Tuesday 31 May 2016

The Balm - Nude 'Tude palette

There's not many things that I appreciate more then a pretty palette - wow that sounds sad, please tell me I'm not the only one!?  Ta-dah! I give you, Nude 'Tude eyeshadow palette by The Balm. Now for some reason, I saw this in a YouTube video and was compelled to buy it. That being said, I also spent around £30 on it and a week later discovered it in TKMAXX for £15. Just my luck. OK so the balm are pretty much the top end of the hole "drugstore"/"highstreet" side of things. Their collection isn't toooooo pricey, but in some cases, like with this palette, I would say it's over priced. Does that even make sense?!  
The palette itself is nude toned. It's a cardboard palette but it's very sturdy and does boast a huge full length (almost) mirror which is great for convenience. As well as a quality mirror the palette holds 12 different, unique eye shadows with a range of matte and shimmers to give you a variety of looks to try out. Each shadows names quirk-ily begins with an "S" giving the balm a leg up on the clever horse. *note - the darker colours can go EVERYWHERE and the hole end of mine has got a bit grubby as a result of this* 

The Balm are always coming out with quirky, sassy names and designs of products making them different from everyone else. For example, the subject of this palette is naked women, each shadow covering up their "parts"... Quite clever really! I know they also do a males equivalent with different colours - not a palette for males! Just a different palette with men's bodies rather then women's! 
The colours are OK - a bit meh! Some of them are very similar and some just come out like a bit of a mess. On my hand they show quite good pigmentation... It's a different story on my eyelids. Yes the colour pay off isn't the worst, but you need to build up these colours. And what comes with colour building? Shadow fall out! What comes with shadow fall out? Mess! Do your eye makeup first to avoid ruining your hole face!  


They blend OK - but I've used better. Too Faced shadows particually blend much better and are about £3 cheaper I think! However you don't get as many colours. Sassy and Stand-offish are my 2 favourite shades and I use them mainly in the tear duct area or the inner third. The other colours are nice but I just don't use them very much.
Although it's a nice piece to have in my collection... I can't rave about it, or the price of it. Like if my friend had it, I wouldn't pop it in my bag while she went to the loo in hopes she didn't notice... I'd probably just go home and binge buy on the Too Faced site instead
Don't get me wrong I love The Balm! But this palette just didn't grab me by the hair and scream in my face. Most things grow on me but only time will tell with this one!


Don't forget to let me know in the comments if you've tried this palette!, Also, what are your favourite products by The Balm?! If you liked this post, please like, share and follow me on Bloglovin'- that way you'll never miss out!  Remember to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more! 


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Foundation - liquid or powder?

In a world full of both high street & high end makeup, lives a family of makeup bases. Yes, you can guarantee each brand has their own line of multiple different foundations. Powder, liquid, some for a dewy look, others to matteify. It can be overwhelming when you've decided you want to give a new product a try. Which brand do I want to go with? Which type of foundation do I want to try? So lets look at these 2 high street foundations and compare... 

♥Where to buy: Boots | Superdrug | ASOS | Feel Unique | Look Fantastic

,I've been using the L'Oreal True Match liquid for years, I love it. However, I do prefer the old formula to the new! It suits my pale Caspar like skin tone perfectly and leaves a great finish! So when going out to pick up a new bottle of my trusted drug store base, I thought to myself, why have a I never tried the powder form?... So I did! Why not?! Ah, comparisons, the sweetest reason I can think of to pick up more beauty products that I don't really need! 

There are sooo many perks to this foundation! Available in around 20 shades, they are the perfect "true to skin" matches, they come in a variety of undertones and although the liquid formula is quite creamy, the product feels incredibly lightweight. Both liquid & powder form finish with a soft texture with light/medium coverage - but build-able! I do have 1 fault though, if you don't powder over this stuff, you will have to re-apply after about 4 hours. No big deal though really - you can get a dirt cheap translucent powder from most high street stores. 

OK, so I use the liquid most days - I just apply with a beauty blender, quick & simple. I confess I'm never happy with 1 layer, as I said the coverage is light/medium... For me, it's realllllllllllly light without 2 layers of it, I wouldn't be able to pull it off with 1 layer alone. Its easy to blend, true to skin tone and leaves a nice satin-y (is that a word?) finish. When I first started using this, I did find it dried out my skin quite a bit & then especially clung onto my dry places. However with a bit of moisturiser and or primer before, this isn't an issue. 

