August Wishlist

1. Naked 3 Palette
I think I may have featured this in a wishlist before but I still haven’t managed to get it. Lately I’ve been getting into more pink shimmery shades and the Naked 3 is full of shades exactly like that, I may wait around for a bit and put it on my Christmas list instead though.

2. Elf Cream Contour Kit
On days/nights where I want my make up to look more dramatic I like to use a cream bronzer as my contour shade. The one I’m using doesn’t last as long as I’d like it to and I’m on the look out for a good budget one. I have gone gone to purchase this contour kit before but it always seems to be sold out, hopefully I’ll have more luck finding it soon.

3. Wet N Wild Sugar Plumb Fairy
Autumn isn’t too far off and I’m already lusting after new dark lip colours, I always hear people comparing the Wet N Wild lipstick in Sugar Plumb Fairy to Mac Rebel which I really want to try out. As I’m not sure if Rebel will suit me, I’m thinking of getting this shade first to try it out as it’s much cheaper.

4. Sleek Eyebrow Kit
I’m unfortunately reaching the end of my benefit brows a go go kit, (noooo) and as much I love it with all my heart it is a lot of money to spend on a product for your eyebrows. So I’m now on the hunt for a cheaper alternative and that’s where I stumbled upon the Sleek eyebrow kit. I’m a huge fan of sleek products and own a few, this is over half the price of the Benefit one so I may have found my next purchase.

5. Soap & Glory Solar Powder
I’ve not actually tried much from the Soap & Glory make up range but i always here such good things about their products. In particular the solar powder, having a fairer skin tone the shade of this looks perfect, it’s not too dark or light and would work wonderful as a subtle contour.

6. Soap & Glory Brow Archery
I actually heard about this product through Gabby & Zoe (Velvetgh0st & Zoella), they both use it and highly recommend it in their videos. I’ve never really been into eyebrow pencils as I feel they can look a bit harsh but the felt tip side of it intrigues me.

Have you guys followed me on bloglovin’ yet? I’d really love if you could as it helps me out a lot 🙂

Elf Beauty Book – Natural Look Review

I admittedly should have done a review on this product ages ago now but the truth is I simply can’t get a good picture of the eye make up when I’m wearing it, I can create so many beautiful looks with that product but I can’t seem to capture them with the rubbish quality of my iPhone 4 camera. Anyway on with the review.

I picked this eyeshadow palette/book up whilst at the Elf blogger event and I’ve used it a heck of a lot since then. The beauty books come with 6 eyeshadows to create a day look and a night look, an eyelid primer and a brown eyeliner pencil. The eyeshadows are amazingly pigmented and aren’t chalky at all, which i wasn’t expecting as I only paid £6 for it. The eyelid primer is mediocre and gives you around 4/5 hours of wear before creasing, I like to use my Avon eyelid primer with these shadows though as it gives them a longer wear. The eyeliner is great to use on the waterline and to gently line your top lid.

The Elf Beauty Books are great for beginners as they include a step by step guide on how to create an eyeshadow look and all 6 shadows are listed for what they should be used for. Along with the two looks you can create following the guide on the book, I have created many different eye looks using these 6 shadows and the palette is really versatile, they apply smoothly and don’t crease when wearing a good primer.

Pigmentation: 8/10
Longevity: 7/10
Value For Money: 10/10
Versatility: 9/10
Overall Rating: 9/10

July Wishlist

Black Ripped Skinny Jeans
I’ve been looking for the perfect pair of black ripped skinnies for ages now but I can never seem to find a pair I like in my size, anyone got any recommendations for some nice ones?
Z Palette
I’ve for around 12 small palettes with eyeshadows and blushes in them that just take up too much room so I’m thinking of getting a large Z Palette so I can have them all in one place. I feel like I’ll reach for them more if I do this too.
TheBalm Mary Loumanzier
I’ve been loving highlighters lately but only own one powder highlighter and have heard amazing things about TheBalms Mary Loumanizer so it’s definitely on the top of my to buy list.
TheBalm Frat Boy Blusher
Another Balm product, I’m surprised I’ve never bought anything from this brand as I’m loving the look of all their products. The second product I want to get my hands on is their Frat Boy blush. I actually seen this being used I. A YouTube tutorial and it gives the most gorgeous natural flush to the cheeks.
Fujifilm Instax Mini Polaroid Camera
I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a Polaroid camera for a while now, I think it would be so cute to capture special moments and have the pictures to keep, especially as all my pictures are taking on my iPhone these days.
Mac Cool Eyeshadow Palette
Mac recently came out with two ready made eyeshadow palettes in warm and cool shades and I am dying to try the cool palette. They retail for £65 which is a huge saving compared to buying individual eyeshadows.
Elf Shadow & Liner Stick In Midnight Blue – This product was used during a tutorial at the Elf blogger fair I attended and I couldn’t get over how simple it was to use, the end result was beautiful too. For £3 you can’t go wrong!
A Pug Top
I’ve been looking for a pug t shirt like this for ages now, this one was only a fiver on bank but it’s sold out :(. I have an on growing for pugs and need a top like this in my life.
What’s on the top of your wish list this month?

