January 2017 Favourites

Hello! Welcome back to za blushing giraffe, with a slightly late favourites post. So if you read my Jan chatty post you'll know this last month has been the busiest start to the year I have ever had. PGCE year ain't a walk in the park, thats for sure haha. So this post I'm gonna be sharing, as usual, the products that have been making me that little bit happier as the month flew by, leggggggo!

Starting with the base, I have been loving the Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation in shade 7 (£32.00), which is a gorgeous light/medium coverage very glowy foundation. It's super quick to apply because I literally blend in a little with my fingers and I'm done in 20 seconds flat. I LOVE IT. You get 40ml and the coverage is pretty buildable, which I do appreciate a lot for the days I may need a bit more coverage (and on the days I actually have the time to add some more too haha!). I didn't love the concealer, but this foundation is a firm favourite.


Similarly I've been loving the NARS Radiant Tinted Moisturiser in St Moritz (£29.50), which I am now almost coming to the end of sadly! It has a little less glow than light wonder, however it does provide a smidgen more coverage and again due to its consistency I have been obsessed over how quickly I can apply this with just my fingers when I'm really in a rush. On days where I've hardly had enough sleep (which is pretty much 5/7 days!), I need a base that'll last decently well, but provide me with a generous glow and both these products deliver. The NARS alternative does get you 10ml more AND has SPF 30, which is worth noting, but they're both fabulous in their own way.

I have also still been obsessed with my Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX07 (£38.00), the BEST concealer ever if you're looking for high coverage! I have spoken about it a lot on IG lately and just want to point you 👉🏽 in the direction of this post, where I share the three shades I have as well as the best way to use it in my humble opinion. Expensive? Initially yes, but one pot will last you minimum 2 years, which is a heck of a lot longer than a typical tube concealer that is around £20 - so if you really think about it, its amazing value for money. It has been my go to, because like mentioned a few words ago, when one is running on a tiny amount of sleep the dark circles are bound to be dark!
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And finally, a product I have talked about SO much not just on my blog, but on every single social media platform I am a part of!! The embryolisse lait concentrate (£12.95-£20.00) is the best base ever, I have repurchased it sooo many times and although I am trying samples of moisturisers inbetween and trying to switch it up, nothing really compares. One of the key steps to a flawless makeup application is the skincare and the other step is the base you apply underneath. No other product gives me the same plump glowing skin as this does, and it takes foundation and powder really well!

Speaking of powders, there are two new ones in my collection and I have been enjoying them for different reasons. First of all we have the Revolution luxury banana powder (£5.00) which is their blatant rip off from Ben Nye! Literally down to the back of the bottle, they have copied everything and although I do think this is pretty naughty, this brand is a lot easier to get my hands on than that famous Ben Nye powder. I did used to own the B.N version, but I chucked it out a year ago as it was getting a bit too old, and I've not felt the need to order it since as the original is not expensive, but pricer than I would like to spend on a powder. Now this dupe is a gorgeous shade, not too yellow to the point where it verges on green like the E.L.F version, but also not too much of a rich shade either. This is the perfect powder for medium skintone/olive complexions and also deeper skintones for baking. I have heard SOO much about the Laura Mercier one and maybe one day I'll pick it up, but typically I do prefer a slightly yellow toned powder and this stuff sets the face really well, doesn't cake up or crease and lasts well! Whether you're using it for an all over the face powder, or for baking if you're a WOC this could be the best fiver you spend on a powder!

The second powder is one I never hear people talking about, its the Kiko soft light powder. Now I just popped over to their site and sadly I cannot find it anywhere :( which is very upsetting because it makes me think they've discontinued it! However if you do spot it in a store near you, it's worth picking up as its a lovely baked mineral face powder and its very comparable to the MAC mineral skin finishes. The main use I have found for it, is the soniaXfyza buffing technique, which Wayne Goss explains in detail here. This technique does work beautifully and the other powder I love to use it with, is the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless powder in medium. However the Kiko one is a great cheaper alternative, so I'm hoping that its a accidental slip up that its not one the website ☹️.

And finally moving on to the eyes, my go-to palette has been the gorgeous Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette (£41.00), which seemed to be in everyone and their grandma's yearly favourites! If you don't have it yet and you're thinking about whether you should pick it up or not, YOU SHOULD. Gorgeously buttery pigmented shades, that blend like an absolute dream! I have gotten so much use out of this palette and one of the best things about it is the vast amount of youtube tutorials out there using just this alone! I definitely get stuck in a rut when it comes to my eyeshadow looks, so to see so many DIFFERENT yet totally stunning looks on the tubes makes me very happy.

I have also really been loving playing with glitter and the Certifeye glitter pots (£5.00) are my all time favourites! They just add so much to a simple look and now I know how easy it is to apply, I almost can't stop haha. Again there is a whole bunch of fantastic inspiration out on instagram and youtube when it comes to glitter, so a major fan! I have the mini bottles which are a fiver and they'll last me a decent amount of time, however Ayesha (the brand owner) also have an amazing range of brushes and lashes and bundles too, so check out her awesome business ^_^

And my final favourite of January has been the Illamasqua precision ink liner in wisdom (£20.50) which I have swatched in my lastest haul post, so check that out if you're interested. This liner has been a beautiful alternative to my regular black and brown liner, as its a stunning olive/khaki shade and to be honest without I didn't think I COULD love liner more, but this has changed the game for me...obsessed!

