Current Everyday Makeup

Hey guys! I thought that it would be fun to do a post on the everyday makeup that I've been using throughout the summer, as I will now be beginning to change my products about a bit to make way for darker eyeshadows and all the loveliness of autumn makeup. Some of you who have been reading my blog for a while will definitely recognise some of the products from previous posts!

Obviously before the makeup I do all of my skincare bits, but I will save that for another post! To start off, around ten minutes after I use my moisturiser, I apply a small pea-sized amount of the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, by smoothing it out with my fingers using an "upwards and outwards" motion. Definitely do not rub this in in circles though, as the primer starts coming off in little bobbles! Following on from the primer I go onto foundation, for which I use the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B10* with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. This is a really light, low coverage foundation which I honestly absolutely adore!

For concealer I use the Nars Creamy Concealer, in Vanilla, which I could not recommend enough! Under my eyes I just swipe some on, then dab it in with my ring finger, however if I need to conceal any spots I put a little concealer on the back of my hand, then apply bit-by-bit with the Eco Tools Deluxe Concealer Brush. 

To completely set my base I always use the Collection Pressed Powder in Ivory, which is an amazing, velvety powder (plus it only costs £1.99)! For use under my eyes and on spots I use a little domed brush, which I got from an unbranded set on eBay, and for everywhere else I use a large powder brush, also from a set of unbranded brushes that I have had for many years. 

Onto eyes now! As with my base makeup, I always start off with a primer for my eyelids to help things last that bit longer. For this I use the Helen E Eyeshadow Primer, followed by Walk Of Shame from the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette, using the Nanshy Large Shader Brush*! To add some colour, I blend in Liar from the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette with the Nanshy Blending Eyeshadow Brush*. The last eyeshadow I use is again from the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette! This time I use the Nanshy Angled Detailer Brush* and dab it in Faint, then lightly apply it along my lower lashline.

Rather than using my all time favourite eyeliner, the Soap & Glory Supercat Pen Eyeliner, I've actually been applying a thin line of Collection Extreme 24 Hour Pen Eyeliner along my upper lash line! My Supercat eyeliner is starting to run out, and I just haven't bothered to buy a new one yet, which has made me realise just how similar the Collection version is.

To curl my lashes I use the Primark Eyelash Curlers, which I hold on for about thirty seconds on each eye, to make sure that they have a really strong curl! These really are great eyelash curlers, and for £1 you can't do wrong. After I've curled my eyelashes I obviously finish off with mascara! For this I use the Clarins Truly Waterproof Mascara*, which I have absolutely adore recently. It's a gorgeous mascara that lasts all day without any fallout at all, and makes my lashes look very voluminous!

Something that I hadn't really bothered with in the past is my eyebrows! Obviously I plucked them, but I never filled them in or used any brow products, since I couldn't figure out what products would look alright on my eyebrows. That was until I discovered the Benefit Gimme Brow Brow Gel in Light/Medium! This is like a mini mascara (apart from the colour of course), and it is so simple to use. I just brush this through my brows in an upwards motion, then go through them with a spooli to get rid of any clumps and sort out the shape!

Once all of my eye makeup is finished, I go on to the rest of my face! To do this I use a little of the Sleek Bronzer, from the Face Form Palette in Light, on my cheek bones with an unbranded angled blush brush. I also use the Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Accent*, with the Real Techniques Blush Brush, to add some more colour! 

I have been keeping my lips really simple, by popping on some of the Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Apricot*! This is a very buttery coloured lip balm (the formulation is very similar the the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipsticks), and it is so easy to apply. 

That is everything that I use for my current everyday makeup! There are some absolutely amazing products in this selection, which you all must try. I could do a makeup favourites post in the future if that would interest any of you, so please let me know about that! 

What are your favourite everyday makeup products at the moment?

Recent Purchases

Hey guys! Something that I haven't done in quite a while is a haul, so I thought that I would collect together most of the stuff that I have bought recently and do a recent purchases post! I actually remembered after taking all of the photos for this post, and packing my softboxes away, that I had left out a few things, but I will maybe pop them in a future haul. 

