What's in my makeup bag? // February

Base:

Too Faced // Hangover Primer

Mac // Studio Fix Foundation 

Urban Decay // All Nighter Concealer 

Laura Mercier // Setting Powder 

NYX // Taupe Blush (contour) 

Tanya Burr // Face Palette

The Balm // Mary Lou Manizer

Eyes:

Benefit // Roller Lash Mascara 

Eyebrows:

Fleur De Force // Brow Palette 

Lips:

Mac // Velvet Teddy

So those are the products I'm reaching for this month, simple, quick and easy. I've been loving that no-makeup-makeup recently. 

New OBSESSION: Modern Renaissance

Anastasia Beverly Hills are killing it this year. With nearly 15 million Instagram followers they are close behind MAC in the race to be crowned most followed beauty brand. These 15 million followers have been hit with killer release after killer release this year, with many of these products becoming cult products quite literally seconds after their release. 

I spent a fair few months eyeing up this beauty from afar, watching friends cave in and purchase and I was remaining strong... after all I didn't 'need' another autumnal eyeshadow palette. Here we are a couple of months later and look what I've bought *slaps hands*. One thing I've learnt over the years is if fall for a product, no matter how long I can hold out or how much my sad little bank balance doesn't want me to, I'll cave and buy it. 

Anyway, no regrets, I love the Modern Renaissance palette by Anastasia Beverly Hills. First off the pigmentation is INSANE. You have to be very light handed with application and you need next to nothing on the brush. FYI the brush that comes with this palette is super usable and makes blending a dream. Fall out is minimal - slightly more of a problem with the shimmer shades but still the bare minimum. 

The only downfall, in my opinion, is the packaging design. I love the muted pink shade and the super simplistic design but how impractical is a velvet cover?! I have been very careful with this palette since purchasing, leaving it out of my makeup bag and keeping it far away from foundation, yet still stains keep appearing. Yes, it may look adorable but for the price point of this product I would expect it to be more durable!

TEMPERA: velvety beige with an ultra-matte finish

GOLDEN OCHRE: earthy yellow with an ultra-matte finish

VERMEER: iridescent shell with a metallic finish

BUON FRESCO: antique lavender with an ultra-matte finish

ANTIQUE BRONZE: metallic sable with a satin finish

LOVE LETTER: raspberry with an ultra-matte finish

CYPRUS UMBER: dark coffee with an ultra-matte finish

RAW SIENNA: neutral amber with an ultra-matte finish

BURNT ORANGE: deep orange with an ultra-matte finish

PRIMAVERA: shimmery gold dust with a metallic finish

RED OCHRE: sienna with an ultra-matte finish

VENETIAN RED: crimson with an ultra-matte finish

WARM TAUPE: earthy gray with an ultra-matte finish
REALGAR: brick with an ultra-matte finish

(from the ABH website)

Pick up yours here!

Hit or Miss: New in... Tanya Burr Cosmetics

Tanya Burr has recently stepped up her game (once more) by introducing a long awaited mascara, eyeliner and brow pencil to her already amazing beauty brand. It's fair to say she did not disappoint. The most noticeable change with the new additions is the packaging. I've always been a fan of the original, cardboard packaging but the gold with black detailing is a welcomed upgrade.

Eyeliner is without a doubt the most testing part of my daily makeup application. Getting those flicks symmetrical takes more time and patience than I possess. This eyeliner might not be a miracle worker or the easiest eyeliner to use but the flexible brush applicator and great pigmentation does make the pain-staking task a little more bearable. This eyeliner is now a firm favourite and holds a place in my makeup bag.

When it comes to eyebrow products I am extremely loyal to my trusty Fleur De Force X Eyelure powders, so the fact that the Tanya Burr brow pencil in Medium now lives alongside it in my makeup bag speaks volumes. I may not be able to replace my trusty powder just yet but I love the finish this brow pencil gives. The angular shape of the tip makes for easy, fast application and the colour is the perfect shade of ashy brown for my hair colour. 

Drugstore mascaras are always hit or miss. I am yet to find an affordable alternative that lives up to the amazingness that is Benefit They're Real. That being said this mascara is pretty damn good. The wand is allows each and every lash to be coated which creates lengthened lashes. As I'm a fan of super voluminous lashes I do two or three coats of this mascara to create my desired look which is something I would also do with They're Real. Tanya Burr has done an amazing job at creating a mascara that holds lashes in place all day without any transferring onto the upper or lower lid (and without taking a whole pot of cleanser to remove). Love this. 