June Favourites

Well here we are again, another month gone and another favourites post. We’re finally into summer and I’m off college until September meaning I have a lot of free time to write blog post. I’ve discovered a lot of new beauty and non beauty products this month that I’ve really liked so this favourites may be longer than usual.

Beauty Favourites

Red Lipstick
I’ve never really gotten on with red lipstick until this month, I just didn’t think it suited me and was a lot of hassle to keep it looking good throughout the day. Lately however I’ve been loving pairing a red lip with a subtle smokey eye and winged liner and I actually did a blog post on it here. The red lipstick I’ve been using is red by Avon, it’s really creamy, pigmented and lasts for a good 6 hours without needing to reapply.

Elf Beauty Book in Natural
I picked up this little beauty whilst at the Elf blogger fair which you can see my blog post on here. I swatched the shadows in store and thought they were amazing but I really did not expect such high quality seeing as I only paid £6 for it. The beauty book contains 6 eyeshadows, a primer and am eyeliner. The eyeshadows are the reason this product has made it into my favourites though as they really do compare to the quality of the naked palettes and can be used to make a beautiful natural smokey eye.

Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara
I’ve had a sample size of this mascara for a while now but I’ve only recently started using it and it’s safe to say I’ve been amazed by how good it is! This mascara adds so much volume and length and since using it I’ve had so many compliments on my lashes and people even asking if they were fake. I’m definitely going to pick up a full size one when this runs out.

St Moritz Fake Tan Mousse
I’m not a huge fake tanner as I just find it so much hard work and it tends to look fake and patchy on me. At the start of the month when we were getting nice weather however I decided to apply some of the St Moritz tanner as I didn’t want my legs looking like milk bottles. Not expecting much I left it on over night and showered it off the next morning. To my amazement I came out of the shower with a beautiful, natural glow to my skin and I’ve been hooked ever since! I apply it every Sunday night and wash it off the next morning, you really can’t go wrong for £3!

L’Oreal Eye Make Up Remover
I’ve never really seen the point of eye make up removers as I’ve always used cleansers that are suitable to use on your eyes, a couple of weeks ago though I picked up the loreal eye make up remover as it was on offer. The smallest drop of this on a cotton pad removes all of your eye make up in two swipes! This means that you’re not only not using as much cleanser but is also softer on your eyes as you don’t have to tug at them to remove the make up. I am sold!

Collection Lipstick In Tallulah
Yes another lipstick.. I picked this up in my local asda as it was only around £2 and wasn’t really expecting much. I should have had higher hopes though as this lipstick is the most beautiful every day pink colour, applies like a dream and is so moisturising. If you’re looking for a natural everyday lipstick you need to pick this one up!

Non Beauty Favourites

The World Cup
Never ever in a million years did I think I would be saying that I enjoy football but ever since the World Cup has started I can’t get enough! Maybe it’s the whole hype around it or just because it’s always on tv, but I am really getting into football. I’ve watched at least one game every day since it’s been on and I find myself oooing and ahhhing at the TV (My ex boyfriend would be so proud of me!)

The Fault in Our Stars
I’ve featured the fault in our stars book in my favourites before so of course I had to go see the movie the first day it was out. Without spoiling anything all I’m going to say is that I have never cried so much at a film in my life! I laughed, cried, laughed and cried again. It’s one of the most heartwarming films I’ve ever seen and I recommend you all go and see it.

Beyond Beauty Star
I’ve decided I’m going to feature my favourite Youtuber every month and this month I’ve really been loving Claudia from Beyond Beauty Star. I am obsessed with her style and I’ve been really tempted to cut my hair shorter ever since I’ve started watching her. Claudia does beauty videos on her main channel which you can see she puts so much effort in to and vlogs on her second channel. You can check out her main channel here and vlog channel here

What were your favourite products this month?

