FOTD: Stuck In A Rut

Ello Lovelies!

I've been stuck in a little bit of a makeup rut lately, wearing the same look most days and not having much time to change up my routine too much due to work, boo! So over the weekend i was determined to crack out some different goodies and give a new look a bit of a try. Well here's how it went!

Eyes:
Urban Decay - Primer Potion

Nyx - Milk Jumbo Pencil
Victorian Disco Cosmetics - Frozen Throne (<3)

Sugarpill - Afterparty + Bulletproof + Taco

Mac - Omega (Brows) + Phloof!
MUFE - Smoky Lash

Lips:
Mac - Hue
Which looks really nothingy on me sadly.

Face:

Mac - Studio Fix Fluid mixed with Revlon - Colourstay
Fyrinnae - Confidence Hightlighter (as blush)
Collection 2000 - Lasting Perfection Concealer

Elf - HD Powder

Overall i was pretty happy with look. Sure its not the most creative look, but for me its pretty good! My foundation ratio was a little off, my Colourstay is a smidge too light and my Studio Fix Fluid (NW15) is FAR too dark so i like to try and mix the two so i feel like I'm not wasting two perfectly good foundations. I just wish i could get the ratios perfect every time i try, oh well!

I'm really looking forward to trying out some more bolder looks and well and truly getting out of my makeup rut! I've also got my eye on some indie pretties currently, so hopefully I'll have some bits and bobs to show and review soon, yay!

Thanks for reading!

xox

Summer Lust List!

Slowly but surely i am determined to get some of these beauties in my life...

1 - Inglot Eyeshadows.
I am obsessed with my Inglot shadows and have been lusting after some new ones for what seems like forever (its really not that long, I'm just a drama queen). In particular i really want some more cool toned neutrals and a few pearl brights including shimmery limes and oranges!

2 - A Better Camera
I have none in particular in mind yet, just an upgrade from my current £50 bargain. Yes mine does the job (most of the time) but it would be nice to learn to take some better snaps with a nice new camera. Just nothing toooooo expensive.

3 - New GHD's
Not sure why, but lately my hair has refused to stay straight and has been returning to its usual wavy (and not in a good way) state within an hour or two. Which to be honest is thoroughly annoying! So these are at the top of my must buy list! Mine are about 6 years old and have taken a bit of a battering, so I'm eyeing a nice glossy new pair.

4 - Revlon Lip Stain Balms
There is a fair bit of American makeup on my written Lust List (yes, i actually keep a written list!) but as these are rumoured to be making an appearance in the UK next month i thought I'd include them! Although, i think i might do a shopping list post of all the American makeup i hope to get my paws on later this year!

5 - Darling Girl Cosmetics (all of it)
Okay, all of it may be a slight exaggeration, but hey! This website has been taunting me and my no buy for some time now and I'm not sure i can resist much longer! I've got my eye on tooooo many things on the website including shadows, glitter glue, lip products and multiple scents of their skin quenchers. Must, resist!

6 - Caudalie Beauty Elixir 

If you read blogs you'll know exactly what this is. Its stupidly expensive but somehow this has not put me off lusting over it. /sigh


7 - Dinair Airbrush System 

This is a relatively new lust. Do i need it? God no. But i really, really, really, really want one.
*Insert tantrum*

So thats it!
Lust lists are a rare post for me, but i thought I'd share some of the goodies that are catching my eye lately, and knowing my will power will probably be making an appearance on my blog some point in the near future!

Are you lusting over any products lately? Let me know!

xox

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream

Hiya Lovelies!
The weathers looking a little bit nicer than it has been over the past few weeks (YAY) and has got me in a rather summery mood! As you know I've been a little bit tight with my spending lately but i did manage to pick up a few budget products in town over the past few weeks, ooops! Although i feel a little splurge is in order on next payday as i have been pretty damn good with my savings! Not that I'm trying to convince myself or anything...

Collection 2000's Cream Puffs have been raved about online and i thought it was about time i picked one up, at £2.99 it wasn't breaking the bank so if it didn't work for me it was no big loss. After seeing some rave reviews about them i was a little bit disappointed with the colour selection, in both stores i visited there were only 4, which lets be honest could be a lot better. There were only two colours that really took my fancy as the other two were beigey nudes and i am under no impression that i could pull those off! So i opted for the peachier colour, shade 3 Fairy Cake.

