Makeup Starter Kit | Affordable Edition

Hello everyone, I thought I'd type up a makeup starter kit filled with ethical recommendations from yours truly. As 2016 draws to a close, you and I will be bombarded with fantastic deals and sales, so I hope this post is helpful for all, but especially for those of you who may not be too much into makeup, but just want to add a couple of bits to your collection. These items are all affordable and most of them you can purchase from the highstreet, however some I would recommend picking up online, because there are always great deals on them. These are also the items that I would repurchase if all my makeup disappeared, so I hope if you purchase any of them, you enjoy them as much as I do.  Apologies for the lack of photos, teacher training AND short days = no time!

To prime or not to prime?

Personally I only use a primer on a special occasion, because I tend to stick to my Soap and Glory (£14.99) SPF 50 as being a base, which is so important ladies! I have written a post on it before, but the basic jist is that it manages to get makeup to stick onto the face AND protect the skin. However the Topshop airbrush primer (£12.00) is fantastic for providing a smooth canvas if you have uneven skin. If your makeup melts away quickly, spritz your face with a makeup setting spray after moisturising, but before applying any makeup - the MUFE Mist and Fix 30ml (£8.00) is travel size and very affordable to try out.

Foundation

If we are talking strictly bases you can buy in the drugstore, I would recommend the Bourjois Health Mix Foundation (£10.00) which has a beautiful medium coverage and really leaves a healthy glow to the skin. However the shade range isn't fantastic...so I highly recommend the EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation (£12.50), which I didn't love at first but I've grown to like it a lot. I find its quite versatile, though the finish is more on the matte side, if you mix it with some illuminator or even a tin drop of oil you can achieve a glowy finish. The coverage is great too, a solid medium but buildable. I tend to apply it with my E.L.F Stippling brush (£4.50) when I'm wearing it for 'everyday' as it sheers it out a little. They have actually recently released a bunch of new shades, so its no longer limited to just olive skintones. My new shade is 6.0 and I found their website quite helpful when trying to determine the perfect match here.

Correctors and Concealers

My all time favourite corrector is the Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer in Medium (£10.00), which IS pricy for the amount of corrector you actually get! This is a three piece kit and the good thing is, I can use each of the items just fine, however it is the corrector which I love the most. It is the perfect shade for neutralising my horrendous dark circles and works even better than a similar Benefit product! Pricy, but worth it...especially when theres a 3for2 deal on! In terms of actual concealers, the L.A Girl Pro Concealers creamy beige (£5.00) and Collection Lasting Perfection in 3 (£4.19) are my two tried and tested. The L.A girl one is more hydrating, yet has great pigmentation and manages to conceal and brighten at the same time. The collection one is thicker, creamier and if you have dry under-eyes won't be your cup of tea, but as long as I have colour corrected it works a charm.

Powders

Over the years I have liked powders more and more, because quite frankly I cannot wear makeup without a light bit of baking under the eyes these days! When I don't I notice the most awful creasing and melting of my undereye concealer. My favourite brightening yellow powder for under the eye is the Wet 'n' Wild Megaglo contouring palette in Caramel Toffee ($4.99), which I have a post on here. I like to bake with the Coty Airspun loose powder ($8.99) which works really well. I keep it on for about 50 seconds and then brush it off - works like a charm. I don't have a favourite face powder for all over the face, instead I just use the excess of the coty powder over my T-Zone which can get a little oily sometimes.

Contour, Bronzer, Blush and Highlight

For bronzing the face, Topshop's Mohawk (£9.00) is my all time favourite shade and formula from the highstreet. It is beautiful for those of you who have an olive medium skintone and provides the perfect warmth of the skin. Contouring wise, if you're looking for a really strong one which sharpens your features the Natural collection shadow in crushed walnut (£2.00) works a treat! I would advise you go with a light hand though. I have a few favourite blushers from the highstreet, the Sleek blush by 3 in spice (£10.00) is gorgeous for a medium skintone and I often will mix and match the shades. The value for money there is fantastic and so is the pigmentation! I also enjoy the Rimmel soft colour blush in pink rose (£4.00), which has been a long time favourite of mine and mentioned on my blog many times. It is a gorgeous natural flush and you are at no risk of looking like a clown. I have to say for highlight, I am a firm stickler for my highend ones - especially ABH! But when I think my collection and the one I would want to repurchase, I go back to the Topshop Glow Pot (£9.00) or their baked highlighter - either one is BEAUTIFUL. A little goes a long way and both of them can look very natural on the skin, or be built up for a more intense glow.

Brows, Liner and Mascara

Brows is a tough one because I am again so used to my ABH products, which are well worth the investment ladies! However if they're out of your budget, I would recommend checking out the Freedom eyebrow kit (£3.50) which I used to use all the time. It has a range of shades and even a gel in the kit, as well as a mirror, applicator and mini tweezers - the biggest bargain of all time! If you like a bolder brow and don't mind practicing, pick up their version of the ABH drip brow (here for a fiver). I don't think its quite as good as the ABH, but it does the job so long as you have a good spoolie. I am a real fusspot when it comes to eyeliner, but if I HAD to pick one I'd recommend The Balm's Schwing liner (£13.50). Not the cheapest, but by far the best you can pick up in superdrug or online! It is extremly black and lasts all day long. The applicator is thin and relatively easy to create cat eyes with, once you get the hang of it. When it comes to mascara, the only drugstore brand I ever spend money on is Essence! The 'I love crazy volume mascara' (£2.80) is a firm favourite and worth at least 4x the price.