Overall: HIT

YSL // EYEBROW WARDROBE*

My eyebrows and I have been on a journey. From the days of over-plucking, over-drawing and even the odd 'I tried to neaten them up but ended up shaving off half' incident. We've come a long way. Now once a month, the lovely ladies at Benefit work their magic and I can finally say my eyebrows suit my face and are relatively easy to upkeep. Unfortunately, the Benefit eyebrow tint only lasts a few days before I'm back to relying on my makeup collection to tame my brows. This is where the YSL brow wardrobe comes in! YSL have 4 products that can tame even the most unruly brows. Whether you need a quick layer of brow gel to set some flyaways or are in need of some serious colour to make those brows visible, YSL have got you covered.

Couture Brow Marker - £21.00 - This felt tip brow marker is great for applying an all over brow colour. The shape of the nib is much bigger than any brow marker I already own which put me off at first. However on application, the shape of the nib allows for precise application where needed and is also ideal for creating a block of colour quickly.

Couture Brow Palette - £35.00 - This little kit is the perfect travel essential to keep your brows looking tidy on-the-go. It comes with 3 powders that I love to use to create an ombre brow, along with an angled brush and tiny tweezers. The powders are not too pigmented, yet pigmented enough for a brow powder, it creates really natural brows.

Couture Brow - £22.00 - This is my most loved product from the whole wardrobe. The Couture Brow allows you to fix, structure and intensify your eyebrows and keeps flyaways in place for up to 24 hours. The pigment is buildable so you really can make your brows as dramatic as you like. I love to layer this on top of a powder product to ensure all day hold.

Dessin Des Sourcils - £21.00 - A brow pencil is a staple in anyone's makeup collection and YSL have created the perfect duel ended precision pencil to create a natural brow. The formula is super creamy which makes for super quick and easy application. Plus having the spoolie on the reverse is really handy to neaten those unruly hairs when out and about.

Here I have used the Couture Brow Palette, Dessin Des Sourcils and Couture Brow to create my ideal brow look:

*these products were gifted but all opinions are my own*

Full Face of Favourites: January

As I'm writing this I am currently at home on Christmas break and that means I only have a makeup bag's worth of makeup. Being the addict that I am it takes me a while to pick and chose what few products are coming home with me. Despite squeezing in enough makeup to last a few years into my poor bag, I have ended up wearing pretty much the same makeup look everyday made up of all of my current favourites. See what I'm loving in this Full Face of Favourites!

Base:

E45 // Moisturising Lotion

NYX // Mineral Stick Foundation

Soap and Glory // Solar Powder

NYX // Taupe Blush (contour)

Mac // Soft and Gentle Highlight

Nars // Deep Throat Blush

Eyes:

Urban Decay // Sin Primer Potion

Maybelline // On and On Bronze Colour Tattoo

Morphe // 350 Palette

Maybelline // Lash Sensational Mascara

Eyebrows:

Soap and Glory // Brow Archery

Benefit // 5 Gimme Brow

Lips:

Mac // Modesty Lipstick

Ebay Bargains // £1.99 Brush Set

Who doesn't love a good bargain? Late one night I found myself scrolling through the world of makeup on EBay and amongst the thousands of knock-off Naked Palettes I found this brush set. At just £1.99 with free UK delivery I felt like I couldn't not at least try these out. I am ridiculously lazy when it comes to washing my makeup brushes so when it comes to finding a clean blending brush I almost always have no hope so this set of four multipurpose brushes are a god-send. 

For just under 50p each I wasn't expecting the hairs to feel so soft and for them to do such a good job. Yes I'm sure after a few washes they may start to look a little worse for wear but right now I am pretty happy I picked these up. As I mentioned before the kabuki style means this brushes are multipurpose - I'm currently using the slightly angled brush to apply concealer under the eye and love the finish.

If you're interested in picking a set up for yourself you can find them here!

£20 Makeup Challenge! 💰

I spend a lot of money on makeup. Probably too much. My day to day face is worth £205.67 Working that out really shocked me, it's crazy how fast it all adds up and how many products I put on my face every morning. I've seen the £20 face challenge all over the beauty corner of the internet recently and I really wanted to give it a go. Armed with just £20 I searched Superdrug.com and attempted to pick out some items. My oh my, it was a challenge.

