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Showing posts with label beauty review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beauty review. Show all posts

Sunday, 14 June 2015

If you've literally only got 10 minutes to spare. . .

max factor, glossfinity, nail polish, review, notd, beauty, beauty review, beauty blogs, bbloggers,
Pictured are the shades: Forever Glam, and Snow White


. . . then you need to try out the Max Factor Glossfinity nail polishes. I'm not very good with nail polish whatsoever, so I need a quick drying, opaque, long lasting kinda deal when it comes to nail polishes otherwise they tend to get on my nerves, I'm sure you can imagine the struggle. The Max Factor Glossfinity nail polishes fulfil all my requirements and are quite possibly some of the best nail polish formulas I have ever tried. They claim to take 10 minutes to dry, and I verified this as I was about to film a makeup tutorial but I realised I had forgotten to paint my nails, so I decided to paint them and it lived up to the claim and was properly dry within 10 minutes. Super glossy nails that last 5-7 days, dry quickly and to an even finish? It's a winner from me, and it's going to take a lot of restraint not to buy the rest of the collection.

What's your favourite nail polish formula?

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Wednesday, 4 March 2015

A newfound love affair for licorice

When I was younger, I really really did not like licorice. It was the one form of sweet I would not put in my mouth under any circumstance (and believe me, I put a lot of sweets into my mouth as a child #fatkid). However, thanks to Essie, I have now developed a love for licorice.


This is the first Essie nail polish I have ever bought. £7.99 always seemed a bit much (or a lot much) to spend on a nail polish, but I cracked (here). I'm actually glad I cracked because the formulation of this nail polish is the nicest one I've ever tried, and I've tried a fair few in my time. Nail polish is hard to get right with me for several reasons:
1. I can't apply it for fudge, seriously if it's not a big brush, I just can't do it so -clears throat- I like big brushes and I cannot lie
2. Even if I have managed to apply it nicely, I can't keep my hands still, I have to do things and that usually entails smudging my averagely applied nail polish so I need as quick drying a formula as possible
3. I do a lot with my hands, I have to write long essays (I do Philosophy and History A level, it's a bundle of fun) and I play piano (grade 8 is no joke folks) so this leaves my nail polish prone to chipping, so I need a nail polish that chips as little as possible
4. I need one coat wonders with nail polish, I can't sit for ages applying coat after coat with a streaky nail polish because, as the wise Kimberly 'Sweet Brown' Wilkins once said, 'ain't nobody got time fo' dat'
5. I don't really have a fifth reason, I just wanted a list of five to emulate Rob Fleming from High Fidelity


I'd be lying if I said this nail polish didn't chip, I found minute (literally tiny tiny barely noticeable) chips after a day or two of wearing them, then I found after vigorously playing piano (seriously, I meant it when I said grade 8 piano is no joke) that it chipped a little bit more but it was nothing a touch up job couldn't fix. I've only found that I've only had a small issue with chipping if I'm playing a lot of piano or if I'm trying to get a tricky bit of plastic wrapping off from a DVD* and even then it's nothing a touch up job can't fix, otherwise we're coming up to 5 days strong.

This is possibly the quickest drying nail polish I've ever used, thoroughly dry within 2-3 minutes. Probably quicker than that, but I get concerned about the possibility of smudging, so I haven't tried touching it before then, but even so that's pretty darn impressive. A factor of the fast drying property is probably the fact that you only need one coat, it's opaque and the brush is wide so only one coat is really need.

So whilst £7.99 may seem a lot for a nail polish, it's pretty hard to fault, and I'm pretty certain I'll be buying more Essie nail polishes in my future nail varnish ventures.

What's your favourite nail polish brand?

*#FirstWorldProblems

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Thursday, 26 February 2015

Blooming heck, that's a big brush!

Those were my initial thoughts when receiving the *Dusting and Powder brush from The Vintage Cosmetic Company. Seriously, it's bigger than my head, and I have a mammoth noggin. 


The outer packaging is really adorable - it's pink and floral, total winner (you can see it by clicking here to go to the website). The actual packaging on the brush is very simple, it's cream with white bristles that go black at the end which I think looks really nice although simplistic. It says 'Dusting & Powder' on the brush which I think is pretty good if you're new to makeup brushes and not sure what brushes to use for what purpose. As I said, this brush is massive and it measures in at 220mm, but I think that makes it fit for purpose because it means you can put a light dusting of powder on which is great if you're like me and have a tendency to mattify yourself until you look two-dimensional..

