Elf collection & favourites

Hey guys! So i thought I'd do a long overdue E.l.f collection post! I've not got the biggest collection but i only started buying from them a few months ago. A lot of their products are hit and miss but for the price i don't mind experimenting. Here's a look at my collection and a few of my favourites! I'm going to do a more detailed post with swatches when i get a day off. If you have any collection or review posts or videos link me them in comments because i love hearing how products work for other people.

 

Eyes

I haven't really got around to using some of these products as i haven't really had any place in my routine for them, the Eye Transformer, Lashes and Shimmer Palette being the main culprits there.

 Brightening Eye Colour - Drama. £1.50
Perfect little smokey eye quad complete with mini mirror. Some of the quads are a little chalky but for the price you can't complain. They come in a ton of colours, some more pigmented than others. I only personally have two but will probably be getting some more in the near future as they are quite handy.

Liquid Liner - Black
I decided on not uploading a picture of mine since the E.l.f logo has completely worn off and has been in my essentials makeup bag for quite some time now. I have always sworn by Rimmel's Exaggerate Liquid Liner but thought I'd try this for £1.50. I LOVE it. In my opinion it lasts a lot longer on the eyes and applies easily. Some people have been complaining about the smell but i personally couldn't smell anything unpleasant. I just wish that the Glitter Eyeliners (which i forgot to put in my collection because they are awful and are god knows where in my room) where up to the same standard as this.

 

Lips
Most of the lip products I've tried are average in my opinion although i haven't really got a lot. The only real let down products for me is the Lip Primer and Plumper which smells delicious but doesn't really do anything and the Therapeutic Lip Balm which smells awful and has a horrid greasy consistency, yuck!

Hypershine Gloss - Flirt. £1.50
My favourite of the E.l.f lip products currently (apart from the applicator). It has a lovely cotton candy scent to it and is a pretty sheer pink colour. It's not overly stick and has a decent amount of slip. But again at bargain price is a product that's brilliant to have sitting in your handbag for beauty emergencys!

 

Face

Having a good base is probably the most important thing for me in my routine and i spend most of my time on foundation / blush / highlighting. I'm probably the fussiest with my face products as having really dry/sensitive skin can give me a lot of problems with products. There are quite a few miss products in E.l.f's face selection but also quite a few hits! And please excuse the grubby pictures, these have been in my essentials bag for quite some time now.

Golden Bronzer - £3.50

This product really surprised me. I've not had much luck in the past with bronzers (probably due to my dodgey application) but i really adore this. Being super pale has made me more than cautious when it comes to bronzers but this is light enough for even me. It's not great for contouring as it's very shimmery but lovely to add a bit of a glow to the face and chest. I will definitely be repurchasing this when it comes back into stock.

Complexion Perfection - £3.50

After my first go with this product i decided i hated it and shoved in the back of my drawer. But i luckily decided to give it another chance and with a much much lighter hand it works wonders. As i have dry skin using too much of this product makes me look dry and flakey, but a small amount swirled round on my Kabuki brush works wonders. I have a few friends who have slightly oilier skin and are in love with this. It evens out your complexion beautifully. The only problem with it is that I'm not sure it would work on darker skin tones due to how white the powder applies, for once being pale is a slight advantage!

 High Definition Powder - £6

I'd put off buying this for a while but after seeing other reviews and it being in stock while they had their 50% off sale i had to cave. The first thing i will say about this is that it is MESSY, you loose a lot of product every time you open it which may put me off buying it in the future but then again it's still not expensive. I've been using this to set my foundation and I've been absolutely loving it. Evens my skin tone out and leaves my face feeling silky smooth. If they sorted out the packaging it would probably be my favourite E.l.f product ever! 

 Nails

 

Nail Polish - Blush - Coral. £1.50

 I have a love/hate relationship with these polishes. I love some of the colours especially these two but i really really hate the texture. My mum teaches beauty therapy so maybe I'm spoiled as she's a varnish addict but the texture and staying power of these is a little frustrating. I put up with these two purely because i adore the colours.

