Collective Beauty Haul | Superdrug, Fragrance Direct & E.L.F

Hello ladies, I hope you’re all well and enjoying the last few days of summer.
This is a collective haul of the past two months, and the last bit of makeup shopping I’ll be doing till I get the chance to get my hands on the Lorac Pro palettes!



Starting with my superdrug bits, after loving the Bourjois CC cream so much I have really been experimental with drugstore bases from ethical brands. The happy light foundation is the 4th base I now own from Bourjois (YES FOURTH D:)...and I bought it in the shade 53 which is a TAD darker than I would normally go for. First impressions are mixed, so I’ll have to dedicate a month to properly road test this before I report back, have you tried this? What are your thoughts?

I also picked up the Bourjois healthy balance powder in 53 for two reasons. 1. It’s been recommended by Amelia Liana and I adore her blog/channel and take her drugstore recommendations very seriously! I hear its one of the best drugstore powders around  2. I think its really important to have a decent powder for occasions when you need your makeup to last that extra bit longer, or for those super hot days because melting makeup is not a nice look. The ‘natural healthy glow’ sounds promising considering this is a powder and although I won’t be reaching for this on a daily basis I’m glad to have it in my collection! I also like the fact that it has a large mirror on the inside, great for the handbag!



The most exciting Bourjois purchase by far has been this brand new Delice De Poudre Duo! It is another bronzer and highlight duo from the drugstore and first impressions are very good :) PLUS IT SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE!



Moving onto Rimmel, after seeing this on Lily Pebble’s blog and Kal’s blog (Cluttered Closet) I picked it up in the sale. Its the Rimmel Glam’Eyes HD Palette in Brixton Brown cute mini palette, perfect for travelling and it has beautiful neutral colours. So far I have been quite impressed with the pigmentation and the middle colour makes a stunning crease/transitional shade whilst that pale colour makes a fantastic inner-corner highlight!



Superdrug had an offer where if you buy Rimmel’s Wonder’full mascara (which was only £5 as an introductionary offer) you could get the Scandaleyes thick and thin eyeliner for free, so of course I had to take advantage! I’ve heard lots of mixed reviews about this mascara, but unfortunately I will not be trying it for quite some time as my mascara wardrobe has grown at an alarmingly fast rate for a girl who wears mascara once a month at the most D:

The argan oil formula sounds promising and I do like the swish packaging (although it is a little bulky).



From the E.L.F 50% off sale this time I picked up three things from the studio line. The HD Powder in Corrective Yellow in the hope that it would be comparable to my Ben Nye Banana powder...so far I wouldn’t recommend it for a replacement of that. However the original HD powder which is white, did give me a white/ghosty appearance so hopefully this will still come into use when needed for those special HD occasions.

I then browsed their fantastic Studio brush line, and picked up the Small Stipple Brush which is such a perfect size for applying blush, highlight or contour! Its especially great with cream products so I’m looking forwards to using this soon! I also bought a new brush the Small precision brush which looks perfect for packing on colour or pigment. I find that I have so many large shaders and big fluffy brushes I find it hard to add a small amount of colour! So this looks perfect and for less than £2 in the sale I couldn’t be happier with it!



I have only dabbled into the mineral line’s lipstick and I have to say I love them! E.L.F’s mineral line is ALL paraben free, so I decided to give their single Pressed Mineral eyeshadows a whirl. I picked up the shades Beauty Queen and Lunch Break. I’m very happy with the quality, they’re soft and not chalky and the pigmentation is great too, especially with a base.

I also bought one mineral lip liner in the shade peachy I love the colour and all over the lips, its a beautiful peachy pink. The only thing is because it is so small and thin, if you continuously use it as an all over the lip shade you will run out quickly.

Fragrance Direct
I adore this website, and buy most of my perfumes from there. They have almost every brand of perfume you could think of and usually you get at least 10-20% off the RRP which is such a bargain! They also stock a lot of makeup and nail polish, and being the bargain queen then I am I do sometimes have a good shop on there and end up saving so much money!