Lips

Finally I'd recommend you pick up a good lip liner and the Rimmel 1000 kisses lip liner in spice (£3.00), is one I have back ups on, just in case they stop making it! My favourite affordable lipsticks are most definitely the Wet n wild mega last lipsticks ($2.00). They're very pigmented, beautifully creamy and ridiculously cheap - you can find a bunch of reviews for them on my blog by searching wetnwild! Liquid lipstick wise, The Balm's Meet Matte Hughes Liquid Lipsticks (£13.50) are fantastic. They feel comfortable, have a good pigmentation and aren't too drying. At the moment there is a cute little gift set available to purchase for the holidays, which contains 6 of the shades and is sold out everywhere, but keep an eye out, its a good one!

Final Touches...

How could I type up a makeup starter kit without my all time favourite Mario Badescu Facial spray (£7.50). It is definitely my go-to spray for before and after makeup, it hydrates the skin, diminishes any powderyness left on the face and just leaves me with a subtle glow. Although I am loving a more expensive version a little more, I'll always have a bottle of this in my collection!


I really hope this was helpful for you all! It was so nice to sit down and blog without worrying about my huge to-do list, I kind of despair when I see the lack of posts I've managed to get up this year :( But thankyou SO much for continuing to read and support my blog, I hugely appreciate it!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Makeup Starter Kit | Affordable Edition

Hello everyone, I thought I'd type up a makeup starter kit filled with ethical recommendations from yours truly. As 2016 draws to a close, you and I will be bombarded with fantastic deals and sales, so I hope this post is helpful for all, but especially for those of you who may not be too much into makeup, but just want to add a couple of bits to your collection. These items are all affordable and most of them you can purchase from the highstreet, however some I would recommend picking up online, because there are always great deals on them. These are also the items that I would repurchase if all my makeup disappeared, so I hope if you purchase any of them, you enjoy them as much as I do.  Apologies for the lack of photos, teacher training AND short days = no time!

Review | MUFE Empty Metal Palettes in Medium and Large

Hi guys, todays post should be shorter than my usual, but equally informative I hope! So you may have seen on my blog that I have quite the collection of single eyeshadows now, from both Makeup geek and Anastasia Beverly Hills. I never thought I'd be collecting and creating my own palette but I am so happy with the quality from both brands and I really needed a good palette to store them in. I do own a Z palette, however I've had it for around a year and to be honest its looking pretty battered with minimal travel. I wasn't impressed that I paid over a tenner for this palette, only to find that it didn't last very well. Its not the end of the world y'know, I just wanted better quality so I did some research and found that the Make Up For Ever Metal Magnetic Palettes!

In the U.K the only place you can order these (as far as I am aware) is the gurumakeupemporium website, I purchased both of mine from there and I HATE that they charge £4.50 when shipping especially when I think about all the food I could have bought with £9. However the palettes are really awesome and well worth paying the extra monies for. I initially purchased the MUFE Metal Palette in Large (£8.00) and this size fits in 32 standard eyeshadows. The actual MUFE single pans are HUGE, but when I say standard I mean the MUG and ABH sizes and 32 is a decent amount of shadows really. I had initially planned to only have 32 single shadows in total, but then beautybay had to drop a 'buy one get one free' on the MUG shadows and of course I had to take advantage! The medium sized palette (£6.00) fits in 20 eyeshadows, which again is a great size. If I was going on holiday for a week or two, I would definitely take the medium palette with my favourite shadows (post here) and then the basics too.

The reason I really like the MUFE palettes is because they're very sturdy in comparison to the Z palettes. Yes you can't see the shadows, but thats a small price to pay, to ensure the shadows remain secure and intact! The material is made of tin, which is light weight but strong enough to house the shadows and each palette comes with a thick foam sheet. The purpose of this sheet is to protect the shadows when you're moving around with the palette. It fills up all the space in the lid of the palette and cushions the shadows in, which is very handy. Unfortunately as you can see in the cover photo, two of my shadows shattered in the medium palette, because I dropped it on hard wood floor, without the foam insert :( I fixed them back with surgical spirit of course, but I do wish I had just put the foam in to avoid that. Luckily these palette contain a very strong magnet, so only two fell from the impact and I'm sure had they of been in a Z palette, they're would be more casualties. I will say though that a little of the shadows do transfer onto the foam, which is quite annoying and that is the main reason why I don't keep the foam sheets in the palettes unless I'm moving them off my dressing table.

Round Up:

Rating: 8/10

Pros: Very sturdy metal packaging and the magnetic sheet inside is VERY strong, so will hold onto whatever you put inside. The foam sheet is a must have when traveling and it cushions shadows in, avoiding any shattering. You can fit a really good amount of shadows in both the large and medium palettes, for a decent price too. 

Cons: These are not easily available and I hate how much postage you have to pay from gurumakeup! Correction!! Thankyou so much to Panna, who let me know you can get the medium palette online from Debenhams - yaaas! Link here. There is a little bit of shadow transference onto the foam sheet, hence why I don't use it unless I'm travelling.

Overall: These palettes are more preferred to me over the Z palettes because they're more sturdy and resiliant. When you build a shadow collection, its a LOT of money you're spending! So you want the shadows to be properly protected and last a long time. The MUFE palettes do a great job at storing and protecting my collection and they really don't break the bank either. I just wish they were sold on Debenhams too, so it wouldn't cost so much to order them.