 Base:

Miss Sporty // Insta Glow Foundation // 3 for £5 (Superdrug)
Miss Sporty // Perfect Stay Concealer // 3 for £5 - love love love this (Superdrug)
Miss Sporty // Insta Glow Bronzer // Brunette // 3 for £5 (Superdrug)
MUA // Blusher // Bon Bon // £1 (Superdrug)
MUA // Undress Your Skin Highlight // £3 (Superdrug)
 
Eyes:
Calvin Klein // Eyeshadow // £1 Each (Poundland)
MUA // Eye Define // £1.50 (Superdrug)
Primark // Mascara // £1.99 (Superdrug)
 
Eyebrows:
Same as eyes: Calvin Klein // Eyeshadow // £1 (Poundland)
 
Lips:
Collection // Lasting Colour Lipstick // £2.99 (Superdrug)

Total: £17.48
Difference: £190.17

This challenge was way more difficult than I first thought! £20 really doesn't go that far (especially when the average drugstore foundation is £9.99!). That being said, I think I did pretty well here (with the help of superdrug's offers!). Maybe you can make a decent face of makeup with a LOT less money. I can't say that I will be suddenly changing how much money I spend on makeup but it's showed me that you don't necessarily need to splash the cash to get a pretty everyday look.

Have a go yourself!

NEW IN // LANCOME JUICY SHAKERS*

I've been super intrigued by the Juicy Shakers by Lancome ever since I spotted them in Boots. They are nothing like anything I've ever tried before (and I've tried a LOT of lip products!). After swatching a few of the shades I knew I needed to give them a test, hence why I was more than excited when these two arrived at my door for me to test out. The original release featured 14 shades and as of August 31st these two little beauties will be joining them. These are very 'me' colours and in my opinion are much more wearable than for instance the blue shade (Mint to Be) found in the original line up! 

Lancome inform me that this is the 'ultimate lip gloss' due to its bi-phased formula (a mix of nourishing oils and pigment) and I can't really argue. You can really feel them working their magic on your lips as well as looking gorgeous. The pigment is certainly subtle and doesn't last a massively long time on your lips - but really what lip gloss can withstand eating and drinking ect? The oils mean these lip glosses are not sticky in the slightest, a massive plus. Nobody likes the hair sticking to the lips scenario! 

As if that wasn't enough plus points, the whole range also smells amazing which is probably due to one of the oils being cranberry oil (alongside almond and omega 3).

On first impressions I thought the applicator was a bit gimmicky, so many brands have been jumping on the 'sponge product' applicator bandwagon, but I stand corrected. The applicator is not only super soft on the lips but it also allows just the right amount of product to be dispersed onto the lips. Obviously, as the name suggests before application you need to shake the bottle which allows the product to be soaked into the sponge - then you can apply away.  

112 // Show Me The Honey

201 // Piece of Cake

As for these two new shades, 201 // Piece of Cake and 112 // Show Me The Honey (how adorable are those names!) there is a true coral and a dusky pink. Piece of Cake, the  dusky pink, is much more pigmented than it's coral sister, Show me The Honey, but each are perfect day time shades that I know I'll be getting an insane amount of wear out of!

So #BANTHEBORING and pick up a Juicy Shaker for yourself HERE. Piece of Cake and Show Me The Honey launch nationwide on 31st August available from Boots.  Retail price £18.00 each.

*Products were gifted but all opinions are my own*

The Body Shop // Shade Adjusting Drops + Fresh Nude Foundation*

Summer is the perfect time to put away the heavily contoured face and bring out the fresh glowy skin; so I've been on the lookout for the perfect foundation to give me just that. The Body Shop is quickly becoming one of my favourite makeup brands with a massive range of products, with none that have disappointed. That's one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to try a couple of their new(ish) products - the Fresh Nude Foundation and Shade Adjusting Drops. Read on to see what I think of them...

The Power of Makeup

Makeup is amazing. I love how I can wake up everyday and layer the stuff on and create what's practically a completely different face.  Obviously there is nothing wrong with going au natural but hey, if I can add an eyeshadow to make those green eyes pop or a lipliner to fill out my lips, why the hell not?! For this weeks post I wanted to make up just half of my face to see how much I choose to adapt on a day to day basis - yanno I was just curious.

