(Partial) Birthday Haul!

This is the second haul I referred to in this post. These are actually some things that my friends picked up for my birthday (albeit not a full birthday haul). So what have we got...

L'Oreal True Match Foundation in W8

In all honesty, I should have done some more research on this foundation. I'd heard so much about it that I knew I wanted it but I was absolutely astounded by the shade range. There were so many and with the cool and the warm tones; I wasn't prepared let's say that! A few of the samples weren't there so I went with what I thought. It's on the darker end of the spectrum but as my face is always a lot lighter than my body, I'm hoping for the best. I'm trying it tonight with the stippling brush so I'll let you know if we have a match!

Real Techniques Stippling Brush

My aim is to slowly grow a Real Techniques army of brushes! I really do love them. However if you have any recommendations of a cheaper brush set I'd love to hear them as I need a few more eye brushes desperately. I chose this brush as I thought it looked interesting and I liked the sound of high definition results! However when I got it home, I realised that I had no idea what to use it for. Foundation, powders, cream products?? All three as it turns out! I tweeted Sam and Nic (the founders of the brushes) and Nic (@NixiePixi) responded saying that it was good for foundations, bronzer and powders, especially light coverage foundations like Mac face and body. Aisling (@covetedmess) from covetedmess.com (check out her blog, it's so professional looking and lustworthy!) also suggested to use it with cream products. Is there anything that this brush doesn't do?! Thanks for the tips ladies!

Rimmel Eyeshadow in Smokey Quartz

I've wanted this for a while but it's such a generic looking shimmery taupe, I've been putting it off. I finally caved on this trip and I haven't been disappointed. I've only swatched it so far but I really like the look of it. There was a little panic that I'd bought the same shade twice (there is a very similar shade in the Rimmel Smokey Brun Quad- see it here) however they're not identical thank goodness! To the naked eye they could be, but Smokey Quartz is slightly more brown.

Barry M Sugar Apple

I really like the ice cream, pastel nail thing going on and conversely, the neon trend. I picked up this pastel one and also its neon counterpart (in the other haul). I've been going in between them and nothing else. It's Sugar Apple's turn tonight!

Have you been shopping recently? Any recommendations for me?

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FOTD featuring Clinique Chubby Stick in Pudgy Peony

I do not know what possessed me to take a picture on my less than becoming moss green carpet?! I was obviously having a moment of madness! As said in this post, FOTDs have never been my forte. I just don't know how to take a good picture of myself. I also like to tilt my head to an almost 90 degree angle, what's up with that?!

My craziness aside, I really like this look. I think it really reflects my style. Very simple and quick and easy to do. I filled in my brows on this day with the MUA Undress Me Too palette (a mixture of the brown and he black) which I never normally do. Everyone goes on about brows all the time but I just don't know if I like it on myself. What do you think? It does shape them and pull together a look but I feel too done, somehow. Maybe it's the colour; slightly;too dark?

My lip colour of choice has been my go-to recently. It's the Clinique Chubby Stick in Pudgy Peony and definitely the star of this FOTD. I'm still loving the chubby stick/ pencil lip colour thaaang. They're just so easy to glide on for an effortless lip colour. If you haven't realised, I like my make up as low maintenance as possible!

The rest of the products are nothing that you haven't seen on AG before.

Base
17 Photo Ready Primer in the T-zone to reduce shine. Rimmel Lasting Finish foundation with a little bit of Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer for concealing. Finally a light dusting of Rimmel Match Perfection powder (this is the powder I mentioned in this post!)

Eyes
Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze swiped across the lids. A thin line of Soap and Glory SuperCat Liner to define the eyes and thicken the lash line. A swiping of Bourjois Paris Volume Glamour Max Holidays Mascara (what a random mix of words!)
MUA Undress Me Too palette for brows

Lips 
Clinique Chubby Stick in Pudgy Peony
(the link is to Boots Chubby Stick stocking as I can't find a direct link- sorry!)

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The Every Day Eye Look

From the top, round to the right

 I've been trying to use my eye shadows more recently. I'm always drawn to them in stores; the different finishes and colours, soooo pretty. However I only ever really crack them out on special occasions. Enter the Rimmel Quad in Smokey Brun.

I picked this little gem up a while ago and thought it had the perfect colours in it for an everyday look. A starter kit for an eye shadow beginner like myself. No picking out colours that compliment each other as the work is done for you!