Shopping just hasn't really been my things recently, especially beauty wise! Most beauty things just haven't been catching my eye at all, whereas clothes have been far more interesting to me than usual. 

I'll start off with clothes! From Debenhams I bought a couple of things, the first being a Tenki Cream Chevron Print Dress (the link isn't the exact dress, but similar) for £26. I hadn't actually heard of Tenki before, however they do some beautiful dresses, and this one really caught my eye! The top half of the dress is a floaty cream material, then the lower half is navy with a coloured chevron type print. The second thing from Debenhams is a Red Herring Navy Spotted 2-in-1 Dress for £13! This has definitely been my absolute favourite dress over the summer, as it's really soft and floaty, plus I could quite easily wear it over autumn and winter as it's navy. 

Since I am so short I find it really hard to find blouses or shirts that aren't too long for me, so when I found a really pretty one in H&M I had to buy it! I bought the Draped Wraparound Blouse in white for £19.99, and it looks nice with just some jeans and boots, making it perfect for the colder weather. 

The last piece of clothing that I bought was just a Primark Navy Boyfriend Cardigan for £8, if I remember correctly! Cardigans are essential for when it gets colder, and this is nice just popped on over a dress or jeans to add an extra layer. 

Before I get to beauty orientated things, there are three other things! The first is a Limit Cream Strap Watch from H. Samuel (the link is the same watch, but in burgundy), which only cost £1.99. I had been after a little watch for a while, so when this was in the sale I couldn't stop myself from buying it! Then I got a really pretty Red Herring White Faux Pearl Flower Earring & Necklace Set for £2.40 in the Debenhams sale! I only bought this for the necklace really, because I can't wear earrings that aren't genuine silver or gold, since my ears literally burn if I wear anything else.

The other would be the M&S De Jouy Toiletry Purse for £6.80, using a discount code! I'll tell you the truth, the main reason that I bought this is because it matches my Ikea duvet cover (the blue and white one that everybody seems to have), but it really is a lovely makeup bag. It has a waterproof lining inside, which is great as you can then wipe it if any makeup gets spilt and the bag is just a lovely quality! This also doesn't open like a normal zip makeup bag, instead it is more of a clutch bag style and has a zip, then two bent metal bars on the top which you open apart and kind of fold down. Hopefully that made some sort of sense, as that is honestly the best way that I could describe it! 

Now onto beauty things! The first thing would be the Lush Comforter Bubble Bar for £4.50. This is my absolute favourite bubble bar, as it smells amazing and each bubble bar lasts for ages (I bought my first one in December 2012 and I only ran out in June this year), making it great value for money. 

One very exciting thing would have to be my first ever YSL lipstick! I'd been after one for ages, because just look at them - they are gorgeous. I noticed that Feel Unique had an offer of "£10 off a spend of £25" so I got the YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick in Corail Intuitive for only £15, rather than its usual price of £25! Corail Intuitive is a beautiful pinky coral shade that really seems to suit my skin tone, and the formulation is really nice. 

Another great offer that I got would be the Benefit Gimme Brow Brow Gel, in Light/Medium, from Look Fantastic for £12.60 instead of £17.50, also using a discount code!

A couple of essential products that I also got were the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic and Collection Pressed Powder in Ivory! The Skin Tonic cost me £13.25 from Liz Earle, and although this is a little pricey, I really don't mind paying that as my last bottle lasted me over a year and it does miracles to my skin. The Collection Pressed Powder only cost me £1.99 from Boots, which is an absolute bargain for such a good powder - I'd really recommend that you try it!

That is, nearly, everything that I have bought recently! You may have noticed that this is my second post within a week, as I'm trying to get back into blogging, so hopefully I can keep it up. I have actually got all of my posts planned (emphasize the planned part, rather than written), meaning that should help me keep up with it a little more! 

What have you bought recently?

Clarins Autumn 2014 Collection - Ladylike // REVIEW

Hey guys! One brand that I have never done a post on is Clarins, I'm not sure why as they have some lovely products, and their recent releases have been seriously good! Clarins also just launched their collection for autumn 2014, which they've named "Ladylike". Most of the products are quite neutral, with a mainly purple, grey, nude shade range, but there are also a few striking lipstick shades! This means today that I am here with a review of a few products from the collection.