Now the sunlight has been a little deceptive with this swatch as it is leaning a little more orange than it actually is, the lip swatch is a more accurate colour. Honestly, its a pretty colour but i don't love it. Its easy to apply and has pretty good lasting power so for me makes an easy, go to day shade. My only gripe with it is if you don't exfoliate your lips it really does sink in and cling to dryer areas after an hour or so. And i know this from experience, silly ol' me went out one day and probably had this on for a good few hours before i realised it had well and truly clung around the dry patches where my lips meet... ew! Needless to say I've remembered to exfoliate more often!

I really do love the texture of these, like the name implies they are a cream formula and glide onto the lip. They dry down to a matte finish but will move about quite easily so paranoid me has a mirror to hand for speedy lip checks.

Overall i think this is a pretty decent product i just wish Collection 2000 would give us some more shades, pleaaasseee!? Its cheap at £2.99, wears well (if you aren't lazy like me and exfoliate regularly) and is opaque with one swipe. As far as I'm aware there is nothing like this on the high street currently but they have been compared to the Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams, which have a slightly better colour range but are less accessible here in the UK.

Have you tried Lip Creams? What are your favourites?

Thanks for reading!

xox

My Top 5 Eye Brushes

 

Hello Lovelies!

So today I've got the next instalment of my "Top 5" series! Like i mentioned in the first post i wasn't really keen on doing a "Collection" post, so i decided to do a Top 5 of all the things i love, which seemed like a much better idea than me! Although i may do a post on my storage, when i can finally manage to get it all tidy!

I'm not too fussy when it comes to eye brushes, I'm much more likely to spend a bit more on face brushes since shadow isn't something i wear every day. But even so I've got some firm favourites in my collection and i don't see these changing any time soon!

Crown Brush C433 Pro Blending Fluff
Now its not the particular brand of brush i like on this one, its the shape. As you're probably all aware its very similar to a popular Mac blending brush and there are plenty of copies or dupes available. I have similar brushes from Sigma and Bdellium Tools and love them all pretty much equally! I love the fact its multipurpose, i can use it for concealer, i can use it for blending or I've even used it for an entire lazy smokey eye in the past just using both sides of the brush. Personally, i think this type of brush is a collection staple, everyone should own one!

Sigma Small Angle E65

Again i have a Crown brush that works just as well as this one, but this is my brow staple! Its the only thing it gets used for as I'm not fond of gel liner. Its firm enough to be precise but not too firm its scratchy. Not too much to say about this one really.

Elf Professional Blending Eye Brush

This brush gets a LOT of love, and for good reason too! Okay so its not the softest brush in the world and it has shed slightly but i absolutely LOVE it for blending / crease work. I have 5 or 6 of these beauties as i went a little mad at the last 50% off sale but i don't regret buying them one bit. I have smaller eyes so this makes blending a dream and fits perfectly into my crease. For people with smaller eyes, or for more detailed work they do a crease brush that works wonders too. Its not fancy, but at £1.50 you can't complain!

Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush

 This is a little bit of a cheat brush for this category. Its designed as an eye brush, but i mainly use it for concealer. But that's under the eye, so that counts, right? It blends concealer like a dream, better than i dare say the crown brush does. Real Techniques have brought out some corkers when it comes to brushes and although the face ones are my favourites, this one does not disappoint! I also love it for applying highlight to the brow bone.

Elf Professional Eye Shadow Brush

 Another great, no frills, bargain brush from Elf. Again i have about 5 or 6 of these and i wouldn't be without them. Yes they shed slightly, but for a basic lay down brush, they do the job! If you're after fancy brushes, this one isn't for you but if your after a bargain I'd go check their website!

So thats it for Eye Brushes! I did have a little trouble narrowing these down to 5 brushes, but if i had an extra I'd certainly pop in a pencil brush! Next in the series, Lipsticks!

Are these any of your favourites? What do you recommend?

 

xox

Inglot Freedom System - Rainbow Neutrals

Hiya lovelies!

Another long overdue post for you today. If you remember back a couple of months ago i was lucky enough to win one of Girlie Review's giveaways that included not one, but TWO five pan Inglot Palettes.