As for the powder? Well... I'm not sold, if I'm honest. The colours are a "match" (at first) and it does feel nice & soft on my skin, but I need more then that to really appreciate a products being. OK, so the True Match powder comes with a handy applicator - like a powder puff, but its quite basic - but I don't use this. I just use a brush. The first application I ever did, I was relatively happy - I had a powder foundation that was strong enough to not cake and not need a liquid base under it! YAAAAS! Fast forward 2 hours later... No. Oh dear. This powder looked terrible, it's pale original colour had developed into a "pretty" bright orange tone allllll around my eyebrows & nose - I looked like a child had come at me with the wrong shade! It was originally great that it had such good pigmentation, but now my orange face was angry. Speaking of my nose, my god, I had pores I'd never seen before. It's like it got bored of sitting on my skin and decided to sink into me to see how my insides were. It just vanished and I was the prime minister or Pore Town.

Don't get me wrong, if you can go for THE lightest shade, you could probably use it just as a dust if you've not got a translucent powder in reach. As a base on its own? Hell no. Maybe it was my skin type/tone, maybe this is the case for everyone, but I couldn't stand it! I looked like I had no idea what I was doing and had just dived head first into every foundation shade at the counter. 

I'll stick to my trusted liquid for life I think, at least I know I won't look like a Wotsit loving mess within just 2 hours! 



Powder or liquid foundation?! If you liked this post, please like, share and follow me on Bloglovin'- that way you'll never miss out!  Remember to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more! 



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Monday 23 May 2016

Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain review

Today I want to talk about 2 products that just do not tickle my pickle. At all.   
  Let me introduce you to the Revlon Colorstay, Moisture Stain lipstains... Now I love the Colorstay range, the foundation for me is a big winner and I have also dabbled with the primer and a few other bits. I think lip stains are especially handy if you know you're going to be on the go with no time for a touch up. Benetint, by Benefit is my particular favourite and I hoped these would be s cheaper alternative! Colour and staying power wise; these are great and really are good for staining! But the appearance and formula do not float my boat.
I love the packaging of these, I like how it is a smart but cute looking cuboid with a polished black lid. I also liked how the colours looked on the bottom of each of them. However, when I took the wands out of the pots, it looked like the kind of wand I'd rubbed over my Barbies faces at the age of 5 to give them a makeover. It put me right off...


I assumed the colour would appear as it did on the packaging, LA Exclusive a nice subtle pink but not to bright. London Posh a nice nude shade that could be perfect for everyday wear. I was pleasantly... disappointed. The first time I put LA Exclusive on my lips, the formula was to sticky and had a few lumps in, I felt like I was trying to PVA glue my lips sealed. Ugh. When I first tried the London Posh, I just looked like I was unwell with very strangely orange lips. I can not pull off orange lips.
 *please excuse my hairy arm* - When swatching both shades the colours and formula look great, but once applied to my lips I just wanted to get them off, ASAP. I was so disappointed. In the run up to buying these I was so excited, I'd heard multiple people taking about how much they loved these as well as all the other different shades but when I first opened them, I felt embarrassed that I'd bought into such an ugly trend!  I think I'll just stick to using the Colorstay foundation and leave these lipstains in the past. 


How do you feel about lip stains?! If you liked this post, please like, share and follow me on Bloglovin'- that way you'll never miss out!  Remember to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more! 

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Friday 20 May 2016

What I'm lusting over this May

Ah lust, it's a funny thing. If I loved all of these products, they'd already be in my possession, alas pay day is still 11 days away and all I can do is dream and wait... 


Nars Sheer Glow foundation - AH! This is so loved and appreciated by 60% of everyone I know, as well as people all over the internet. I can't wait any longer, I need to purchase it and I need to know if its worth the hype. I am a big lover of drug store foundations, with the exception of the Estee Lauder Double Wear. So It's time to move on to bigger and possibly better things. Well, at least try to. I'm NC15 with Mac, does anyone know a good colour match?

Too Faced Sweet Peach palette -  The newest addition to the Too Faced palette family, this has been raved and raved about. I love the Chocolate Bar palettes, they are super pigmented and blend-able, plus the colour range is great. The Sweet Peach has the prettiest colour range I could imagine and is going to be perfect for summer. Bring on the blending, and the smell of peach... Mmmm, dreamy.

