September Favourites

Sunday, September 28, 2014
September Favourites

September is always a good makeup month; it's the transition from Summer to Autumn, meaning the lipsticks can be cracked out & it's beginning to become acceptable to be as pale as I am. Bold lips are out in full force in September and it's pretty noticeable when you count at least 6 people sporting some sort of bold lip when you venture into town. This is the time of year when I have a huge makeup clear out & pick out some key items that I'll be attempting to pull off over the Autumn/Winter months. This is so much fun for me as Fall is my favourite time for makeup!

The first favourite of this month is the NARS Sheer Glow foundation. Where would I be without this? I don't even want to contemplate the answer. Although this is a pretty heavy duty foundation and covers everything from spots to under eye circles, it still feels weightless on the skin. Amazing, right? Another product I've been using on my face is the MAC eye shadow in Omega. Us pale-skinned girls can find contouring a difficult lesson and I've almost abandoned hope altogether until I came across this. The grey tones in this eyeshadow are great for carving out some cheekbones as opposed to bronzier shades as they don't look muddy on the skin. How many times have you seen mud-like smeared marks across the cheekbones? Not a good look!

For my eyes I've been loving the Mally eyeliner. This is actually my mums but after using it on a whim in this tutorial, I've been using it ever since. I usually steer clear of liner in the waterline as it irritates my eyes and makes them appear much smaller, but this one is a revelation. It's so easy to smudge out - amazing if you're doing a smokey lower lash line! - doesn't irritate my eyes whatsoever and doesn't smudge all over the area around your eye.... Bonus! My brows have been going through a rough time lately; they live by the term 'eyebrows are sisters, not twins' yet look like long lost cousins. To reshape them into something slightly similar I've been using the Soap and Glory Brow Archery, a product I only discovered at the start of the month. I've been loving how natural and defined it makes my uneven brows look and has quickly become a staple in my makeup bag.

My makeup motto for this month (other than the drama with brows) has been "lips and lashes". I love how a full lash set goes so nicely with a bold lip, so that's what I've been sporting this month. For lashes I use a generous coating of the Rimmel Wonderfull mascara and the most exciting part, it contains Argan Oil. Crazy right? I have no idea how or why it works, but it does. It's an amazing mascara. Russian Red from MAC has been on my lips constantly after I found it under my bed and is my all-time, classic, staple red lip. It's matte, teeth-whitening and easy to apply. What more could a girl want?

What've you been loving this month?

Bedside Bits

Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Bedsite Bits

I have finally had my bedroom redecorated! The horrible black and pink colour scheme that the little 11 year old me though was cool has finally gone (praise the Lord). Over the past few days I've been trailing out different organisational tips to get my room the best it can look (and the most efficient!) and I think I've nailed the bedside tables.

Now I'd normally post this on my lifestyle blog but today it's on here - it does include beauty items after all. The first thing, beauty-wise, that I keep on my bedside table is my moisturizer. I use the Vaseline Spray & Go to moisturize my body because it's so quick & easy to use whilst still hydrating my skin. I also keep the Burts Bees foot cream but let's not talk about moisturizing our feet. It makes me feel sick!

I also keep my deodorant and a clear nail polish here for when I'm not wearing acrylics and my nails need hydrating. Non-beauty bits include my lamps from Argos, a small pot with fake flowers from IKEA and a baby cactus. Cute. One of my favourite parts of my room is this little glass jar that I filled with fairy lights, again from IKEA. I'm literally so fussy with lighting but this, along with the light off my TV gives my room a really, cosy feeling in the evening.


Brow Battle

Sunday, September 21, 2014
Brow Battle

Myself and brows have a love-hate relationship. Some days I want to hide away under my blanket as I'm so ashamed at how sluggish and bear-like they are yet others, they turn out looking amazing and I want the whole world to see them. Also, has anyone noticed how your brows go perfectly when you're not going anywhere and just practicing, yet the moment you need them to look great, they look poopy? It's always the case.