Clarins Ombre Matte Eyeshadow - Nude Beige (01), Taupe (03), Sparkle Grey (05) - £19*
First up are the Ombre Matte eyeshadows! These are described as a "cream-to-powder matte" eyeshadow, but I wouldn't really call them a cream eyeshadow, more of a velvety smooth powder. They really do apply beautifully, and are very easily to blend! As for lasting power, I get a good six hours wear, without any primer, before they start to crease at all, and as my eyes can get quite oily (hence why I almost always wear an eyeshadow primer) I think that is pretty good.

The three shades, out of the range of six, that I got were Nude Beige, Taupe and Sparkle Grey! Nude Beige is quite a self-explanatory name, a matte nude beige shade. I love using this as a base for my eyeshadow as it's a lovely, blendable shade that seems to go with every other eyeshadow shade! Taupe is a dark taupe shade and Sparkle Grey is a gorgeous shimmery purple, grey shade, which is one of the prettiest shades that I've seen. Purple toned eyeshadows are something that I almost never wear, so I was actually surprised that this seemed to suit me really well!

These are a lovely range of eyeshadows, which I would definitely recommend! They are a little pricey at £19 each, but there seems to be a lot of product in each pot and one would make a great Christmas present (yes, I am already talking about Christmas presents).

Clarins Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base - £22*
Following on from the subject of eyeshadow, onto Clarins' eye primer! This can either be used by itself to smooth out your eyelids and add a little colour, or under eyeshadow to help prolong the life of your eyeshadow and reduce the risk of it creasing.

This is tanned skin shade (that's the best way I can describe it), but blends out slightly lighter than that! The shade of this does actually remind me of the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer in Eden, but slightly more nude toned. The formulation is really smooth and creamy, plus when it dries it feels incredibly light!

I definitely do notice a difference in my eyeshadow's longevity when I use this, since it can increase six hours wear without creasing, to more than ten hours of wear!

Clarins Perfect Eyes & Brows Palette - £35*
This is a product that I have seen a lot of other bloggers raving about! The Clarins Perfect Eyes & Brow Palette is a must have on-the-go palette, as it contains not only three brow powders (which can also be used as eyeshadows), a setting wax and pink highlighter (you could either use this as an eyeshadow or under your brow bone), but also three little tools - mini tweezers, a mini spooli brush and a mini double ended brush (you know the ones, with a sponge brush on one end then a tilted eyebrow brush on the other)! All of this being in one little palette, in my eyes, is pretty amazing, especially if you are going somewhere where you need to pack light but don't want to skimp out on products.

I'll start off with the powders and wax first! For me, I use a mixture of the light and medium powders to fill in my eyebrows, then apply a little of the clear wax to set them. My favourite use for the pink highlighter is under my brow bone, to help define it a little and add some shimmer! The three powders and highlighter are very pigmented, so you only need to apply a small amount of product to the brush.

The tools in the palette are all really useful too! The tweezers are absolutely amazing, they are sharp, great quality and very easy to use. Ah the spooli, probably the most underrated essential makeup accessory there is! I use a spooli to comb through my brows when I am tweezing them, and filling them in to make them look more natural. As for the double ended brush, I haven't found a use for the the sponge end (I've always hated those things) but the tilted brush end is great for applying the brow powder!

This really is a great little compact to carry around with you for any eyeshadow or brow touch ups, so I'd definitely suggest that you test it out! I must say that my only negative would be that I'm not overly keen on the wax, as it is pretty hard to pick up and a little awkward to apply, but apart from that the palette is a winner. 

Overall these are five lovely products, and Clarins really did well with them! I'm very excited to see the winter collections as the autumn one was great. I'd best go and see if I can find some sneaky previews of it somewhere now!

What was your favourite product from the Clarins Ladylike Collection?