What were your favourites from the month of January?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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January 2017 Favourites

Hello! Welcome back to za blushing giraffe, with a slightly late favourites post. So if you read my Jan chatty post you'll know this last month has been the busiest start to the year I have ever had. PGCE year ain't a walk in the park, thats for sure haha. So this post I'm gonna be sharing, as usual, the products that have been making me that little bit happier as the month flew by, leggggggo!

Starting with the base, I have been loving the Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation in shade 7 (£32.00), which is a gorgeous light/medium coverage very glowy foundation. It's super quick to apply because I literally blend in a little with my fingers and I'm done in 20 seconds flat. I LOVE IT. You get 40ml and the coverage is pretty buildable, which I do appreciate a lot for the days I may need a bit more coverage (and on the days I actually have the time to add some more too haha!). I didn't love the concealer, but this foundation is a firm favourite.

Top Three | Drugstore Blushers

Hello everyone, I hope you’re having a good week so far! Todays top three is regarding my favourite drugstore blushers, the ones I reach for the most and the ones I recommend you check out. Now it is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of NARS blushers and I do wear them probably 70% of the time that I wear makeup, because that have the best longevity and I love all the shades I own! However I am quite the blush-a-holic and own two Muji drawers stuffed to the brim of single blushers, plus a couple of palettes too, so I try and rotate as much as I can. I know that not everyone can afford NARS (although they’re worth saving up for and picking up with ASOS have 20% off!), so I thought it would be helpful to put together a post of my favourites from the highstreet. This post should hopefully be useful to those of you who aren’t really blush fans and don’t want to spend more than a fiver on a blush you may not wear that often! Don’t worry ladies, I have just what you need!

1. Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Blusher - Loved Me The Best | £2.50 | 6g

This is the newest from the trio in my stash and I should add that I recommend most baked blushers, because they are some of the best formula out there! Loved Me The Best is a beautiful deep pink shade with a hint of berry, which probably explains why I have been reaching for it more in the past few weeks than before. The marble baked finish, not only looks pretty, but adds a swirl of a deeper pink and a light pink together. When I dip my brush in, the colour merge together and on the cheeks it looks ever so flattering. The kind of pink my cheeks turn when I’ve been for a brisk walk in the winter time - which obviously happens a lot(!). This shade doesn’t look delightful when swatched, but on the cheeks I cannot get enough! Decently pigmented and buildable too. Sadly it does have a few minor faults. Firstly the lasting time on my cheeks is about 4.5 hours. After this time it fades considerably and there’s about 30% left. So I tend to sweep this on before a 4 hour shift, or a short trip out because I hate the rest of my base being in place and my blusher fading. The second thing some people may not like, is that this has a sheen to it, the kind of sheen that means I advise you skip out on a lot of highlighting. Personally I don’t mind this, it’s a 2-in-1 kind of effect and great for when you’re in a rush because it adds life, colour and dimension all at the same time. However if you’re only a fan of matte blushers then swatch this in store first.Finally this blush is DELICATE! Despite what the tough looking packaging would have you believe, it breaks easily. All the little cons aside though, it has still landed a spot in my top 3, so again well worth checking out!

2. Rimmel Lasting Finish Soft Colour Blush in Pink Rose | £3.99 | 4g

This is the oldest blusher in my makeup collection, and that particular one in the photo is my second pan which says a lot. I rarely hit pan on makeup because I rotate so often, but when I finished my original Pink Rose I couldn't let it leave my collection for longer than a month. I have said many times that my favourite NARS blush is DT, now I’m not saying that pink rose is a dupe, however they are very similar. They both are on the lighter, more neutral side which means, firstly it is hard to over apply and a lot of blending out is not necessary (which cannot be said for a lot of Sleek blushers). Secondly they both go with pretty much any makeup look you wear, whether its barely there makeup, or full on smoky eyes. Pink Rose is a medium pink shade with a very subtle sheen, no chunky glitter bits at all, rather the type of sheen that translates as a glow on the cheeks. I love the fact that it’s not matte, because it adds a subtle radiance to the skin and also looks pretty natural. The biggest difference between this shade and NARS D.T is that this shade doesn’t have any peach tone to it. Also if you layer and layer this up, it will translate as a deeper pink, but with one sweep you can achieve a similar look. The quality of the powder in the soft colour blushers are comparable to high end, they’re very soft without being powdery and they blend beautifully onto the cheeks. I am confident that this is THE blush for those who fear clown cheeks, this is the one they’ll be able to use without breaking into a sweat. Also the lasting powder of this blush is comparable to NARS, it lasts almost the whole day on me and I really couldn’t ask for much more! I love it so much that I’m including one in an upcoming giveaway, so one of you can be just as pleasantly surprised as I was!