Besides from the packaging and size, this brush is so so soft and I know that's what every Blogger/YouTuber/Internet-friend says about makeup brushes but this really really is. Let's cut the mendacity and I'll be honest with you, when I received this I spent a good ten minutes just circling the brush around my face - it's that soft.

I haven't suffered any molting with this brush either, and it has shortened my morning makeup routine a fair bit because it takes virtually seconds now to powder - #winning**

This brush costs £17.50 so it's by no means cheap, but given the quality of it I think it's probably worth the investment if you're the type of person who prefers to invest in really nice brushes opposed to lots of cheaper ones, so overall I really like this mammoth powder brush and I'd definitely recommend giving it a go.

What's your go-to brushes brand?

P.S - I made a new Instagram account, the link's down below!

*PR sample
**Old memes are the way to a reader's heart, I know it, you know it, let's not lie to each other

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Friday, 20 February 2015

Casablanca and a nice MAC lipstick

Amongst my many hobbies, such as listening to music that most 18 year olds would immediately turn their nose up at because it's either not in the UK top 40 or the artists are much older than the age of 40, I am a keen film enthusiast. In order to be able to give yourself this title of film enthusiast, there are some trials you'll have to endure - one of which being, you've got to watch Casablanca.

Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, famously says at the end of the film 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship', and after having a gander around Selfridges I can firmly say the same thing about MAC's lipstick in Taupe.


In the history of blogging, I'm not sure I've ever really come across a negative MAC lipstick review. I think it's partially the fact that you've spent an extortionate £15.50 on a lipstick, so you have some sort of obligation to say that it's good, but I think it's also that MAC just know how to do their lipsticks.

The packaging is sleek and classy, it's not in any need of an Instagram filter that's for sure. Plus it feels quite weighted, which isn't necessarily a pro or a con, it just feels well made and, dare I say it, #prestige.

In terms of the actual lipstick quality, it's long lasting and pigmented. It's matte but not in any way, shape, or form drying. Lip liners aren't required in this realm of lipstick pigmentation, but if you want to go full on Kylie Jenner, lip liner looks awesome with this stuff and just helps increase the longevity that much more. The shade is a cross between brown and rose, leaning more on the side of brown though making it the ultimate 90s lip.


I find it hard to fault this lipstick, and as I said earlier 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship'. Not just with this particular lipstick, but with MAC on the whole. 

Here's looking at you kid - are you a fan of MAC?

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Sunday, 11 January 2015

Review | Makeup Revolution Mono Eyeshadow in Mmmm

Don't get me wrong, I love it when shades of eyeshadows or lipsticks or (insert makeup product of your choice here) have interesting names. For example, Makeup Revolution's Rebel with Cause lipstick (review here) made my James Dean loving heart flip with joy, but I don't know whose idea it was to name an eyeshadow 'Mmmm'. I feel that there must have been a slight mishap in judgement when choosing that name, but despite that - it is a frigging good eyeshadow.

It's no mystery that Makeup Revolution just do budget makeup well, especially regarding eyeshadow with their various Iconic palettes that have taken the blogger world by storm for being dupes for the Naked Palettes. I hadn't tried any of their mono eyeshadows until my full face of first impressions post featuring Makeup Revolution products and I was impressed from the first impression, but having now used it everyday on my brows I have come to love it even more.

It is the butteriest, most pigmented eyeshadow I have ever tried (bearing in mind that I am a drugstore/high street gal so I can't compare this to the likes of Urban Decay or MAC) and there's no fallout whatsoever, I may only use this on my brows but I really want to buy more of them to use on my eyelids. At only £1 each, you can't go wrong.

What's your favourite mono eyeshadow?

Saturday, 10 January 2015

Review | Makeup Revolution Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

Alternate titles for this post are: the best waterproof liquid eyeliner I've ever tried, and the most foolproof liquid eyeliner in existence - a step too far? Not for this bad boy.

Makeup Revolution constantly impress me with their budget, high quality products, and their waterproof liquid eyeliner is no exception. I tend not to opt for waterproof liquid eyeliner because it has the general problem of sticking to my eyelashes and hardening them making it harder to apply mascara afterwards (which is obviously a tragedy, ain't nobody leaving the house with unvoluminous, undefined lashes - I personally am not about that life) plus, unlike my heart, it tends not to be the blackest of black, but that's not the case with this eyeliner.