Have you tried these palettes before? 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Review | MUFE Empty Metal Palettes in Medium and Large

Hi guys, todays post should be shorter than my usual, but equally informative I hope! So you may have seen on my blog that I have quite the collection of single eyeshadows now, from both Makeup geek and Anastasia Beverly Hills. I never thought I'd be collecting and creating my own palette but I am so happy with the quality from both brands and I really needed a good palette to store them in. I do own a Z palette, however I've had it for around a year and to be honest its looking pretty battered with minimal travel. I wasn't impressed that I paid over a tenner for this palette, only to find that it didn't last very well. Its not the end of the world y'know, I just wanted better quality so I did some research and found that the Make Up For Ever Metal Magnetic Palettes!

Review | Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation in Y365/123

Hello! This review has been in the pipeline for months, so I'm excited to be sitting down and finally writing it. So this is the second foundation I have purchased from Make Up For Ever, the first was the Face and Body (reviewed here) and I absolutely love it. It's quick to apply, water based and has great longevity. I've always wanted to buy the more famous sister though and when they reformulated it, into an 'Ultra' version of the HD designed for 4K cameras, I jumped at the chance last summer. Whilst I still love the Face and Body, this Ultra HD foundation has seriously impressed me, quickly becoming my go-to foundation. In fact I think I'm down to the last few pumps which never ever happens so quickly as I'm usually always switching between bases.

Packaging

This foundation is packaging in a sleek cylinder bottle, which is made out of plastic, lightweight and great for travelling. I imagine this also makes it great for makeup artist's kits too, as it is a professional brand. The black lid is secure on the bottle and I feel like the silver rim adds a touch of luxe to the otherwise practical bottle. I find each pump releases a decent amount of foundation too, again ever so practical too. The only downside to this bottle is its almost impossible to see how much foundation is left, as I've said I think I'm down to my final few pumps, but I really can't tell based on the bottle!

Price

The MUFU Ultra HD foundation usually costs £29.00 for 30ml, but it's currently on sale at Debenhams for £26.10! I think the price is completely justifiable and a part of me wants to take advantage of the 10% off and purchase another, however I have far too many bases to justify it right now haha.

Formula and Finish

The best way to describe this formula is silky and 'skin like'. As described by MUFE, this is like a second skin with medium coverage. It blends into the skin like a dream and my primary tool to use with this, is a damp beauty blender. A damp sponge is apparently the most recommended too, however I quite liked how it looked with an Artist brush dupe too! The way it looks on the skin, is exactly why I really love this base. It almost melts into the skin, without highlighting any dry patches, sinking into pores or looking cakey in the slightest. It is a truly beautiful foundation and I 100% understand why so many people have loved it for years and why a lot of artists use it on their brides for their wedding.

The finish is a lot less dewy than the Face and Body but not at all matte either, which makes it perfect for day to day use. The Ultra HD formula is designed to make skin look near flawless under 4K cameras and it really does photograph like a dream too. Although it looks great alone, I do find that when I'm wearing it in warmer weather, if I don't set this in place with a powder it will have disappeared in some places on my face (like around my mouth and on my nose). My skin is combination these days, which is probably why it wears differently, however I'm sure oily skinned girls who have worn this will recommend setting it with a powder too.

I don't find this formula to be particularly buildable, so if I'm having a bad skin-day/a breakout, I normally skip this and opt for something fuller coverage such as the NARS Sheer Glow or Dior Skin Star (reviewed).  I also don't think this is super long lasting, unless you're setting your face with powder and using a primer beforehand. If I wear this alone, just over a moisturiser and with no powder, I get about 6-7 hours of good wear before I notice it fading. This is fine for a short shift at work, or lunch with the girls, but for a long day at Uni it's just not ideal. So preparation is key if you are planning on wearing it on a hotter day or longer day.

 

A big reason why I am such a huge fan of this foundation is how close the colour match is. Never ever has a foundation matched me SO perfectly and there is something very satisfying about a shade being bang on. I'm sure we've all had that struggle on trying to lighten a foundation a little, or bronzing up extra because the base is too light...so to find the PERFECT shade match is near enough a miracle! Make Up For Ever have an incredible 40 shades in their line, so although it may be tricky figuring out which shade is best for you, I'm almost certain you'll find a great match too. By the way, I used the great site called findation.com to help me get my correct shade, definitely try it out if you don't live near a counter but still want to take advantage of the offer/pick this up online in the future. 

Here's a slightly blurry swatch, but I thought I'd take advantage of that random spot on my arm to show you the coverage. As you can see the skintone is evened out, but you can still kinda see the spot under the base. Personally for day to day I'm happy with this kind of medium coverage, and unless it's a big nasty spot I won't bother going in with concealer. However for special occasions, if I'm having a good skin day I'll just colour correct a little first and then use this alone on top.

Round Up:

Rating: 8/10

Pros: It looks absolutely beautiful on the skin, it doesn't accentuate any flaws and it photographs amazingly well as the name suggests. I think the packaging is very practical, the shade range is brilliant and I adore the fact that I finally have a bang on shade match too! The finish is lovely, satin/skin-like and for me its the perfect coverage for everyday.

Cons: As I only typically powder under the eyes, I do find it a little annoying that I have to set more of my face to keep this base on for longer. Also being able to see how much product is left would be useful!

Overall: This is definitely in my top three from the foundations in my collection, with the two mentioned above from NARS and Dior taking up the other two spots (if you'd like a Top Three high end bases post, let me know!). It's the ideal base for every day makeup and occasional makeup too, it looks so flawless on the skin and is a very reliable base, whether my skin has random dry patches or not.

