31.5.15

Beauty Wishlist #2

Beauty Wishlist #2
If like me you’re a beauty addict, you’ll feel my pain when I tell you that I’ve been on a beauty spending ban for the past two months. But fear not, I’m okay, I survived. You’ll feel relieved to read that my spending ban has finally come to an end and although I have loved shopping my stash and saved a good few pennies in the process, there are a handful of products I've had my eye on.
I’m a liner lover and yet still on the hunt for the perfect liner to give me that, stay all day, effortless feline flick. For months, I’ve had my eye (excuse the pun) on the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, which promises to achieve ‘eye perfection’ with its waterproof and jet-black formula. It also promised to ‘glide across the lash line for unreliably fluid application’- I’m sold. So why haven’t I bought it yet? It’s only available from Sephora, in America. I recently sent my brother on a mission in Paris and apparently they don’t stock it there. Gutted. A beauty swap may be on the cards. 

I’ve expressed my love for the bareMinerals Original Foundation and highly anticipated their latest release. Reviews as expected have flooded into my Bloglovin’ feed and I’ve read nothing but good, if not great write-ups. This base promises ‘to give the skin a flawless finish’ and to ‘protect, hydrate, replenish and improve skin tone without weighing you down’ all whilst delivering a ‘long lasting, sheer-to-medium coverage.’ What more could I ask for!? 

Although I like the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, I’m not a total convert as I found it could be a little drying under the eyes. But the new concealer from Urban Decay promises to conceal all your skins flaws, yet be ‘ultra lightweight’. Have you tried this concealer?

I would be lying if I said I needed more eyeshadow, or palettes. But the Stila Eyes Are The Window Eyeshadow Palette In Soul would look ever so pretty on my vanity and my eyelids. This eyeshadow palette is one of four palettes that were released by Stila in celebration of their 20th anniversary back in Autumn last year. The palettes have been inspired by the notion that true beauty is released from within and consist of 12 shadows in a mixture of matte and shimmery finishes all incased in a beautiful golden compact - swoon.

Another product that promises to be ‘weightless’ is the Clinique Pop Lip Colour & Primer lipstick. The new addition to the Clinique Pop range promises to ‘glide on effortlessly’ with a ‘bold, saturated colour’ all whilst keeping the lips moisturised. I’ll be popping the shade 'Melon Pop’ into my basket and report back. 

My Benefit Roller Lash Mascara has been much loved and I will repurchase it again sometime soon. But next on my lash list is the Lancôme Grandiôse Mascara. Okay, so the packaging is a little extravagant, but the patent pending ‘swan-neck’ wand promises to ‘grab lashes close to the roots to perfectly fan them out, corner to corner, coating them from root to tip.’ I have watched many youTubers applying this mascara and the results are certainly desirable. 

What’s currently on your beauty wishlist? 
Emily
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29.5.15

MAC Costa Chic Lipstick | Review & Swatches

MAC Costa Chic Lipstick | Review & Swatches

Picking a lipstick shade can be difficult for some; red can be too daring, pink can be a tad girly and nudes can be, well boring. But, coral shades are always a winner. And with spring well underway, I decided to dig out an oldie but a goodie, MAC Costa Chic lipstick. 

MAC Costa Chic is a unique orange toned coral and is a fun, bold and very vibrant shade. It took me a while to succumb to Costa Chic, as it has a frost finish and I find frost finishes can look dated and unforgiving. But MAC Costa Chic is the exception to the rule. The frost finish is subtle and has more of a shimmerysatin finish. But unfortunately frost finishes can be hard to work with and as this finish is slightly less moisturising than the Lustre and Cremesheen formula, it does have the tendency to emphasise dry lips and sit in lip lines. So a little prep before applying is essential. Once my lips are prepped, I apply it straight from the bullet and my lips are covered in just one coat. My one word of advice with this particular lipstick is that less is more. The more you apply the brighter it appears.