3. Sleek Blush in Suede | £4.49 | 8g

What would a top drugstore blush post be, without a mention of Sleek?? One of the BEST brands on the highstreet, which is filled with some winning products that are worth 4X the amount they cost! Okay onto the one I picked, which is the shade Suede (ohhh that just rhymed!). Suede is a ‘nudey’ kind of blush shade which is totally matte. Upon first glance it reminded me a lot of the discontinued NARS shade ‘douceur’, however according to online swatches this is a little less pink. Despite this slight difference, it does give a similar effect as far as I can tell. A muted, soft light brown with a touch of pink which is SUPER classy. It’s the blusher that I turn to when I don’t want anything remotely pink on my cheeks and it adds the right amount of colour on my cheeks. I have to say that I prefer wearing this shade when I have a slightly deeper base on, as it looks super flattering against my skin when I’m more olive toned. It also makes for a brilliant transition shade, which I discovered the other day. Its a gorgeous shade for the crease and instantly makes you look like you’ve spent a lot longer on your eyemakeup. I was so thrilled to make this discovery because I’ve been planning what MUG shadows I want to purchase in the future, and now I can cross crease shade off and save a couple of quid! When I have a smoky eye and nude lips, this blush shade is like the icing on the cake. Although sleek blushers are typically over pigmented, this one isn’t over the top in my opinion and I don’t need to spend as much time blending it out as others. Plus you get 8g which is double the size of your standard blush, B A R G A I N. Oh and it includes a mirror and is very sturdy, yet space saving ^_^

L-R: MUR, RIMMEL, SLEEK

What are some of your favourite drugstore blushers?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Top Three | Drugstore Blushers

Hello everyone, I hope you’re having a good week so far! Todays top three is regarding my favourite drugstore blushers, the ones I reach for the most and the ones I recommend you check out. Now it is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of NARS blushers and I do wear them probably 70% of the time that I wear makeup, because that have the best longevity and I love all the shades I own! However I am quite the blush-a-holic and own two Muji drawers stuffed to the brim of single blushers, plus a couple of palettes too, so I try and rotate as much as I can. I know that not everyone can afford NARS (although they’re worth saving up for and picking up with ASOS have 20% off!), so I thought it would be helpful to put together a post of my favourites from the highstreet. This post should hopefully be useful to those of you who aren’t really blush fans and don’t want to spend more than a fiver on a blush you may not wear that often! Don’t worry ladies, I have just what you need!

October Favourites 2015

Hello lovely readers, I hope you’re all doing well. Before I get into my October favourites I’d just like to apologise for the quality of these photos, I’ve had no time to retake them and with poor lighting and darkness at 4:00pm I’ve just had to work with what I can! Anyhoo lets get started ^_^

The past few weeks I’ve been sticking to one eyeshadow palette, really getting to know the formula and the longevity and I have to say I am very very impressed. I received the Soap and Glory Tricks of the shade palette a year and a half ago for my birthday, it was an X-mas collection palette and a combination of 3 of their quads in their permanent line. The shadows I have been using pretty much every single day can be found in the Soap and Glory Lid Stuff in Whats Nude (£10) and the quality of these is brilliant. Easy to apply, not too powdery, highly blendable and very comparable to high-end shadows because they last flawlessly for over 8 hours. When I hit pan on this palette, I’ll be adding the Quad on my to buy list, because it really is so perfect for an everyday look.

As you will probably know by now the LOTW series is in full fling and the E.L.F Mineral Lipstick in Beautiful Berry completely stole my heart this month! It is such a gorgeous colour which I shant go on about, because you can read all about it in the post which I’ll link tonight. The lipliner that is a match made in heaven for the lipstick is the Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Epic which I never reached for before because I thought it was too dark. However as per usual Rimmel have hit the nail on the head with the delightful formula and basically you NEED to pick this shade up if you’re venturing into deeper shades this season then thank me later ;D.

I’ve kind of been trying a few of the newer foundations in my stash, that I bought towards the end of the summer time so nothing is a firm favourite at the moment. However I did rediscover the drugstore gem that is the Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer in Warm Beige which is such a wonderful under-eye concealer for me! On the days that I want that whole ‘no makeup makeup look’ I’ll use this alone under the eyes and it provides decent coverage over my dark circles. However it also works well as a decent corrector under concealer too, which is so fantastic considering the price. I have actually reviewed this in full, so I’ll link that at the end of this post too! If you’re on the market for a decent corrector/concealer and don’t want to spent a lot of cash, do check this one out.

The Mini Beauty Blender Dupe is a wonderful little addition to my makeup routine, it is basically the key to flawless concealer. Of course I don’t use it every single day, but its one of those things that you don’t think you need, yet when you try them you wonder how on earth you got by before (so dramatic but I think you know what I mean!).

The blush that I have not been able to put down is NARS Amour which is a stunning autumnal shade...if I had to try and describe the colour I’d say its a mash up of deep pink, mauve and a tinge of purple? The full review is somewhere in the works, but fellow olive skinned ladies take it from me, this is a winner. Matte in formula, highly pigmented and it has a sculpting effect too. love love love!

Yet another hair product in a monthly favourites is the Palmer’s Strengthening Leave-In Conditioner which has ticked so many boxes for me and I’m thrilled that I picked it up! It has a coconut oil formula, with Vitamin E, Keratins and Silk Proteins and it really works at detangling and hydrating my hair. I have to be honest I’m not a conditioner kind of person, I just do not have the time. So to find a leave in spray conditioner which tames frizz, feels lightweight and adds a beautiful shine for just a fiver..is awesome! Also the fact that its in a spray format means no stickiness (yay) and it literally takes 30 seconds to apply and spritz through!