Encased in sleek but basic black packaging, this quad contains four shimmer eye shadows including a dark brown, a bronze, a cream and a light creamy brown (I wanted to describe this as the colour of almond milk but I don't know if anyone would know what I was on about! Anyone understand?). Plus the pigmentation, which can sometimes be the downfall of lighter coloured drug store eye shadows, is excellent for the price (£6.99).

How I've been using these colours is the bronze all over the lid and then the darker brown for some definition in the crease and outer corner. The other two colours could be used as an inner eye highlight (or as a base) but I feel like that looks weird on me. I believe thats because the lighter shades don't suit my skin tone as much. Check me talking about inner eye highlight though?! I'm trying to run before I can walk in the eye shadow department!!

Does anyone else struggle with eye shadow like myself? What are your favourites brands/shades?

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The Budget Concealer Trio

Now I'm not sure if you've noticed but this blog is primarily a budget beauty one (by primarily, I mean one high end Christmas gift has made it onto here). This is because I'm a student and I can practically hear my mum scolding me if I even venture to the more expensive end of Boots, let alone to the counters. I'm going to capitalise on this and explore the drugstore for you in the hopes of finding some gems. And believe me there are plenty!

What I'm sharing with you today is my concealer routine. These are the three products I use to hide my colossal bags, my 'one too many drinks' spots and all the rest of it!

First up is Collection Illuminating Concealer. What drew me to this is the illuminating part of it. I've got quite purple dark circles and they needed something more than just covering. This is a light concealer that brightens under the eye perfectly. It also has a peachy tone to it that cancels out my bags. I tend to use this as more of a correcter so will apply this lightly and then go in with a second concealer. The one I'm currently using is the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. Depending on the heaviness of my make up, I'll either dab this in my inner eye for a little bit more coverage or go all out with the classic highlighting triangle below my eye. Plenty has been said about this concealer but it is quite heavy so do be careful of that. I like to put it on the back of my hand and then dab it under my eyes for a less cakey look. Finally I finish with my Rimmel Stay Matte Power in Transparent and Real Techniques Contour Brush (it fits perfectly under the eye!) to set it all and ensure no movement!

I'd love to hear your favourite concealers. I'm a bit of a concealer junkie. I'm looking at the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer next! Looks amazing with the little sponge on the end.

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Face of the Day| Drugstore

Berry smoothie to go with my berry lips!

I thought I'd share another FOTD with you today, if not simply to prove that I do wear other make up other than brown matte shadows (not that I stray too far..)

Recently my skin has been on the verge of a break out so most days I've gone without a base to give my skin a chance to recover and rebalance. I've realised that I have a real liking for concealer and am constantly flitting in between. The one I'm currently using is the Collection Illuminating Touch concealer for under my eyes. I've got quite bad dark circles and this has a peachy tone that cancels that out. I use my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent to set it as it does have a tendency to crease if I over do it.

For eyes, I kept it simple and used my MUA Undress Me Too palette. I've been trying to experiment with this palette and try and get some more every day looks out of it. The shimmer shades are definitely the better pigmented ones though and sometimes I feel as if I've over done it and look like I'm  going on a night out instead of just to university.

On this day, I used Reveal on the lid and Obsessed (my favourite crease colour) and I think I acheived the every day look! I then put a little bit of eye liner to thicken my lashline and mascara.

To finish the look, I did the teeniest weeniest bit of contouring (I'm trying to get back into it) and slicked on some Bourjois Colour Boost in Plum Russian. I still love this for an every day not too vampy lip.

What have you worn today? I've had a bit of bloggers block recently so any recommended tags or post requests would be most welcome!

(P.S. Please excuse my hair! It just wasn't doing what I wanted so I eventually gave in battling it and left it)

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November Favourites!

I would start all my favourites like this if you guys wouldn't get bored: how is it the end of November already?! I seriously feel like I've just started university again and now I'm on holiday in two weeks. It's crazy. Necessary 'time going too fast' moan over. Here's what I've been loving this month.

I've been really toning down the amount of make up I've been wearing recently. Partly because I'm back at university and I need as much time in bed as possible and partly because I really like how it looks.

Real Techniques Buffing Brush- link- This brush needs no hype, it's just perfect. Nothing buffs foundation or concealer into my skin like it. I'm sure it's featured in another one of my favourites (oops, it's been in more favourites than not!) so I won't harp on about it. Basically it's brilliant, buy it!

Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in 011 Sable Brown- link- This is a trick I nicked from ViviannaDoesMakeup. Little bit of this eyeliner smudged over the lids makes you go from 'just woken up' to 'I spent at least 10 minutes on my eyes' in about five seconds. I've been reaching for this loads this month because I have had little time for eye shadows in the morning.

Soap and Glory Super Cat  Liqiud Black Eye Liner Pen- link- I've only just realised that a cat flick makes my droopy eyes look more awake. I can't believe it has taken me this long to figure it out! When I've had time and/or patience, I've been giving that a go. I can't say I'm a professional , in fact an 'Eye Liner for Noobs' book would be quite an apt present for Christmas but I've been loving the look (when I can get them even that is and don't wipe it all off in an angry huff!)

17 Hide Away Concealer Cream in Medium- (Can't seem to find it anywhere-weirdly enough)- This has been my concealer of choice for a couple of months now. It hides blemishes really well without accentuating them like some and I find it works really well even when my skin gets a little drier in the colder weather.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Natural Bronze Body Lotion- link- This has definitely been in another favourites. I named it my first Holy Grail item of this here blog here and I'm still loving it six months on. I find that when the winter months roll around, my skin gets noticeably pale and I look ill, like 'had the plague and just about came through the other side' ill. This gives me a bit of a glow without looking like I've piled on the tan. Perfect!

Home Baking candle- This is a bit of a cheat as I can't tell you the brand. I picked this up in Roseby's, a home furnishing store. I've had a little Wikipedia search and they apparently have 300 stores nationwide so if you have one near you, I would definitely recommend you popping in for some amazing candle discounts. I got this giant one (like Yankee Large giant) for £6! It's in this lovely glass jar that looks anything but cheap and the smell is divine! It's a warm vanilla scent, not too synthetic which can be the way with vanilla. My housemate even commented that she could smell it downstairs! That's how much it fills a room. 

Sorry to go on so much about a product you might not be able to find! What have you been loving this month?

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Rimmel 60 Second nail polish Instyle Coral

 

How obvious is it that this post has sat in my drafts for a while? A completely unseasonal colour with lovely bright pictures which seem impossible to attain in winter. Does any other blogger have this problem? Go to take a product picture and suddenly realise it's after 4pm and all the light has gone? Not enjoying the nights drawing in to say the least!

Rant over, let's get onto the product! I picked this up on a whim in Superdrug as I'd been looking to expand my pastel nail polish collection. I thought this one was beautiful as it's a muted coral, not too orange. Standard opaque in two coats, you can see some of the ridges in my nail but they are really bad at the minute so I won't fault the polish on that.

 

It stayed flawless for a about three days before chipping started. This is pretty standard on my nails (I think it's because they're in such bad condition, boo). The brush was a wide brush (my favourite), which I love as it coats the nail in one, maybe two swipes. I think the top coat worked really well to give them a lovely glossy finish though! A review will be coming on that soon separately on the nail hardening qualities (spoiler: it doesn't work).

Definitely recommend having a look at this polish if you're in Superdrug or Boots. £3.69 HERE. I'm always looking to expand my collection so recommendations are welcome! Have you got a favourite polish? This post has reminded me of this one and it will be the next one worn!

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FOTD featuring Topshop's Beatnik lipstick

This was my Face of the Day today. I was only going into university for a few hours so I kept it very simple. I wouldn't usually wear eye shadow for uni, just a slick of eye liner and mascara but I had some extra time on my hands this morning so decided to add some neutrals into the mix

To achieve this look, I started off with my Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour foundation, mine is in 400 Natural Beige and my Real Techniques buffing brush. I find that this foundation can look a little orange for my taste so I will usually mix it with a little moisturiser to tone this down. I also find this helps the foundation to be more moisturising and not stick to dry patches as much.

Next I went in with my Collection (2000) Concealer in Medium 3. I applied this under my eyes with my fingers, I find it goes on best patted on. I also patted on a bit more foundation on any blemishes I had for a higher coverage.

For my eyes, I first put on a base of MUA's Colour Boost Eyeshadow Tint in A Girl Like Me. I wasn't keen on this product to start with as it seemed to have very little colour pay off on the eyes, despite looking lovely when swatched. I think it worked well as a base for this look though. On top of that, I put a sweep of Reveal from the MUA Undress Me Too palette, followed by Exposed in the outer corner. These shadows are quite light but I didn't want anything to heavy for today. I finished my eyes with a thin liquid liner (Soap and Glory Supercat) and W7 Lashtastic mascara.