MAC Costa Chic Lipstick | Review & Swatches





This lipstick is a classic spring summer shade and makes any tan look better (if that is even possible!)If you’re a lover of a coral lipstick and looking for something a little brighter MAC Costa Chic is defiantly one to add to your collection. 

Do you like to wear coral lipsticks? 
Emily
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25.5.15

MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow

MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow





It goes without saying, I own a lot of eyeshadow and MAC eyeshadows are by far my favourite. But amongst my MAC palettes is an absolute gem; MAC All That Glitters. Don’t be put off by its pinkish hues. This shadow is simply beautiful. This oh-so-famous shade is a makeup must have. Its unique and my go to eyeshadow. I’m obsessed. 

All That Glitters is described as a “frosted champagne with gold pearl (with a Veluxe Pearl finish).” It’s a peachy, rosy-copper with warm undertones and has a shimmery finish. Ironically, All That Glitters is not at all glittery (or chalky), it’s finely milled and buttery smooth, making it effortless to apply. In my opinion, it’s generally one of the best eyeshadows from MAC. It blends out beautifully, without any fall out and leaves an incredible sheen on the lids. It also has excellent pigmentation, which is surprising considering its finish. It also wears incredibly well, not showing any signs of fading for hours and doesn’t crease. 

This eyeshadow is so versatile; it’s great for everyday wear and is the ideal shade for a fresh spring, summer time look. It works wonderfully when worn on its own as a wash all over the lid and melts into other colours. I would go as far to say that I would happily wear this shade on my wedding day! If you are yet to try All That Glitters, or yet to try MAC eyeshadows, I recommend you spend £13.00 and buy it! You’ll be kicking yourself that you didn’t pick it up sooner.

What’s your favourite MAC eyeshadow? 
Emily
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23.5.15

An Ode To The Zoeva 317 Wing Liner Brush

An Ode To The Zoeva 317 Wing Liner Brush


I wasn’t blessed and born with naturally thick Cara Delevingne brows and in the past my brows have been plucked to death and appeared relatively thin and non-existent. I know I’m not alone, but if you invest in the right tools of the trade you can enhance your brows and if need be cheat their existence and this is where the Zoeva 317 Wing Liner Brush comes in.

The brush head is angled and relatively small, with a very fine edge, making it easy to achieve a neat, tidy, defined brow. The brush offers easy application with both powder and gel products, as although fairly fine, the brush head is actually quite dense and firm. It also washes nicely and retains its shape once dry. initially used this brush with a matte eyeshadow from my LORAC Pro Palette (great for beginners). But have since found it works pretty darn well when used with my Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade. The Dipbrow is smudge resistant and waterproof and with a little patience helps to create the perfect brows. At first I was hesitant to use an angled brush to fill in my brows, as I presumed this would be far harder than using the likes of an eyebrow pencil, but I was so wrong.

This brow brush is quite frankly a thing of perfection and by far the best brow brush I have ever used - my brows wouldn’t be the same without it!  If you buy one thing this month and, treat yourself and your brows and buy a Zoeva 317 Wing Liner Brush for just £5.95.

How do you like to fill in your brows?
Emily
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21.5.15

Vichy Aqualia Thermal Fortifying & Soothing 24hr Hydrating Care Serum

Vichy Aqualia Thermal Fortifying & Soothing 24hr Hydrating Care Serum
Any beauty products that get the thumbs up from Sali Hughes are well worth adding to your shopping list. And the Vichy Aqualia Thermal Fortifying & Soothing 24hr Hydrating Care Serum (the longest name in the history of skincare) along with my Good Things Manuka Honey Daily Moisturiser, has helped to eradicate all my dry patches. 

Before I get onto the fundamentals, I have to mention the packaging - isn’t it pretty? The blue and silver glass bottle is not only pretty, but practical with a pump making it easy to dispense product, reducing waste. The serum although a little runny in texture, has a fab formula. It’s lightweight, hydrating, refreshing, not at all sticky or greasy and mildly fragranced which hasn’t as of yet caused any issues. I use one pump after cleansing and before moisturising and the serum glides onto my skin and immediately takes away that tight feeling. My skin appears plumper and lines are visibly smoother after one use. 

