Clarins Truly Waterproof Mascara // REVIEW

There is one particular product that I absolutely love, but have strangely never done a review or post on, until now! I had the Clarins Truly Waterproof Mascara sitting in my makeup drawers for quite a while, since I was pretty much in love with the Natural Collections Waterproof Mascara at the time and never bothered trying much else (bad blogger, I know). That was until I heard Victoria, from InTheFrow, raving about how amazing it was, and I thought that I may as well give it a try.

This is a very intense black shade, but it doesn't go on cakey or too thick on my lashes, leaving a lovely finish! It gives definition, length, plus I rarely get any clumps when applying it. For the waterproof side of things, and from what I have experienced with the mascara coming in contact with water, it holds really well without running, although I've never been in a full-on rain shower situation, so I can't say how it would act then! As with most waterproof mascaras it is a pain to remove with regular makeup removers, but I use the Benefit They're Real Remover and that strips it off nicely.

The lasting power is amazing - I can have it on for atleast 12 hours and it will still have held the curl on my lashes, with no fallout under my eyes! The only slight negative I would have is that after a few hours I can get a little mascara above my eye, below my eyebrows, possibly because I tend to have oily eyelids and my eyelashes are quite long (the tips of my lashes reach my skin when I blink) - a simple wipe with your finger gets rid of it completely though so it's not too bad.

I am so thankful that I did try this because it's honestly one, if not the, best mascaras that I have ever used! Clarins have had some lovely products coming out in the past couple of years, and the Truly Waterproof Mascara* is just another of them. My tube is actually starting to dry out now, so I will have to buy a replacement soon! Even though it is quite pricey, at £21, I do think that it is well worth the money because this is definitely my favourite mascara currently, and I couldn't really be without it.

What is your favourite mascara?

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My MAC Collection

My MAC collection is very small when compared to some - how I wish I could have 30 MAC lipsticks all in a neat little container in an Ikea dresser, but sadly I don't! Forgetting that though, I am pretty happy with the few products that I have, so I thought that I would do a little collection post for you all.

MAC is always one of those brands that will always be mentioned when you ask on Twitter what eyeshadow or lipstick you should try next, and to say that they are a very popular and talked about brand would be a major understatement.

I'll start off with eyeshadows first! I'm a big fan of neutral eyeshadows, and I almost never stray from that, meaning it's no surprise that my two MAC eyeshadows are both brown toned shades. I spoke about Sable in my "Top 5 Winter Eyeshadows" post a couple of weeks ago, and as I said then it is a bronze shade with a burgundy tinge from MAC's Frost eyeshadow line. The pigmentation isn't amazing, however it does last all day with little fallout!

My other eyeshadow is Satin Taupe which is a light, possibly silver toned, brown! The pigmentation of this one is definitely better than Sable, and you get less fallout, so I'm not sure what happened there considering Satin Taupe is from the Frost line too. Strangely I've never paid that much attention to this shade, maybe because it isn't a whole lot different to other eyeshadows that I had previously!

Now for my three lipsticks! You've all got to admit, at one point or another you must have swooned over MAC lipsticks - the simplistic black packaging just looks very sleek and pretty, and there are some gorgeous shades.

Creme Cup seemed to be hugely popular in 2013 and was mentioned on a lot of blogs, which definitely swayed me into buying this shade! It's a nude pink shade, and whilst some people call it a "blue pink", which is a shade that apparently makes your teeth appear whiter, I've never personally seen any difference. This is a MAC Cremesheen finish lipstick, which is quite self explanatory - a lovely creamy feel to the product with a glossy finish! I do find that Creme Cup can be a little drying after a while, but a bit of gloss can sort that out easily.

Another shade that everybody seemed to go mad for in 2013/early 2014 was Coral Bliss! This is very much a glossy coral shade, and I would say is more of a summer shade. Even though this is a Cremesheen lipstick, the pigmentation is actually very strong, but still has that same creamy gloss finish! I rarely find that this can be drying too, so that's a bonus.

My favourite of the three lipsticks has to be Peach Blossom! I did a whole post on this way back in April 2014, where I basically declared my love for it, and whilst there are new lipsticks that I really like, this is definitely still a favourite. As I said in the post, this isn't a peach shade as the name would imply, more of a light pink shade with an ever-so-slight peach tinge! It has a lovely creamy and smooth formulation, since this is also from the Cremesheen line, so you get a long amount of wear without being drying.

I definitely do need to invest in some new MAC products as my collection of five seems pretty pathetic, so please let me know what your favourite MAC products are to hopefully give me some ideas!

What does your MAC collection consist of?

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The Perfect Lip Duo

Lately there have been two lip products that I have been wearing together a lot! I can't complete my makeup without wearing something on my lips, even if it is just some lip balm, so I'd like to say that I have tried quite a few lip product combinations, and this has got to be one of my favourites.