Repurchase? Yes I will be, I just want to get through some of my other bases first!

Have you tried the Ultra HD foundation out? What are your thoughts?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Review | Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation in Y365/123

Hello! This review has been in the pipeline for months, so I'm excited to be sitting down and finally writing it. So this is the second foundation I have purchased from Make Up For Ever, the first was the Face and Body (reviewed here) and I absolutely love it. It's quick to apply, water based and has great longevity. I've always wanted to buy the more famous sister though and when they reformulated it, into an 'Ultra' version of the HD designed for 4K cameras, I jumped at the chance last summer. Whilst I still love the Face and Body, this Ultra HD foundation has seriously impressed me, quickly becoming my go-to foundation. In fact I think I'm down to the last few pumps which never ever happens so quickly as I'm usually always switching between bases.

The First Haul After My 7 Month Makeup Challenge!

I had a really hard time naming this post...but yes my makeup buying ban/challenge is over and I am so happy, proud and excited! I actually cut my ban short by a month, it was initially supposed to be 8 months altogether and end on my birthday (25th of May). However I decided to cut it short, mainly due to the sheer amount of stress I was under with University (sometimes the only thing that helps is spending money, we've all been there!). I'm so happy I set myself the challenge and I'm even more happy that I carried it through for so long. Whilst looking back at my posts, there does seem to be this theme of 'spending bans' and 'opps I spent some money' and I realised I'm slightly hard on myself...so Iqra, when you're reading this in the future, remember that  - you work hard, so don't feel so bad about spending your money pls, tysm.

Anyways I'll have a post about this whole not buying makeup thing, up on my blog soon, because as a self-confessed beauty addict and beauty blogger too, of course buying makeup is something I LOVE doing on the regular! However I learnt a lot from this experience and I'm pretty excited to share it with you all too. Yes treat yoself sometimes, but also sometimes just using up the lovely makeup you already own is the better option...Anyways I feel like this is the most rambliest intro ever.. let's get stuck into the first haul of the month!! (and there are a good couple more to come later on hehehe).

I am insanely excited about everything in this haul, because after not buying makeup for such a long time, of course new makeup is SUPER CALA-FRAGALISTICALLY-EXCITING. However my new (and almost finish collection) of Makeup Geek shadows definitely tops the list. Since purchasing the first six shadows back in March, from my work gift card (post here) I have fully understood the hype behind the brand. Of course once you purchase more than a couple of shadows it does add up, and I never thought I'd start my own collection of single shadows because of this, but the quality is SO good. I will say now that they aren't all a solid 5/5, but they're all between a 4-5/5 from what I have tried so far and that is incredible!! There is something very satisfying about selecting colours you want for your own palette, especially as the majority of palettes I've purchased have a couple of shades I just don't bother using, or there are are one or two dud shades which aren't on par with the others. I am in LOVE with my MUG palette, srsly one of my newest hobbies is propping the palette open and just gazing at it haha. Once I've got the last of the shades filled up, I'll be doing a massive post with swatches and reviews. I purchased the rest of the shadows in multiple orders, but for one of the larger orders I actually got In the spotlight for free. This was such a lovely perk, especially since it's a foiled shadow and costs £7.95, plus the formula and shine is SO BEAUTIFUL! The standard eyeshadows costs £4.95 per pan and contain 1.8g of eyeshadow.

Here are a couple of swatches, Frappe is this beautiful soft medium brown which blends soo beautifully with all the warmer shades! I love the slight pink tinge to the colour. Tuscan sun, Tiki Hut and Venom are all from the newest spring/summer range and I am obsessed with the three of them. Tuscan sun is so gorgeous, I've been adding a tiny bit of this in my crease, with tiki hut as the crease shade itself - look at how beautiful they look together!

And lets just take a moment for VENOM, the only non-matte shade from these four and that swatch up there, is only one swipe how utterly gorgeous. A khaki shade (which is my favourite colour of LIFE) mixed with the flecks of gold...from the moment I saw Marlena swatch this in her video, I knew it had to be mine and for real you guys..it's everything I wanted it to be and more. The formula of ALL of these are amazing, MUG do mattes so well, not just shimmer/sheen/non-mattes. Since purchasing these eyeshadows, I've been comparing them to other palette's I have, especially the high end ones and the matte shades from makeup geek, blow palette mattes out of the water. I am so thrilled, which you might be able to tell already from the amount I own!

I also purchased the Large MUFE Empty Metal Palette (£8.00) after I had ordered a couple more shades. I've had my Z palette for almost two years and it's looking pretty battered. Although I liked the clear window on that palette, firstly it didn't fit enough shades and secondly I just didn't think it was secure enough to hold my precious shadows. Yes, I said precious haha, I just couldn't risk dropping the palette and having them all shattered to smithereens, so after doing a bit of research I found the MUFE one, which is not only larger but cheaper too. This palette fits 32 shadows in...for a moment I was tempted to purchase the extra large one, but realistically I only want 32 single shadows and I certainly don't need more than that, so this size was precautionary haha. You can get smaller sizes of this palette too, in case you don't want quite as many as I do. Another thing I love about this palette aside from the value for money, is the fact that it comes with a thick layer of a foam sheet which goes just over the shadows and literally cushions them from any falls. The magnet is extremely strong, which is mostly a good thing, but you do need to be careful when lifting up the pans as my finger slipped trying to lift up that gorgeous pink shade (Tuscan Sun) and made a dent in it *overly dramatic sad moment here please* Despite this sad situation it could be worse but still, I'd much rather have a strong makeup palette which I can trust to hold a hefty amount of shadows, than a weak flimsy one. Anyway if you're starting your own MUG collection of shadows, I highly recommend you pick on of these up! MUFE Palette > Z Palette for sure.