Because brows are so important and make or break a face, I've spent quite some time trying to find the right products for them. The first brow product I tried was the Maybelline BrowDrama and was also where the brow journey started off on a bad foot. This is probably my least favourite makeup product ever and cannot understand what it does and just leaves my brows feeling crispy without adding any drama whatsoever.

Next on the agenda was the Anastasia Brow Wiz, where things took a complete turn and where I fell in love with my brows. I raved about this many a times so won't babble too much but this is my go-to product for nice, natural and defined brows which I turn to every day. More recently I bought the Soap and Glory Brow Archery after seeing Zoe use this in a few tutorials. I'm not completely in love with this but I prefer the felt-tip side for filling in my brows. The verdict? Brow Wiz all the way!

A Striped Obsession

Friday, September 19, 2014
A Striped Obsession

I don't know what it is with myself and stripes; I can't get enough of them! They're wearable all year round, from Spring paired with skinny jeans, to Autumn layered with chunky knits. Over my obsession-period I've acquired quite the collection, from monochromed t-shirts to full length dresses that I pull out of my wardrobe for an easy, everyday outfit. I've put together some of my favourite stores where I get my striped addiction fix.

Budget stripe buys are available from H&M and Primark, which is where most of my pieces are from. I love these also because they're such a staple piece in my wardrobe and you can pick them up for as little as £3 (you can also feel no guilt when you're picking a few more up because £3 can always be justified for a t-shirt!). If you're really into your Breton pattern and don't mind the price tag as much, COS and Topshop will find you some staple pieces. If you really really into your stripes, there's always brands like T By Alexander Wang which sell dreamy pieces to suit your stripe needs.

Autumn Lips

Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Autumn Lips

Autumn for me only means one thing: it's time to crack open the dark lipsticks. Reds, purples, browns, you name it. I'll probably have saved it for Autumn. Over the past year I've built quite the collection of darker, bolder lipsticks as I always seem to save them for Autumn time. Is that weird? Yes? Oh, ok. Let's move on...

My all-time favourite Autumn lipstick is the Rimmel Kate Moss 107. I bought this last year, reviewed it here and told you all I loved it. 1 year later and it's still true. This is the perfect mix between red and purple that looks the best paired with soft brown eye makeup and fresh skin. Another favourite of mine is Rebel by MAC. I used to wear this at all times around the year just because I loved it that much (again, a review here) but I've saved it for Autumn.

Oh by the way, I have some good news! Whilst I was re-decorating my bedroom, I pulled out the bed and found Russian Red by MAC underneath. It's my favourite classic red lipstick and I thought I'd lost it but we're now reunited! I have a feeling this is going to be on my lips all the way through to the Spring time as it is the perfect staple red lip. Parisian Passion is one of the Revlon Colorstays that I bought a few weeks back and I have a feeling that this will be the only glossy lip I wear until next year...

Beauty Myths

Monday, September 15, 2014
Beauty Expiry Dates

During my makeup time, I've read a lot of blogs. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. With this can often come a few myths, or just things that generally aren't true, meaning we all get fed wrong information. This can become somewhat dangerous when it comes to makeup and skincare because essentially, we're applying chemicals to the most important part of our bodies... Our faces. I've tried, tested and also researched some of the most common beauty tips and here are some of the myths I've found in the bunch.

Pumping mascara makes it last longer | This one is actually the opposite to what the myth says it does. Pumping your wand into mascara actually forces air into it and makes it even more clumpier.

You can shrink pores | Sadly, pores cannot be shrunken no matter how many times you splash your face with cold water. The good thing is you can make them appear invisible by using a primer.

Dark eyes OR lips | Another one that I've heard once too many times. Even my mum tells me that your makeup should be focused on either the eye or the lip... Complete nonsense. Don't believe me? Look here, here or here.

Makeup doesn't go out of date | Yup, it does! If you look on the back of a beauty product it should show a little tub with a time scale in it which shows how long your products should last.

You don't need suncream when it's cloudy | If you want to protect your skin the best it could possibly be protected, you need to wear suncream. Although sun rays come from sunlight, a lot of them sneak through the clouds.