This eyeliner is blacker than black, long lasting, and ridiculously easy to apply. It has such a thin nib making cat eye flicks achievable for those even with the most uncontrollable of hands, it is literally fool-proof, or as I prefer Bess-proof. You can build it up to a thickness you're happy with but still keep your flicks sharp enough to kill a man.

The only issue I have with this product is that I find it hard to dip the nib in and out of the pot, it's a rather tight squeeze which means it takes slightly longer to do my eyeliner than usual, but this is a tiny flaw and one that I can forgive for on-fleek eyeliner insurance.

Overall, this is possibly the best eyeliner I have ever tried and has quickly become a favourite (seriously, watch this space for my next favourites post, y'all gonna see me rambling on about this beauty I guarantee it). You can actually read and watch my first impression of this product and other Makeup Revolution products in this post (cheeky plug).

What's your favourite liquid eyeliner?

Wednesday, 7 January 2015

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?

Sunday, 14 December 2014

Review | Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Cherry

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.

What's your current favourite Autumn/Winter lip?

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Saturday, 13 December 2014

Review | Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick in Really Red

For a person who doesn't like looking too over the top for everyday, I sure do love me a red lip (as my growing collection would surely indicate)

As you may have seen in this haul, I picked up a Revlon lipstick in a deal at Boots (spend £9.99 and get a ColourBurst Matte Balm free, seriously it would have been offensive to refuse that). I picked up Really Red as I had read on many reviews of it that it was a dupe of Mac's Russian Red, me being Miss Stingey I can't verify that as I haven't splashed out and bought any Mac lipsticks (commence the mob of beauty bloggers coming after me with pitchforks)

The packaging is really nice and classy, it's very basic but it's nice all the same. It's a matte lipstick, but amazingly this isn't drying at all for the most part (at about the 7-8 hour mark, it started to feel a little dry but not too badly). It didn't cling to any dry patches, although I make an effort to exfoliate my lips and balm up those bad boys before applying lipstick in general so there weren't really dry patches to be clung onto.

It appears a little more orange on the picture but it doesn't come out orangey at all in real life.
As you can hopefully see, it's really pigmented (perhaps not a colour for the faint-hearted) - as the name would suggest, it is indeed 'Really Red'. It's a blue-toned red so it makes your teeth appear slightly whiter, although don't expect to put it on and instantly become Simon Cowell.


Overall, I absolutely love this product - I actually think it's my favourite matte red lipstick that I own (not that I own loads, but I do now own a fair few).

What's your favourite red lipstick?

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Thursday, 11 December 2014

Review | Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24hr in On and On Bronze

I think I've made it pretty clear that when it comes to beauty, I'm not very experimental so I tend to stick with what I know. Regarding eyeshadows, this meant I stuck to powdered ones. However, after reading so many positive reviews and generally hearing people rave about this cream eyeshadow from Maybelline, I decided to give it a go.

I am a total convert from powder to cream, this shade is beautiful and very similar to one of the bronze type shades in my Makeup Revolution Iconic 2 palette that I had hit pan on. I also have to mention my love of the packaging, I'm not sure if it's actually glass but if not it's very sturdy and well made plastic, sure it makes you think there's more in there than there really is but hey. I'm generally not a girl to judge by appearance, but it's always a bonus to have nice packaging.

As per usual, the swatch doesn't do the product justice, seriously though *11/10 would recommend this
It is extremely pigmented and glides on with ease. You can swipe on one layer for a less strong look or to use as a primer, or you can build it up for the ultimate bronze-splosion. What really impresses me with this besides from the amazing pigmentation and how easy and quick it is to use, is the fact that it does not crease whatsoever and I find with a lot of powder eyeshadows that it creases after a day of school, but this one not only lasted from 7:30am to 16:00pm without creasing, but it lasted until about 23:00pm that evening and it was still a clear, mostly uncreased bronze so I am thoroughly impressed.


Overall, I am really impressed with this eyeshadow and I want to pick up a few more, although from the reviews I've read this seems to be the best one in the range. For £4.99, the quality is absolutely fantastic and I'm pretty certain this is going to become a part of my daily makeup routine!!

What's your favourite cream eyeshadow?