As I have gotten into eyeshadows SOOO much, I thought it was only fitting to purchase a couple more brushes. I did want to purchase a Zoeva brush set, but personally I don't have the money to blow on one since their large price increase (£65 in one go, for some eyeshadow brushes is just not cool, maybe when I get my first real adult job salary then I'll be able to justify it). I opted for morphe brushes instead and the Morphe M330 is what I purchased first - I 10000% recommend this to you all! I actully haven't photographed it here, it was hiding in my room somewhere, but seriously It is one of the best blending brushes out there and I'll be picking up a couple more. The others I own are: E18, M135, M139, E21 and the MB23. I won't go into these here as I'm planning on doing a full post just focused on these brushes so keep an eye out for that.

I decided to purchase the Morphe E6 (£11.95) brush too, as I had watched a couple of videos and people said it's a great brush for the bases you don't use a beauty blender with. So the more water based or lower coverage foundations. This has been described as similar to the famous Sigma F80, (which is double the price!) but just a little smaller. I've been using it for about a week consistently and I do like it, but I'm such a beauty-blender lover that it's just a little odd to be using a brush again.

Moving on to lips, let me just give you a heads up readers, I am FINALLY able to jump on the liquid lipstick bandwagon and the excitement is very real! I was actually lucky enough to receive one of the Stila mini xmas gift sets back in December and I LOVED the formula so much. I reviewed the shade Baci (here) and I recently picked up the shade Caramello (£16.00) when ASOS had a 20% student discount running - I'm not sure if I'll be getting another year of discounts so I took advantage heh. The formula of the Stila LLs are very creamy and quite thick. I don't LOVE the shade Caramello, which I have swatched below, I was hoping it would be the ideal nude liquid lipstick for me, however it does wash me out. So I've been using it with deeper lipliners or mixing it with other colours.

I also purchased two of the new shades from the Gerard Cosmetics hydra matte liquid lipstick line (£9.50), which is a totally new brand to me. Of course I had seen all the hype of the 1995 lipstick a couple of years back, but the brand was a hassle to get a hold of. Thank goodness for beautybay because we have so many more brands, accessible from one easy place yaaaas. Anyway I picked up 'Everything Nice' which is literally the most perfect shade for me EVER. I feel like they bottled my perfect colour and I will 100% be picking up a back up or two when it's back in stock. I do wish it wouldn't dry darker than it does when first applied, but still it's a beautifully flattering colour which I just can't explain so I hope the swatch does the talking. I've been reaching for 'everything nice' almost everyday - obsessed. The second shade I picked up is '1995' which is the liquid version of their famous lipstick. If you didn't know, I was actually born in 1995 so I simply had to have this shade - especially when I saw how beautiful it was for the colder months. So far I really like the formula of these liquid lipsticks, they're lightweight, fairly pigmented and not super drying either. Look out for them in future LOTW posts!

1995 hasn't quite come out as accurately as I had hoped! It doesn't look this red in real life, more of a maroon shade...google is, hopefully there are better shades out there ^_^

I am a big Katy (Lustrelux) fan, since following her on snapchat I have really clicked with her sense of humour and picked up her lingo too #zooooeIjussssssstTYSM. Plus her false lashes game is always on point, so when I realised I could ship Queen B's from Koko lashes to the UK, I ordered without a second thought (sorry bank account!). I purchased two pairs of Queen Bs and one pair of Goddess lashes. This brand is so affordable, yet such high quality, I always see people use it on youtube and they literally make the whole look so I had to get my hands on a few. Each of these lashes cost only $6.99 = £4.87 which is awesome, however the international shipping cost is not so great ($12.99 = £9.05). Luckily I didn't get charged customs, as the total came to £23.65...which isn't too bad for three pairs of high quality beautiful lashes. Especially when you compare this to pricer brands, such as Huda Beauty and Velour lashes which cost around that much for one pair! These lashes will last me a while, but I would totally order again from LadyMoss.com, although it would be lovely if Koko lashes find an official retailer for their brand here in the UK. (Beautybay could jump on this, I'd be down for that *cough*).

Also from the U.S I did a little shopping on my favourite online site, where I always purchase my L.A girl concealers - some of my favourites! The site is BeautyJoint and as long as I spend less than £20 I never get charged customs. I picked up the Coty Airspun powder in Translucent ($8.99) after seeing it on a couple of YouTube videos. I was hoping to purchase the RMCA No Colour Powder, but alas twas out of stock, when I picked up the MUFE palette. So instead I purchased this and it certainly does have a strong scent, however first impressions are fantastic! It really is translucent and keeps my concealer from creasing too (although remember, if you have fine lines, your concealer will always crease a little regardless!). I also picked up the L.A Girl Pro Conceal Concealer in 'Pure Beige' ($2.99) which is my closest match to my skin-tone. I use the shade creamy beige for brightening up the area by the way - reviewed here. I also purchased the Milani Nude Primer ($6.99), and although I've not had the chance to try it on the lids yet, swatching it on my hand and comparing without and with - it is AMAZING! I've heard that this is a dupe for the urban decay and too faced versions, just a lot cheaper and I have a feeling I'll be loving this and mentioning it in several posts. Especially with my new eyeshadow obsession, I know having a primer this good will go a long way.