I especially like looking through the makeup gifts tab because I bought ALL my mini Ciate paintpots from there for such a reasonable price! They also have all the fun effects too like feathers, beads etc;



I bought 3 makeup items this time around. Firstly the MEMEME Bronze Goddess gift set. I’ve just looked on the website and I cannot seem to find it anymore :( which is such a shame, but if I do come across it I will post it on my facebook and twitter to alert you all. They do also have 3 other similar sets, and they are at the amazing price of £5! I was incredibly excited to see the liquid highlighter in the gold shade, as I have the pink one from a glossy box but y’all know golden highlighters are my favourite! There is also a small eyeshadow quad, an iridescent olive nail polish, a light up gloss with a cute little mirror and light and a beautiful bronze block, very similar to Bobbi Brown’s bronze bricks! It was such an amazing bargain I’m guessing it got snapped up very quickly! But I really hope they have it back in stock soon!!

I also purchased the Rimmel Match Perfection concealer in the shade 6, this was to use as an actual concealer and not a highlight and it matches really well! This was only £3! Half the price it would be at boots/superdrug. Finally I purchased the Rimmel Scandaleyes Gel Liner in Blue. I have reviewed the black one of this, and this stuff is SUPER creamy, but since my obsession with brown liners, I thought I’d try a navy/blue one too and mix things up a little! (plus for only £2 could you blame me??)



I never usually buy stuff for my hair, and being a hijabi I have to admit my hair is the least of my priorities when it comes to beauty. Deciding enough is enough, I saw this Natural World Hair Treatment Oil - Argan Oil certified from Morocco and just had to purchase it. It was £3.50 and on the FD website they have a whole range of the Natural World products, which specialise in coconut oil and Argan oil. If all goes well with this, then I will have to have a try of the others!



The final two were treats again from Fragrance Direct. I picked up the Vera Wang Princess 100ml for only £25 which is fantastic considering the same sized bottle would cost £60 at Debenhams or Boots! I’ve heard so much about this scent and the fact that its supposedly long lasting is all the better ^_^ I also purchased my first full size Ciate paint pot in the shade Golden Sands. Fragrance Direct have the BEST offers on nail polishes, they sell O.P.I, Essie and Ciate which are three main high-end polishes and I purchased this for only £2 which is amaaazing seeing as the RRP is £9 *happy dances* The shade itself is a gorgeous classy neutral brown/pink with the most subtle golden undertone - oh-la-la I love it!

And that is the end of my haul! Have you got any of these? What do you think of them? ^_^

Thanks for reading!

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Collective Beauty Haul | Superdrug, Fragrance Direct & E.L.F

Hello ladies, I hope you’re all well and enjoying the last few days of summer.
This is a collective haul of the past two months, and the last bit of makeup shopping I’ll be doing till I get the chance to get my hands on the Lorac Pro palettes!



Starting with my superdrug bits, after loving the Bourjois CC cream so much I have really been experimental with drugstore bases from ethical brands. The happy light foundation is the 4th base I now own from Bourjois (YES FOURTH D:)...and I bought it in the shade 53 which is a TAD darker than I would normally go for. First impressions are mixed, so I’ll have to dedicate a month to properly road test this before I report back, have you tried this? What are your thoughts?

Review | Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream

Hello ladies! I’m very excited to be sharing my favourite base with you all! When my best-friend asked me to recommend a natural looking base which feels light on the skin but provides decent coverage this CC cream was the first thing that came to mind (and she loved it too!).

I had never bought into the whole BB cream hype, mainly because the well-known drugstore brands didn’t seem to have tones that suit the olive skinned/yellow tones among us. Also the reviews were so hit and miss, I decided to stick with the base I was using. However looking for an ethical replacement for my favourite light/medium base needed to be done soon because I’m almost out of that stuff. After reading the fantastic review written by Kal from Cluttered Closet I was pretty much sold! It sounded amaaazing, and I had high hopes ^_^

A CC Cream also known as a ‘colour correction’ cream is supposed to even out your skintone and cover up redness without that thick heavy feel of a foundation - well done Bourjois you have nailed it! This has fast become one of my favourite bases I have ever tried. I have the shade 33 Rose Beige, which when first applied does look a little light for my NC30ish skintone, ok scratch that, it looks FAR too pale, pale enough to worry me at first... but when it has 'set' properly it blends into the skin perfectly, and the colour almost adapts to my skintone. I would say it takes a good 10 minutes to stop me looking too pale and chalky and I should also add that Rose Beige does lean on the SLIGHTLY on the pinker/orange spectrum, which did disappoint me when I first saw it. But as I’ve said, it does set to a more neutral colour.

