The products I love but can't repurchase . . .

I've tried to think of a million different days to drop this on my blog (I had a whole post prepared, I was going to slip it into one of my lifestyle posts, I was considering making a video . . . I had a lot of ideas) but as I'm becoming a vegan (permanently this time) I'm going cruelty free with my makeup and skincare and all that jazz too. I'm not going to be preachy about it because it's your choice if you want to follow that kind of lifestyle, but for me I just feel like I need to match up my lifestyle to my ethics.

I'm not planning on throwing out any of my makeup for multiple reasons. Firstly, I'm about to become a university student and I can't really afford to be essentially throwing away money - I know that sounds really bad but I'd be throwing out about half of my current makeup which comes up to a lot of money and mans is gonna be broke. Secondly, even if I did have the money to go and buy a whole new makeup collection, I would feel almost as if the animals were tested on for no reason. I've already funded the companies who test on animals and I can't take that back, throwing away the makeup would make it seem to me as if the animals were tested on for no reason - I hope that makes sense, I just feel as it would be silly to throw away my makeup even though that would make one heck of a cruelty free statement. So, here are the products I love but can't repurchase unless the brands stop testing on animals:

My favourite foundation - Maybelline Fit Me Foundation
As you know, this is my holy grail foundation. It matches my skin perfectly (and has a good shade range), it's easily blendable, comfortable to wear, has a nice medium coverage, and it's cheap, but Maybelline test on animals so I'm going to have to say goodbye to this foundation and hope I find a nice replacement - I'm considering going high end, so if you have reviewed any cruelty free foundations please leave a link to your reviews down below so I can check them out or just recommending some would be really helpful.

My favourite mascara - Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara
This mascara has unfortunately dried up so I can't really use it now anyway, but this was the bomb diggity. Length, volume, and it held a curl too. Here's hoping I can find a replacement that's not too pricey - again, any reviews or recommendations would be helpful!

My favourite eyeshadow - Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoo
I have raved on about these so much and I don't know what I'm going to do when these run out (think I've got a while yet, I've used them nearly everyday for well over half a year and not hit the bottom). These last all day without creasing, they're very pigmented and blend quite nicely as well as work as a base. I'm worried I'm going to have somewhat of a cream eyeshadow related dilemma - please recommend some cruelty free ones if you know of any.

My favourite gel liner - Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24hr
I love love love gel liner, I think it's easier to use than liquid personally and the formulation of this is great. Admittedly, I've not tried out any gel liners from any other brands so hopefully I should be able to find one that's just as good, but I am going to miss this one when it finishes - although I have a couple of these and one of them I've had for about half a year and I've not hit the bottom or anything so this should last me a while.

My favourite lipstick - Maybelline Coloursensational Lipstick in Velvet Beige
This is my everyday lipstick, the formulation is nice and creamy - it sticks around for a few hours before re-application and just the colour is perfect for me. I think good lipsticks are quite easy to find so hopefully it shouldn't be too much bother to replace this one, but I'm going to miss it.

My favourite brow gel - Maybelline Brow Drama (okay I promise this is the last Maybelline product)
This product has been a staple in my makeup routine now, it keeps my brows looking natural but bushy and it keeps them place all day with very little effort. There are quite a few tinted brow gels out on the market now so here's hoping I can find a decent replacement, but I'll miss this one when it runs out!

My favourite kohl pencil - Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal Eye Liner (see it's not Maybelline this time okay)
These eyeliner pencils are marvellous - creamy, pigmented, soft but not too soft. Perfect for the waterline and the tightline at a low price, these will be sorely missed. Although, there are a few other kohl pencils I want to try out anyway so maybe I'll find one that's of the same quality or possibly better.

A hella good concealer - Revlon Colourstay Concealer
This is a high pigment yet creamy and moisturising concealer that sticks around all day and has a decent shade range, which is why it really sucks that I'm going to have to not repurchase it especially as it's not too expensive. It's looking like I'm going to have to go high end for foundation and concealer, which I was considering doing anyway because I'm tired of having to make do with the shades they have at the drugstore but now I'm probably going to have to do it anyway.

Some top notch lipsticks - Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick
I think the Revlon lipsticks have such a great formula and their lipstick in Really Red is one of my favourite red lipsticks - it's matte but not drying, I also have one of their lipsticks in Smoky Rose which is a lovely sheer brown everyday colour for me. The lipsticks are around the £7 mark but they're so so good for the price, I'm very sad that I won't be able to repuchase any more from this range unless Revlon stop testing on animals.

My favourite nail polish - Essie Nail Polish in Licorice
This is my staple nail polish, I've used it so many times and about half of it is finished up. It's really black and glossy, dries really quickly, and only chips a tiny bit within a few days. This is a pricey nail polish so it doesn't hurt too much knowing that I can't repurchase this or any more from Essie (y'know unless they drop the animal testing) and I have tried other nail polishes of a similar quality (from Essence, cheap as chips and doesn't test - Essence is kinda bae) so whilst I'll be sad to let this one go when it finishes, I'm certain I'll find a good replacement.