My final favourite of the month is the Makeup Revolution Pro Hygiene Anti Bacterial Brush Cleaner, which again I have reviewed already on the blog. I have to be VERY honest with you all, I’ve been so busy this month that I’ve only washed my brushes once D: Which doesn’t mean that I have been using dirty brushes all month, I have pretty much been using my beautyblenders as much as I can and also my fingers. However it’s very hard to do any eyeshadow look with just your fingers, so this brush cleaner has been used a fair amount and I am continuously amazed by how well this cleans the brushes, whilst not drying them out. Highly recommend!

Mentioned Posts:

LOTW: E.L.F Beautiful Berry

Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer Review

Mini Beauty Blender Dupe Review

MUR Pro Hygiene Anti Bacterial Brush Cleaner Review

What have you been loving throughout October? Leave me a comment and link your favourites post if you have one ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥

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October Favourites 2015

Hello lovely readers, I hope you’re all doing well. Before I get into my October favourites I’d just like to apologise for the quality of these photos, I’ve had no time to retake them and with poor lighting and darkness at 4:00pm I’ve just had to work with what I can! Anyhoo lets get started ^_^

Eid Gift Guide Part 1 | Beauty Edition

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing fantastically. As it will be Eid in approximately two weeks I thought it was an appropriate time to post a little gift guide or two for you all! Although these are titled with Eid they are great ideas for any occasion, be it birthdays or anniversarys, so I hope they're useful to all my readers. Gift giving is a Sunnah therefore is highly encouraged, plus we all like getting gifts so why not shade the love? ^_^ Life is too short not to spread a bit of happiness. This guide will be for the ladies, so your sisters, mothers, aunties, cousins and friends. I have linked everything I'm mentioning so have a click and check it out for yourself, also I've tried to get the best prices and any special offers on too.

The fist category is of course beauty (high-end)  so lets begin...

The Ultimate Eid gift you could give a sister this month has to be the Blame it on NARS cheeks palette! (£45) It’s a little bit pricey but if you have the budget for it, or wish to combine it for their Eid and birthday present, believe me any woman would be thrilled to own it. The first cheek palette
which does not contain any of their iconic shades, including Laguna - because I’m sure we all have at least one of those! It has Casino which is the ideal bronzer for medium/dark skintones a deeper highlight shade (satalite of love) as well as two limited edition blusher shades AND A MINI ITA BRUSH! Yes I do blame it on the NARS, cause mine arrived in the post today and I am overall very impressed. Whether for yourself or a loved one this is seriously one of the best gift anyone could give that's make-up related.


I would always recommend Too Faced for their eyeshadow palettes, they are creamy and pigmented, plus the colours work together really well. I love both the Chocolate Bar (£39 normally £45) and the Natural Eyes (£32) palettes. Similarly I think anything from The Balm cosmetics always makes for a wonderful gift, the packaging is adorable and the products are well worth the price, with exceptional quality. The California driver licence palette (£16.50) is one of my favourites, it’s about the size of a debit card so it's super travel friendly and it contains brilliant shades - I treated myself to this when I passed my driving test and it’s like a little keepsake from that milestone, so if any of your loved ones are planning on doing their test this could be the perfect little encouragement hehe.


I think makeup brushes always make for wonderful gifts because anyone who wears makeup needs brushes, especially those who think they don't. Brushes can change a girl's life for real. The  Zoeva Rose Gold Brush Kits (£56.95) are so beautiful and the quality is on par with all the top brush brands. I don’t personally own it but I know it would be an amazing gift which would last a long time too! Also each brush technically costs £7 each which is generally cheaper than buying it individually plus you get a study clutch to keep them safe in.  If Zoeva isn’t in your budget I really recommend picking up one or two of the Real Techniques brush kits which are great value for money. My personal favourite is Real Techniques Sam’s picks (£29.99)- reviewed here which contains 90% of brushes anyone could need. Also the iconic Beautyblender (£13.95 normally £16.00) - to those who have not tried this, you may think it is just a sponge, but no, no no no no it’s not. This is the queen of tools for makeup application, you’ll find it hard to get a more flawless application with any other brush and I truly believe every woman needs at least one in her collection.

Anything Charlotte Tilbury looks swoonworthy, but it’s quite a high end brand, so I recommend picking up some of her Lip Cheats (£16) to give as gifts because they're somewhat affordable, at least in comparison to other high-end gifts. Pillow talk and Iconic Nude are the two that catch my eye.

Okay now on to the drugstore/highstreet and more budget alternatives because I know some of you are thinking...errr Iqra, the above is great and all but I'm a student and I do not have the budget for giving those out at gifts! Don't worry guys... I did try to spread out the cost from around £16+ but fear not, the below are cheaper yet still good quality makeup gifts that would make awesome presents!