This serum is powerful enough to be used in place of a moisturiser and works incredibly well under makeup. It’s reasonably priced too at just £19.99. So if you have dehydrated skin, add this product to your shopping list. 

What skincare products are you currently loving? 
Emily
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19.5.15

The Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Face Exfoliator

The Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Face Exfoliator


Just like cleansing, exfoliation is essential in your skin care regime. Exfoliation encourages healthier, smoother and more even-toned skin and can also prevent acne and minimise pores. There are hundreds of exfoliating products on the market, from electric exfoliating brushes such as the Magnitone pulsar to more affordable options like The Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Face Exfoliator.

The Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator is refreshing and really does help to cleanse pores and rebalance surface oil. Designed for combination skin this exfoliator has a gel like constancy with mixed micro beads that arent too harsh or abrasive (it also smells pretty darn nice too). I use this product 2-3 times a week, taking a pea-sized amount and massaging it thoroughly into damp skin. After massaging the product for a minute or so, I find it softens and turns into a creamy wash, which is unlike any other exfoliator I have tried. Once I have rinsed the product away, my skin is left feeling extremely smooth. As I have combination/dehydrated skin, it does on occasion leave the my skin feeling a little tight, but I like to follow up with my Aqualia Thermal Fortifying & Soothing 24hr Hydrating Care Serum which takes that tightness away. 

All in all, this product is by far the best facial exfoliating product I have used. Its great for maintaining healthy skin and I was pleasantly surprised to see a visible reduction blackheads! It is complete bargain, priced at £10.00 and can be bought online, or in-store at The Body Shop. 

Have you tried any products from The Body Shop’s Seaweed range?
Emily
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17.5.15

The Sunday Post #3: What’s On My iPhone

The Sunday Post #3: What’s On My iPhone
With over a million mobile apps available it’s not surprising there is pretty much an app for everything from ‘Places I’ve Pooped’, ‘Paranormal Meter’, ‘Drunk Dial No’ and ‘Game For Cats’. I for one do not keep track of places I’ve pooped, or use my iPhone to track paranormal activity, but I might just download ‘Drunk Dial No’! But jokes aside, amongst the thousands of photos and social media apps, I have a few very handy apps on my iPhone that I use on a regular basis. 

Pinterest
Pinterest is my favourite online place to procrastinate and quickly becoming my favourite social media platform. If you are yet to divulge into the world of Pinterest, to put it simply it’s a place to ‘pin' your favourite images into themed boards and it’s very addictive. I have been pinning like crazy in recent months and noticed that my Pinterest account has been driving a lot of referral traffic over to my blog. Highly recommend you sign up/download if you haven’t already. 

My Fitness Pal
Over the last five months I have lost 2.5 stone and research suggests that for many of us, keeping a record of our daily consumption aids greatly with weight loss. And although my weight loss has been down to a number of factors, one app in particular has been great at helping me track my progress and maintain my motivation. My Fitness Pal is fundamentally a calorie counting app and is free to download. It’s easy to use and also helps to track weight loss, exercise and daily nutritional goals. One thing I particularly like is its huge database, which also includes many restaurants. I can’t fault it; it’s a very effective weight loss tool. 

Picfx
Picfx is my favourite and most used photo editing app. The app costs £1.49 and has 47 different filters and frames and the added option to layer different looks. It also has an opacity slider, which allows you to control the strength of each filter. It also has lighting effects which are very popular on Instagram. A couple of my favourite filters are ‘Marshmallow’ and ‘PFX 5’. What’s your favourite photo editing app? 

Clue
I might not track where I poop, but I do track my menstrual cycle with Clue (TMI?). I for one don’t have regular cycles and this app calculates the average length of your cycle and predicts your period due date. It’s genius. The more you use Clue the more accurate it gets, you can also enter data about your period pain, mood, fluid, sexual activity and personal notes. It makes dealing with lady issues far easier and you can even set up alerts so you’re not caught off guard and best of all, it’s free!