The first of these lip products is the TheBalm Girls Lipstick in Mai Billsbepaid*, which is a matte nude rose shade! I'm not the biggest fan of matte lipsticks, as I just tend to like the look of glossy lipsticks more, plus I have quite dry lips and I always find that matte lipsticks cling to dry patches. Saying that though this one is quite buttery and moisturising (although it does still cling a bit)! The packaging shape of the TheBalm Girls lipsticks are very similar to MAC lipsticks, so it has the same bullet style, but in silver rather than black!

To counteract the matte finish of the lipstick, I've been using my favourite clear lipgloss! I have said quite a few times in the past that lipglosses and I don't mix very well, since the stickiness of them can feel quite heavy, plus I have long hair, and I'm sure that you all know how lipgloss and hair do not mix well. There is one gloss though that I love, and this is the Clarins Prodige Intense Shine & Colour in the shade Crystal*! This is, as I said, a completely clear shade and has a really light feel. The glossiness is very strong too, and isn't overly sticky, so it's a nice all-round lipgloss.

After applying the lipstick, I put a little bit of the gloss on my bottom lip, then rub my lips together to transfer it onto my top lip too! If I apply it to both of my lips straight from the wand I always find that it's too much, but this way I get a nice level of shine, without being too strong or sticky.

What is your favourite lip product combination?

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Top 5 Winter Eyeshadows

Eyeshadows are always quite a fun thing to post about, so I thought that I would compose together my top 5 eyeshadows for winter! I am a lover of neutral toned eyeshadows all year round, but I do like to wear slightly darker shades at this time of year, as do a lot of other people. This post only contains solo eyeshadows, rather than palettes, as it seemed a little easier to do, so let me know if you'd like a similar post for eyeshadow palettes!

MAC Eyeshadow - Sable - £13 When I was looking at buying a MAC eyeshadow, Sable was recommended to me by quite a lot of people - I guess that it must be a pretty big favourite! This is from MAC's "frost" line of eyeshadows, so it is shimmery without being overly glittery. Sable is a bronze shade mixed with almost a burgundy or burnt red shade!

One of the things that I love about this eyeshadow is how smooth the powder feels, it's almost velvety! I must say though that it isn't overly pigmented, so you will need to build it up a bit if you want quite a dark shade, but there is very minimal fallout and lasts all day.

Clarins Ombre Matte Eyeshadow - Sparkle Grey (05) - £19* I know that Sparkle Grey was pretty popular amongst us bloggers when it came out last year, and I can really see why! The shade appears to be quite a sparkly purple in the pot and when you swatch it, but when you apply it to your eyelids it's a lot more grey. Like the MAC eyeshadow, the formulation of this one is gorgeous and has that lovely soft feel when you apply it! The pigmentation is really strong, and there's little fallout, if any at all.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow - New Moon (97) - £25* I'm not sure why New Moon came out very golden coloured in my swatch, but it's actually a mixture of purple and brown, with gold and silver glitter! This is a cream eyeshadow, so it has a pigmented buttery formulation, and doesn't feel at all cakey when applied.

I know that I tend to avoid cream eyeshadows as they often crease quickly, but I don't have that problem with this one! It's definitely on the expensive side, however it really is worth it if you want a great little cream eyeshadow.

Maybelline Color Tattoo - On And On Bronze - £4.99 Most of you will have heard about the Maybelline Color Tattoos by now, and if not where have you been?! On And On Bronze seems to be the most popular shade from the line, next to Metallic Pomegranate, so everybody must think that it is pretty good. On And On Bronze is a beautiful dark bronze shade, with a champagne tinge!

The formulation isn't particularly soft, but does apply to the eyelids evenly and blends well! I would suggest using a primer with this if your eyelids are on the oily side like mine, so as long as I have that it lasts a good few hours without creasing. Definitely one to try considering that it's under £5 too!

Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes - Ample Amber - £17* When you first see this eyeshadow it does look like the formulation will be hard and not very pleasant, but it actually glides on very easily with a lot of pigmentation - I don't even need to use a primer to make it last for hours! Ample Amber looks like a mixture of rose gold and amber, so it really is pretty. The shade actually looks similar to the packaging of the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette, which may help you imagine it a little better! This is a great product to take with you whilst you're on the go, since it's little, the packaging isn't made of glass and you have the ease of not even needing to use a brush with it.

What are your favourite winter eyeshadows?

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Benefit Gimme Brow // REVIEW

My eyebrows have always been hard to find products for, because of my hair colour, so when I was at a Benefit event back in the summer the lovely staff recommended that I test out Benefit Gimme Brow in light/medium! As this is quite a light ashy brown shade, they said that it would most likely suit my eyebrows, plus it's easy to use. I was a little apprehensive, but gave it a test at the counter, and was surprised to find that it did actually work really well on me! This meant that when I got back home I hopped online, bought it and eagerly waited for its arrival.