As some of you may know i LOVE Inglot shadows, i picked up quite a few at Imats this year and have been lusting after more ever since. So needless to say i was over the moon when i won these! The rainbow shadows were at the top of my lust list, and for an eyeshadow hoarder, i really don't have that many mattes! So this palette was the perfect addition to my little collection. I've been absolutely loving the lighter neutrals with a bit of winged liner for a more "Pin Up" look, I've been wearing some of the more medium browns lightly through my brows and needless to say the matte blacks gotten quite a lot of love! I'm really wondering why I've never really owned mattes before, they are SO versatile! Love!

120R, 112R, 107R, 106R, 116R.

120R

112R

107R

106R

116R
Price wise these aren't too expensive in the UK at £6 each, but once you've bought a few and a palette it soon mounts up. But in comparison to other brands of around the same quality its phenomenal! The Inglot palettes start from 1 all the way up to 20 or 40, so theres a size to fit any budget. If you live near London, i really recommend checking out their Westfields store, then you can get a feel for the products, have a little swatch and not pay annoying postage, which is a whopping £6!

Again, if you can get your hands on Inglot shadows, DO IT, they are well worth the money. They've just released some new shades... So more to add to my lust list! I can see a new palette (or two) being ordered before too long, hehe!

I'd like to pop in another big thank you to Girlie Review, feel free to check out her blog, she posts some awesome reviews and videos!

And you can check out the UK Inglot website here.

What are your favourite Inglot shades / products?

xox

Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Balm

Hey lovelies!
Simply put, i love lip balm. A few months ago i put myself on a lip balm ban. Mostly because of the whopping 22 i found, some in my collection some lurking in handbags and dotted around the house. So i felt that number was a little bit excessive and started to use up what i liked and binned what i didn't. Now this was a few months back and I've whittled it down to only having 3 or 4 around the house, so surely i could justify a new one, right?

I'd heard quite a lot about Lanolips through the blogosphere, and as Boots were having a 3 for 2 on most items picking one up as i stocked up on moisturiser seemed like a good plan! I opted for the Lemonaid version and I'm so glad i did! It smells absolutely DIVINE, like a sugary cloudy lemonade. Probably the best smelling lip balm I've come across so far. It applies pretty much clear with a very, very fine gold shimmer to it and looks gorgeous on the lips. It has slightly more slip than lip balms I'm used to but that doesn't really fuss me. The only thing that does slightly bug me is the applicator (which i stupidly didn't photograph), it doesn't have a regular plastic applicator like you'd expect from a lip balm, rather a small hole so you have to apply it with your fingers, which I'm not a huge fan of.

So it smells nice, it looks nice, but does it work? Yes, but I'm not hugely blown away by it. Yes its moisturising but nothing that wow'd me. Do i think its worth the money, YES. For the scent alone I'd repurchase this, its a plus that it actually works. If your expecting some wonder balm your not going to get it, but what you will get is a beautifully scented, pretty decent lip balm. I guess i was just expecting more considering its price tag and how hyped this is. But nether the less its a pretty lovely balm.

Have you tried Lanolips? What did you think?

xox

Nyx Green Concealer In A Jar Review

 

Ello lovelies!
Another naughty eBay purchase review for you today. I'd seen a few rave reviews on the original, skin toned Nyx Concealer In A Jar and as i was in the market for a green concealer / primer and am sadly on quite a tight budget i thought I'd give this one a bash. I've mentioned before i do get my Nyx on eBay even though there is a UK online store. Because the price difference is quite steep if you only want one item once you've paid postage its normally about double what you pay to get the product and have it shipped from the USA, madness!

 I have quite a lot of pink in my skin which as I've been using less coverage foundations lately has been really ticking me off, so i went on the hunt for a solution. Weirdly, there aren't as many green concealers / primers on the high street as you'd think. I only spotted one or two in Boots and then spent about half an hour lusting after the Smashbox one as i love the original, i just don't love the price! So eBay it was!

Sadly, i don't think this does an awful lot. Heavily swatched it looks like it'd be perfect, but it literally blends out to nothing. Even out of frustration i scooped out rather a large lump and it just blended away never to be seen again... Well thats a bit dramatic but i just don't think this works for me. I've tried it both under and over a few foundations but I've just had no luck what so ever.

Overall, yes it was a bargain at just over £4, but its not really a bargain if it doesn't work. I really wanted to love this, but i just couldn't make it work however i applied it. So if you have any tips or suggestions on application, or even any other affordable products, let me know! On the plus side the seller i purchased it from has a lot of affordable Nyx products and my package arrived in just a week, which from the USA is bloody brilliant!

You can check it out here or on the Nyx UK website.

xox