Trimming your hair makes it grow faster | This is one I've never quite got my head around. How can a trim from the end make the follicle produce hair quicker?

Makeup gives you spots | As long as you're taking care of your skin, wearing makeup everyday will not give you breakouts unless you're allergic to the product.

On My Nails

Sunday, September 14, 2014
On My Nails

One of the things I love most about being a girl is being able to paint my nails and having regular trips to the nail salon. Now that I finally have my acrylics back (no more boyish hands, yay!) I thought I'd show you what I had painted on them. I opted for Essie's Shearling Darling that was in the Winter 2013 Collection. I am terrible at painting my nails myself so I asked the lady who was doing my nails to do it for me. This is one of my favourite shades for Autumn/Winter; a gorgeous deep burgandy shade that I love on my hands.

Rimmel Wonderfull Mascara

Saturday, September 13, 2014
Rimmel Wonderfull Mascara

I'm always on the look-out for new mascaras. After hearing about Rimmel's latest offerings, I decided to pick up the new Wonder-full mascara. One of the things that drew me to this almost instantly was the fact that it's enriched with argan oil. Because Argan Oil does such amazing things to my hair, I was intrigued what it could do to my lashes. I can't say that using this has improved the condition of my lashes (does anyone really study their lashes?) but the mascara itself is a good'un.

This claims to be a volumising mascara yet I'd say it adds more length to my lashes as opposed to volume. The brush is plastic but doesn't move around when you're trying to apply it, meaning it's really sturdy and ensures a nice, even coat. This is the blackest of the black mascaras, something that I feel is quite hard to find. Quite often, mascaras are labelled as black but they require a few coats (then look spidery!) to get the blackest colour.

The thing I love most about this mascara is the way it feels on my lashes. Some mascaras make my eye lashes feel crispy and hard which I completely hate, but this one still makes them feel like lashes. It's quite confusing when you come to think of it - black gloop is smothered onto your eyelashes yet they still feel soft and eyelash-like... Strange, right?

Overall I am completely loving and re-enforces my "Drugstore mascaras are just as good as high end" argument because I prefer this to They're Real by Benefit!

Expiry Dates... In Beauty?

Thursday, September 11, 2014
Beauty Expiry Dates

Checking whether my makeup products are still within their expiry dates is something that was confusing a few months back. Because I don't tend to read the back of my products, I often miss the indicator of how long you should be using your products for. These days it's something I try to do at least once every two months to make sure my makeup isn't being dangerous/harming to my skin. This post is mainly to give a guideline of how long each type of product tends to last, so here we go!

Foundation & Concealer - This is a strange one as I've seen anywhere between 6 months - 2 years+. I think as long as you're keeping the dispenser clean, I'd say it's had it's time around the 1 year mark.

Face Powders - This one can tie in with blushes and bronzer with a guideline of 1-2 years.

Eyeshadows - These tend to last around 2 years.

Eye & Lip Pencils - Again, another confusing one. I've seen from 1 - 3 years so as a guideline, I'd say around 2 years if you're taking care of them & sharpening regularly.

Mascara - If you're not a fan of clumpy mascara, eye infections or just bad mascara, it should be thrown away between 3 - 6 months.

Lipsticks & Glosses - Lip glosses are said to last around 1 year, whereas lipsticks tend to need to be thrown around the 2 year mark.

Of course all of these time scales are just averages. To find exactly how long your individual product lasts, check the back of the packaging (it should have a little time amount in a tub) or just head over to CheckCosmetic where you pop in your product info & have a detailed review of how long they should be kept.

MAC Patisserie

Tuesday, September 09, 2014
MAC Patisserie

If there's one thing that I'm proud of makeup-wise, it's that I think I've found the perfect nude. Older readers of mine would've known how hard it was for me a few months back for me to actually find a nice, nude lipstick that doesn't wash me out. Because my skin is so fair it means that I usually have to go for the pinky side of things. The first nude lipstick I bought was MAC's Creme D'Nude after hearing so many amazing reviews on it but when I applied it, the browny-beige tones in it completely washed me out. I then tried MAC's Creme Cup, the pinkier sister of Creme D'Nude. I wasn't head over heels with it but it worked OK. However when I heard Lily and Anna talk about Patisserie, again by MAC, I knew I had to try it.

