I decided to go cruelty-free recently so I thought I should buy some replacements for my makeup - if I'm wrong about the cruelty-free status about any of these, please feel free to tell me but don't shout at me, cheers.
Alt-J are one of my favourite bands and I got to see them live for the first time on the 24th January, so I thought I'd show you how I did my makeup on that night, if you want to see the video it's down below or you can scroll further down to see the products I used :-)
Base:
No7 Colour Lock in Sweet Mango (discontinued, sorry)
Rimmel 25hr Lasting Finish Nude Foundation in 400
Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 200
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 25
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Warm Medium
Another season has passed since my Summer favourites, we are all a little older, and most likely a little fatter since Christmas is next week (I'll try and contain my excitement for this post). If you click on the video dooblydoo down below, you can watch me talk about non-beauty and beauty favourites but in the blog post it's more beauty favourites (see you're really missing out if you don't watch the video see)
1. Essence colour and go nail polish - 113 do you speak love? Review here
I essentially declared my adoration for this product in the review but I have literally been wearing this for the past month and a half, which is strange for me as I usually like to shake things up a bit with my nail polish (after all variety is the spice of life). It's cheap, it's a pretty autumn/winter shade, it dries quickly and it gives a nice gel effect without the tackiness for hours after (Barry M, I'm looking at you)
I made it clear how much I love this in the review I did but again it's just been such a great colour to wear throughout Autumn, it's allegedly a dupe of Mac's Rebel but, classic Bess, I haven't splurged on the high end product to verify this. It can be a bit drying as it's matte but if you exfoliate and let a lip balm (see below) sink in beforehand, there shouldn't be much of a problem with this.
3. Carmex Classic
This is a bog standard lip balm but surprisingly I don't think I had tried it until very recently, always considered myself a vaseline girl but this is the Beyonce of lip balms, guys it is Queen B. It is so moisturising and it actually sinks in rather than sitting on the lips much like vaseline does. If I know I'm wearing lipstick the next day, I'll exfoliate my lips the night before and slap loads of this on so in the morning my lips are ready for lipstick, it's also just a lifesaver during the colder months when you're more prone to chapped lips.
4. Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On bronze Review here
Okay, I'mma let you finish but this product is THE BEST product of 2014. I raved on about it in the review but I just can't get enough, it's pigmented, easy to apply, long lasting and best of all it does not crease at all. I really want to try out some more shades in this range.
5. L'oreal Paris Miss Manga Mascara
I bought this mascara a few months ago and I have been wearing it everyday, it volumizes and lengthens, and it doesn't really go clumpy unless you apply too much but I find this with all mascara. It's also fairly easy to use on lower lashes with is surprising with a volumising mascara as they tend to have bigger brushes and are harder to use down there, but this my friends is a good'un.
6. Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Cherry Review here
Whilst this lipstick doesn't fully set like a matte one making it more prone to moving around my face (that is only if my hair gets involved, it doesn't understand boundaries), I do really love this shade and I do like the finish. As long as you use a lipliner, it doesn't bleed and if your hair is less of a bird's nest than mine I'm sure you won't have a problem.
7. Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Sultry Review here
This has been a nice everyday shade for me (although I do wear bold lips for sixth form a lot), it's a matte Kylie Jenner-esque balm stick, long lasting and for the most part isn't particularly drying. After wearing it for a day at sixth form it starts to feel a little bit dry but other than that I have no problems, and it's nice if you want a more interesting lip than just a nude.
8. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Really Red Review here
How do I put my feelings about this into words..? BEST. MATTE. LIP. EVER. Seriously, not at all drying, doesn't cling to dry patches, long lasting, pigmented, it is just the nicest matte lipstick I own, plus it's a blue-toned red so it makes your teeth look a little whiter. Apparently this is a dupe of Mac's Russian Red, and I think this is something that would suit all skin tones.