Brushes

E.l.f make some surprisingly good brushes! I have however had some problems with broken brushes, they've been completely wobbly or in some cases come apart. But E.l.f have a lovely customer service team and with a photo sent to them i had those brushes replaced. I've not got any Mac or Sigma to compare them to but i definitely prefer them over Smashbox ones which i find a little rough. Some brushes are better than others which is obviously the same with most brands.

 Kabuki Face Brush - £5

This is probably one of my favourite brushes in my collection. It's definitely the best Kabuki I've owned. If it was a little denser it would be perfect. I've been using this nearly every day for months and I've had no problems. I've had very little to no shedding. Quite often they have 20% sales which makes this even more of a bargain.

 

 Powder Brush

As you can see i have quite a few of these! It's such a multipurpose brush, i use this for powder, liquid foundation, cream blush and lots of other things. This is why i have quite a few for different purposes. It's one of their most popular brushes and i can certainty see why. If i had to suggest one product to buy from E.l.f It'd be this.

Well i think I've rambled on quite enough for today! Thanks again guys for reading and I'll try to keep my posts a little closer together :P Again if you have any blog posts or videos link me them in comments because I'd love to check them out!
x

MUA Review & Swatches

Hey guys! As you may or may not know MUA have recently launched their Pro range of makeup and i was lucky enough to be near to one of the two stores in the UK that got the range first! MUA - Makeup Academy are currently in selected Superdrug stores but the entire collection is now available to buy online on Superdrug.co.uk. Superdrug only ship to the UK at the moment but MUA are in the process of launching a website which as far as I'm aware will ship worldwide. I have a mixture of products, some from their normal range which everything is priced at £1 and some of the Pro range which are priced between £2 - £4. The great thing about this brand is that even though they are amazingly inexpensive they do not skimp on quality and things such as the eye shadows could in my opinion rival some higher end products.

Heaven and Earth Eyeshadow Palette - £4

This is probably the stand out product for me, I absolutely adore this palette! Some people have likened it to UD's Naked Palette and there are maybe 2 or 3 shades that are a little similar. But if you are looking for a cheaper alternative this has 12 absolutely gorgeous shimmery neutral shades. I've been reaching for this palette most of the week because they blend nicely and wear all day with UDPP. Even if like me you already have the Naked Palette i still think this is worth picking up! Another plus for me is the packaging, the see through top makes it very easy to grab without having to open to check you've got the right one. It's also slim enough to pop into your handbag or travel with without taking up too much space. I will definitely be picking up a few more of these!

 

Top Row

Bottom Row

Glitter Ball Palette - £4.

 Top Row

Bottom Row

Extreme Metallics Eyeshadow Quads - £3

These also come in six different shades and i can't wait to get my hands on the Smokin' Quad as soon as a manage to find it in stock. Looks and size wise they are similar to the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick but again have a clear top which lazy me loves. Just like the regular shadows from the £1 range they are soft and creamy in texture and not at all chalky. I've found they are slightly messier than the other shadows purely because they are in quad form but nothing that would put me off buying more.

Glammed Up

Celebrity

Eyeshadow Trio - Blue Babe - £2.50

Again absolutely gorgeous colours the darker blue being my personal favourite. The packaging for these although a little bulky is mega cute with a little button on the side to open it. It has a highlight, all over lid and a crease colour which complement each other beautifully. I was nicely surprised to find the highlight shade was more of a goldy colour rather than a white as it looks in the packaging. As always with MUA this is phenomenal value. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the Gold and Green trios soon.

 

Single Eyeshadows - £1 

Excuse the dodgey pictures! I ran out and bought another two after uploading this. I really don't have to say too much about these because i think most people know how awesome these are. 2g of product for £1.. you can't go wrong! These are superbly pigmented and come in either a Pearl or Matte finish. Only thing i can say is that some of them look VERY different in the pan. I intend to depot these and find a palette for them and probably collect them all! There are also some new exciting colours being released very soon.

Shade - 3 Pearl. Shade 12 - Pearl. Shade 13 - Pearl. Shade 20 - Matte.

Shade 2 - Pearl. Shade 6 - Pearl.

