November Favourites 2015

We have reached the LAST favourites post of 2015, WHAAAAAT??? Honestly I have no idea where this year went and this time next month I’ll be sharing my 2015 beauty favourites ._. (I’ve already jotted down some firm HGs but we’ll get to that in a few weeks!) So November has been a month of ‘5-10 minute makeup’ routines, filled with pretty much Uni or Work and not a lot of other stuff in between - which is why I didn’t bother with a November catch-up post. So I definitely don’t have a tonne of products this month, but knowing me its still going to be a looooong post so lets get into it ^_^

Bourjois CC Cream in 33 | £9.99 | Review
I rediscovered this gem of a drugstore product this month, as 33 is a perfect match to my winter skintone. I was impressed all over again with how well redness and discolouration was covered with such little product and effort. Also I really enjoyed how quickly I can apply this with my fingers, which has been a HUGE timesaver for the days I am running late and want to be out of the door as soon as possible. This really is one of my favourite bases from the drugstore and I will definitely be repurchasing this next winter! If BB creams did nothing for you, I can guarantee you'll have better luck with this stuff (its just a shame the shade selection is so poor._.).

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer SX06 | £36.50
Ok I know I said I would save my 2015 favourites till next month...BUT this right here is a sneak peak, the SSE is 100% one of my favourite makeup items I have purchased this year. I have the shade SX08 which is basically the closest match to my skintone and I also have SX06, the lightest shade I can get away with and my absolutely perfect highlight shade. A little goes a long way and the sensual skin enhancers cover like no other product I have tried before. Mixed together  these two shades have been great for concealing troublesome dark circles whilst adding brightness. SX06 alone its great for wedding or party makeup, but for day to day it is a little TOO bright, so mixing a little of each has worked out a treat.

#Instamarc Light Filtering Contour Powder in Mirage Filter | £32.49
Now this was a SPLURGE! I last featured it on my blog in my Birthday haul here and then it didn’t reappear because as you probably know...I fell in love with the Kat Von D Shade and Light contour kit. In the last two months I’ve decided to finally take it out of the box and start using this too, which has had a bunch of mixed reviews on YT. I LOVE the yellow shade, it’s one of my absolute favourites because its just yellow enough to actually brighten, but it does a great job with setting concealer too. I also really like the contour shade, which has a great grey tone to it, sometimes it does need building up but the amount of product in here means I don’t mind this too much. The only thing I don’t love about the palette is that there is a lot of ‘fall out’, you put your brush in the pan and it kicks up quite a bit of powder. I’m guessing this is the reason why they’ve applied the whole 'filter' thing because it is so finely milled and its hard to achieve cakey-ness...I can live with it but I understand why people get annoyed. Would anyone like a full review? Let me know!

 
Wet’n’Wild Mega Last Lipstick in Sugar Plum Fairy | £1.82 | Review
From a super splurgy product to a budget pick, this has been my favourite lip product of the month for sure! SPF is a dupe for MAC’s rebel, at a fraction of the price and of course it is a great ethical alternative! The formula of the lipstick is lovely, the pigmentation is pretty much all I could ask for and the purple shade is my cup of tea. For me its my perfect bold lip, without turning to a shade from the red family and although I don’t love the stain it fades too, I don’t mind reapplying after a couple of hours - something I rarely bother with!

 
Topshop Magic Liner in Engraved | £6.50
This eyeliner has been my absolute favourite this month, the colour is a deep black and the tip, though it takes some getting used to has been a huge advantage. I find myself doing winged liner in less than a minute which is very useful for those busy mornings and it also lasts over 6 hours on my lids. However it does smudge a little, I accidently smudged the tip so if I wanted to use this for a long and special occasion I would most definitely set it with shadow or gel. But to get the shape of the line and flick, this liner is absolutely magic for me.
 

 
Aztec Secret, Healing Clay | £3.99
I had heard about this mask here and there, but it was only when I read in a YouTube comment that this is a dupe for the GlamGlow deep cleansing mask, that I really paid attention. A deep cleansing mask for less than £5, that people were RAVING about, saying it is the only thing that truely cleaned out their pores, removed the gunk from their skin and left it feeling clean on a whole new level? Of course I had to purchase it, I also bought some Apple Cider Vinegar and got the whole family involved, masking their faces and laughing as our faces turned rock solid for half an hour. Although it is a pain to remove, this 100% natural calcium bentonite clay mask is well worth it and lives up to the claims. This is actually out of stock at the moment, however I cannot express how much I have enjoyed using this mask so far and it is well worth keeping an eye out for its availability.

 
Bioderma Sensibio H20 | £10.20
I HAD to purchase this after facing a real dilemma with my eye makeup removal. You might know that I swear by the Una Brennan Vitamin C cleansing oil to remove the majority of my face makeup, however rubbing oil all over my eyes just wasn’t working out for me. A bit of oil would always get into my eyes and it was most uncomfortable. So I knew I had to find a great micellar water, the Nivea one I am not a fan of as it just doesn’t remove enough and the L’Oreal and Garnier ones are totally unethical and not an option for me. So I turned to the original and luckily after a quick google search I found an amazing deal - buy 1 get 1 free! So I purchased 500ml of micellar water for only £10.20, such a bargain! They only have 100 left though, so do take advantage ASAP (link above). Oh and customer service and speed of delivery was A* too...and did I forget to mention that it is the most gentle, yet most effective makeup remover ever and well deserving of the praise it gets.