*Statistics in this post may be false

Saturday, 6 December 2014

Review | Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Sultry

Despite the fact that I am an amateur in the world of beauty and I don't like to overcomplicate my daily makeup routine, I had never used a chubby stick before now and I think I really need to buy more as they're low maintenance and idiot-proof.

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Sultry - £7.99
I bought the Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in the shade Sultry because it looked like a nice everyday somewhat nude or your-lip-colour-but-better for darker skinned people like myself. Plus I don't really have any nude or everyday type lip products (except for lip gloss and lip balm) in my collection which is silly giving that they're a lot more suitable for sixth form, so when my Auntie kindly gave me a £20 voucher for Boots I decided to pick this up as there was a deal if you spent £9.99 at the Revlon counter you could get this for free, there was really no way I could avoid it.. right?


On the swatch, it appears to be a brownish type nude which is essentially what it is but it has hints of dusty pink in there too (a little bit Kylie Jenner) which makes it such a beautiful and versatile shade. I absolutely love it and it's a bit more vampy than your run-of-the-mill nude which I am aware sounds ridiculous but it really does look a bit vampy for a nude!


It glides on like an absolute dream, you would be surprised that it's a matte shade given that it feels so moisturising on application. It does dry matte but it isn't at all dying, however I did find that after a day of sixth form my lips were feeling a little bit dry, but the fact that it lasted me from about 7:30am to 16:00pm is pretty astonishing and honestly not what I was expecting! 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this product and I am already fighting off the urge to dash back to Boots and buy some more from this range (and the other chubby sticks, I needs all the chubby sticks now).

What's your favourite chubby stick?

Friday, 24 October 2014

Review | Essence Colour and Go Nail Polish in 113

I have to tell you something, it's been eating me up inside but I need to come out with it, and I hope we can see past this together - I don't like the Barry M  Gelly Nail Polish. Okay, I said it, and I'm sure you're now judging me pretty harshly as these are otherwise known as some of the greatest nail polishes in the world of beauty. I feel I should mention that I only tried out one, but I can't see how the formulation would be massively different between shades. 

Anyway, since trying out the Barry M Gelly nail polish, I have been on the lookout for a glossy, gel, pigmented nail polish without spending extortionate amounts, by which I meant £5 or more (hey, we're going through a recession don't judge my cheapskate-ness wise spending). 

After trying out various Essence products (which I've reviewed here and here), I came to the conclusion that Essence was amazing value for money and so when I saw they sold nail polishes I knew I had to try one, especially as they are gel nail polishes. 


The shade I picked up is 113 - do you speak love? I feel I should inform you that the number and the shade name isn't clear, you need to look at where the barcode is and it's in small writing, however I am glad they had a proper shade name rather than just a number. I refuse to have my beauty products reduced to numbers. It's a beautiful autumnal burgundy red so it's perfect for Autumn and Winter but I think red is generally the type of colour that you can wear all year round. 

I really love the packaging, it reminds me of Bourjois nail polishes because the lid is the same colour as the nail polish which also makes it easy to pick it out of a bunch. The brush is also amazing for application, it's wide so it covers the whole nail in one swift stroke - that's also the amount you need to get an opaque colour, just one swift stroke. You can go over with a second layer for longevity perhaps but I think it's fine with just a base coat and one layer. I've found that it lasts about a week before chipping really badly as in it has to be done a week later at the very latest otherwise  your nails are going to look a bit tatty and not nice. My favourite thing about this product has to be the fact that it dries so quickly for a gel nail polish, this was the problem I had with Barry M. With Barry M, my nails would be tacky for hours whereas with Essence my nails are fully dry in under 10 minutes, I'm sure it is even less than that but I paint my nails slowly otherwise I mess it up to such a large extent.

Overall, I love love love this product and I will definitely be trying out other shades. I find it hard to believe that such a high quality product only costed £1.60 from Wilkinsons.

What are your favourite products from Essence?

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Review | Collection Sheer Loose Powder

I think I've probably said in several posts that I am a complete noob when it comes to beauty, but I am getting better. The relevance of that statement is this: I had never used a powder before using this one, but as my beauty noobness is fading my makeup collection is expanding.


As I had never used a powder before, I didn't really want to go and spend lots on a product that I may not get much use out of which is why I went to Collection. I believe this product cost £2.99 and it's translucent although I think you can get skin colour shades in this, but I went for translucent as I wanted to use it as a setting powder and general mattifying powder rather than a foundation like product.