Last but certainly not least, I purchased the NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint in Stromboli (£30.00) again in the 20% ASOS sale - such a bargain! Since my dissertation and exam stress, my skin has been an absolute mess, breakouts, dry patches, the whole shebang. However I was desperate to try this base and first impressions are, the staying power is fantastic, but it's better for normal/oily skin as it does highlight and cling to dry patches. I am slowly healing my skin back to normal now, so I will keep you posted!

And that is the end of my first haul, I have to admit I've really missed sharing my new purchases...and purchasing new makeup full stop haha! It's inspired me to write a bunch of new posts and I hope to get back to a consistent amount now I have more spare time. ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥

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The First Haul After My 7 Month Makeup Challenge!

I had a really hard time naming this post...but yes my makeup buying ban/challenge is over and I am so happy, proud and excited! I actually cut my ban short by a month, it was initially supposed to be 8 months altogether and end on my birthday (25th of May). However I decided to cut it short, mainly due to the sheer amount of stress I was under with University (sometimes the only thing that helps is spending money, we've all been there!). I'm so happy I set myself the challenge and I'm even more happy that I carried it through for so long. Whilst looking back at my posts, there does seem to be this theme of 'spending bans' and 'opps I spent some money' and I realised I'm slightly hard on myself...so Iqra, when you're reading this in the future, remember that  - you work hard, so don't feel so bad about spending your money pls, tysm.

Anyways I'll have a post about this whole not buying makeup thing, up on my blog soon, because as a self-confessed beauty addict and beauty blogger too, of course buying makeup is something I LOVE doing on the regular! However I learnt a lot from this experience and I'm pretty excited to share it with you all too. Yes treat yoself sometimes, but also sometimes just using up the lovely makeup you already own is the better option...Anyways I feel like this is the most rambliest intro ever.. let's get stuck into the first haul of the month!! (and there are a good couple more to come later on hehehe).

January Favourites 2016

This is the latest I have ever posted a favourites video, I do apologise! Again like I’ve already said in my January update post, I have to prioritise uni over this little area now and again…but anyway, without further ado lets get on with my favourites of January.

Starting with the bases I have been loving the Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation in Y365 (£29) which I have been promising a review for over a month now, it is coming I promise! But to give you a quick summary, it looks like skin that I wish I had woken up with! Light to medium coverage and a formula which sits between satin and matte to me, it feels weightless on the skin and my favourite part about it is that the colour match is the most accurate I have ever found! 

January was the month that I finally got on board with the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger (£22.50) which I have owned for a good few months, but as this shade is a great match for my skin tone and not brightening for the under-eyes I just didn’t find myself reaching for it that often. I should have picked up custard, but as I have this shade and can make it work I made myself pick it up more often and the creamy formula and delightful coverage that many a YT-Guru have raved about is lovely! I found that wiggling the applicator around the tube got a tonne more product out and although its not brightening or highlighting under the eyes, it worked well to conceal on a more low-key look y’know? It is also great for covering redness and blemishes on the days I didn’t wear makeup (which I’ll talk about below!). 

Finally from the bases I rediscovered and became slightly obsessed with the Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer in 3 (£5.49). It is a lovely peachy shade which corrects 80% of the darkness under the eyes in less than 5 seconds! A little goes a long way, which really minimises creasing and I can easily layer a brightening concealer over the top. It is an essential in my makeup bag and I will be repurchasing several backups in May!

The next favourite is perhaps a little controversial, especially being an Asian girl but I have absolutely loved it for more reasons than one so I had to share it; the Bareminerals Faux Tan Face Gradual Glow (£18.00). Before this I had only tried fake tan given to me at a blogger event and I had no desire or need to use it on my arms and legs. However for quite some time I’ve been wanting to wear foundation less often, but my face happens to be a good deal lighter than my hands because I always protect it from the sun, so without foundation I look so peaky and pale. I wanted to try a tanner which was gentle enough to use on my face and also not clog the pores. When I saw this on look fantastic in the December sales I couldn’t resist. So far I’ve used it about three things and the first two times were great, my skin was a beautiful olive shade (not orange in the slightest) and it matched my hands and neck really well. All I wore on my face was concealer and I LOVED it! This time I may have applied a little bit too much as it’s a tad uneven (I still need to figure out the best application for it, other than my fingers) and I would be lying if I said it didn’t smell at least a little like fake tan. However the fact that the colour looks naturally sun kissed and spares my skin from a full on base for at least three days I can get over the scent! 

I have also been loving the REN Vita Mineral Lip Balm (£9.00) which has been the fastest acting balm I have tried in a while. I totally agree with the description, it is deeply replenishing and any soreness and chapped lips were soothed literally overnight! I hate those balms that you have to constantly reapply and this is not one of them. It is also miles better than the NUXE one at actually doing what it’s supposed to do! I don't think I can be without this stuff and the fact that it is paragon, sulphate, mineral oils, fragrances etc free is yet another tick in the box for me. If you’re looking for a lip balm that actually works, spend a little extra and I’m sure you’ll never look back! 

The Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer (£29) has blown me away this month. When I initially got it in a Space NK goodybad, I felt pretty ehh about it, didn’t use it much and ended up putting it away. However since being on my ban I have had a good root through my stash and rediscovered this with a very different experience. It is actually hydrating, without being sticky or heavy on the skin, makeup goes on so much smoother…and the best part? It really does keep my base on for longer, which means previous foundations I complained about, for fading away quicker than I’d like (Bourjois happy light!!) will work so much better for me now.

