there), but as it has a metal rollerball applicator that is extremely cooling and seems to reduce any puffiness from my sleep. Again, another awesome multi-functional product.
5: Pro Formula's Radiance Melting Gel Cleanser.
I've gone and found myself another holy grail product! I picked this up in Tesco for a tiny £3, bargain! I am so obsessed with this. This is a melting cleanser and so when you apply the gel to the face and begin to massage it in, it turns into an oil which breaks up and dissolves makeup and other nasties. When you then apply water to the cleanser it turns to a milky substance and glides off the skin without leaving you feeling sticky. This product contains green tea and vitamin E complex and so smells absolutely divine and probably does a lot of good stuff for the skin (Can you tell I'm no dermatologist or what? haha). Since using this my skin had felt a lot more clean and nourished and a lot of the redness in my face has died down as the product has been clearing up my complexion. I am such a lazy person when it comes to skin care and admittedly baby wipes are my best friends, however since purchasing this I don't think there's been a day where I haven't used it. I enjoy using it so much and I just adore how it leaves my skin feeling afterwards. I already know this is going to be a repurchase product for a long long time!
6: Calcot Manor's The Lazy Evening Gentle Salt Scrub.
Another skin care product that I have been obsessing over is this salt scrub from Calcot Manor. Again this is an old product that got shoved aside and is now rediscovered and this time I can't put it down. I use this twice a week in the shower and my body is now so soft it's unbelievable. I was suffering from a few dry spots on my arms and after using this for around a week and a half they had completely cleared up. This is quite a harsh exfoliate with large bits of sea salt in it but it doesn't by any means irritate the skin as there is such a generous amount of almond oil which just hydrates and softens to no end! You really do not need a great deal of this product to do even your whole body so I can tell this will last me so long and there isn't much concern of it going out of date as there is a 36 month (3 year) use guideline on it. I feel as though I wont be putting this down again throughout autumn/winter which I am perfectly content with as it's such a treat to use!
Favourite Instagram Account: BOULTBEEABLE!
My absolute favourite Instagrammer of August was by no doubt Grace Boultbee. Why? Simply for the picture below. How immensely perfect is that winged liner? I am so jealous of that talent! Grace is from my hometown and is such a lovely girl. She always has something nice to say and our opinions on the 'bank of mum and dad' are extremely similar! Haha! Her Instagram account to me screams 'keeping it real', she hasn't got a themed account which I love. If she wants to post something she will and I admire that so much. Overall Grace is so beautiful and funny and deserves to be followed by anyone who is reading this now! So if you're not, why? Go follow her and show her some love!
Grace's Instagram Here.
So that's it for August! Although we're only 4 days into September I've already had so many awesome things happen that I could write about and when there's another three birthdays to come this month I'm sure there'll be a lot more happening. I'm aiming to post a lot more this month and already have a few posts lined up! Be sure to comment below if you have any questions for me regarding any of the products in this post or if you have any ideas of future posts for me. I love feedback!
Much love, G x
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