You get a generous 20g of product for only £2.99, and the packaging is quite simple but not ugly. The only think that annoys me about this product is the little powder puff type thing you get with it because I find the product only really works for me if I apply it with a brush, I used the powder puff once and it just dispersed the powder really unevenly and didn't look good whatsoever.

It does keep my makeup in tact for a long time, I find that at the nine hour mark, I start getting a little shiny but not that much so I think this was really good value for money, in fact I've been using it whenever I wear makeup - you could say it's become somewhat of an essential.

What are your favourite products by Collection?

Thursday, 16 October 2014

Review | Essence Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

I'm not sure when it happened, but I feel like over the past few years liquid eyeliner just became the big thing to do regarding make up again. Personally, I blame Alexa Chung. Is there a person alive who doesn't want to look like her? Don't lie to me.

I started wearing liquid eyeliner when I was about 13, I didn't know how to use it and honestly it was not a nice sight. A few years later at age 16 I returned to liquid eyeliner hoping to be able to achieve the perfect cat eye flick, to this day I still fail but I am improving and that's the important thing. I feel that whilst technique is important with the cat eye flick, the eyeliner holds a heavy role in how it's all gonna go down so since age 16 I have been on a quest, a venture, an endeavour to find the best inexpensive liquid eyeliner for me. In this endeavour, I decided to try the Essence Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner because from what I've tried Essence are very good value for money.


The first thing that took me by surprise is how small the packaging is because on pictures I had seen online I somehow imagined it being bigger, however it still provides a good amount of product for only £2.50.


The main reason you're here is probably to find out if it is durable against water like it claims, and I would have to say yes, yes it is. I am an emotional person, yes I cry, and I cried whilst wearing this and it didn't budge at all which is great! 

It is quite black in pigment which is good too, however I did find that when layered on top of eyeshadow it doesn't always come up as strongly black but I think that's the case with most liquid liners, it was still very black though.

It doesn't claim to be a long lasting product but I think it is quite long lasting as long as you're not an eye rubber (which I'm not). I'm able to wear this for at least nine hours without needing to touch it up, in fact I think it lasts me longer than that because when it comes to late at night and I'm taking off my make up it still looks fairly in tact, but of course if you're the type of person who rubs their eyes a lot then it will chip off fairly quickly.


The applicator is probably the thing I like most about the product. It's a felt tip like nib but it's not thick at all so you can make a very thin line and do a nice flick - I would say it's practically fool proof.

Overall, I really like this product and I will be happily using it until it runs out. I can see myself returning to this product in the future, and it only cost £2.50 which is very affordable for such a nice eyeliner.

Saturday, 11 October 2014

Review | MUA Bronzed Perfection

I'll be honest with you, and I hope you hardcore beauty bloggers don't come after me with flaming pitchforks for this, but I never really got into using bronzer until the Summer of this year. It was always a step of make-up that I didn't understand and I didn't see why I'd waste my money on it, but after watching many, many, many, many beauty YouTubers (I have a serious problem) use it and seeing how bronzer can completely change the shape and definition of your face, I decided it was time to venture into the land of bronzed goodness. 

As I had never really used bronzer before and wasn't sure whether it would become a daily essential for me, I decided to go for a fairly inexpensive one so this one from MUA fitted the bill at only £3.00.

I apologise for the state of this, it has been used pretty much every day since I've bought it and I thought it'd be better to use a picture of a well-used product to verify that I have used it enough to review it well.
I have touched pan on this product so you can see I've used it more than enough times to give a fair review of the product.

For £3.00, you get a very generous 15g of product. It is mostly matte with a little bit of shimmer in it, but the shimmer isn't extremely noticeable. In fact an issue that I had when I first started using this bronzer is that it isn't a majorly pigmented bronzer, I'm not sure if that's a fault in the product or just the fact that it's a bit too pale for my skin tone (darn those mixed race problems, make-up is a minefield for us), however I have gotten a bit paler since the weather has gotten colder so this bronzer has now been working out fairly well for me - it's not quite on Kim Kardashian's level but it gives me a noticeable yet subtle contour which I think is quite nice.

Overall, I might repurchase this in the future because it does make a nice subtle contour and it's inexpensive however it's not so amazing that I would only stick to this, I need to venture the market and weigh up my options y'know what I'm saying?