The Topshop Glow Pot in Gleam (£9.00) reviewed here has been another item I have rediscovered and it’s such a gorgeous cream highlighter against my olive skin tone! I love how quite and easy it is to use with the tips of my ring finger, alone or as a powder highlight base, it has been a firm staple in my makeup routine this month! I was going to post my LOTW on sunday, but I already has the update going up then, so I’ve decided to wear the Wet’n’Wild Mega Last Lipstick in ‘In the Flesh’ ($2.75) for the second week in a row because I have loved it that much. It is a medium pink, mixed with a tiny bit of dusty pink if that description makes any sense?! You’ll be getting full swatches this sunday, but this line of lipsticks are honestly one of my all time favourites. Creamy, pigmented, they last a good 3 hours and then they fade evenly. Highly recommend! 

Finally, last but certainly not least my final favourite of the month is the NARS And God Created The Woman Eyeshadow Palette (£40.50)! I purchased this in the summer of 2014, hid it away as motivation for my exams that year and quite honestly I totally forgot about it *inserts red faced emoji here*. I found it a few months ago and throughout January it was the only palette I used because the quality of the shadows are glorious. They’re all one-swipe wonders, which to be honest with you at that price point I would expect! The shadows last on my lids all day and the size of the palette is so perfect for travelling (although shockingly small if you’ve never seen it in real life before!). I don’t know how many of you have seen the beautiful customisable NARS palette (link here), you can create your own and I had a lot of fun playing with this feature and then wincing at the price! ONE DAY I would love to create my own, but not while I currently have so many products not in pan form, it would feel like a waste.  A lot of the shades that I had put in my custom palette online, I already owned in this little palette, so I’d recommend checking it out if you want some NARS shadows, a brush AND the pro prime (both of which I am yet to try out!).

Have you tried any of my January Favourites? What have you been loving this month?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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January Favourites 2016

This is the latest I have ever posted a favourites video, I do apologise! Again like I’ve already said in my January update post, I have to prioritise uni over this little area now and again…but anyway, without further ado lets get on with my favourites of January.

Huge 2016 Beauty Wishlist | Halfway Through My 8 Month Ban!

Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing very well! Today marks 126 days since I started my ‘no buying makeup challenge’ and I am kind of in shock myself! To read about this challenge if you are new to my blog, click HERE. To get this far makes me so proud and honestly I am not exaggerating when I say this challenge has been life changing for me. Saving money properly for the first time ever and then being able to pay for my car insurance independenly and even putting in a good amount of cash for a new sparkly laptop (more on that in the update post tomorrow) felt SO good! I don’t earn a tonne of money as I only work around 8-12 hours a week and running a car is pretty bank-balance draining as it is. However by stopping spontaneously buying makeup left, right and centre I have managed to save a decent amount AND really use up all the stuff I already own which is wondefully satisfying. 

So as it has been exactly four months since I have not purchased any makeup, we are at the half way point now! My challenge ends on the 25th of May (my 21st birthday) and if I make it that far without buying makeup I’m treating myself to a Sephora haul yaaaaay! There are always makeup items that I really want to check out, partly because I’m always reading blogs and partly thanks to YouTube, so I thought it would be fun to write up a wishlist post. I managed to miss out a couple of things in my picture down below, but never mind I’ll mention everything that I can think of (with links too of course). 

By the way, these are all things I would LIKE to get in the next year but I probably won’t be adding it all to my stash. We’ll see how much makeup I use up too ^_^

Sephora

So starting off with Sephora, I really want to get my hands on Becca’s Champagne pop which I have a feeling will still be in-stock, as its making them so much money! The gorgeous highlighter created by Jacqueline Hill looks stunning on so many different skin tones and I would love to add a Becca highlight to my stash. Before I pick that up from Sephora though I will be checking Cult beauty who sometimes have it in stock.  I have wanted to get the Tarte Blush in Exposed it looks like a beautiful everyday shade and I cannot wait to try the amazonian clay formula! Sticking with Tarte I’m excited to pick up their CC Corrector which looks ideal for banishing the dark tones under my eyes. I love my Rimmel one (reviewed here) but to find more of a peachy tone would be awesome! Finally from Tarte, my heart is set on the Tartlet in Bloom eyeshadow palette, the colours look stunning and I have enjoyed the formula of Tarte shadows in the past so I am excited to pick that up! I totally forgot to add this brand, but I definitely want to pick up the Marc Jacobs Re(marc)able Full Cover Foundation it looks right up my alley for more of a special event, as its light weight on the skin but provides a solid full coverage according to reviews. AND of course the Sephora beauty insider birthday gift this year is a mini Marc Jacobs makeup item, so I am super excited for that! Finally I definitely want to pick up some of Kat Von D's liquid lipsticks, I just haven't quite decided which shades yet. 

Debenhams

I want some much from this department store, oh so much. Starting off with the MUFE Pro Bronze Fusion this was in SO many YouTuber’s 2015 beauty favourites and the unique texture and how beautifully natural it looks has landed it on this list! I also love the look of the MUFE Ultra HD concealers which come as both concealers and correctors - exciting stuff! I want to be able to swatch these in person first, so in the summer at some point I’ll be making a trip to Oxford street and figuring out my shades. I love how you can purchase Too Faced from Debenhams now, so on my list is the shadow insurance eye primer, hangover face primer and the love flush long-lasting blushers..I actually kind of want the palette which is available on the TooFaced website so if that’s available in the summer time I’ll be picking that up! The smaller sized pans and the wide range of colours are really appealing. 

