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 favourites

I'm not going to do that annoying blogger/vlogger thing where I talk about how fast the month has gone, is it just me who finds that annoying? Am I just bitter? Unappealing personality traits aside, I have a bunch of beauty favourites to tell you about, and if you watch the video you'll hear about non-beauty favourites too - it's almost like an incentive to go watch my YouTube channel, y'know you might want to watch it.

Max Factor Glossfinity Nail Polish in 119 Forever Glam | An extremely odd choice for someone who isn't a fan of loud colours in general, like my nails generally don't stray too far from black and red with maybe a glitter top coat around the festive season, but I really love this nail polish. The formula is ahmayzing, it claims to last up to 7 days and that's not a lie. I use two coats of this sans base coat or top coat, and it lasts me 7 days with minor chips - so if you did use a top coat or a base coat, it would probably last even longer. It also dries really quickly and you get a pretty smooth application, I think the formula's probably comparable to Essie, Essie's that tiny bit better, but then Essie is a couple of pounds more expensive. This colour is a bright raspberry sort of pink, which I like because I generally stray far from pink but this isn't a Dolly Parton kinda pink so it's definitely one to try if you want to venture into more bright nail colours.

Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Natural Beauty | I've actually owned this for a while but honestly I've been worried to use it because, like I said earlier I generally don't do pink in my makeup, but this is a really nice pinky nude sort of colour. It's a balmy consistency and it's sort of a MLBB lipstick deal, it doesn't last more than a few hours so you have to reapply but I've been wearing it nearly everyday this month.

InstaNatural Advanced Repair Scar Gel* | I honestly didn't think I would get any sort of major results from this scar gel when I received it, but it's actually managed to fade the few acne scars I've had on my face for a few years. My skin's pretty good but these few scars have always been there, however within a few days of using this day and night I noticed them fading and they're barely visible now which is almost unbelievable, but it works. It doesn't work on stretch marks though I might add, or at least not to the same effect it does on acne scars.

Soap & Glory Butter Yourself Moisture Lotion | I've finally finished my tub of the Righteous Butter from Soap & Glory, it's taken me about a year and a half to finish this! Although. I think I might prefer this moisture lotion which I've finally been able to give a proper go. It smells sort of tropical so it just feels more summery, I also feel like it moisturises me a lot more than the Righteous Butter and I like the pump application, even though I think this might lead to be wasting more money.

Rimmel 25hr Lasting Finish Nude Foundation | The first time I used this was actually in my first GRWM video on my YouTube channel (now unlisted, you can find it if you go all Sherlock though) and I hated it on first impression. To be fair, I was a bit paler because it was winter and I don't think using a brush to apply it was the best idea. However, I've been using this a lot now that my skin's getting a bit more tanned with the summer weather (don't let this delude you into thinking we get good summer weather in London, I just tan very easily) and I've been loving it. I'm still not a massive fan of the pinky undertones but if I blend it with my fingers it really meshes with my skin, and leaves a very nice looking base.

*PR sample

What have been your favourites this month?

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

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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To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die

I wonder if it's possible to get so passionate about a nail polish that you dedicate The Smiths lyrics to it, although the thought process behind this title is perfectly logical. See, the nail polish in question is Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish in Double Decker Red. The song There is a Light That Never Goes Out has a line in it which goes:

If a double decker bus crashes into us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die

You see the connection? It made me laugh at least (I like to imagine that somewhere Morrissey is reading my blog with his cup of tea and having a little chuckle at my post titles, it's always for you Mozza)

I tried to keep my big DSLR out of the reflection but 'frankly, Mr Shankly' I did a bad job. Also, excuse my chubby fingers (although 'some girls are bigger than others').. Okay, I'll stop before this gets too far, I guess 'I started something I couldn't finish'.. Darn it, wrong album.

Anyway, back to the nail polish. This stuff is hella good. I actually bought this nail polish about a year ago and I remember thinking it was average, nothing special, pretty run of the mill, but upon trying it again, I have completely fell in love. It's super opaque, this is what threw me off the very first time I used it. My thought process was that it was super opaque so I only needed one coat, then when it chipped super easily, I was annoyed and I couldn't be bothered with it. This time, I was a lil bit frisky and went for two coats. You get such an even finish and even without a base coat, you get longevity, we're talking 3-5 days, which is decent for my piano playing hands anyone who plays a musical instrument knows that nail polish tends not to stick around too long (it would probably be longer for you if you don't bash your hands around on the piano) but even without a base coat it doesn't stain your nails. The colour is also a lovely bright red and one that would suit any skin tone, plus because it's so bright it seems pretty summer appropriate.

It's a winner for me - nice one, Rimmel. Now for the song you've all been waiting for...

What's your favourite nail polish brand?

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April wishlist

I've been trying not to spend too much money for the past couple of months because a bunch of my acquaintances had birthdays which I had to buy presents for, and what kind of acquaintance would I be if I spent money on myself rather than them*? Especially as they're all turning 18 so it's a special birthday of sorts. Anyway, I still have racked up a wishlist of things I would like to purchase in April. 

PVC INFLATABLE DAISY BACK PACK - £5.00

I know what you're thinking, and yes I do accessorise like a 7 year old, but y'know what I'm still 18 and able to pull it off as some sort of ironic statement so it's all good. I saw Ciara Baxendale (she's Izzy in My Mad, Fat Diary if you don't know, and she's just the most adorable person) post a picture of this on her Instagram and I knew I had to have it because it's just really cute, then I found it on Amazon. I love backpacks anyway and I own a few, but this looks bigger than any of the ones I own, plus because it's plastic it'll be waterproof which is necessary when you're living in London.