 
Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask | £22.00
I mentioned this mask in my top three hydrating masks post, and it has been the one that I have reached for every single makeup free day this month and at least three times over night. I can owe my skin staying hydrated throughout the significantly colder weather to this mask here and I love the honey scent too. Although it is more than I would normally spend on skincare, I have really grown to appreciate this in the winter time and I have no doubt that I will be repurchasing it next winter time!

 

What have you been loving in November? Link your favourites post down below, I’d love to read them ^_^

 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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November Favourites 2015

We have reached the LAST favourites post of 2015, WHAAAAAT??? Honestly I have no idea where this year went and this time next month I’ll be sharing my 2015 beauty favourites ._. (I’ve already jotted down some firm HGs but we’ll get to that in a few weeks!) So November has been a month of ‘5-10 minute makeup’ routines, filled with pretty much Uni or Work and not a lot of other stuff in between - which is why I didn’t bother with a November catch-up post. So I definitely don’t have a tonne of products this month, but knowing me its still going to be a looooong post so lets get into it ^_^

LOTW | Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Beau Brun 12

Hello everyone, this weeks LOTW has to be the most confusing for me. I don’t particularly love it, nor do I totally dislike it either...in a way I was a little disappointed because the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets are pretty raved about and there’s a couple of cons which I didn’t hear much about on the blogosphere when reading about them, but anyway a mixed review for sure!

Price: £8.99 - pretty pricy for a drugstore product! But they’re around the same price as the Sephora versions, so not too outrageous.

Colour: Beau Brun is a strange one. It definitely sits in the red family, with undertones of brown but I feel like it also leans slightly on the blue side too. I adore the colour when it is first applied, as it looks like a true red which sits beautifully against my skintone. However when its set or dried down the colour definitely changes on my lips and it becomes a cross between a red and bright pink. I wish it stayed the colour it appeared when first applied to my lips, because then I could overlook my small issues with this lip product sigh.

Formula and Lasting time: So technically this is not a liquid lipstick, it applies like a cream and doesn’t properly dry for a long time. On the lips it feels soft and velvet like, which is a positive because it doesn’t leave my lips feeling dry and in need of TLC at all. However this was also a downfall for this shade because it does sit in the red family and so smudged red around the mouth is never a good look. It’s kind of frustrating that it doesn’t set for a while as it transfers onto food, if I accidently touch it I get red on my fingers and I felt like I constantly had to check my lips in the mirror in case it smudged! Also worn totally alone it lasted on my lips for 3.5 hours...which I was so surprised about! In the middle it started fading and because its a red shade, half on, half off just looked terrible. However when worn with another lip product, the lasting time extended extensively. I found that it worked as a good red base, which I then mixed with either a nude shade or a slightly deeper shade and it helped my lip combo last all day. This is because when the stuff finally does dry it stains like NO TOMORROW!

Favourite Way To Wear It: Well I don’t have the perfect dark red lip liner, though I do imagine that once I get one I’ll be doing an ombre lip with this as the base (and middle) with the darker lip liner to define and fill in the edges. As I do not own said darker liner, I have quite liked pairing this with a nude lipstick over the top to just mute the red/pink shade.

Face makeup wise I much prefer this when I’m wearing a deeper shade of foundation, I find it suits my olive skintone better then my winter pale self. However I’ve been using my Bourjois CC cream and my Dior skin nude foundation, which are the lightest bases in my collection and it just looks a little too stark for me. So yeah the deeper the foundation, the more I can make this work alone, with a nude shade blush and a classic sharp eyeliner.

Overall: I don’t like how it doesn’t set for over half an hour, I don’t like how it stains so easily because red smudges around my mouth look horrendous and overall the shade alone just isn’t MY perfect red. I do like the fact that it feels comfortable on the lips and in the right shade, the fact that it stains means it can last a good while. I still think it’s a little pricey for what it is, although I adore the packaging and I think the doefoot is a good size too. Also there is a scent, nothing too offensive but for those of you who are sensitive to smells, it’s worth mentioning. I feel like I’ve been a little harsh in this review, but perhaps it was because I had such high expectations for this shade..hopefully some of the others work out better, because there are enough things that I like about it to make me want to keep trying with the line.

Available from: Any drugstore, ASOS (currently on sale!) or feelunique.

Rating: 6/10

Repurchase? Not this particular shade. I have one more which I’m planning to use in a few months, so hopefully that colour works better!

Have you tried the Rouge Edition Velvets? How was your experience?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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LOTW | Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Beau Brun 12

Hello everyone, this weeks LOTW has to be the most confusing for me. I don’t particularly love it, nor do I totally dislike it either...in a way I was a little disappointed because the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets are pretty raved about and there’s a couple of cons which I didn’t hear much about on the blogosphere when reading about them, but anyway a mixed review for sure!

Price: £8.99 - pretty pricy for a drugstore product! But they’re around the same price as the Sephora versions, so not too outrageous.

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!