Keep On Using Me, Until You Use Me Up

I'm one of those people that buy products purely because they are new or have pretty shiny packaging. I'm extremely shallow when it comes to anything beauty product related, that means that some of my most loved and used products can get banished to the back of the draw. Recently I had a makeup bag over haul and chose some products that I'm determined to use up.

Foundation is one of my biggest problems, I'm always on the look out for the best and this means I tend to buy a lot, even when I have more than enough to get through sitting at home. My NARS Sheer Glow is one of my most expensive and yet most neglected foundations. I have made it my mission to get through it by the end of this year and so far I'm doing fairly well. It's a great summer foundation so hopefully I'll get more than enough use out of it in the upcoming months. 

Another problem area of my collection is mascaras. I really don't know what it is about mascaras but I can't stop buying them. I have so many that just sit in their acrylic storage waiting to be used but never get picked up. The Maxfactor False Lash Effect mascara is one of my all time favourites so this has been thrown back into my makeup bag and get's used pretty much every single day. 

Then finally we have a product that I bought purely because of blogger hype. The NARS Orgasm blush is a cult favourite but I wasn't too impressed when I first got it. I have to be really careful when I use this because of how pigmented it is, I'm extremely pale so it can be a bit over powering at times. However I have been using it religiously these last few weeks and I haven't even made a dent in it! I can see myself being buried with it when I'm 90 and have finally kicked the bucket. 

I forget sometimes how hard it is to get through makeup, I don't wear makeup everyday, in fact I'm hardly wearing it all these past couple of weeks. I have put myself on a little makeup ban but I can hear the Boots 3 for 2 offer calling my name, especially with all the spring releases coming soon. I have faith though, I will use up the products that I have, even if it means I wear the same makeup look ever day. 

Do you have a bad makeup buying habit? Are there any products you feel you could get a bit more use out of? 

Pastel Picks

As spring is just around the corner and the pastel colours are out in full force, I wanted to share just a few of my pastel picks. Not only do I plan to wear my pastels proudly on my face but also on my accessories.

I'm not really a pastel girl when it comes to clothes so I love to add a splash of pastel on my nails. Three of my all time favourite pastel shades, and nail polishes in general, are OPI Such A Budapest, Barry M Mint Green and Essie Tea and Crumpets. All of them are pastel but not too girly. Such A Budapest is my favourite polish I own, its lilac shade compliments my pale skin tone really well and is the polish I usually wear the most on rainy spring days.

I also like to tone down my cheek colour in the spring; a flush of pink is all I need so I go with a bit of MAC Well Dressed. A very sheer pale pink that gives just a hint of colour, perfect for no makeup makeup or when you just want an easy makeup day. And for those days where you want just a hint of colour but a lovely flash of highlight, the Soap & Glory Glow All Out highlighter is perfect. It gives you a gorgeous highlight with a tiny tint of pale peach-pink. 

For the eyes, I love really pale sheer shades. If I'm wearing a pink I like it to be really subtle, no Barbie pink eyes for me. The shade Magic from the Urban Decay Glinda Palette is really nice lightly brushed all over the lid, using a fluffy brush it gives a nice hint of pink without being too overpowering. If cream shadows are more your thing, try the Mabelline Color Tattoo in Pink Gold, a soft pink with gold iridescent, this has a nice peachy tone which can be worn on it's own or as a base. I also like to go for a safe nude shade; illusion is also from the Glinda Palette and just adds a hint of shimmer to a bland peachy nude. 

Then I have my 'go to' pastel lip shade, MAC Creme Cup. This is my perfect day lipstick, it's a pale pink which doesn't make your lips completely disappear into your skin tone but gives them the coveted 'your lips but better' colour. To top it all off I have my Monsoon iPhone 5 case, I love the geometric shapes and it adds a bright springy feel to any outfit.

What are your pastel picks this spring?

My 'Must-Have' Blushers

Blush used to be my least loved product, don't get me wrong, without it I would look like a walking ghost, but it never really peaked my interest. That is until recently, I've been delving into higher-end blushers like Illamasqua and Clarins and I have to say they have shed a shining light of love on the blusher world. Yes they basically just come in a million shades of pink, but it's all about the pigmentation, the finish, whether there is just the right amount of shimmer or does it have a perfect, smooth matte finish. I think because there is such a limited amount of shades you can apply to your cheekbones and have it look natural, finding the correct blush for your complexion becomes an art.