The Bourjois 123 Perfect CC cream (£9.99) contains 3 pigments, orange for Anti-Fatigue, Green for Anti-Redness and White for Anti-darkspots. The consistency is not super thin, but certainly not as thick as a foundation. A little goes a long way, and my favourite way to apply this is with my fingers. I am most definitely a brush girl, but this blends the most seamlessly with the warmth of fingers. 

For me this the ideal ‘everyday kind of base’, as it does even out my skintone, provides great coverage while feeling light to the touch and also it contains SPF15 which is always a plus. This is not something I would choose to wear to a wedding or a special occasion because it doesn’t provide that flawless face look that you can achieve with a foundation. However it does cover redness on my cheeks and around my nose which I was very happy with. It just does its job of being a colour correcting base very well, and that's what I want in a base for daily use.

The finish is what I love most, I don’t need to use a powder with this (unless you have oily skin) as its satin and very natural looking so provided you have blended this is well, you can get away with looking like you have no makeup on. I love how it doesn’t mask the skin, it really does blend INTO the skin like a cream does and it is SOOO quick to apply. I can still see all my beauty marks and also a little pink from my naturally rosy cheeks with one layer. This is definitely light-medium and it reminds me a little of my MAC F&B but with a lot less dewy.

The main criticism of this for me is that it is only available in 4 shades, which in this day and age especially is ridiculous - especially when other drugstore brands have started expanding their shade range extensively, Bourjois please do the same with this CC cream in particular!

Final Verdict:

Product rating: 9

Pros: It’s fantastic for evening out the skintone, it really does cover up redness and the colour although it looks VERY off at first, sets to a beautifully natural shade and finish. It’s in my go-to base for every-day and it looks fantastic applied with fingers which makes it even more practical.

Cons: As I said, the shade looks horrendously light when first applied, but this does set. Also I do wish there were more shades available.

Repurchase? Yes I would buy this again, its the most effective yet natural looking base I’ve come across. It almost blurs out imperfections despite being thin in consistency and allowing the skin to breathe properly.

Thanks for reading!

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Review | Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream

Hello ladies! I’m very excited to be sharing my favourite base with you all! When my best-friend asked me to recommend a natural looking base which feels light on the skin but provides decent coverage this CC cream was the first thing that came to mind (and she loved it too!).

Bronzing on a Budget | E.L.F Warm Bronzer

The second bronzer in my series is one of my all time favourite makeup products of ALL TIME. Again when swatched in the pan it looks nothing like how it appears on the skin...I’m beginning to see a theme here...you shouldn’t judge a bronzer till you’ve applied it on your face! It is made up of four shades, a light brown and a cool dark brown, a highlight and a pink blush shade and on the back of the paper packaging it claims to ‘Create a healthy looking tan’ which I am pleased to report it does very well!

My skintone is around NC30-35 and this bronzer, although it is more of a sheen finish (not shimmery at all, but no where near matte) gives the most beautiful natural warmth to the face. The pigmentation of this product is just right, not overly pigmented nor so light that you have to keep putting the brush into the pan to get it to show on your skin. I find that I can get an even application with my large Real Techniques powder brush, and I love the fact that its not chalky!

Personally I wouldn’t use the brown shades for contouring due to the sheen finish (which helps make it look like a healthy glow!) but you could use the pink shade as a blush, and the yellow shade as a highlighter. Its a stunning illuminating almost brightening shade (due to the yellow tone) and looks beautiful on the bridge of the nose and the tops of the cheekbones. It also makes a nice change from the pink toned highlighters that you usually find in drugstore highlighters.