I love the Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit (£6.49) which I reviewed here and I think its perfect for anyone starting out in contouring, or anyone who's looking for an affordable kit! It truly is a gem from the drugstore and affordable enough to buy a couple and spread the chiselled love tehe. Eyeshadow palettes always make great gifts and from the high-street I think Sleek Palettes (£7.99) and Makeup Revolution (£4-£8) have the absolute BEST quality that you could get for a budget price. Especially the I heart chocolate palette reviewed here which  is a great dupe to the chocolate bar one mentioned above! Barry M also make awesome Nail polishes (£3-£4) with so many shades and formulas to choose from and buying a trio with perhaps a neutral shade, bright shade and a dark shade would make a really nice gift. Sleek are also fantastic for blushers, have a browse of their blush-by-3s and single ones too! Very affordable compared to high-end, but without compromising on the quality so I'm certain Sleek items would be highly appreciated!

I wouldn't recommend buying anyone foundations and concealers, because they're very easy to get  wrong due to the different undertones and finishes, but I think lip products make great gifts. Some of the best you can get are the Rimmel Lipliners (£3-£4), Rimmel Lipsticks (£5-6) and Sleek Matte Me's (£5) they're affordable, generally comfortable to wear and come in a decent range of colours. Also with each of these brands, boots has little special offers such as free gifts when you spend over £10 or buy one get one half price making it the idea time to stock up for yourself and for gifts!

I always have a browse of the ASOS Beauty section because they normally have sales on and they also sell great little gift sets too. A good example is of this REN Glow and Go (£12) which has the 1 minute facial mask mask and the Glycolactic Radiance Mask, both of which work well with all skintypes and are from a brand that contains no parabens and are made from as natural ingredients as possible.

Another good idea is picking up a makeup bag and then filling it with a couple of things mentioned above. I think this is one of the best gifts you can give a girl - it's somewhat personalised gift and so useful too!

That is part 1 of my gift guide - all the beauty bits that I think your female family members and friends would love to receive! Keep an eye out for part 2 and 3 coming up later today!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Eid Gift Guide Part 1 | Beauty Edition

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing fantastically. As it will be Eid in approximately two weeks I thought it was an appropriate time to post a little gift guide or two for you all! Although these are titled with Eid they are great ideas for any occasion, be it birthdays or anniversarys, so I hope they're useful to all my readers. Gift giving is a Sunnah therefore is highly encouraged, plus we all like getting gifts so why not shade the love? ^_^ Life is too short not to spread a bit of happiness. This guide will be for the ladies, so your sisters, mothers, aunties, cousins and friends. I have linked everything I'm mentioning so have a click and check it out for yourself, also I've tried to get the best prices and any special offers on too.

The fist category is of course beauty (high-end)  so lets begin...

The Ultimate Eid gift you could give a sister this month has to be the Blame it on NARS cheeks palette! (£45) It’s a little bit pricey but if you have the budget for it, or wish to combine it for their Eid and birthday present, believe me any woman would be thrilled to own it. The first cheek palette
which does not contain any of their iconic shades, including Laguna - because I’m sure we all have at least one of those! It has Casino which is the ideal bronzer for medium/dark skintones a deeper highlight shade (satalite of love) as well as two limited edition blusher shades AND A MINI ITA BRUSH! Yes I do blame it on the NARS, cause mine arrived in the post today and I am overall very impressed. Whether for yourself or a loved one this is seriously one of the best gift anyone could give that's make-up related.

The Starting Over Tag!

The starting over tag base products by blushinggiraffe

Hello Everyone! I’m back with a Tag, something I haven’t written in a while, so I hope you enjoy!
A big thank-you to Hajarah from chocolatefrosst for tagging me! I think the title is quite self-explanatory but here is the hypothesis of the tag:

I have lost (unfortunately) all my beauty products. Now I have been given the opportunity to ‘start over’ and purchase 16 products..

Oh what a horrible thought D: I think I’d cry if I lost it all, seriously I’ve worked hard and found some amazing deals to build the collection I have at the moment! So I will list out the 16 products I would purchase first without much thought because these are have the same thing in common - reliable and they work extremely well for me. I’m going to try and keep it short and sweet and as you can see my 16 picks are above ^

Base Makeup
1. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Stromboli
2. Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer Reviewed here
3. Ben Nye Banana Powder - Reviewed here
4. Benefit Erase Paste in 3 


Cheeks
5. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer medium/deep
6. NARS Blush in Deep Throat - Reviewed Here
7. Illamasqua blush in Allure
8. Mary Lou Manizer- Reviewed Here
9. NARS Duo in Laguna and Orgasm
10. Bourjois Bronzing Primer

Rest of za face
11. Rimmel Lipliners Reviewed on the blog
12. Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade Reviewed here
13. Rimmel Nude Khol Liner
14. Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner Reviewed here
15. I heart chocolate eyeshadow palette Reviewed Here
16. LA Girls Pro Concealer - Beautiful Bronze cream contouring! Swatched here
Well there you have it, the 16 I would repurchase if I had to start over, quite a generous amount actually considering if I actually had to buy my makeup again it would take a long while to pick all of these up, I don’t even want to add up the total cost here! (Although y’all know I’m savy so I wait for deals...but still!)

I tag the following beauties...
Tamanna - TamannaMUA.com
Asma - DifferentStrokesByAsma.Blogspot.co.uk
Pauline - asianhomie101.blogspot.co.uk
Nabihah - thesundaywardrobe.blogspot.co.uk
I can’t wait to see what you ladies pick as your starting over products ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥
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The Starting Over Tag!