Some of my favourites for fair skinned beauties are the more peachy toned blushes like the Clarins Blush Prodige in Soft Peach, which has a very subtle amount of shimmer, barely noticeable, but gives a smooth soft flush of colour. A cheaper option is the Rimmel Mono Blush in Pink Rose, probably my favourite blush in my collection. Super affordable with amazing pigmentation, this has a little more shimmer but is perfect for a peachy glow.

If you're more of a pink person, the matte Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Nymph is second to none. The pigmentation on this baby will truly knock your socks off. Because of my pasty white skin, I have to apply this with a very light hand; it is very strong and too much is not good, unless you're going for the 80's vibe. If you want to go for a drugstore option, the Monsoon Accessorize Merged Baked Blusher in Wowzer is, in my opinion, greatly overlooked. The Monsoon Blushers have amazing pigmentation but they are a little shimmery, not glitter ball face glittery, but a nice glow.

I definitely think 2014 is a year for growing my blusher collection; I might even throw a couple more bronzers into the equation during the upcoming summer months! 

What are your must-have blushers? Do you prefer high-end or drugstore?

 

Worth The Splurge

We all fall prey to hype and new shiny products, but sometimes they can fall a bit flat of what we expect. I like to read every written review and watch every video about a product before I buy it, just to make sure I know the negatives as well as the positives. I've therefore been pretty lucky when it comes to buying higher end products.

I had to think long and hard about the products I wanted to feature in this post. I wanted to include products that, when I was first starting to get into beauty, really wanted to know the truth about. 

MAC Eye shadows

When you first start to get into the world of beauty and cosmetics, the first brand you hear about is MAC. MAC isn't as expensive as most higher end cosmetics companies, but they still cost more than a £7.99 eye shadow quad from Boots. The fact of the matter is that MAC eye shadows are simply the best of the best. The pigmentation is amazing, they come both in pots and as pans for empty palettes, which is extremely handy, and they are long wearing. At £12.50 for the potted shadows and £10 for the pans, they are definitely worth paying a little bit extra for.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

One of the most hyped up products in the beauty world. With the new Naked 3 palette recently released, I think it's important to point out that these palettes are 100% worth the splurge. The pigmentation is amazing and all the shades can be worked together, giving you endless amounts of options. I've featured the original Naked palette because it is the one that I prefer for my skin tone. This is the warmer toned palette, but if you find cool tones suit you better, then the Naked 2 is for you.

MAC 217 Blending Brush

If you don't like to spend an exuberant amount on your brushes, you may be forgiven for avoiding MAC brushes. I myself don't own a great deal of them, but the 217 is a brush that belongs in every brush collection. Its super soft natural hair is the perfect brush for blending out your eye shadow, it makes blending feel effortless and gives amazing results every time. 

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick

Despite it being the most gorgeous packaging ever created, the actual product is a dry lipped girls dream. These lipsticks are so creamy and the most comfortable lipstick to wear. The pigmentation is amazing and makes you feel like your living in the lap of luxury. Yes, they are extremely pricey for what they are, but if you are like me and find lipsticks usually uncomfortable to wear, then these are perfect. 

Clarins Blush Prodige Illuminating Cheek Colour

I'm not a big lover of blush; my blush collection is probably the smallest out of all my products. So when it comes to splashing out on blush I usually hold back, I've found such amazing blushes in the drugstore that I didn't feel I needed to spend more. But then I found this blush, the packaging drew me in at first but then I fell in love with the finish. This isn't powdery at all and goes on so smoothly and evenly, with uneven and freckled skin, I find that blushes can look very patchy on me. This can also be used in a multitude of different ways due to its mosaic design. 

So what products in your collection do you feel are worth splashing that bit of extra cash for?

Nars Orgasm Vs Sleek Rose Gold Blush

I heard somewhere that Sleek Rose Gold blush was a good drugstore dupe for the much loved Nars Orgasm, so naturally I rushed to my local Superdrug to purchase said blush. I've been a big fan of Sleek for a while so there was no doubt in my mind that the pigmentation was going to be top notch. 

The Sleek is more of a coral/orange pink compared to the Nars, despite this, it gives a very similar finish to the Nars. Both give a flash of gold shimmer which highlights the cheek bones amazingly. 