Face Of The Day – Winged Eyeliner & Red Lip

Today I opted for a smokey eye, winged liner and a bold rep lip. I used the Elf beauty book to achieve my eye look and Im so impressed with it, I’ll be doing a review on it soon so stay tuned!

Face
• Elf Mineral Infused face primer
• Mac Pro Longwear foundation in NW15
• Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in 01 fair
• eBay concealer palette used for contouring link here
• NYC Smooth Skin Sunny Bronzer
• Sleek Rose Gold Blush
• Highlighter from the Sleek Contour Kit
• Maybeline Fit Me Powder

Eyes
• Elf Eyelid Primer
• Elf Beauty Book in Natural – Lightest highlight shade, daytime contour and nighttime contour shade
• Asda Liquid Eyeliner
• Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara

Lips
• Avon Red Lipstick

Elf Blogger Festival

Around a month ago I was invited to attend a blogger event at the Elf store in Cardiff focused around festival make up. The event took place on Thursday (12th of June 2014) and when I arrived it was like walking backstage into the make up room in a festival. Amazing!

I invited my friend to come along with me and as soon as we arrived we were offered free punch with the option to have an alcoholic or non alcoholic one with endless refills. There was also an amazing singer who sung a few songs at the beginning of the event which made me feel like I was in an actual festival. We then had an hour to walk around all the pop up festival stands to get our nails, lips, eyes and cool flowers on our face using their little book of shadows.

This was my first time visiting the Elf store so of course I was taken back by all the beautiful make up and spent around half an hour looking and searching it all. I ended up picking up one of their beauty books in the natural look as the pigmentation on the shadows for £6 is insane! I’ll hopefully be doing a blog post on an eye look using the beauty book.

After an hour of drooling over make up, getting my nails done and getting a cute little heart painted on my face it was time to go upstairs for the main event. The lovely girls at elf (which I must say a huge thank you to for being so welcoming and friendly) were going to create a festival make up look using 5 products. I found this tutorial amazing and the end result of the model was stunning, they used the Elf eyeliner and shadow stick in midnight blue to line the eyes and in the outer v. All I’m saying is I now need this product in my life!

Finally before we left, the girls handed out goodie bags to us which I was totally not expecting. Inside was a little black beauty book of shadows which I can not wait to try, I think this is going to great for fun summer looks. As well as this there was a card for a free make over at the Elf store worth £20 which I’m going to use when I go to a festival in Cardiff during August.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Elf for inviting me the event and the fabulous staff for being so kind and helpful! Elf are currently having a huge clearance sale on their website and are offering free delivery on any orders over £10, go check it out! http://eyeslipsface.co.uk. Higher quality images we’re taken from the Elf store cardiff’s Facebook https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.

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How To: Get Flawless Long Lasting Foundation

For years I’ve been searching for the perfect foundation that will give me a flawless base and last all day and I finally think I’ve found that. I now believe that it’s not all down to the foundation and that preparation and a good primer plays a big part in getting your base to look flawless and last all day.

Step 1- Cleanse and moisturise face
A key to getting your foundation to apply smoothly and evenly is to make sure you apply a good hydrating moisturiser to a clean face before hand. My favourite moisturiser that I like to apply before I put on any make up is the Garnier Moisture Math moisturiser for dull skin.

Step 2 – Apply a primer
Before I had used a primer I was skeptical about them and thought there was no way they could ever make your foundation last any longer. But gosh how wrong I was! Applying a primer before your foundation not only makes it last a lot longer but also makes your pores appear smaller which leaves your skin looking flawless. The primer I use which gives me at least an extra three hours wear is the Elf Face Primer.

Step 3 – Apply a long lasting foundation
My absolute favourite foundation which delivers outstanding, long lasting results is Mac’s Pro Longwear foundation. As the name suggests this stuff does not budge all day and along with the two other steps can leave your skin looking flawless for up to 16 hours! My tip to achieve a flawless coverage is to apply the foundation directly to your face and then buff it in in downward motions.

Step 4 – Set everything
You may think you don’t need to powder your face if you don’t suffer with oily skim but powder doesn’t just control oil it also sets everything on your face making it last a lot longer. If you do suffer with dryer skin just powder through your t zone and where you’ve put concealer. If you’re on the oiler side lightly powder your whole face.

There we have it, this is the final look using 4 steps to achieve long lasting flawless looking foundation.

Do you have any tips to make your foundation last longer?

 

April Favourites

I can’t believe another month has passed by, where is the time going? Anyway this month my favourites have varied and I don’t just have beauty products, I read for the first time all year and cried my eyes out which is why the book has made it into my favourites. I also have some new products that I’ve bought this month and have fallen in love with.