Lip Glosses and Lipsticks - £1

Annoyingly i had a bit of a blonde moment and did the swatches in a different order to the pictures. The two wand applicator ones are swatched first. I'll have to go back and redo that picture at some point in the future. The colours of all the lip glosses (and the one lipstick i own) are rather sheer which is a positive for me since i shy away from more opaque colours on my lips. The glosses in tubes oddly smell a lot like redbull but again i weirdly like this! The other two have a slight vanilla smell to them as does the lipstick. I've had shade 1 of the tube gloss in my handbag all week as it is a gorgeous pink/purple shade with a lot of shimmer! Like most lip glosses they do accentuate any dryness on your lips so keeping a good lip scrub close to hand is vital. As far as I'm aware all of the lip glosses and lipsticks are shimmery which may not be for everyone. Again the price is outstanding and are great for just throwing in your handbag.

Shade 1 & 2 (Wand applicator) - Shade 1, 2 & 3 (Sqeezable tubes). Lipstick - Shade 7

 Extreme Felt Liner - £2.  3 in 1 Eye Contour Pen - £1.50. Intense Glitter Eyeliner - Starry Night. Glitter Eyeliner - Shade 4 - £1.

Lets start off with my favourite of the four things, the Felt Liner. When i first bought this mine had dried out but MUA were nice enough to send me a replacement. I've been using the Smashbox felt liner religiously until somehow i misplaced it and was thrilled to try this one. I actually prefer this to my Smashbox one as i feel you can get a more defined line with it. It lasts all day and doesn't budge, its got to be one of my favourites. The Eye contour Pen baffles me a little bit im unsure really how I'm supposed to use it but when i work this out I'll put up a little review. The glitter liner... Its so so so pretty swatched on my hand and has a gorgeous creamy consistency although i can't get it to stay put on my eye. For me it smudges all over the place which is a big shame since i really love it! I'd use it on my waterline was it not for the glitter. And lastly the Glitter Liner, for the price its a bit of fun. Takes a little while to build up a solid line of glitter but it does stay put a lot longer than the god awful E.l.f glitter liner. I love the colour so I'm determined to make it work for me!

Extreme Felt Liner - Eye Contour Pen - Intense Glitter Eyeliner - Glitter Eyeliner.

 Mosiac Blush - English Rose. Mosiac Bronzer - Natural Glow. £2.50

These aren't overly pigmented which in my opinion isn't always a bad thing when it comes to blush and especially for me with bronzer. The English rose shade is a gorgeous rose pink colour which for me being super pale looks wonderful on the skin. I've been meaning to try contouring with this bronzer as it looks like it may not be too dark for me and has as far as i can tell very little to no shimmer in it. I'm relatively new wearing bronzers and this would only be my second but i shall let you know how i get on with it!

 Primer - £4. Matte Foundation Shade 1 - £2.

Brush On Concealer Shade 1 - £2.

Firstly, i was amazed to find a face primer for such a small price tag. I'm used to using the Smashbox Photo Finish and this is nothing like it. This has a smooth watery consistency which is not oily or slippery at all. Saying this i really do like this primer, i find it even outs my skin tone and leaves a lovely base for foundation. It's not drying at all either but it would probably depend on which foundation I'm using to whether i use it. The foundation is simply far too dark for me. It comes in 3 shades so if you fit one of those this may work for you but sadly it was a little too orange for my super pale skin. Same for the concealer as you can see from the picture, even darker than the foundation just isn't a colour match for me. They do have testers Superdrug so i suggest you go check them out before you buy.

 

Extreme Curl Mascara. Extreme Volume Mascara. - £2

For some reason i just couldn't get these to work for me. I love having thick maybe a little over the top lashes and this just didn't do that. The curling one does slightly curl my lashes but mine aren't overly straight to begin with. But this is just my opinion and these may work great for you!

Nail Polish - Shade 12 and 14 - £1. Nail Quake - Shattered Ice, Shockwaves, Shiver and Quiver - £2.99.

Sadly i can't wear nail varnish to work so i haven't had a lot of time to try these out yet. But when i do I'll be sure to update this with pictures and opinions. But i was happy to see an alternative to the Barry M and OPI shatter polishes on the high street.