Longevity wise I find this lasts me a good 8 hours at least which is fantastic! I think my favourite thing about this bronzer is how naturally it warms up the face because of its stunning finish. It is easily built up, and if I am using a lighter shade of CC cream, I swirl my powder blush around the four shades, do the 3 motion on both cheeks and then brush a little over my forehead and nose too. When I’m in a rush I love using this as the only powder product of the day, as it works as a blush/bronzer in one.

When swatched on my hand I was surprised to find how different this looked compared to how it transfers on my cheeks! Not sure if that is because of the brush, or because I am using all four shades as once but whatever it is - it works a dream! Personally the only way I like to use this is with a large powder brush with medium density.

I think this bronzer is perfect for light-medium skintones with warm undertones, and you can buy the bronzer in cool and golden too depending on your skintone :)

Bronzer Roundup!

Orange or Red?

This is definitely not on the orange side because it adds such a warmth, I would say that its ever so slightly on the red side.

Pigmented?

Honestly this is the perfect amount of pigmentation provided you use a medium density brush. I love the fact that its impossible to get a streaky look.

Matte or Shimmer?

More of a sheen finish than anything, and it really gives that perfect holiday glow for me. If I'm looking peaky and pale this is the first thing I turn to, as it adds a gorgeous sunkissed glow to my skin.

Buy Again?

As soon as I hit pan on this, I am buying it again! For me this is the most beautiful all over the face bronzer I have tried that provides that healthy glow. I understand why people may prefer matte for the face, but I like to stick to cool toned mattes for contouring which gives a shadow look and warm toned slightly sheeny bronzers to add colour to the face.

Thanks for reading!

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Bronzing on a Budget | E.L.F Warm Bronzer

The second bronzer in my series is one of my all time favourite makeup products of ALL TIME. Again when swatched in the pan it looks nothing like how it appears on the skin...I’m beginning to see a theme here...you shouldn’t judge a bronzer till you’ve applied it on your face! It is made up of four shades, a light brown and a cool dark brown, a highlight and a pink blush shade and on the back of the paper packaging it claims to ‘Create a healthy looking tan’ which I am pleased to report it does very well!

NOTD | Rimmel Salon Pro Nail Polish with Lycra - Stormy Skies (431)

Hello! Today’s NOTD is a polish from the Rimmel Salon Pro line - Stormy Skies.

I personally love darker shades of polish as I just don’t feel like a lot of tones sit right with my skintone, does anyone else feel like this?? Anyway my favourites are purples and that is what I often choose, but this shade really caught my attention. Its a grey mixed with blue and I think the name fits it quite aptly. This line is fantastic, with two coats of polish you get an opaque finish with no streaking and the brush itself is quite wide, making it easier to apply.

The finish is glossy and much more expensive looking than something from O.P.I or Essie in my opinion. Personally I only wear a polish for 3/4 days because I tend to get bored of colours and this lasts! The glitter shade on my ring finger is a mini polish from Ciate ‘Snow Globe’ which is gorgeous - I love the specks of blue within the glitter!

I bought my Rimmel polish from here for only £1.25! Such a bargain for 12ml of product ^_^ I tend to buy all my polishes aside from Barry M from here because they are always at such insanely low prices!

Have you tried any of the shades from this line?

Thanks for reading!

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NOTD | Rimmel Salon Pro Nail Polish with Lycra - Stormy Skies (431)

#MuslimahCreativesGiveaway!

Hello ladies!

I hope you’re all very well. You may have entered my last giveaway which actually only just ended today! The winner for that giveaway is @Amilly_aa and I would just like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who entered. It was actually quite frustrating to host that because a couple of ‘competition websites’ decided it would be ok to add my giveaway to their website, and I was inundated with tonnes of people who have nothing better to do than go around entering giveaways as if they’re competitions. See there is a difference between and competition and a giveaway, and its just so frustrating!...gah ok rant over.

I was contacted by fellow blogger Maryam who runs a lifestyle blog, who wanted to see if I would like to participate in a colab giveaway. I of course said yes, and was super excited to find out some of the surprises this lovely girl had up her sleeve! Firstly I’ll introduce you to the four of us bloggers, then prizes and then rules.