My first favourite this month has to be The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, now I know I am way behind on the bandwagon with this book but to be honest I’ve just never got around to buying it. So when my mother bought me it for Easter and I had two weeks off from college I thought what better time to read it? I literally got through the whole book in two days and must have cried enough tears to fill a bucket, I honestly didn’t think I was going to get so into the story and fall in love with the characters as much as I did, without saying too much in really did not expect the huge twist and it completely broke me! After reading I now can’t wait to see the movie.

Now onto the beauty favourites, I’ve been LOVING Creme Cup by Mac I got it at the beginning of April and I don’t think I’ve used much else on my lips since, it’s just the perfect everyday colour and it goes perfectly with a smokey eye. If I want to darken it up I use a purpley brown colour on top of it and the combination is beautiful (I’ll do a post on it soon).

On the same line of lip products, I recently got the Elf Lip Exfoliator which I talked about in a haul here. I suffer with really dry cracked lips and this product has been a life saver since I got it, you can feel it working as soon as you apply it and after leaving it on for around 5 minutes you’re left with smooth lips ready for even a matte lipstick. This stuff smells and tastes amazing too!

Again another lip product favourite (I’ve gone a bit lip mad this month!), I finally got around to getting an Eos Lip Balm in Sweet Mint. First of all the packaging excites me so much and I love how you don’t have to use your fingers to apply it to your lips, making it really hygienic. The lip balm itself is extremely hydrating and you don’t feel the need to reapply it again and again.

Finally moving away from lip products, my penultimate favourite this month is an old favourite of mine, the NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny. I used to use this product around a year ago and adored it! It unfortunately broke when I was travelling though and after searching high and low I couldn’t find it anywhere in shops or online. So as you can imagine I was ecstatic when I found it in a large Superdrug store while in Birmingham at the beginning of the month. This is the best and cheapest bronzer I’ve ever used, it’s matte which means it’s great for contouring and is the perfect shade for my skin.

The last favourite this month is something I’d never imagine using as I didn’t think they’d ever work, but it’s actually a foot cream. I was given a few soap and glory items for Easter which included the Heel Genius Amazing Foot Cream, and I can say that it is indeed amazing! I used this stuff the night I had it to see what all the fuss was about, I applied a small amount to each foot and put socks over the top before sleeping and to my amazement I woke up with the softest feet I’ve ever felt! Honestly they felt amazing and all the dry skin around my heels was gone. I recommend you try it out if if like me you never thought a foot cream would make much difference because believe me, it does!

That’s all my favourites for this month guys, I wish you all a happy May!

What did you love this month?

Elf Haul

Last weekend I saw that Elf were doing a huge 50% off their whole collection as a part of an Easter promotion, and I couldn’t resist. I placed an order for £32 but had it for around £18 which is an absolute bargain! I got some stuff that I’ve been meaning to try for a while now and I can’t wait to try them out.

I got 3 brushes, a pointed foundation brush for using cream bronzers and a flat top foundation brush both from the studio line, I also got a fan brush from the normal elf range to use with highlighter. I’ve heard great things about the elf studio line brushes and I can tell why, both the brushes are extremely soft and I can’t wait to try them out. The regular elf line brushes however don’t seem as soft but I’m sure it’ll do the job for highlighting.

The next thing I got was the Mineral Face Infused Primer, I haven’t tried this out yet but I’m looking forward to as I’ve heard great stuff about it. According to the box it’s supposed to get rid of any dryness and fill in your pores, I’ll be sure to do a review once I’ve tried it out.

I also picked up 3 of the Elf lipsticks in seductive, flirtatious and charming all of which are pinky shades as I feel like I don’t own many everyday pink lipsticks and for 1.95 you can’t go wrong!

As I wear a lot of lipsticks and am constantly battling dry flaky lips so I thought I’d try the Elf Lip Exfoliator, I tried this as soon as I opened it and I love it already! It’s in a lipstick like tube and feels like your applying sugar to your lips, it not only tastes amazing but leaves your lips free from dry skin and ready for any lipstick!

The last thing I ordered was a mineralise blush from the studio line, after reading reviews I decided to get pinktastic as it works brilliantly as a highlighter, I’ve swatched this and it’s a stunning gold colour with small specks of rose gold. I think this will look beautiful on the skin!

Elf were also offering 2 free gifts with every purchase over £15 so on top of everything I ordered I got a free lipgloss and a mineral eyeshadow. Thanks Elf!

Have you bought anything recently?