Monthly Favourites - August 2014

Hey guys! Can you believe that it's already September?! This year is going ridiculously quick - I mean in only three months it will be December, which I honestly can't believe. Anyway, this time I am back with another Monthly Favourites post! In August there were quite a lot of products that I loved, some new and some re-discoveries.

First off is the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette (which I just spotted is 10% off at Feel Unique)! I won this in June from Jordan's competition, and have been absolutely loving it since. I know that there is a huge amount of hype surrounding this palette, but it is honestly gorgeous and completely worth the hype! Almost all of the shades have rose gold or bronze tones, making this palette perfect for Autumn. My favourite shade is definitely Liar, which is a lovely rosy bronze shade, and I use in the outer corners of my eyes!

There are a couple of other makeup products that I loved in August too, both eye products! I had never really tried to apply anything to my eyebrows before, as I found it very hard to find a product that was the correct shade - that was until I found the Benefit Gimme Brow Brow-Volumizing Fibre Gel in Light/Medium. This looks like a mini mascara, since it is in the same sort of tube complete with a little wand! I find the best way of using this is by combing the brow gel up through my eyebrows, then combing through with a spooli to get rid of any lumps of product.

Lastly for makeup is an actual mascara, the Clarins Truly Waterproof Mascara*! I had this packed away in my makeup drawers, but never actually gave it much attention, that was until Victoria started raving about how good it was. I then decided to give it a chance and test it out a bit more, and I am so glad that I did! It lasts perfectly all day, without a single bit of fallout, plus it rarely goes clumpy on my lashes when I apply it - definitely a winner mascara, especially since it is waterproof.

For facial skincare there has been a few products that have stood out for me, two which are actually from the same brand! I am talking about the Clearasil Ultra Blemish + Marks Scrub and Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Deep Pore Treatment Toner, which I discovered after my skin began breaking out (I would guess because it has suddenly gone quite cold compared to what it was). These two really helped clear my skin up, so I'd definitely recommend them!

There is also another two skincare products that I've loved, the first being the Benefit They're Real Remover*! I kindly got given this mini at the Benefit event, which I went to a couple of months ago, and have absolutely adore it since then. It is a creamy formula, which I apply half a pea sized amount of onto each of my eyes, rub it in a bit, then remove with a cotton pad soaked in warm water! It removes eye makeup extremely easily, so I must repurchase this once I run out. If there is one piece of advice that I could give though, do not get this in your eyes, I have done it a couple of times and it stings a ridiculous amount!

The second is the Nuxe Fraiche De Beaute 24hr Soothing And Moisturising Cream, which is a rediscovery of mine! I used this non-stop last summer, but packed it away when I found it too light for winter, so it was a nice surprise to remember how much I loved it. As I said it's a light formula (it works really well under makeup), but it's also moisturising without being oily!

Ever since the start of this year my hands have been getting VERY dry, and I still haven't figured out why! Something that did help me a lot recently though is the Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life, which is basically a hand scrub that removes dry skin whilst adding a lot of moisture. Even hand cream hasn't been able to give my hands as much moisture as this scrub has!

There has been three lip products that I've adored this month, two being lip balms! The first lip balm that I've been using, to get rid of the incredibly dry lips that I had been getting, is the Blistex Relief Cream. This is honestly the most moisturising and soothing lip balm that I have ever tried in my life, it's not sticky at all and lasts for hours without me needing to reapply it!

The other lip balm is the Burt's Bees Ultra Moisturising Lip Treatment*! I started using this a few weeks ago and it is already one of my favourite lip balms. The formulation is light and not sticky at all, but it also has a really strong shine, meaning that it looks gorgeous by itself!

Another Burt's Bees product I've loved is the Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer* in the shade Apricot! This is like a coloured lip balm, meaning that it is very moisturising whilst having a strong colour payoff. The formulation of this actually reminds me of the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipsticks, although the colour is stonger, but for a fraction of the price! They last for hours and have a lovely minty scent.

So, they are my August favourites! As you can see there was a lot of products that I really liked, I guess that it was a lucky month! I hope that I can find just as many new favourites as I did in August, especially some that I could carry on using into winter.

What were your August favourites?