THE BLOGGERS

The Blushing Giraffe; You might think it’s silly writing about me again, but for any new readers, hi there! My name is Iqra and The Blushing Giraffe is my little space for me to express all things beauty. My current favourites, product reviews, skincare, hauls and more. I do very occasionally throw in the odd lifestyle post in the form of an update, but they are far and few in-between so you have to keep an eye out ;D

http://maryamisms.com/ is a lifestyle blog written by a talented young woman who is a graphic designer. Based in California, her posts are so varied and always interesting to read, from cooking to some of her own design work. What I most love about Maryam’s blog is her stunning photography in every single post. So inspiring because each image is thought about carefully and they look so professional!

StyleModesta.com is one of the most professional blogs I have seen. A stunning piece of the internet written by Colombian born blogger Camila (a.k.a. Kiki) with the aim to help channel modest and style through this blog, and I find her ‘about me’ section a very interesting read in itself. Again the photography is phenomenal and I’m so glad to be following this blog, there is so much inspiration to be found!

http://www.vicinitymakeup.me/ A lovely beauty blogwritten by the wonderful Kausar. I adore her writing style, and the photos are clear to look at! I have been on her blog for less than half an hour and I already have complied a wishlist based on her recommendations...and thats when you know its a good one haha!

These three talented ladies put me to shame, they really do! To say thank you to our wonderful followers and readers we have teamed up and created an international giveaway worth over a amazing $100!

The prizes are as follows;

• LORAC PRO PALETTE 1
• LORAC PRO PALETTE 2
• John Freida FRIZZEASE spray (sample size)
• Zebra print hijab from Maqbool Clothing (Facebook & Instagram)
• Leopard print hijab from Maqbool Clothing (Facebook & Instagram)
• Cubic Zirconia earrings from The Luxe Collection (Facebook & Instagram)
• Sapphire pendant from The Luxe Collection (Facebook & Instagram)
• Ombre Swarovski hand-chain from  Ar Rawdah Jewels (Facebook & Instagram)

TWO winners will be chosen (on the 22nd of September)- The prizes will be split in half i.e one palette, one hijab, one jewellery piece, and either the hand chain or the hairspray!

How To Enter This Amazing Giveaway?

The rules are fairly straightforward.

1. You must be following the four of us on all social media, which will be accessible through the rafflecopter widget! But in case you want to do that BEFORE you reach the end of this post, the lovely Camila has made this useful little table with all our links in!

Instagram @Kikistylemod @Maryamisms_ @TheBlushingGiraffe @KausarAzam

Twitter @StyleModesta @Maryamisms @TheBlushingGiraffe @KausarAzam

Facebook StyleModesta TheBlushingGiraffe Vicinity Makeup

Blogloving Stylemodesta Maryamisms The Blushing Giraffe Vicinity Makeup

2. Repost this picture on your Instagram/Twitter/Facebook profiles using the hashtag #MuslimahCreativesGiveaway.

Remember to fill in all the details on the rafflecopter form below for your entry to be counted!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Each package is worth $100 and you are welcome to enter for both of them! The very best of luck, I hope you all enjoy the SECOND giveaway this summer on TBG! And a huge thankyou to Maryam for organising the sponsors too!

Enjoy all the wonderful inspiration you’ll be getting from the other bloggers, and be warned photography-envy is most likely!

GOOD LUCK!!!

#MuslimahCreativesGiveaway!

Hello ladies!

I hope you’re all very well. You may have entered my last giveaway which actually only just ended today! The winner for that giveaway is @Amilly_aa and I would just like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who entered. It was actually quite frustrating to host that because a couple of ‘competition websites’ decided it would be ok to add my giveaway to their website, and I was inundated with tonnes of people who have nothing better to do than go around entering giveaways as if they’re competitions. See there is a difference between and competition and a giveaway, and its just so frustrating!...gah ok rant over.