Overall i think MUA offers mostly extremely good products at bargain prices. Like i said earlier i think most of the shadows are up there with higher end brands and proves that buying cheap products doesn't mean you should loose quality. I love the range of colours they do especially the eyeshadows but in the future I'd love the see more matte colours. If you haven't seen any of these before check if your nearest Superdrug stocks them as they are definitely worth a look. I will in future be purchasing quite a bit more from them and i look forward to seeing what products they come out with in the future. MUA are probably one of the brands that recently that stopped me being a bit of a label snob, and me and my bank balance are happy for it!

You can check out all the MUA products out online here.

Thanks for reading guys! 

xx

Mini Elf Haul

 Hey guys! I'm currently over the moon at getting a new camera which means i can FINALLY start putting more time and effort into making my blog posts a bit more informative and interesting. To top it off i got two packages through the post today, one being some storage I'll post about later and the other being my exciting little brown box! And as i have a little time today i wanted to put up a little post on my latest E.l.f haul. 

As you may or may not have known E.l.f were generous enough to have a 50% off everything sale over the past few days for reaching 200k Likes on Facebook. The fact it was a whopping 50% off was a bit of a surprise as they have said in the past that they were unable to have those sort of promotions due to shipping and taxes from importing their stock from America. As you probably know already all of their products are extremely reasonably priced before their sales so after battling with the E.l.f website for about an hour i finally managed to get a little order done. Unfortunately at the time a lot of my favourite products were out of stock but as i needed some new brushes and felt like trying some new things i jumped on the offer!

What i got:
Liquid Eyeliner - Coffee
Waterproof Eyeliner Pen - Coffee
Shimmer Pencils - Boldly Bronzed & Gunmetal
Dramatic Lash Kit
Nail Polish - Golden Goddess
Studio HD Powder
Studio Makeup Mist & Set
Foundation Brush x2
Studio Angled Foundation Brush
Eyeshadow brush x2


I know it's not the most interesting of E.l.f hauls but i have a ton of their products already and can't resist a sale! I'd like to do an Elf collection post as i have so much and review the products i love or hate in more detail as i feel they are very hit or miss!

Thanks for reading and I'd love to see/read your haul posts or videos so feel free to link me them :)

Glossybox has some competition - Boudoir Prive!

 So over the last few months the UK finally got a monthly beauty subscription service and by the looks of it we're going to have some choice too! Boudoir Prive, although i honestly do not know much about this at all looks like it is going to be a similar concept to other brands such as Birchbox or the UK's Glossybox, offering 6 deluxe samples a month for a £10 subscription. I am quite happy about this since I hesitated on ordering the Glossybox and it has been sold out for a few months now. I'm looking forward to hearing more on this and quite possibly signing up myself (hopefully before they sell out this time!).

You can sign up for details on Boudoir Prive here :)

Edible Beauty

Lush's Bubblegum Lip Scrub.

When i first heard about this product i was a little skeptical. I'd seen it in Lush stores and was offered to try it but dipping my finger in a little pot that lots of other customers had had their fingers in didn't really appeal to me for hygiene reasons. Luckily i got this in a bundle for Christmas from my boyfriend with a lot of my other favourite Christmassy scented products like Snow Fairy Shower gel and Candy Cane bubble bath bar. Until recently this had sat on the shelf as i hadn't really seen the point in it but after checking the expiry date i decided to give it a go! It smells similar to the gorgeous Snow Fairy and does taste exceptionally nice! You use a small amount to exfoliate your lips then lick it off! It is only made of sugar, colouring and flavouring so for £4.75 isn't the best value for money exfoliator but its sure addictive! A little bit goes a long way and I've been using this for well over a month now and i haven't made that big a dent so it would last a long time!


Overall i think it does a nice job of exfoliating your lips and is a bit of a fun novelty product. And if you don't mind paying nearly £5 for some flavoured sugar I'd suggest giving it a go! I probably would re purchase when it eventually runs out because i love the scent and flavour. It does come in two other flavours Vanilla and A Minty Chocolate flavour i believe. These are available at all Lush shops and online here.

Free Benefit in tomorrows Glamour Magazine!

It's that time of year again! Glamour magazine are giving away free Benefit minis! Last year we were lucky enough to get three full size products, It Stick, Eye Bright and Bad Gal Liner. This year they are giving away mini sized High Beam, Benetint and Posietint valued around £7. The best thing about this is that the magazine is only £2 so you can afford to pick up all three!