Hydrate M8 water bottle - this is a random one! I have a thing about bottles. Things just taste better out of a bottle! This summer I am going to make a concious effort to up my water intake. These bottles have a clever measuring line down them to help you notice when you should have drank your water and what time. Obviously you should be drinking 2L a day, hopefully with this bad boy, that's going to be sooo much easier to achieve! 

Mary Lou manizer highlight - Another product that's been raved about until people were blue in the face. I have a habit of picking up hyped items late. I've been meaning to pick this up for a long time and just never got round to it. This highlight is super, super pigmented and gives the perfect glow which is going to be great for summer. Come at me, Mary, I need you. 

Summer Peach Yankee Candle - OK, I'm seeing some kind of peach theme here. I have a serious love for Yankee Candles, there's nothing wrong with others. I just feel these have the best smell strength. I really don't need this, I have so many but this should 100% be in my collection. I prefer the sweeter smelling candles so this should be perfect for me! 

OFRA Cosmetics liquid lipsticks - OFRA have boomed over the last few months and we've all been loving it. Well, most of us. Not me! I'm yet to test drive anything OFRA so no time like the present to dive in head first. I'm dying to try Pasadena, Plumas & Manhattan! 


If you have any experience of the above products, please let me know your opinions of them in the comments! If you liked this post, please like, share and follow me on Bloglovin'- that way you'll never miss out!  Remember to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more! 

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Liebster Award Nomination

Hey everyone! Happy Thursday... It's officially nearly the weekend! This is an unexpected blog post all thanks to Steph from Steph's World! Steph has a lovely blog that I catch up on frequently so you should 100% go and check her out! She had great answers to her Leibster Award questions so make sure to give them a read! Don't forget to give her a follow with all of her social media buttons! You know you want to... I'd never heard of this until Steph popped up on Twitter and nominated me, so I've had a whale of a time this afternoon! It's like the tags they do on Youtube, but you type it into a blog post instead! A Bloggers gets nominated, They then answer the questions given to them and then they nominate 10 other Bloggers and set 10 new questions for those people to answer. It's fun, easy & a great way for us to all connect, so lets get into it... 


What is your favourite drink to order at a café?

I'm soooo boring! I hate coffee. Tea is OK - but only if I'm in the mood! I normally just pick up some kind of juice or a boring diet coke. PS - Diet Coke is my life! I don't go a day without at least a can of it. I know, I know, its so bad but that's life... 


What is your favourite song and is there a reason why?
I've never ever, ever, had a favourite song. I get so sick of them so quickly, I'm just really picky. When I say i'm into anything, I mean anything... I love Drake (my husband to be) and Arianna so much. On the other hand, I also apreciate Krept & Konan and Giggs. I also apreciate Beyonce and Rhianna, I just don't do the whole favourite thing. But everyone should check out Popcorn by Drake. Oh and I am also head over heals for Zayn, anyway...


What do you love to do in your spare time?
What is spare time? I'm obviously joking, but I don't get a lot of it. I spend most of my spare time, in bed, with my boyfriend, watching netflix. If I'm not there, I'm out with friends, eating mexican food, window shopping, online shopping or planning city breaks/days out. Obviously I also spend time on my blog, but I mainly do this at work. 


If you could be called another name, what would it be?
I don't know how to answer this! I believe that you should be who you are and live life the way you want to, but i'd never change my first name. My parents gave me my name, for a reason. Embrace it! There are 1000 things that could be worse in life, then your name.  


What book would you say to be your all time favourite and why?
OK I don't really read! I've read all the Harry Potter books, The Hunger Games books, Twilight books & 50 Shades books. I've also read the Child called It trilogy. So I guess, one of those?! Please don't come to me for book reviews, way to scary for me and my little attention span! 


What would be your tip for a new blogger?
Just right what you want, girl! (or bro). Who cares! It's your blog, its your little space on the internet, somewhere there will be someone that is interested in what you have to say. Don't you dare sit behind your screen and try to "fit in" with everyone else. I know, content is important. However content should also be what you want it to be, how you want it to be written! Just be yo'self, chill and let it go with the flow! 