I was contacted by fellow blogger Maryam who runs a lifestyle blog, who wanted to see if I would like to participate in a colab giveaway. I of course said yes, and was super excited to find out some of the surprises this lovely girl had up her sleeve! Firstly I’ll introduce you to the four of us bloggers, then prizes and then rules.

My Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick Collection

Hello ladies! Today I wanted to share with you all my favourite drugstore lipstick line. Rimmel does affordable good quality lipsticks like no other in my opinion. I love them so much so that I own over 15 different lippies/laquers just by Rimmel, which is rather a lot for someone who tends to stick to neutral colours, tsk.

 

I own 5 of the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipsticks and they are my absolute favourite. I believe they reformulated last year, and they also revamped the packaging. I’m slightly concerned that eventually they will stop selling the first version of the MR line, so I think I could need to stack up on my two favourites! Personally I haven’t been drawn to many of the new version, and the only one I have bought I’m not chuffed with, but more on that later.

The main reason why I love these is because (provided you’ve got fairly exfoliated lips already) these are incredibly moisturising, do not stick to the lips and are long lasting too (I get at least 4 hours). They feel lighter on the lips, rather than that typical waxy feeling on the lips.  Now in my books thats a lot to achieve from a drugstore lipstick, so Rimmel you have done well :)

So lets start with the shade names from the first line I have Nude Delight, Notting Hill Nude, Funtime Fuchsia and Cherry-Licious. I’ve already reviewed the first two shades over on the lovely SAFIYAH’S blog ‘FrootiBeauty’ so for indepth info check out that link! Essentially though those two are my nudes EVER. Nude delight is more of a traditional nude tone, and although it will be concealer lips = NONO for some people, I love how this accentuates an eye look that I’ve put some effort into. I also enjoy it with a pinky gloss over the top. 

Notting Hill Nude is my all time favourite though, a gorgeous my-lips-but-better with a tad more pink. My lips are fairly pigmented already, so this pinky/brown shade does a fantastic job at adding a classy touch to any look. Its also the shade I turn to when I just don’t know what I want on to put on, and I just need a shade and formula I can rely on.

Funtime Fuchsia is much more pigmented than the previous two, and in one swipe you have vibrant fuchsia lips! The only way I have been brave enough to wear this is by gently and every so cautiously dab it on my bottom lip and then press my lips together. I know. #Wuss. Do type in ‘Rimmel Funtime Fuchsia review’ and you will see the beautiful Essiebutton rocking this shade like no-one else!

Cherry-Licious always surprises me when I swatch it because contrary to what the tube depicts, the shade actually comes out sheer, buildable and very appropriate for daytime if you want a bit colour. I would describe it as a brown and maroon colour, with quite a mature/vampy undertone. This one does have subtle specks of shimmer, which don’t feel that gritty on the lips. A lipstick for autumn for sure!

I've just realised I totally forgot to talk about my one lipstick from the new packaging...kind of shows how insignificant it is, but if I do find myself getting along with it, you will see a post somewhere about it ^_^

I am going to have to pick up backup for the two nude shades because I can’t express how lovely they are! Sometimes you can find a few of these shades on fragrance direct for only £1.50 which is amazing! Nude delight is currently out of stock though - boo ;( You can shop for the whole range here.

Do you own any of these lipsticks?

Thanks for reading!

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My Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick Collection

Hello ladies! Today I wanted to share with you all my favourite drugstore lipstick line. Rimmel does affordable good quality lipsticks like no other in my opinion. I love them so much so that I own over 15 different lippies/laquers just by Rimmel, which is rather a lot for someone who tends to stick to neutral colours, tsk.

Haul | Essence Cosmetics!

Hello! I have upset my bank account so many times in the last month, I don’t even want to use the ‘H’ word anymore, but it is pretty exciting to share with you all! Last week we went to Wilko, a store I’ve literally never been into before. Its 15/20 minutes away from where we live depending on traffic, and we have a larger shopping centre much closer so we don’t tend to go to that area much, but as soon as I saw the large Essence sign and the 3 for 2 I knew it was fate! Don’t worry if you don’t live near a wilko though, I have linked each product to their site so you can order online if you feel like it!