Selfridges/ Hourglass

Starting off with Charlotte Tilbury, I have wanted to pick up the Light Wonder foundation for the longest time and looking back, I regret purchasing the concealer over that base back in the summer! Light wonder ticks so many of my boxes, its light weight, dewy on the skin and the colour match is great from the swatch. Plus it contains 40ml over the standard 30 so I think it’s worth the money! I can’t wait to purchase the lip cheat in Iconic nude as it’s a shade I envision myself wearing on a daily basis. The one area of makeup that I’m pretty stingy with are lipsticks, I own hardly any that cost over £10 but this year I’d love to add one of the matte revolution lipsticks to my stash. Moving on to my all time favourite brand, NARS, I have quite a few things on my wishlist! Starting with the NARS All day luminous weightless foundation which has intrigued me for quite some time, but since I was (and still am) so obsessed with Sheer Glow I didn’t feel like picking it up in 2015. This year however I really want to try it out, along with the brand new NARS Velvet matte Skin Tint which isn’t even out yet, but it sounds DEVINE! I own the tinted moisturiser and I only really like using it during the summer time because it is SUPER dewy. This new tint has more coverage as is apparently between a dewy and matte finish, it sounds like absolute perfection! This year I will also hopefully be picking up the NARS Audacious Lipstick in Barbara, it is the shade that has always caught my eye and I have heard so many wonderful things about this line! The Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are a line I would like more of, the formula is so comfortable yet long-lasting on the lips, in particular I want Dolce Vita. Finally in this catergory, I only really want ONE thing from Hourglass and that is their Mood Exposure Blush, the lovely Jasmine (blog here) raves about it all the time and she has the perfect taste in blush tones, so I am sold! 

U.K Drugstore + U.S Drugstore

As you can see the majority of things I want to try are higher end, as i’ll be saving money before purchasing I like to reward myself with higher-end items because the quality 9/10 times speak for itself. However there are a couple of things that I would like to try this year from boots, with the Soap&Glory Kick Ass powder at the top of my list. The yellow tone looks great for brightening the under-eyes and although i adore my Kat Von D shade, I only use that on special occasions because I’m so afraid of running out! I also want to try the Soap and Glory Once Heck Of A Blot primer since my skin has definitely become more normal/combo and I would like to have a bit of oil control around the nose (this is all so new to me!). I also really want to see if the Seventeen stay time concealer comes in my shade as I’ve heard so many good things about it. I will also be doing another beauty joint haul because I love me some U.S drugstore makeup. I need to stock up on a few wet’n’wild lipsticks and I also want to purchase one of the beautiful Milani rose blushers. The L.A Girl Endless lipliners are also on my wishlist because I have heard so many good things! And finally I’ll be stocking up on the L.A Girl Pro Concealer in Creamy Beige because it is soo good for under the eyes and really brightening too. It’s a staple in my cream highlight and contour routine!

OTHER

So I’m going to group the other things into my last category because I have written a LOT already! I really want to add a Morphe eyeshadow palette to my stash this year, of course i’ll be after the 35O but as it’s usually out of stock (i'm on the waitlist but knowing my luck it'll be in and out of stock before May). I don’t mind really, I just want to try one of their palettes as I’ve heard a lot of good things! I also want to pick up the Zoeva cocoa blends eyeshadow palette because it is STUNNING, the shade selection is right up my street and getting this over the 35O would kind of satisfy my cravings y’know? I will definitely be replacing at least one of my beauty blenders  this year and I’ve heard the black one is better than the others, so i’m going for that. I know I have a bunch of eyeshadows as it is, but I simply HAVE to get some Makeup Geek Shadows from beautybay for my Z palette, because there are so many I have wanted for the longest time. I also want to pick up some liquid lipsticks from the brands Stila, Dose of Colours, Girlactik, Anastasia Beverly Hills and Colourpop. Half of those are U.S brands so I’m planning on using a courier service again which’ll package a bunch of them together and calculate taxes and shipping there and then. I have a few YouTubers who I’m going to turn to when I go through this process and of course I will be blogging about it when the time comes! and FINALLY last but not least, I would love to get a Zoeva brush set this year, mainly one of the eye ones. I have lusted over these for the longest time, and I am seriously lacking in the decent eye brushes which is a shame since I have so many eyeshadow palettes.  

THATS A LOOOONG WISHLIST RIGHT THERE! See if I had not been on this ban at least half of these products would be in my stash and my bank balance would hate me. Lets be honest, none of this is stuff I NEED so it would be awesome if I could try out some of these in 2016 but I don't aspire to get every single thing here! I think I'm over the whole 'blowing most of your wage on makeup and then not being able to buy much else' phase and I find it much more rewarding thinking about a purchase for a while, before splashing out. 

I also want to have a one-in-one-out system with my bases after my challenge is over because I hate hoarding so many foundations/TMs when I only have one face AND they all have expiration date! This'll mean that there will be more base reviews on my blog because I really want to try some new stuff in May. YAAAY for making the halfway point, and heres to the remaining 4 *chinks glass filled with your favourite beverage* Also if you have been thinking of going on a makeup ban for a while, I hope this post gave you the inspiration to do so! (although I totally understand if it had the opposite effect D:)

Are any of these items on your wishlist? 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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