If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I have 3 places I need to go before I die. They have been the same for the last 10 years! Maritious, I don't know why! I'd just like to go! Rome - I'd like to get engaged at the colloseum (hint hint) and Egypt, just to see the pyramids! Of corse theres 1000 other places I want to go to, but if I could only choose 3, these would be them.


You are going to a desert island, what 3 items would you take with you?
OK, I've answered this about beauty products before, and seeing as none of these questions have been beauty related, i'm going to insert that answer now, to cure my withdrawl symptoms...  Mascara... If you're going to be on a desert island, at least make sure your lashes are lengthened and volumised enough to ensure the helicopter - that Id assume is looking for you - can spot them. Or if you've chosen to live on said desert island - just coat your lashes so you don't look naked! Secondly, brightening concealer. I am lazy... what if I'm on said island and cant sleep? I'll get bags! What if I am on said island looking for other people? (forever obsessed with lost), I wanna look awake and ready to seize the day incase I run in to someone! And lastly... Is this really a beauty product? Id just take a micellar water. My reasons? Well if a helicopter does come to my rescue, or I do meet other folks wondering this island, I need to look and feel fresh. Who wants to make new friends with 10 layers of mascara and 5 days worth of concealer on their face? I'd get spotty...


If you could only see one theatre show (or film) for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Lion King. I know there are sooooooooo many theatre shows about at the moment. I haven't seen many, but the ones I've seen were all amazing. The Lion King took the biscuit though, so clever & so mesmorising. I've seen it 3 times now and its a different, heart warming experience every single time. 

What is your best joke?
PAH. I'm not a funny person, what I do is funny, my sarcasm is hillarious, but all jokes, always sound better in my head. So I won't bore the life out of you with an answer to this, because I don't know the answer & if I did, you'd only read it straight faced and unimpressed!

Thank you so much to Steph, over at Steph's World for this nomination! It's been great to challange myself with some non beauty related questions for once! I've had so much fun. So now its my turn! 


YOUR QUESTIONS! 
1. What's your ideal holiday destination?
2. What catches your eye on someone's Instagram account? 
3. What's 1 short term goal you are currently working towards?
4. What inspired you to start your blog?
5. Have you ever attended a blogger event? If so, how/where was it!?
6. What's your ideal relaxation method?
7. What's your favourite make-up/cosmetics brand? 
8. What big summer plans have you made so far? 
9. Would you rather send an email or a letter?
10. What's your go to cocktail?

Who's nominated? 
Jade from Simply Jadey
Leigh from Eternalleigh
Anoushka from anoushkaprobyn
Holly from hollylizabeth
Joice from love-joice
Leya from leluroxx
Emily from theminimermaid

Sorry if you've already done this girls! Just a bit of fun! Let me know on twitter! 


What tags are your favourite?! If you liked this post, please like, share and follow me on Bloglovin'- that way you'll never miss out!  Remember to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more! 

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Thursday 19 May 2016

Morphe 35W palette

Over the last year, the popularity of the Morphe 35 palettes have exploded through the Blogosphere, Instagram, Youtube & makeup world. Most of us know about the iconic Morphe 35O palette, its never in stock and every release sells out in minutes. However there is more to your eye make-up then the 35O. Morphe do actually make about 18 of these different palettes!  It was soooo hard to chose which one to order first!


For me, they're like Pokemon, gotta catch them all!!! OK - seriously I need to collect them all, lay them out and just stare at them for 24 hours. In the harsh reality of today, I only own 1. The 35W! I don't know why I've only got this one, they're super affordable! But time can fix this... 


So the 35W contains 35 (clearly) eye shadows, a range of both shimmers and matte colours. If you're one for all eyes natural, you're going to want to pick this bad boy up. It's gorgeous. Each colour is extremely pigmented and you wont physically believe how easy they are to blend! Think Makeup Geek, but half the price, literally. 


The range of colours in this beautiful palette mean the eye looks you're able to create are endless. Although I picked this up for autumn, for all the lovely warm shades, the versatility of this palette makes it perfect for all seasons, weather you want a soft or heavy look. 


Row 1 - Perfect cool naturals, the first colour is perfect to use in the tear duct area. 


Row 2 - Things are starting to warm up + look at that pink! 


Row 3 - We're officially warm - I love using shaddow no. 2 in my crease as a transition shade. 