Can you recommend any cruelty free brands/products?

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June wishlist

I'm not sure whether it's just me, but I find when I'm stuck inside revising, online window shopping becomes a hobby I pour way too much time into, and it's for that reason that making this wishlist hasn't been too difficult...

First up is the MUA Prime & Conceal Correcting Cream Solo in Peach. Basically, I've been really wanting to buy a proper corrector for under my eyes (I usually use orange lipstick and it works, but there's something special about using a product for what it's intended for so I'd quite like to buy a proper corrector) and as this one only costs £2.00, I figure you can't go wrong.

I've not done a proper face mask in a long time, we're talking months. I've only done homemade ones and I read a review of the Squeeky Clean Pore Pow Wow Face Mask (it annoys me too that they've spelled Squeaky wrong, but I guess you can't have it all), I've been interested in this brand before because they're sold at the Pound shop so if they're decent then that's great, and after reading the good review I thought I'd give it a go.

A product that has been immensely hyped in the world of blogging/vlogging/general internet merriment is the Soap & Glory Archery 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil & Brush. It's an alleged dupe of the Anastasia Brow wiz, and generally a product I've wanted to try for a while because when I see other people use it in tutorials it looks really quick and easy to use. I usually find pencils a lot quicker to use on my brows, and when I go on holiday with my friends at the end of the month (which I feel I've mentioned countless times in the past month, sorry) I don't want to be spending ages and ages on my makeup because I know they take less time than I do, so time effective products are a must have!!

Blush. A product that I have never really tried, call me a coward but I am terrified of blush. Really scared of going overboard and looking like Tracy Beaker in that episode where she borrows Adele's makeup.. you know what I'm talking about. However, after hearing about the Collection cream blush sticks, I've been thinking this might be a nice easy way to start using blush. Cream products are quite easy to use and can be majorly blended in, so I think the Collection Speedy Blush Stick in Tickled Pink might be a good starter for me, plus it's pretty inexpensive at £2.99.

I've only owned one highlighter and whilst I love it, I feel like the colour isn't the best for my skin tone, which is why I really want to try the MUA Highlighting Powder in Gold. It's a mere £3.00 and probably a much better match for my skin tone, furthermore I've read some really good reviews on it and I think MUA is such a great brand, and probably one that I don't give enough credit on the blog.

What's on your wishlist for the next month?

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Full face of first impressions - Makeup Revolution

For a while I've wanted to start up a series on my blog in conjunction with my YouTube channel in which I do a full face of make up (somewhat of a tutorial or how I would do my ordinary makeup) using only products from one brand, preferably products I haven't used before, and giving you my first impressions, and providing you with links to reviews on a product if I have used it before or made a review before the post/video goes up - and this post marks the pilot of this series (such fun!)

I'm kicking things off with Makeup Revolution for two reasons: they're a popular brand and reviews of their products generally go down quite well, and they're inexpensive and I already can tell this series is going to be expensive - first things first, there were a few products I couldn't get a hold of so I used products by other brands and I mentioned what they are in the video rather than talking about them in the blog post.

The base:

• The matte effect foundation:
  - Repurchase? Yes, it was a good colour match for me although not high coverage, but for £2 it was well worth it and I've never had a foundation match me so well
• Focus & fix liquid concealer: 
  - Repurchase? No, it was really really low coverage, if it can't even cover up spots (let alone circles under my eyes dark as my soul) then it's not really doing enough for me

The brows:

• Mono eye shadow in 'Mmm':
  - Repurchase? Hells to the yeah, and I really want to try out their other mono eye shadows because this was so pigmented and buttery and generally a good egg, I've been using it on my brows everyday since discovering it

The eyes:

• Focus & Fix eye primer: 
  - Repurchase? Yes, it's inexpensive and does a basic priming job so it's a win for me
• Iconic 1 palette:
  - Repurchase? Yes, when I hit pan on all of the shades, it's a dupe of the Naked palette and about 10 times cheaper, how could I not repuchase this?
• Waterproof liquid eyeliner:
  - Repurchase? Yes, it's long lasting and creates a nice cat eye flick. The only issue I had is that it's hard to dip the nib in and out of the pot but it's generally a good'un.
• Amazing Volume mascara:
  - Repurchase? Yes, it's not ridiculously volumising like other mascaras I've tried but it is pretty volumising given that it's about 3-4 times cheaper than any other mascara I've tried 

Facial definition:

• Baked highlighter in Pink Lights:
  - Repurchase? Definitely, this is amazing value for money but mind you, you've got to use a light hand (in the video I went pretty heavy) but if you do dust a tiny bit on the top of your cheek bones, you are heading towards the pathway of Kim K contour (which is obviously what we must all aspire to in life)

The lips:

• Matte lipstick in Dare:
  - Repurchase? Yes definitely, this wasn't actually a first impression but I do love it and think it's so good for just £1

What other brands would you like to see first impressions of?