I have to say that this is the most perfect nude I've ever found. It's moistursing which means it doesn't show up any dry patches on my lips yet keeps them feeling soft and plump. The lipstick has a Lustre finish meaning it's semi-sheer and has a wet-look finish. This isn't my favourite finish from MAC as it does mean it requires frequent top-ups. I do however love to wear this lipstick everyday and consequently is one of my most used MAC lipsticks.  If you're fair with pinkier skin & struggling to find a nude lipstick suitable for everyday wear, I'd whole-heartedly recommend this! It's incredible!

Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain

Friday, September 05, 2014
Revlon Colorstay

Can we just acknowledge how many amazing liquid lipsticks are on the market at the moment? I feel like within the past few months every brand, drugstore and high-end, have their own take on these amazing pots of coloured gloop. I recently bought the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets and proclaimed my love for them in this review but after seeing Revlon's take on them, I decided to pick them up to see how they compared.

Out of the two I have to say that Parisian Passion, the purple, is my favourite. I wore this when I went for a meal whilst on my Cornwall trip and it stayed putt all throughout me devouring a curry.  Barcelona Nights is a beautiful hot pink (non-Barbie) shade that I also love but doesn't suit my skintone as much as Parisian Passion.

I wouldn't say that the formulas are as good as Bourjois (they are impeccable!) but they're good for a liquid lipstick. Unlike the Bourjois ones, these come out glossy as opposed to matte and are not as opaque. The first coat is something that feels a bit unusual as it comes out as a really thick gloop, but the second coat gives you a slight glossy lip. The thing I love most about these is the packaging. It feels so much more expensive and luxorious and makes me more inclined to pick it out in my makeup bag.

Overall I definitely think they're good liquid lipsticks, but nowhere near the fabulousness of the Bourjois ones. What's your favourite liquid lipstick?

Autumn Boots

Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Autumn Boots

If there's one thing I love most about Autumn, it's the fashion. Comfy knits, scarves and of course, a nice pair of boots. There's also one thing that I'm super fussy about - boots. I make it my mission to find a pair of nice-looking, not too in-your-face mid heel boots that're comfortable to wear but I think this year, I've cracked it. I found these gorgeous shoes from Matalan and they've been constantly on my feet. I'm usually a fuss-free boot kinda girl; no buckles, different colours or even details, but these caught my eye straight away and I've fallen completely in love with them... For one of the first years ever, I think I passed my mission!


Camping Makeup

Monday, September 01, 2014
Camping Makeup

If you'd have told me a few years ago that I'd be taking a bag of makeup to a camping site, I'd have laughed. I've always thought that camping was a place to be at one with nature. The whole essence was to go and have fun; and to apply makeup reminded me of in the famous words, "aint nobody got time for that". However since I've become an all-round makeup addict (and have noticed how poopy I feel when I'm without it), I decided to take a small makeup bag with only one rule... A maximum of 5 items.

Because my skin has been going through a rough time lately, I brought along my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I'm not going to rave on too much about this because you probably all know how much I love it by now. I also struggle to feel comfortable if I don't do my eyebrows. Trust me, brows make or break a face. To "put my brows on" as my dad says, I used the Soap & Glory Archery brow felt tip. I only recently bought this and is such a good felt tip brow pencil that's easy to use and apply. I'll also be having a review on this put up soon so make sure you stay tuned!

For eyes I took two products - the Bobbi Brown gel liner in Espresso Ink and the Rimmel Wonderfull mascara. I took a brown liner instead of black because it looks more natural and I didn't fancy walking around a campsite fully done-up. Mascara really is a girl's best friend so that was a no brainer. I also took MAC's Patisserie lipstick - a staple in my everyday makeup bag that gives my lips a fuller, plump look.