Row 4 - That beautifully pigmented plumb shade at the end will leave you in total awe. 


Row 5 - The darkest of them all, add a bit of black sparkle to any waterline for night time glam. 



Don't get me wrong, the palette it self looked a bit cheap when it came through my letter box. The price tag is cheap - this one cost me £15.95! What. A. Bargain. Plus, (I think) they're cruelty free - don't quote me on that! You can find it on Beauty Bay here! The fact they're such a bargain does not reflect badly on the product itself - don't be discouraged!  Although it's large, its incredibly light and fits perfectly flat in any bag - so if you're a make-up artist, you need these! I can't fault these shadows enough, and they're staying power just takes the biscuit and warms my heart. 




What palettes are like your Pokemon?! If you liked this post, please like, share and follow me on Bloglovin'- that way you'll never miss out!  Remember to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more! 

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Monday 16 May 2016

Snog, marry, avoid?

So let's think about something that gave me a bit of a fright many moons ago when I was getting into the makeup scene! With so many products and brands out there, feeding our addictions can be a bit intimidating at times. When I first started out something I didn't think about were lipstick finishesIsn't a lipstick just a... Lipstick? Ah no, how my younger self was naive. I just thought there was a "matte" lip and a "normal/glossy" lip. I've come a long way since then... Thank you Mac. So let's have a chat about 3 different finishes and how I feel about them!
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*The natural light is never good to me*. I've based this post (another one, I know) on Mac products, but I think finish wise, any brand will do the same. So today I've challenged Cremesheen, Matte and Retro Matte together.
Disclaimer - these listicks are from my collection and do seem a bit grubby when pictured. Also please excuse my un-lined lips, I just wanted to show how they would appear in "real life"
 So let's start from the beginning. And I mean, the beginning. Cremecup by Mac was the first Mac product I ever bought and I have bought 3 of them since! Cremecup is a nudey-pink with a Cremesheen finish. Cremesheen is exactly how it sounds, creamy. Although cremesheens aren't my favourite finish, I do like them. They are easy to glide over your lips both during your makeup routine or for a touch up along the way. However I personally don't think the staying power of Cremesheens aren't great... That's probably why I've got through so many. They have a glossy finish and will leave your lips hydrated throughout most of the day! Colour wise, Cremesheens could be a bit bolder. But you can't win them all!
Verdict: Snog👄


Next up is Retro Matte. For me, only one word can describe this lipstick; gross. I have quite the selection of lipsticks, a Big Mac collection and plenty of other brands. However this is the only Retro Matte I own. I bought this on a whim as I liked the name - Runway Hit. But from first wear, I hated it!!! I felt like I was running a child's crayon over my lips. I have always been one for trying things more then once, but with this, I just couldn't. My love of matte lipsticks made me think this would be great. I was wrong. I don't know if this is the case with all lipsticks this finish but Runway Hit is horrid. I find I need a good 3 coats before I see any colour. These lipsticks are just so dry, they are hard to put on, incredibly drying - i felt like my lips were going scabby. *vomits* - and tbh, the colours just not all that great. Even with lip balm on first, we don't get along. I have never bought this finish since and unless someone can put me right... I never plan to! What experience has everyone else had with retro matte lipsticks? 
Verdict: Avoid. Like the plague. ❌❌❌
 
Last but by no means least, matte. I'm sorry guys but I just love a matte lippy from Mac. So you probably already know the verdict of this... For this post I used the colour, Kinda Sexy. This is a great colour for everyday wear with the perfect finish. Although these lipsticks do dry matte, they are a pleasure to apply. I do find that on some days they can dry my lips out a little more then they do others. But with a bit of Nivea on my smackers before hand, I don't even notice it. I find these finishes, especially by Mac, pack the most punch colour wise and their staying powers are great, some days I don't even need another top up! These finishes can often look they will give a good shine when in the bullets but once on the lips, all the shine disappears. Mattes have a much more thicker formula, ensuring that you can get away with only 1 quick glide over your lips before you're out the door, let's face it, that's always handy.
Verdict: Marry💍💄
There are around 9 different finishes in the Mac world, and I'd love to take a look at some more in the future, these were just the 3 I had to hand at the time.
 

What's your favourite lipstick finish? If you liked this post, please like, share and follow me on Bloglovin'- that way you'll never miss out!  Remember to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more! 

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