The application of this, as I said, is so simple since the packaging is very similar to a regular mascara, just a little smaller! You have the tiny mascara wand, which makes it easy to apply the gel without creating any clumps. All I do is gently brush my eyebrow hairs up with Gimme Brow, then run a spooli though them to get them back into shape and make sure that the product is distributed completely - that's it! I know that a lot of people have troubles using powders to fill their brows in, so if you have that trouble you really must try this out.

Aswell as giving colour, Gimme Brow also contains tiny fibres and gel, helping to give the look of fuller and natural brows! As for lasting power I've had no troubles at all, since it always stays in perfect condition whether I have makeup on for 12 hours or 2 hours!

At £17.50 this is maybe a little pricey for some people, but I would very happily pay that amount since my makeup routine wouldn't be complete without this great product!

Have you ever tried Benefit Gimme Brow?

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Top Blogs Of 2014

Happy New Year everybody! I hope that you all had a good Christmas too. So 2014 has been and gone, and 2015 is here already - can you believe it?! I thought that I would start this year's posts off with a positive one about my top blogs of 2014, to hopefully introduce you to some new reads! There are a lot of blogs that I read regularly, but, after a lot of debating with myself, I decided that these nine that are probably my most-read.

1. Rebecca-Louise from Autumn Leaves Rebecca-Louise's blog is definitely one of my favourites! She writes about all sorts of things including reviews and hauls, but my favourites have got to be her blogging tips. If you need any sort of help with most things blog orientated then this is really the one that you need to look at! 

2. Beth from Bird's Words Bird's Words is probably one of the first blogs that I ever followed, and actually inspired me a lot! Beth has always had quite girly blog designs, which is probably what grabbed me about her blog at first, plus it actually gave me inspiration for my own previous designs. Blog design aside, her photography is always absolutely gorgeous (I was asking her on Twitter to do a post about her photography setup, since I wish that my photos looked as pretty)! I love the posts that she does aswell, as they are all very beauty orientated, detailed and exactly the sort of products I like/wish I owned.

3. Em from Em Talks Em Talks is a blog about basically everything - whether it's chic outfits, beauty, lifestyle, travel, food, Em has blogged about it! Her photography is pretty and clear, aswell as having a minimalist blog design, making everything easy to follow. I really enjoyed reading Em's posts on her travels around Canada and the US too, as it seemed like she had an amazing time!

4. Victoria from In The Frow I'm sure that In The Frow is one that most of you will have heard of! With her iconic pastel purple hair (who really isn't atleast slightly jealous of the fact that she can pull that off?), stunning outfits and pretty photography this is definitely a blog that you should have a read of. Victoria also got signed to Gleam recently (the agency that manages Zoella, Tanya Burr and that gang) so I guess that shows how good her blog and Youtube channel must be!

5. Joëlle from La Petite Noob I have pretty much read La Petite Noob since Joëlle began it in 2013, after spotting some of her outfits on Instagram! Her posts are almost all fashion orientated, and she somehow makes every one look gorgeous, whilst also making me very jealous of her wardrobe. Quite a few of her outfits also seem to have a Parisian feel to them which I really like, plus her photos are all lovely! This is definitely a blog that you really must have a read of, as you won't be disappointed.

6. Pauline from Living The Healthy Choice Stepping away from beauty and fashion blogs for a minute, Living The Healthy Choice is actually a food blog! It is all about healthy recipes, packed full of fruit and vegetables, that look and taste amazing. This is another blog that I discovered via Instagram, and I'm so glad that I did! I avidly followed the pretty food photos that Pauline posted (and still do), meaning that it was quite exciting when I saw that she was starting a blog. If you're on the lookout for any healthy recipe ideas then you really must have a look here! 

7. Helen from The Lovecats Inc There are very few blogs that make me think "wow, I need that outfit" with almost every fashion post that they do, but Helen has managed to do that! Among her amazing outfits, her photography is gorgeous, her beauty posts are lovely and you must look at some of her recipe posts, because they will make you feel seriously hungry. 

8. Kathryn from This Outlet This Outlet is another blog that I've followed for absolutely ages, I actually think that I was the first ever follower! Kathryn mainly blogs about fashion and beauty, aswell as the odd lifestyle post, and has lovely photography. She also has an amazing blog design business (Kathryn actually designed my current and previous designs), so make sure that you have a look at that here if you're on the lookout for a new design for the new year.

9. Megan from Thumbelina Lillie Last one now! Thumbelina Lillie is a fashion and beauty blog, filled with gorgeous photography (just take a look at Megan's posts on the Charlotte Tilbury products and you will see what I mean). This is a blog that I've read on and off for atleast a year now, but it's only in the past few months that I've really gotten into it! Megan has also given me serious brow envy, I mean they look far too perfect! If you're looking for some cute outfits or great reviews then definitely have a read.

What were your favourite blogs of 2014?

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