What are your favourite apps? 
Emily
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15.5.15

Worth The Hype? Tweezerman Tweezers

Worth The Hype? Tweezerman Tweezers


I had a brow crisis. I lost my pink Mini Slant Tweezerman Tweezers and in this case, I did not have a backup. I for one can’t deal with unruly brows and last week, gone midnight I ventured online & bought another pair - I just couldn’t be without them

The quality of Tweezerman Tweezers is second to none and repurchasing another pair is testament to this. For over 25 years these award-winning tweezers have been the top choice for makeup artists and celebrities and I’m not surprised, these tweezers have been created for precision plucking. So what’s the hype all about? Well, these tweezers are light and sleek, yet sturdy and firmly grip hairs at the base without pinching the skin. The tips are perfectly aligned for accurate and effortless plucking. And don’t be fooled ladies, the Tweezerman Mini Slant Tweezer is just a smaller version of it’s full sized sister the original Tweezerman Slant Tweezers and their size do not hinder their ability to get at those pesky teeny tiny hairs, that other tweezers often fail to remove. 

With a full sized pair setting you back just a little over £20, you’ll be happy to hear that this pair is comparatively affordable at just £12.50 (just try not to lose them!). I purchased mine online from Look Fantastic as they had a discount code available and they don’t charge for delivery. The Tweezerman Mini Slant Tweezer are the ideal size for both travel and your makeup bag. You can choose from several enamel colours, or opt for classic stainless steel. I for one love the Tweezerman Mini Slant Tweezer in Green Teaclearly I was meant to lose a pair, so I had an excuse to buy this pair instead.
Do you to love Tweezerman Tweezers?
Emily
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13.5.15

Good Things Manuka Honey Daily Moisturiser

Good Things Manuka Honey Daily Moisturiser

I can’t say enough good things about this moisturiser. I have never found a moisturiser that I love, but the Good Things Manuka Honey Daily Moisturiser  just about ticks all the boxes for me.

This moisturiser is most importantly free from all the nasties that so many of us try to avoid, such as parabens, mineral oils, sodium laureth sulphate and is instead packed with natural ingredients. It contains manuka honey, which is famous for it healing and antibacterial ingredients, making it a great treatment for all types of skin problems. Royal jelly, which is a great ingredient for the prevention of ageing all whilst improving the health and strength of the skin and lastly Bee venom, which is not only a great anti-inflammatory, but also acts as a natural botox. 

The Good Things Manuka Honey Daily Moisturiser has a rich creamy formula, which initially I thought would break me out (I was wrong) and smells like honey - yummy. A small amount goes a very, very long way. If you apply too much, it can cause makeup to break down after a few hours and can leave you looking a little greasy. So I like to take a very small amount and smooth it all over my face (avoiding my eye area) and neck until it is completely absorbed. After application, my skin feels nourished and soft to touch. After continued use, my skin has appeared far healthier and clearer, not to mention any scaring from previous blemishes are healing nicely. It  hasn’t broken me out and is surprisingly great at combating combination skin. This moisturiser comes close to my becoming a new addition to my holy grail line up and is priced at £7.99.

What’s your favourite drugstore moisturiser?
Emily
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11.5.15

Battle Of The Bands

Battle Of The Bands

You can never have too many hair bands, hair ties, scrunchies, bobbles, all of which have the primary purpose to fasten hair. Admittedly we all love a multipack of traditional elastic hairbands from Primark, but no one likes hair breakage. With that in mind, in the last couple years we have seen brands releasing ‘innovative' products to help prevent snags and tangles, but are they really any better for our hair? 

Invisibobble Traceless Hair Ring (x 3) £3.75
Invisibobble is a telephone cord shaped hair ring with no metal or glued seams. Invisibobble as the name suggests, was designed with the intention to be invisible and to stop leaving marks aka kinks in the hair. I was intrigued by these hair rings and after a little bit of reading; I took the plunge and purchased a box of 3. Now, there are a few things I really like about Invisibobbles, but unfortunately the bad outweighed the good. 