Have you tried any of MUA's products?
What are your thoughts?

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Empties #2

Hello readers, I'm back with another Empties post (here is a link to my previous one) because I have used up a few products and I wanted to share them with you so I could throw out the products.




1. Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion


Pros:
- didn't cause irritation
- cleansed my skin well
- inexpensive
- pleasant but subtle scent

Cons:
- none to be honest!

Repurchase?
I have repurchased this in the past, and I will repurchase this in the future. I'm not sure if I've sung my praises about Simple before, but I think all of the products by them that I've tried are such good value for the price. This for me is a staple, if I'm not feeling adventurous and don't want to try new products then I will probably always return to this product - does the job and it's inexpensive which is all I really ask for in a product.

2. Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Toner


Pros:
- nice scent
- inexpensive

Cons:
- not very strong cleanser

Repurchase?
I have repurchased this in the past and I will probably repurchase it in the future because it's usually under £2, but I think I prefer Simple's toner to this. I do like the Cucumber scent, but I feel like the Simple toner cleanses my skin much more than this one.

3. Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser


Pros:
- sinks in quickly leaving a near matte finish
- not too greasy
- inexpensive

Cons:
- none!!

Repurchase?
Definitely. This is one of my favourite moisturisers of all time, it's inexpensive and sinks in so quickly so you can apply it and then a couple of minutes later be ready to put on makeup!

4. Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner



Pros:
- long lasting
- dries quickly
- inexpensive

Cons:
- nib is thick making it hard to get a thin line

Repurchase?
I will definitely repurchase this (and have done in the past). I'm yet to find a liquid eyeliner that works as well for me as this, however I am still on the search for a perfect thin nibbed good formula liquid eyeliner so if I ever find 'the one' I will reject this eyeliner.

5. Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash


Pros:
- nice smell
- does the job
- large quantity

Cons:
- not cheap
- doesn't lather up amazingly

Repurchase?
I got this in the Yule Monty so if I buy that (although it was given to me when I got this) then I wouldn't have an issue with it. Although it's not as good a body wash as everyone says, I want to try out all of the other Soap and Glory body washes before returning to this one me thinks.

6. Beauty Formulas Mud Mask

I was naughty and re-used a photo from this post - sorry! It was only because the lighting when I took all the other photos is not as good so I thought I'd re-use a good photo rather than take a bad one, am I forgiven?

Pros:
- inexpensive
- good value
- makes my skin very soft

Cons:
- none to speak of!

Repurchase?
To quote an internet meme.. 'YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS'! I love this face mask with a passion, so inexpensive and does the job too!
7. No7 Essential Moisture Night Cream


Pros:
- strong moisturiser
- made my skin noticeably softer

Cons:
- packing makes it harder to get all the product out

Repurchase?
Probably not because it is essentially just a heavy moisturiser and as it's No7 it's not likely to be cheap, plus I'm not sure if you can only get this in a box set or not.

8. No7 Essential Moisture Day Cream


Pros:
- sinks in quickly
- made my skin very soft

Cons:
- packaging is restrictive so it's hard to get all the product out

Repurchase?
Probably not because there are cheaper alternatives to just a heavy moisturiser, but I wouldn't be opposed to using it if I received it because it did make my skin very soft.

9. No7 Protect and Perfect Night Cream


Pros:
- did the basic job of a moisturiser

Cons:
- difficult to work into my skin because it would start to peel
- restrictive packaging!! (get on top of that No7!)

Repurchase?
No, again this is just a heavy moisturiser but this one began to peel on my face after being applied which is gross.

10. Collection Matching Perfection Concealer

Again, I've been a bit naughty and recycled a photo from this post - I just don't want to force bad photography on you!

Pros:
- high coverage
- lasts a long time (not 16 hours though mind you!)

Cons:
- limited shade range
- sometimes doesn't blend in amazingly (I have a love hate relationship with this concealer)

Repurchase?
Probably not unless they increase the shade range, a mixed race girl has to put up with a lot of problems - limited shade range in concealer and foundation is one of them! The shade I picked up (warm medium) isn't too bad but sometimes it is a tad too light and the dark shade emphasizes dark circles on me which defeats the point. So to re-use the wise words of Simon Cowell, it's a no from me.

Thank you so much for reading/watching!

Have you tried out any of these products?
What products have you used up recently?