The magazine is released on the 9th and can be found at most newsagents! But be warned these will sell out fast! Hope you all manage to get them!

Hair Haul :)

As I've gotten to the stage where i nearly had to cut open my conditioner bottle to salvage the last few washes from it i realised i was long overdue a trip to Capital. Capital Hair and Beauty is a salon wholesalers where brands such as Tigi, Wella, Loreal and Macadamia are all at a lower price. Sadly you need a trade card to purchase anything from there but if you have a Hairdresser or Beauty Therapist as a friend it's definitely worth convincing them to take you! I generally go 2 - 3 times a year to stock up on Tigi and hair dye as both me and my Mum have a card.

I've been using the same shampoo (Tigi Superstar) and conditioner for for a good two years and as my hair has gone through a lot of stress getting it from black to bright red i thought it was time for a change!

Tigi Bed Head - Dumb Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner:

"Salvage the wreckage with this protein packed moisturizer including wheat, soy, keratin and Pro-Vitamin B-5 complex.  

• Repairs and moisturizes without adding weight
• Helps to protect and retain colour
• Calms static. "
  
  I've generally stayed away from products that claim to repair or moisturise hair as i do love to have big hair and in the past products have made back brushing or any sort of volume impossible! But on first go with this my hair feels lovely, not heavy or coated. Although i may have to completely forsake back brushing to get my hair back into shape as much as that may annoy the heck out of me! This like all of the Tigi products smells lovely! And for only £14 + VAT was a steal! 
  
  
  
  
  
  Macadamia Deep Repair Masque:
  "Macadamia Deep Repair Masque is a revitalizing hair reconstructor for dry, damaged hair. A combination of macadamia oil and argan oil along with tea tree oil, chamomile oil, aloe and algae extracts rejuvenate and rebuild the hair, leaving the hair deeply nourished for improved elasticity and shine with long-lasting conditioning benefits."
  This was a little pricier at £13.35 + VAT and can cost much much more in salons and online. There has been a lot of reviews on this product already and i was surprised to say I'm not that keen on the scent. Guessing with the name i was expecting a more subtle nutty fragrance not quite a strong floral one. It's not unpleasant just not what i was expecting. I left this on for about 10 minutes and it did leave my hair lovely and soft without looking limp or feeling weighed down. I'll do a full review when I've given this a thorough test as I'm interested to see if it lives up to the hype!
  
  
  
  Tigi - Queen for a Day Thickening Spray: This has been one of my all time favourite products for years! It smells absolutely divine and does exactly what it says on the tin! Gives your hair lots of volume without making it sticky or heavy! Makes my hair perfect for back brushing (bad i know :P ). If I've used a mediocre shampoo and conditioner i can save my hair with a quick few sprays of this and get a lovely amount of volume back! I love love love this! I think this is just over £6 + VAT. I'd highly recommend checking this one out.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Crazy Color Hair Dye - Fire Red:
  It's pretty boring for me now since I've been using this colour for way over a year now i love it that much. I use Majirel Mix in Red every 6-8 weeks on my roots then apply this every 2-3 weeks. I know every fortnight sounds like a lot of hassle but the upkeep on bright red hair is a lot of effort. I used to get about 3 applications from this bottle but now i get about 2 since my hairs grown and i have less patience applying it and just slap it on my head! It costs £2.50 but I've seen it online from £1.99. A lot of people use other dyes for vibrant colours but as this one is super cheap and does the job I'll stick to it! Although my bathroom, towels, neck, clothes are nearly always pink! But it does wash straight out of towels and clothes which is a good thing! The other great thing about Crazy Color is that it comes in  a ton of shades! I've been eyeing up the blue for quite a while now  i just haven't got the guts!
  
  I got some pretty boring things as well like a new hair brush, some clips and some random dye as they didn't have my regular permanent dye in stock! I spent well over £50 in total and luckily i had my lovely Dad and his credit card on hand to get a few bits for me!
  
  I've also purchased some other random hair products recently which I'll do a rant and rave post on in the next few days!
  
  Thanks for reading! :)