Essence is a fairly well known makeup brand world wide. They don’t test on animals and as far as I know have no affiliation with Zionism! Their product prices are VERY affordable, and even though I bought 9 items (to get a real feel for of the brand) with the 3 for 2 offer my total came up to £15 which is incredible value for money!

no flash | flash

TOP: I <3 stage E/S Primer

MIDDLE: Stay Natural concealer 04 honey

BOTTOM: Stay All Day 16hr

So starting off with the face products, I decided to buy two of their concealers. The Stay All Day 16 hr long lasting concealer in the shade 10 natural beige. The first reason I was drawn to this was because the 16hr claim reminded me of Collection’s lasting perfection which is my all time favourite but also when I swatched this I was taken aback as to how light but NOT PINK it was! Its definitely more neutral than yellow, but it looks like it can be fantastic for highlighting and reminded me a tiny bit of MAC’s prep-and-prime in light boost which I would love to find an ETHICAL dupe for! Unfortunately it’s not as yellow as that but so far its done a decent job of brightening. I’ll report back with a full review soon! The second concealer I picked up was one of those brush types, the Stay Natural concealer in 04 soft honey (£2). I have yet to try this but I’m hoping its a good replacement to my Maybelline version of this. Finally I couldn’t resist picking up another eyeshadow base in I heart stage in a small lipgloss style packaging and to be honest the shade of this interested me - it look like a brilliant corrector shade! Its worth a shot right? Plus it could stop creasing under the eyes. If you’ve tried any of these I’d love to hear your thoughts ^_^

Moving on to the eyes, I did linger over the single shadows but remembering how my muji drawer is full to the brim of single pots that I’m trying to use up, I skipped those and instead checked out the eyeshadow sticks. Ever since I purchased my NYX Jumbo pencil in Milk I’ve loved the ease of using these sticks! I was most drawn to two shades from the Essence Stays No Matter What eyepencil and shadow (these are chunkier than the eyeliner ones even though they have the same name #imconfusedtoo) because it was literally love at first swatch, gah just look at them! 05 Cute Copper is a stunning shade for all over the lid with a touch of mascara and you’re good to go. The texture and finish make these suitable for use during the day and for nightime looks. Much to my delight they work PHENOMENALLY as eyeshadow bases, both intensifying the pigment and making the shadow last longer!

08 Chocolate Brownie is less metallic/fancy, but just as creamy and the two of them make a beautiful quick and simple Smokey eye without the need of brushes (they blend well with fingers!)These two colours in particular compliment brown eyes BEAUTIFULLY. I really wish I had picked up more shades now... I probably will next time I’m there because 3 of these for £5 is a real bargain!

Moving onto the Cheeks, after hearing and seeing so much about these Essence Silky Touch Blush from the gorgeous blog run by Vanessa (srsly you HAVE TO CHECK OUT HER BLOG, BEST PHOTOGRAPHY EVA and here is the review for the blushers from her lovely self) and seeing the price was only £2.50! I picked up two 10 Adorable and 50 Sweetheart. Although they both look quite similar, on the cheeks they do appear different and these look great for want a gentle wash of colour on the cheeks.

The only things I bought for lips are these XXXL Longlasting lipglosses in MATT effect. The reason why I purchased these was the promise of a matt look because I don’t tend to go for lipglosses anymore! The shade 06 Soft Nude is my favourite already, a gorgeous classy brown nude. 05 Velvet Rose is more of a barbie pink and I would only wear this shade mixed with soft nude because I just don’t like that colour against my skintone! The finish is velvety and although it does dry down, it feels a tad odd for the first few minutes when first applied.

And that is my 9 item haul from essence! As you can tell I have A LOT to be experimenting with for the time being, but I’m already very impressed with the things I have been trying, especially for their price!

Is there anything else from the brand that you would recommend?

Thanks for reading!

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Haul | Essence Cosmetics!