I finished this look with Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 02 Sun Bronze all over the face and a swipe of Topshop's Beatnik on the lips (see review HERE)

I really liked this simple look! What make up did you wear today?

September favourites

I haven't written a favourites post since May! (If you're interested, it's here). I'm a bad blogger, I know! Anyway, here are some products and a couple of random things that I have been loving this month.

Barry M Basecoat Topcoat and Nail Hardener// Sinful Colors in 24/7

There is a review scheduled for both of these polishes soon so I won't say too much about them here. The Barry M base coat has been helping to give a much more smooth application to my polish, but I haven't been using it for long enough to comment on the nail hardening qualities of it. I just hope it is true as my nails are currently in a state (sad times). The Sinful Colors (so hard not to put the 'u' in there!) in 24/7 is a neon matte shade which I have been loving. Definitely not seasonal but I'm feeling daring!!

Quick Fix Facials Mega Moisture Gel Mask// Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze

Again a full review to come on this Quick Fix face mask but this has been really helping me through these colder weeks. My skin gets extremely dry at the hint of any cold and this has Hyraluronic acid in it, which is meant to help your skin retain moisture better. I wouldn't say that it has had any long term effects on my skin, but as the name says, I believe it's meant to be a "quick fix". Eeeee, I've hit pan on something! I go very pale in the autumn/winter and this bronzer has been helping me fool people that I don't. I've been giving foundation more of a miss than not recently and a bit of concealer under the eyes and some of this bronzer swept over the face and I'm out the door. You can see a full review of the Rimmel bronzer here

MUA PowerPout in Brokenhearted// Bourjois lipstick in Sweet Kiss 51

I've raved about these two in separate posts (MUA- here, Bourjois- here) so you can check those out but since I've been back at uni, I've wanted some lip colour back in my life. My products of choice have been these two for an easy, every day look and I've been loving them.

Yankee Candle in Sweet Pea// Midi rings from Primark

 Finally a few random favourites. I bought a gorgeous candle holder from Asda (it looks like a flower opening and you put the candle in the middle) and needed some tea light candles to go in it. I can't bear to part with the cash to buy a full sized Yankee candle but these little ones were only a pound (!) so I picked a couple up. Usually I'm straight for the vanilla scents but my mum encouraged me to go for something different so I got the sweet pea. It has a lovely fresh fragrance and really does fill the room. Next to the candle are some midi rings that I picked up at the end of this month. Since I saw the Persian Babe on YouTube with them, I really wanted some so I got two packs from Primark. One set had two of each metal, gold, silver, rose gold and the dark grey metal. The other had a plain silver band, the spring like ring (pictured) and a silver one with the infinity symbol on it (pictured). I just think they make your hand look dainty! A mean feat for my man hands!!

Despite this being a suuuper long post, I can't write it without mentioning Pretty Little Liars! OMG am I addicted, I only started recently and have already almost caught up! It keeps you on your toes that's for sure! Definitely check it out!!

What products have you been loving this month? I'd love some TV show recommendations!

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Rimmel Natural Bronzer- Sun Bronze

Hey!

I picked up this Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 022 Sun Bronze when my Clinique one finally bit the dust and crumbled into tiny pieces. I didn't really look around, just picked up the first one I saw. Luckily I love it! This bronzer gives me a lovely sunkissed look without being too orangey. I apply this either all over my face with a big fluffy brush or with a contouring brush in the hollows of my cheeks to give my face some definition. I find that this product works well for both uses and I like the fact it has SPF 15 in it, as some extra protection for my face.

One negative point I do have to make about it is the packaging. I'm not sure if it's just my bronzer or all of them as a whole but the lid always seems quite loose, so I have to make sure not to throw it in my bag. Other than that, I love it.

Since then I've been looking around and seen this bronzer from Collection (sorry for the stock photo, I don't own the product-yet!). It's huge and for a mere £4.19, it's an absolute bargain! I'll be interested to see how that one fares when my current one is finished.

You could pick either of these products up in Boots/ Superdrug or order them HERE (Rimmel) and HERE (Collection)

What's your favourite bronzer? Do you like either of these ones?

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