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Review | Makeup Revolution Pro Hygiene Anti Bacterial Brush Cleaner

I’m pretty sure the main thing every makeup lover dreads, is washing za brushes. I used to be so good and consistent. Washing them every single Sunday (and if you want to read my thorough post on that click here!) but I think both the excessive amount of brushes I now own, plus a super busy schedule have meant I’ve hardly had a chance every fortnight, let alone weekly.

When I saw this brush cleaner on the Makeup Revolution website, for the first time I was interested in a cleanser of this type. I’m a firm believer in using my magic ingredients for all the face brushes I own, however the absolute BANE of my life is when I pick up an eyeshadow brush, dip it in a nude shade and end up with a big black smudge across my eyelid - argh such a hassle! Then I have to reach for the bioderma, carefully remove the splodge without disrupting the base and do you know how time consuming that it *sigh*. Anyways having one too many of those incidents lead me to purchase this and I am so pleased that I did!



You get 200ml in a white plastic spray bottle for £5, I ordered mine from the makeup rev website and you can find the link here. The bottle isn’t fancy but it does the job, with the directions and ingredients written clearly on the the back. This is ‘specially formulated to keep your makeup brushes clean and free from bacteria’ and according to the directions, you’re supposed to spray the cleaner 3 to 4 times directly onto the brush. Now I ONLY use this with small brushes - the eyeshadow and small concealer brushes specifically, and spraying that much would be a big waste. (One of the main reasons why I don’t use it for face brushes, but also because even when I tried, there was so much brush to clean, even 10 sprays of this wouldn’t make it squeaky clean - save the face brushes for a regular weekly wash, and don’t forget to wash the eyebrushes with soap on the regular too, this isn’t supposed to be a substitute.



Instead I place a sheet of kitchen towel under the brush, spray once on the brush itself and once on the tissue. This successfully removes all colour and presumably bacteria and grime from the brush, and the best part is it’s ready to use again in less than 20 seconds. This makes it essential when  you’re doing a more complex eyelook, but also super useful for day to day, whenever I have a spare few minutes I give my eyebrushes a quick clean after I’ve used them, but if I don’t have time, it’s perfectly fine to do this quick 10 second process in the morning too ^_^

ta-da, clean and ready to use in next to no time!

Overall Rating: 9

Pros: It cleans the brushes really well, with two sprays all the colour will be removed and the brush will be ready to use within less than 20 seconds. The amount of product in the spray bottle is great value for money, I reckon this will last me at least 4 months if used a couple of times a week. It means I have no accidental dark splodges on the eyes and it also ensures any dust or dirt on the brush is removed, leaving me with totally hygienic eye and concealer brushes to use. Again the price point is super, Makeup Revolution really have given everyone an affordable option to keep their smaller brushes clean every single time they use them, because I have seen similar products to these which cost 3 or 4 x the amount!

Cons:  1. not all the colour leaves the brush using this sometimes and 2. I only use it for small brushes. but to be honest, this isn’t much of a problem seeing as I wash my facebrushes at least once a week, and simply won’t use them till they’ve had a wash again if I can’t find the time that week (yay for fingers and sponges).

Repurchase? 100% I cannot tell you how much this has helped and if you’re an MUA or just wear eyeshadow more than once in a blue moon, please do pick this up, it’ll be of so much help!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Review | Makeup Revolution Pro Hygiene Anti Bacterial Brush Cleaner

I’m pretty sure the main thing every makeup lover dreads, is washing za brushes. I used to be so good and consistent. Washing them every single Sunday (and if you want to read my thorough post on that click here!) but I think both the excessive amount of brushes I now own, plus a super busy schedule have meant I’ve hardly had a chance every fortnight, let alone weekly.

When I saw this brush cleaner on the Makeup Revolution website, for the first time I was interested in a cleanser of this type. I’m a firm believer in using my magic ingredients for all the face brushes I own, however the absolute BANE of my life is when I pick up an eyeshadow brush, dip it in a nude shade and end up with a big black smudge across my eyelid - argh such a hassle! Then I have to reach for the bioderma, carefully remove the splodge without disrupting the base and do you know how time consuming that it *sigh*. Anyways having one too many of those incidents lead me to purchase this and I am so pleased that I did!

Review | Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit Medium-Dark

Hi everyone, today I’m going to be reviewing another one of Makeup Revolution's biggest bargains - the focus and fix eyebrow kit in the shade medium-dark. This kit is packaged in a sleek black square box with beautiful rose gold font on the top. Inside the packaging there is a large square mirror which is big enough to see your whole face as well as to focus on the brows. There are three powder shades, one wax cream, a small pair of tweezers and an applicator. All of this for a mere £2.50! I know right, that is pretty darn incredible and of course I had to add it to my basket.

The powders are decently pigmented, infact so much so that it is easy to get a super dark brow with little effort, so those of you wondering if this wouldn’t be dark enough? I promise you it is! Although the three colours look quite different when swatched, an ashy brown, a light brown and a warm darker brown when applied on the brows they don’t look as different!