9. Leaf Necklace
I was given this by my Aunt when she went to New York a couple of months ago, and it's made by this person on Etsy but this particular necklace isn't on there. She told me that they take the leaves in central park and use it as a template for the necklace, so each one is unique. It came with a card that tells you what the leaf means, apparently this one is a Birch leaf which means good fortune, not sure whether I believe in that but I think it's such a pretty necklace and it really personifies Autumn. Plus it's silver and I prefer silver to gold generally.
10. Advent Calendars
A strange favourite for some perhaps, but I really wanted to share my advent calendars. I was given a Dan and Phil one from one of my friends, and a Disney one from my parents and I absolutely love both. The Dan and Phil one has selfies of them behind each window which is nice, although I have a tendency to forget to eat the chocolate so I end up eating about five in one go to catch up.
After hearing so many good reviews about Sleek in general, I knew I had to try something from them, and at the moment I'm just really loving my lipstick - ergo I picked up the Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Cherry.
Let's start off real basic here. The packaging is so-so in my opinion, don't get me wrong I absolutely adore matte black packaging, it just makes a product look a lot more sophisticated, but the packaging of this lipstick is matte and rubbery so it feels a bit cheap, maybe that's just me and from just looking at it, it doesn't look cheap but it feels it. The lipstick is also a bit smaller than your average, this isn't a complaint as you get your average amount of lipstick in there all the same but it feels a fair bit smaller.
If you're not into vampy reddish purples, this may not be the right lipstick for you, but at the moment I am absolutely loving that look and it looks really Autumnal/Wintery so it's seasonally appropriate. It's quite sheeny which worries me a bit with such a dark colour because it could just get everywhere (which happened a couple of times because my hair flies about and whips it all over my face, on the contrary to Willow Smith I don't whip my hair back and forth, it whips back and forth of its own accord) and I did find that this didn't really set, and it felt a bit wet all day but it didn't bleed most likely because I had a lip liner on underneath. I didn't find it drying and it did last me a good 7-8 hours, but keep in mind that this was with a lip liner.
Overall, I really love the finish this product gives and it's a nice change from my usual matte lipsticks, and whilst it can sometimes transfer to other parts of my face due to my hair living by its own rules, it doesn't bleed out and it's generally just a darn good product so I reckon I'll be wearing it right up until Spring rolls around.
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!
November's always been a favourite month of mine, probably because it's my birthday, but this year is my 18th birthday which means joining the world of adulthood which is pretty scary but who ever said you can't buy your way out of an existential crisis with clothes and makeup? Right? So if you keep on reading, you'll see the things I hope to buy to distract me from the inevitability of death and all that jazz.
I have read many good reviews on Sleek as a brand in general, but I really want to try out their Contour kit, the one I've seen is in Medium but I hope it is dark enough for my skin tone, Sleek is generally pretty good at catering for the darker skinned people so hopefully it'll be okay (I'm hoping to channel my inner Kim Kardashian so the contouring is necessary)
I'd really like a new neutrals palette and I think this one from Barry M may fit the bill, or I'll try to find something similar. What I really want is the Naked Basics Palette but there's the small issue of money and not having enough of it, you catch my drift?
I would quite like a new dress that will suit me throughout the rest of Autumn and Winter, and also help me channel my inner Wednesday Adams, and I think this one from New Look will do. I actually wanted this last year (and I'm pretty certain I used it in a wishlist on my old blog!) and I was really upset when I couldn't find it in stores, so I'm glad they've brought it back and hopefully this year I'll find it or just cave and buy it online.
I'd really like to buy a nude lip of some sort as I too have been slightly in love with Kylie Jenner, and I think the Revlon Just Bitten ColourBurst Balm Stain in Honey will help be achieve that your-lip-colour-but-better look.
Lastly, I'd quite like a gingham top because I have no gingham in my wardrobe - Dorothy Gale would not be proud, and I think this top from New Look will be great for me as I don't wear a great deal of colour in my wardrobe - I am literally Wednesday Adams, seriously I wore my hair in plaits just like her for the majority of my life, I am not joking.
Thanks for reading, who knew I could talk about channelling Kim Kardashian, Wednesday Adams and Kylie Jenner all in one blog post? That, my friend, is something special.