Hello! I have upset my bank account so many times in the last month, I don’t even want to use the ‘H’ word anymore, but it is pretty exciting to share with you all! Last week we went to Wilko, a store I’ve literally never been into before. Its 15/20 minutes away from where we live depending on traffic, and we have a larger shopping centre much closer so we don’t tend to go to that area much, but as soon as I saw the large Essence sign and the 3 for 2 I knew it was fate! Don’t worry if you don’t live near a wilko though, I have linked each product to their site so you can order online if you feel like it!

Bronzing on a Budget | Rimmel Natural Bronzer 021 Sun Light

Hi ladies! Looking through my stash, I have accumulated....lets be honest here....a LOT of everything over the past year! But one part of my makeup wardrobe, that has been silently growing, almost unnoticed by me, has been my bronzer draw! I thought I’d start a mini series on my blog, called ‘bronzing on a budget’ because although I have now dabbled into high-end bronzers (and I love em!) I have so many good drugstore ones that I’d love to share with you all ^_^

 

I think I should start by addressing my skintone. I am quite pale normally and whenever it comes to picking a foundation shade I like to go one up. I just like the healthier, warmer skintone (plus it matches the colour of my hands better too!) Because I wear a hijab and my neck is covered I find it VERY easy to switch shades on the daily if I feel like it. However sometimes my bases are just too pale and I feel like I need some more warmth and life in my face; enter bronzers!   If you’ve never ventured near them because you’re scared of that orange look then perhaps I can help you find a bronzer and a brush (that’s just as important!) to suit you.

Bronzer is easy to over-do, and there are so many shades out there (because look at how many beautiful skintones exist too!) so it’s worth doing a bit of research before purchasing any bronzer in my opinion, highend or otherwise. The thing with blush is you can more or less make any shade work with your skintone, but bronzer can be a little easier to get wrong.

This is why I love the Rimmel Natural Bronzer. It was actually the FIRST ever face powder I bought back when I was 14 and although I forgot about it for a good few years, purchasing it again at 19 bought back good memories! The reason why I bought it at the time was because when I swatched all the cheaper drugstore powders they all looked way too chalky and pale for me, but this felt light-weight and I was interested in seeing if I could bronze too, despite not being white. (Oh Iqra how far you have come with your bronzer knowledge haha)

Its cased in your typical drugstore plasticness, and the sun design on it is a nice little touch. On the packaging it claims that it is a ‘waterproof bronzer’ with ‘SPF 15’ which is promising for the summer months!

If I had never tried this before, and then I swatched it in boots I wouldn’t have it in my possession. Because when swatched on my hand it appears quite orange which is what most people back away from! However when applied with a large fluffy brush (I quite like the ELF Complexion one) at the temples, along the cheekbones and around the jawline it effortlessly warms up the face without looks blotchy or like you’ve stuck your face in a bowl of wotsits.

Its very buildable and a little bit will give you a slight wamrth but you can add more for that real sunkissed look. I didn’t actually realise you could get different shades of this till I looked at the back! If I didn’t own so many bronzers already I would probably be temped to by 22 as well!

Anyway my favourite thing about this bronzer is how well it warms up your base if its too light for you because you have tanned a little! For £5.99 you can’t go wrong with this one. Personally I couldn’t contour with this and I think for those of you who are VERY fair it would look orangish, but if you are NC20-NC40ish I would recommend this as a lovely natural bronze. I could get away with using concealer over redness and darkcircles, and then this bronzer in the 3 motion and my skin would look super healthy and put together ^_^

If you’re looking for a bronzer which will give you a natural non-blotchy warmth to your skin, this could be the answer!

 

Bronzer Roundup!

Orange or Red?

slightly more on the orange spectrum.

Pigmented?

Pigmented enough that you can warm the face up a LITTLE with one sweep, but not over the top so your face looks blotchy and fake-tan-gone-wrong-ified.

Matte or Shimmer?

This sits on the matte/glowing look I would say, its not a flat matte and personally not a powder I would use for contouring due to its slight orange tones, but the glowyness is probably what gives the illusion of a sunkissed healthy look!

Buy Again?

Yes I would buy it again! It says what it does on the tin, gives a natural bronze and the price is brilliant value.

 

Do you own this? What do you think of it? ^_^

Thanks for reading!

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