As I’ve been using my ABH dip brow in chocolate for the majority of the year, I’m used to a lighter, warmer brow and so adjusting to the darkness of this powder was quite the challenge. I did manage to find a product mentioned in my January faves here which counteracted the darkness and make them look more natural, but overall I’d say the effort to not get intense brows is a little annoying. Perhaps I’ve been spoilt by the dipbrow, or maybe I just rush my brows because of the ease of the pomade, but lets just say it takes a good couple more minutes to do brows naturally with the shades.

Having said that when I just use the lightest shade (top left) I can achieve soft yet defined brows. Taking the shade next to it for the tail of the brow which adds more definition and completes the whole shape and shading. The gel wax is awesome, I take the little brush in the kit and brush a little on which keeps the brows in place for a lot longer than just using powder. It also doesn’t give that weird crispy look, although using a separate lighter brow set mentioned above, is a little over the top/an odd mix.

The tools included in the kit surprisingly work really well. In the photo the brush is stuck together by the wax and needs to be washed, however it works really well at outlining the brows as well as filling them in. Of course it’s a little small but that can’t be helped as it has to fit in the box! The tweezers also work really well which shocked me the most because look how cute and small they are! And considering the price I really wasn’t expecting a great deal, but thy do the job well.

Final Verdict:

Rating: 8

Pros: The price is absolutely incredible for the quality of the product, you get three different brow powders which are pigmented enough to draw brows on with little effort, you can achieve a very strong brow and you can also achieve a soft yet structured brow with a bit of a light hand. The clear wax works well and keeps the brows in place, the applicator does the job well, as do the tweezers. I think its brilliant for beginners!

Cons: I found it easy to over-do my brows and I do wish there was an even lighter shade in this trio to balance it out a little!

Repurchase? I probably won’t and only because I know how well Anastasia’s products work for me and the fact that I can get an easy to work with shade from her range. I think it’s just one of those things where if I hadn’t invested in the Anastasia range I would have been completely head over heels in this because it gives me pretty much everything I could ask for, I just WISH it had a lighter shade and for that I deducted 2points from the rating. However I really am impressed with this kit and if you don’t have the budget for ABH but you want a GOOD brow kit, this is where you need to turn to!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Review | Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit Medium-Dark

Hi everyone, today I’m going to be reviewing another one of Makeup Revolution's biggest bargains - the focus and fix eyebrow kit in the shade medium-dark. This kit is packaged in a sleek black square box with beautiful rose gold font on the top. Inside the packaging there is a large square mirror which is big enough to see your whole face as well as to focus on the brows. There are three powder shades, one wax cream, a small pair of tweezers and an applicator. All of this for a mere £2.50! I know right, that is pretty darn incredible and of course I had to add it to my basket.

January Favourites

Hey hey everyone! It’s time to share le January favourites, and I seem to have quite a few this month so lets get started!

Starting off with the only skincare fave for the month, I have been loving Soap and Glory’s Make Yourself Useful Rejuvenating Eye Cream (£14). Every night I have been sticking to my usual Sweet Almond Oil under the eyes, but I have had some dryness around the eyes due to the weather. So sometimes when this is particularly prevalent I dap a little bit of this cream under the eyes too and the smallest amount goes a long way because of how rich it is. Having said that though it isn’t greasy, so it also works well in the mornings too. Pricy? Yes, but in the sale, well worth it. 

If you read my January catchup post here you’ll know my Jan was pretty stressful and I had many a sleepless night. Of course that leads to red eyes and it was almost painful just looking at them, but the one thing that made a tonne of difference was my trusty Rimmel Scandal Eyes Nude liner (£3.99). It brightens up my eyes and somehow reduces the appearance of red eyes, whilst making them look bigger. I’ve also been RELYING on my Rimmel Brow This Way in 02 Medium Brown (£3.99 £2.99) this month because I have just been having the most bizarre brow situation. Partly because I’ve been trying a new brow kit (review will be up tomorrow) which has made my brows come out far too dark, and I’ve also been making a mess of them with the brow-wiz when I’m not using that kit *sigh*. Well ANYWAY this shade of brow this way is a medium brown and it sets a little darker than it looks like when it’s first applied. So everytime my brows look scary and over dark, this brow gel makes them look lighter and so much more natural, whilst keeping them in place all day. It has become a MUST HAVE, because sharpie-like brows are a no-no.

The Stila In The Light eyeshadow palette (£25.00) has been my absolute favourite for well over a month now. Just look at those beautiful colours, it’s almost the perfect palette and wonderful for everyday! I’m not even sure that it is worth the full price because I think the lighter matte shades could be a whole lot more creamy and even more pigmented for a high-end palette. However the lasting time of the shadows in general as well as the gorgeous buttery pigmentation of the shimmery shade are the reason it’s such a reliable go-to palette.

 

The Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Medium/Deep Bronzer (£25) has been in my love it list for over two months now, it is glorious. Smells so much like chocolate, and lasts a long time on the skin. Most importantly it’s a beautiful cross between a bronzer for warming up the face and also adding definition to the face. As it’s pretty dark for my NC35 skintone, I use a small amount and blend it in mainly under the cheekbones and jawline and it effortlessly adds life and structure. Gah I LOVE this - well worth the price!