The hair ring is traceless and very comfortable to wear, which for me is vital as I get headaches frequently and have a sensitive scalp. Invisibobbles are available in 8 different colours (kinda defeats the point of it being ‘invisible’?) and although they do stretch relatively quickly, after a few days they return back to their natural shape. However, as comfortable as they are to wear, removing them can be a complete pain (currently winching at the thought). I find myself trying to unwind and untangle them, which in the process snags and pulls on my hair. So all in all, Invisbobbles aren't all that caring. I for one have very thick hair and a lot of it and once the Invisbobble has been worn a handful of times, they start to lose their shape and as a result don’t hold my hair very well. This might not be an issue for someone with fine hair and although I have read you can warm them up with a hairdryer to help  them return to their original shape - I have far better things to be doing! Overall, I’m not completely sold on Invisbobbles. The concept is there, but in my opinion when put to practice they don’t quite do the job. What are your thoughts on Invisbobbles? 

Popbands (x 5) £8.00*
Like Invisabobbles, Popbands have no metal or glued seams and are essentially wide, flat, stretchy elastics tied in a knot. Popbands are soft and kind to your hair. They don’t leave kinks and unlike Invisabobbles are easy to unite. Popbands come in a multitude of jazzy colours and patterns and make a boring ponytail a little more exciting. When you're not wearing the Popband in your hair, it can be worn on your wrist and it won’t cut off your circulation and looks cute - although saying that, I don’t wear them as bracelets. It could be argued that these are a little pricey, as they are just strips of elastic cut and then tied. But in all honesty, I doubt I will ever go to the effort of buying the elastic and making them myself! And yes, after time the elastic hold does loosen, especially if you have thicker hair like me, but I can look past that. Overall, these simple elastics could just help your blow-dry survive a trip to the gym and in my opinion win the battle of the bands hands down. 

How’d you like to tie your hair back?
Emily
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9.5.15

Dior Diorskin Nude BB Crème

Dior Diorskin Nude BB Crème
BB creams (or crèmes), made their debut back in 2011 following on from huge success in the Asian market. BB stands for beauty balm and combines a mixture of both skincare and makeup. Since 2011 various variations have hit the English market and as a lover of a lightweight base, I have tried more than a few and my current go to base has been the Diorskin Nude BB Crème. This base promises to moisturise, smooth, protect, and correct the skin with sheer coverage. 

So is the formula a dream combination of skin care and make-up? Well, not quite. I was very surprised that the SPF rating (SPF 10) falls below the standard minimum recommended to protect your skin. And if that wasn’t already disappointing enough, the shade range is a little measly, with only a handful of shades to choose from.

But having said that, negative points aside, this BB cream is perfect for my combination skin and gives me a fresh, flawless complexion and is a great base for a no makeup, makeup look. The formula is a lightweight liquid texture. It applies beautifully with fingers, but I find a brush soaks up the product. It smooth’s onto the skin, giving a natural satin finish that has great longevity. It is worth noting however, that when my skin is a little dehydrated, my skin soaks up the majority of the product, so I wouldn’t recommend it to those of you with dry skin. It covers more like a liquid foundation than your traditional BB cream, offering a sheer to medium coverage and feels weightless on the skin. It helps to disguise redness and discolouration, all whilst allowing my freckles to show through. It isn’t quite as glowy, or moisturising as my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser, but it does create a nice natural glow that doesn’t make you look like a sweat bucket when the suns out.

This base is effectively the big sister of Bourjois's 123 Perfect CC Cream, which is a great drugstore alternative. The Dior Diorskin Nude BB Creme may not be cheap coming in at £30.00 for 30ml, but if this is within your budget and you have normal/combination skin, this BB cream is certainly a base to try. 

Do you like BB Creams? 
Emily
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