What I'm Wearing:

Base: 

L'Oreal // Infallible Mattifying Base

L'Oreal // Infallible Matte Foundation

Kiko // Dark Circle Concealer // 02 Peach

Nars // Radiant Creamy Concealer // Light 02 Vanilla

HD Brows // Powder Base // 2

Chanel // Blush // 70 Tumulte

Benefit // Watt's up Highlighter

L'Oreal // Infallible Sculpt // Bronzer

Eyes:

The Balm // Put a lid on it Primer

Maybelline // Color Tattoo // On and On Bronze

CoverGirl // Lash Blast Volume Mascara 

Primark // Eyeliner Pen

Eyebrows:

Anastasia Beverly Hills // Dip Brow Pomade // Soft Brown

Benefit // Gimme Brow // Medium/Deep

Lips: 

Mac // Taupe

Have you done a blog post similar to this? Please link them bellow, I would love to see them!

FOTD // Double Flick Eyeliner and Purple Eyes

What I'm Wearing:

Base:

Max Factor // Facefinity Primer

Urban Decay // Naked Skin Foundation

Collection // Lasting Perfection Concealer

Maybelline // Matte Maker Powder

Bourjois // Chocolate Bronzer and Highlight

Chanel // Blush in 70 Tumulte

Eyes:

The Balm // Put a lid on it Primer

Elf // Party Purple Quad

ColourPop // I <3 This Eyeshadow

L'Oreal // So Couture Eyeliner

Maybelline // Lash Sensesional Mascara

Eyebrows:

Anastasia Beverly Hills // Dipbrow Pomade // Soft Brown

Lips:

Mac // Mehr

Forever Favourties

There are so many products that I love and use all the time but they rarely appear in favourites because I just feel like I would just be repeating myself every month. I spend a little more than too much money on makeup, so that means more than often something I once loved can very easily be pushed to the back of my makeup draws and forgot about until my next clear out. These 5 little beauties have never been pushed to the back of those draws - they have never even known life outside of my makeup bag, hence why these are my Forever Favourites.

Urban Decay // Naked 3: This was the first piece of highend makeup I ever bought. It killed me to hand over that £38 for an eyeshadow pallette, little did I know that that little spend would lead me here 100's of pounds later... Ever since purchasing this little beauty I have loved the heck out of it. I have green eyes which means pink and purple tones are just perfect for me. This palette really does have it all, perfect for day to night. And as for the quality (I'm sure everyone and their mother has tried out Urban Decay eyeshadows by now but if you haven't) they're amazing, so pigmented and blendable. I would however never wear them without an eyeshadow primer (preferably Put a Lid on it by The Balm). Love, love, love.

Kylie Cosmetics // Lip Kit Review and Lip Swatches

So as you can see by the title I was among the thousands of people desperate to get their hands on these little beauties. I am, obviously, obsessed with all things makeup but I am *almost* equally obsessed with all things Kylie Jenner. On my third time battling the crashing web pages and other customers I managed to grab myself 4 Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits. So are they worth the hype?...

In one word, yes. These are pretty amazing. Liquid lipsticks are always very hit or miss and I usually stay away from them. I find most a pain in the bum to apply and then find they crumble so fast. These have changed the game for me. I love everything about them, the colour range, the formulation, the application and the staying power.

L-R: Candy K, Dolce K, Posie K, Kourt K

L-R: Candy K, Kourt K, Dolce K, Posie K

I picked up the shades Posie K, Candy K, Dolce K and Kourt K. I wanted to try out one of each type of colour to test out the formulas so I picked up a nude, brown, pink and berry. The only colour which is different in formulation is Kourt K. As I was expecting from reading and watching sooooo many reviews Kourt K is a much thinner consistency than the lighter shades so it needs a couple of applications to get an even colour. Saying that, that doesn't put me off too much as once it is applied it, like the others, lasts and looks amazing. Kourt K is such an eye-catching colour. The design of the bottle itself and all of the packaging is so sleek and gorgeous, the only bad thing I have to say about the bottle itself ia that it doesn't have anything to block too much product coming out. So there is often way too much product on the applicator to create a seamless outline. 

Lip Swatches:

Candy K

Dolce K

Posie K

Kourt K

See my full FOTD post featuring Kourt K here!

FOTD // KOURT K

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