Also another product I picked up in the black Friday sales but only opened recently is the DIORSKIN Nude Natural Glow Radiant Fluid Foundation (£32) and at first I was a little on the fence with this base. However after I used it with the special Dior sponge (which is pretty bizarre but lets save that for another post) I was so happy I picked it up in the sale. It’s got a satin/velvet finish which is my favourite now and has a light/medium coverage. It looks natural yet covers redness and discolouration beautifully. I’ll probably continue wearing it for a month more before reviewing, but keep an eye out!

And finally the last favourite for January isn’t budget breaking (thank goodness) and I adore it! The Makeup Revolution Amazing Lipstick in Treat (£1) is just my go to lipstick, a neutral colour with a dash of brown, its super pigmented and creamy. The downsides are that it lasts around 2 hours, but I don’t mind this too much as I tend to wear it when I’m just popping out for a short while, or need a bit of colour in the lips without having to do the whole lip scrub, lip balm, lip liner shabam.

And phewwww that is all! I thought I would be sitting here for another hour typing D: well done you for reading all the way through it haha! What have been your Jan faves? If you’ve written a post please link it below I’d love to have a read!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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January Favourites

Hey hey everyone! It’s time to share le January favourites, and I seem to have quite a few this month so lets get started!

14 Favourites of 2014!

Hello beautiful people, I hope you’re all doing well! Today I’m going to share my 14 favourites from 2014. There are not necessarily the bestest products out there ever - but my personal favourites,  and I’m going to try my hardest to keep this relatively brief as I could probably write a novel on my favourite things! so we had best get going ^_^

This year I have fallen in love with Benefit’s Erase Paste in 3. I have stubborn, hereditary dark circles and I don’t make my life easier with my sleeping routine! The erase paste is super pigmented and very very creamy so I apply a little at a time, or using the RT detailer brush to put the corrector exactly where I need it. It’s the product in my stash  that I can rely on to transform the dark shades under my eyes into relatively normal under-eye skin and with little effort! My favourite base of the year has without a doubt been the Bourjois CC Cream. I reviewed it here and in one sentence; it feels like nothing on the skin, yet the coverage is phenomenal for a ‘CC cream’ type of product, quick and easy to apply, doesn't accentuate dry patches, evens out the skintone perfectly and it has a super natural finish! The BEST base in the whole drugstore and perfect for every day.

Another base I have LOVED in 2014 has been the bareMineral bare skin serum foundation (review). Its light weight, medium coverage, free from a tonne of nasties and has half the number of ingredients a standard foundation has. To be fair - it can be difficult to work with at first. However the glowing finish I can achieve with this and the perfect colour match had me singing its praises! Another product I haven't been able to get enough of is the Bourjois bronzing primer. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! It warms up the face beautifully, sorts out any foundation or base that is too light and I can even achieve a decent contour when I use my E.L.F small stippling brush! Basically if you’re of NC30 you neeeed to try this beauty, I would pay twice the price for this, I laaaave it that much!

Brows this year have been dominated by the one and only Anastasia Beverly Hills. I mentioned the Brow Wiz in Brunette in my December favourites a thin pencil, twists up with the perfect spoolie on the end. It mimics brow hairs like no other, and is phenomenal for filling in sparseness and creating the brows you always dreamed of - or as close to as possible.  The Brow Pomade has also gotten a lot of love throughout 2014, and not without good reason. It’s long lasting, sculpting and as long as you have a spoolie and a light touch you can transform your eyebrows. Pricy? Yes. Worth every penny? Double yes. (Plus the pomade will last you ages!)

The eyeshadow palette of the year for me is the I heart Chocolate palette by makeup revolution. Reviewed here so I won’t go on too much about it, but its the perfect neutral palette from the drugstore. A dupe for the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, with a huge nude/base shade and a gorgeous crease shade too. Oh and just marvel at that packaging!

Cheeks in 2014 have been dominated by two brands - NARS (Deep Throat - the perfect pink laced with gold reviewed and Torrid - the must have coral, with a little gold running through it, for medium skintones) and Illamasqua  (Hussy - matte peachy pink perfect for medium skintones too reviewed here ). Illamasqua produce the softest and most pigmented blushers EVER, and NARS have their formulation nailed - long lasting and buildable - love love love!

The Real Techniques duo-fibre contour brush - reviewed has been the BEST brush discovery of the whole 365 days. I have been able to use every single sleek blush in my vast collection, because of it’s bristles. It distributes colour lightly and allows you to spread the pigmentation over the cheeks perfectly. I also fell head over heals with the Beauty Blender (PLEASE EXCUSE HOW STAINED MINE IS). If you’re looking for a flawless finish with thicker foundations and want to blend concealer in seamlessly this is a MUST have. The only skincare favourite I have of this whole year is the Sweet Almond Oil. I adore this stuff and it’s become a daily part of my routine. I apply a little under each eyes and everywhere else I have uneven skintone and my under-eyes have slowly become a little less dark, and brighter! It’s not an over night miracle, but it’s made a big difference to my skin and even helped me to embrace those pesky circles somewhat.

And finally, my favourite lip product of the whole year has been Rimmel’s lip liners and more specifically the one in Spice - reviewed here. They’re affordable, a huge colour range and of course they’re wonderfully long lasting. Sure they’re a little bit drying, but that’s totally worth the colour pay off and no fuss.

There are my 14 favourites of the past year! What were yours?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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