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Drugstore/high street Beauty haul - Superdrug, Boots, Wilkinsons and more

Remember the days when I would walk into Superdrug and walk out with £10 worth of makeup at most? Yeah, well my bank account misses those days.

Makeup Revolution Palette - £4.00
Focus & Fix Liquid Concealer - £2.00
The Matte Effect Foundation - £2.00
Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner -£1.50

Carmex classic - £1.32

Revlon lipstick in Really Red - £7.49
Revlon single eyeshadow in Onyx - £2.99
Revlon colourburst matte balm in Sultry (Review here) - free with £9.99 purchase

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and on Bronze - £4.99
Maybelline Fit Me concealer in 25 - £5.99

Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara in Extreme Black - £6.99
Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow stick in Bootleg Brown - £4.49
Rimmel Scandaleyes kohl eyeliner in Nude - free with 3 for 2 purchase

Garnier micellar water - £2.99
Nivea refreshing toner - £1.99
Nail scissors - £1.00

Sleek lipstick in Cherry - £4.99

Essence top coat in Circus Confetti - £1.80
Essence lipstick in Natural Beauty - £2.30
Essence kajal pencil in Black - £1.00
Essence lash/brow gel - £2.00

Stay tuned as there will be reviews of nearly all of these products!

Have you tried any of these products?
If so, would you recommend them?

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Empties #1

Hello there readers, today I have an Empties post which is part video part blog post - I have a video on my youtube account but if you keep on reading, you'll find that I have also typed up mini reviews on these products (which will you can read in your own comfort without hearing the sound of my voice and in a more eloquent way)

1. Miss Sporty Liquid Concealer in Dark

Pros:

- Cheap

- Smooth consistency that is easy to blend

Cons:

- Was too pink toned for my skin tone (damn you makeup companies that don't cater for the mixed race makeup enthusiast!!)

- Didn't really help with dark circles and sometimes made spots stand out more

- Was sparkly which sometimes was good but for the most part wasn't too nice

Repurchase?

I'm afraid not Miss Sporty, for I have found another who satisfies my needs better and that is Collection. However, if you're lighter skinned this may work for you, it just seems that makeup companies don't understand that mixed race/dark does not equate to dark pink!

2. Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 Wash-Off Deep Purifying Cleanser

Pros:

- Made my skin very smooth

- Smelled lovely

- Worked well as a face mask

Cons:

- I sometimes go a bit red if I leave it on too long, or you'll at least get redness on the first go but that is because it's so strong!
- Not cheap for a cleanser

- The pump isn't efficient to get out those remains at the bottom

Repurchase?

I think I will be repurchasing this, it is about £8 usually which isn't cheap at all but I use it as a face mask so it has lasted me a very long time so I think I got my money's worth (I also got this in the Yule Monty so it was cheaper anyway)

3. Nivea Powder Touch Anti-Perspirant

Pros:

- No white marks on clothes

- Long lasting

- Smelled satisfactory
- Convenient size

Cons:

- I prefer roll-ons.. (not really a con but that goes to show what a good product it is)

Repurchase?

I may repurchase this, although as I explained in the video I got this as a free sample whilst in Superdrug a long time ago so I have no idea how much it is usually, but I wouldn't imagine it's too expensive. Whilst I prefer roll-ons, I think this is probably more hygienic and long lasting - you can't go wrong, right?

4. Soap & Glory The Scrub of your Life

Pros:

- Worked lovely on my legs and arms

- Lathered up very well with bubble bath

- Big sugar granules so I felt like it really exfoliated my skin

- Lovely scent

Cons:

- Not cheap

- Didn't help much with my dry elbows

Repurchase?

I'm unsure as to repurchase this, yes I did like it  and I love soap and glory but one of the main reasons I started using it (besides the fact it was in the Yule Monty that I received for Christmas) was to help with my elbows and it did very little for that. I may try one of their other body scrubs though, who knows? I liked this product so it's likely I'll return to it despite the fact it didn't help with my elderly man elbows.

5. Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Facial Toner

Pros:

- Made my skin feel very fresh and clean

- Cheap

- Good for sensitive skin

Cons:

- Not much of a scent

Repurchase?

I would definitely repurchase this, and I'm fairly certain I've repurchased it in the past. It is your basic staple toner, so when I feel like I don't want to spend too much or I'm not going to be adventurous and try something new I will return to this. As it says on the packing, it is 'simple'.

6. Superdrug Dry Shampoo (Head in the Clouds)

Pros:

- Not too powdery

- Cheap

Cons:

- Not much of a scent

- The spray can make it harder for me to breath (that could just be me, but I'm not asthmatic or anything so I don't know..)

Repurchase?

I am unsure as to whether I'll repurchase this. It's a very very basic dry shampoo, and I know the pound store does brands like Batiste in there sometimes for dry shampoo so I think I'm going to check the pound store before returning back to this!

Thanks for reading/watching, I hope you enjoyed this post and if you'd like more things like this in the future please do comment  down below!!

What products have you used up recently?