CLEAR ACRYLIC 24 LIPSTICK HOLDER - £2.24

I really need some more makeup storage, I absolutely love my two wide Muji drawers and I have a small acrylic makeup-holder-type-thing from Tiger but this only has space for 6 lipsticks and since Christmas, lipstick has become something that I can't leave a beauty shop without picking up. It's terrible I know, but this means I need more space because they're all a bit cluttered all over the place right now. I think this one from Amazon is a really good price and I saw someone else talk about this specific one in a blog post, so I'm pretty certain the quality will be alright. As long as it provides some storage I don't mind too much, plus I'm loving having a clear acrylic theme in my makeup storage.

ESSENCE COLOUR AND GO NAIL POLISH IN 191 - £1.60

I think I spoke about how much I loved the Essence Colour and Go Nail Polish in 113 in this post (in fact I know I did because I just linked you to the post, look at me acting like I don't know stuff). I loved the formula of these nail polishes and I really want some more pastel type shades in my nail polish collection for Spring/Summer. These nail polishes are so cheap and give you a gel effect without taking ages to dry (like a certain other nail polish brand I know..) so I just generally want a lot more of these in my life.

MAKEUP REVOLUTION ICONIC ELEMENTS PALETTE - £4.00

If you remember from my Spending Ban wishlist post I said that I wanted to try out the Naked Basics 2 palette, but at that time there wasn't a dupe for it so it was merely a dream that I would one day own those pretty taupe-toned shades. However, Makeup Revolution have done a palette that's allegedly a dupe of both Naked Basics palettes so I think I may as well buy that seeming as it's only £4.00. Plus, funnily enough I don't have anything quite like it in my collection even though I own quite a lot of eyeshadow. I don't own loads of matte shades even though I think those are the best for everyday, so I'll have to buy this and give it a go even though I've never ordered from the Makeup Revolution website (I tend to wait until everything comes into Superdrug!)

MAKEUP REVOLUTION PRO E104 EYEBROW BRUSH - £1.50

I don't own as many makeup brushes as a lot of the people on here, I think I own a total of 12 but in that 12 I don't have a nice slanted eyebrow brush. At the moment I use a dense flat thin (I think it's an eyeliner brush) to do my brows, and it works but I do really wanted a slanted one to be able to do them more effectively, and I wanted an opportunity to try out Makeup Revolution's range of brushes. Plus it's only £1.50 and I'm not sure where else I'm going to get a good quality brush for a cheaper price.

What's on your wishlist for April?

*Probably the type of annoying acquaintance who calls their friends acquaintances

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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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December wishlist

I feel like the obligatory 'I can't believe how fast the year has gone' comment has to be made, so there it is. I am getting increasingly excited for Christmas, but I also have my eyes on a few wintery items that I thought I'd share with you.

If you couldn't tell, I'm really wanting to buy into the tartan look over winter. The two skirts are pieces from Primark (which unfortunately I didn't see when I went in recently, however keep an eye on my blog for an upcoming Primark haul) and I think they just look lovely especially  for this time of year, yes you can wear tartan all year round but I personally think it looks great with thick black tights which isn't so easy to get away with in the summer due to the fact that I'll be writhing around on the floor in my own sweat complaining about the heat.

The nail polish can be bought from Wilkinsons and I know it's boring and black, but hey *I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside. Plus I think I raved on enough about one of the other Essence nail polishes for it to be obvious that I think they're pretty good value. Unfortunately this wasn't in Wilkinsons when I went so I may just look for another black gel nail polish (not from Barry M, I had a traumatic experience with their Gelly nail polishes).

It is cold and who says being warm can't be fashionable? Whilst it's unlikely I'll fork out for this Dorothy Perkins boyfriend coat I know for a fact there is one exactly like it in Primark which I'll hopefully pick up next time I'm in there.

Again with the tartan look, I really like this dress from New Look. It's a swing dress so it'll probably cover up the food baby conceived around the Christmas period, it's a bit more than I'd like to spend on a basic dress but this sort of style would be great.

What are you hoping to get over the next month?

How excited are you for Christmas?!

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*If you don't get the reference, try listening to The Smiths it'll change your life.

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?

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Review | Essence Studio Nails Hardening Nail Base

Just over a month ago, I heard that Wilkinsons had introduced a make-up brand called Essence and I was interested from the start as I've always gone for the most inexpensive best value products concerning make-up, skin care and clothes. I took a gander on the Wilkinsons website first and foremost so I could find out what sort of products I would be most interested in trying, and the first thing that caught my eye was their nail polish range and in particular their nail hardening products because I have wanted to purchase the Sally Hansen nail hardening products for a long time but I couldn't bring myself to spend that much - hence I decided to try out the Essence Studio Nails Hardening Nail Base.

The one thing that puts me off from wearing nail polish in general is the thought of it chipping quickly because I hate chipped nail polish and I always have a compulsion to remove it straight away even if it has only chipped after a day or two, that's why finding a good nail base was important to me. Furthermore, my nails are fairly brittle so this means my nail polish is more susceptible to chipping so this is why I needed a nail base that would harden my nails more than just prevent staining. This product was only £1.80 so it wasn't a massive loss at all. 

Whilst it looks glue-like in consistency and colour, I can assure that it is a very good nail polish. It dries clear and quickly, and makes my nails feel instantly stronger and it has now become a necessity when painting my nails. It makes my nail polish (the one on top of the base coat) last at least twice as long as it usually would as well when I'm wearing it so it is well worth the money.

I can honestly say I have no negative things to say about this product, it will definitely be a repeat purchase. Considering it was under £2.00 as well, I am pretty chuffed to have discovered this product.

Have you tried any products from Essence?

What do you think of it?