Despite the Sleek blush being A LOT cheaper, it doesn't lack in pigmentation, in fact it is pretty much on parr with it's high-end counterpart. No, Rose Gold is not exactly the same as Orgasm (feel a bit weird writing that) it's slightly darker and has a more orange tone BUT the finish is very very close. The gold shimmer is slightly stronger in the Sleek which I love and I think if your looking for that iridescent gold shimmer, the Sleek wins out, but only by an teeny tiny margin.

Nars Orgasm RRP: £21.50

Sleek Rose Gold RRP: £4.49 

The Greatest Blush Of All | Clarins Soft Peach Blush Prodige

I've wanted to try Clarins makeup for a while now, I've always loved their packaging and have longed to have at least one of their beautiful products in my collection. Because I don't really have much in the blush department, I decided to go for the Blush Prodige in Soft Peach. I was drawn to the mosaic of shades and of course the gorgeous gold packaging. I'd only looked at it online so when I went into the store to swatch before purchasing, I was very very happy at how pigmented they where. 

Soft Peach has a very subtle gold shimmer, not overly glittery that you look like you've been hit in the face with a disco ball, but just enough to give a subtle highlight. The blush itself is made up of two different shades of pinky-peach, two darker segments and two lighter segments. They can be used separately or together depending on what kind of finish you're after, I prefer to use them together to get a gorgeous Peach glow.

This does come with a small brush which is actually really good quality, I've used it a few times now when in a rush, but most of the time I'll use my normal blush brush. It also comes in a rather snazzy red velvet pouch, which seems a little unnecessary but gives that high-end feel I want when spending so much on one product. 

I've really been loving this blush, I've been using it practically everyday since I bought it. The Soft Peach shade looks amazing on fair skin but would also look great on medium to dark skin. The pigmentation is amazing (as would be expected of a high-end blush) and the finish is flawless. If your thinking about treating yourself, I definitely recommend you splash out on one of these gems. 

RRP: £26.00

Have you tried any of the Clarins Blush Prodige's? 

It's Time For June Favourites!

It is the end of June already, the English Summer appears to have come and gone, hopefully not for too long though. But here are my monthly favourites for you all to hopefully give you some products to add to your beauty-shopping list.

First up we'll start with hair as I've been having a bit of a change this month. I'll start with shampoo & conditioner. I've been loving the Herbal Essences Bee Strong shampoo and conditioner, which I have done a review on already. It smells divine and really makes my hair feel fuller and softer. I can't say for sure if it prevents breakage when combing because I don't really suffer with that specific problem. I do feel like it gives a bit more life to my hair though which is always a bonus. 

Next up is a little product called Colour B4. This is supposed to dissolve the hair colourant particles (very sciency I know) to get rid of any dye in the hair. I've been dying my hair since I was 14 and as a result, can't really remember what my natural colour is (I know I'm a sort of a blondey-gingery colour). It also means I have a large amount of colour build up. But I used this stuff anyway to try and get rid of my latest red dye. It stripped a great deal of the colour out and I was very pleasantly surprised with the results. I'm going to be doing a separate review post about this so I'm going to leave it there for now ;)

The finally for hair, we have a high-street/drugstore alternative to the Moroccan Oil. This oil is by Organix and is available at Superdrug & Boots. I like to take a small drop of this, rub it all over my hands and then run it through my hair focusing on the ends. It makes my hair feel so healthy and soft and really has helped get it back to good condition after using the Colour B4.  * UPDATE 28/07/13: Read here why I've changed my mind about this stuff, I'm non too happy let me tell ya!

The next product I've been loving is the Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask. This says that it's not suitable for sensitive skin, which is exactly what I have. It does sting when you first apply it but I've never had a reaction to it. It really help with any blemishes and definitely clears out those blackheads. You even get two handy little facial sponges with it! 

Finally onto makeup. I bought the NYX blush in Taupe after reading a bazillion blog posts on how it's excellent for contouring on pale skin. I love this! It is indeed great for contouring pale skin and the pigmentation of it is excellent for the price. NYX aren't as readily available here in the UK, so it is the first NYX product I've tried and I'll definitely be getting more.

And my last favourite is one I've talked about in my videos before; it is the Laura Mercier Silk crème foundation in Soft Ivory. I'm starting to love this foundation, the coverage is amazing and the shade is almost perfect, just a touch on the yellow side. The finish is more matte then glowing but I love it on my combination skin.

So that's it! All the products I've loved this month. What products have you loved during June?