Sunday 26 April 2015

Soap & Glory Thick And Fast Collagen Coat Mascara



Soap & Glory Thick And Fast High Definition Collagen Coat Mascara £10.50 - link

Once upon a time this was one of my favourite mascaras along with the Thick & Fast Super Volume mascara also by Soap & Glory (which I do still like) but after a months and a new tube of this I'm finding it hard to see why I liked it so much.

It's nice for separating lashes and doesn't smudge throughout the day which is great especially considering it's not waterproof, but after using this for a couple of weeks that's really all I've found that I like about it. 

The formula is really wet which means that anything after one coat you're going to be left with spidery lashes that are all stuck together. Usually I'm a massive fan of bristle wands but this brush picks up a lot of product and the shape and size of it of it makes it hard to distribute evenly which just makes your lashes even more clumped together - it's really not a good look. It does add some volume to the lashes and is borderline okay at adding length but in comparison to other mascaras which are cheaper (and more expensive too) it doesn't come close at all and just seems like a complete waste of a tenner. 

I personally love a mascara to give me quite a dramatic look with a lot of thickness and definition which this, again, doesn't do. Because it's not buildable it makes it difficult to use no matter what look you're going for or what you want from a mascara.

I'm not sure if they've changed the formula or if this is just a completely different product from the one I loved a year ago but I was super disappointed with this.



Have you tried this mascara? What do you think?









Saturday 25 April 2015

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Bronzer




Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Bronzer £32 - link (currently on offer at 10% off at Debenhams)

This is a super beautiful product. First of all the packaging is amazing, although pretty huge so not that travel friendly, but the actual bronzer is a complete winner. 

Normally I'm not a bronzer kind of girl unless it's to very lightly (and somewhat badly) attempt to contour but this is way too warm for my skin tone to use as that, so I brushed it on to the high points of my face instead to give me some colour and it works wonderfully. It has a really light shimmer running through it which also, unfortunately, makes it not so great for contouring but absolutely lovely for giving a subtle glow that is perfect for Summer.

I chose the shade 'medium' despite my fair skin tone as I find it easier and just prefer to blend in a slightly darker product than layering a lighter one, it also helps that this is a complete dream to blend and doesn't leave you with the much dreaded muddy look. 

As for the £32 price tag I think it is completely worth it. Not only is the product great and the packaging completely gorgeous but you get 21 grams of product(!!!). It will take me years to get through that amount of bronzer so it was definitely a great investment for me it just all depends on if you think it's worth it for you.  

This is a beautiful product to add to your collection, especially for the Summer and I couldn't recommend it enough.

What do you think of this? Do you have a favourite bronzer?







Saturday 18 April 2015

4 Outfits: Kimonos




Not really the most difficult piece to style as it is essentially a more summery cardigan but sometimes it can look a little out of place and almost frumpy because of the shape so just in case you need a little inspiration I thought I'd share with you some of the outfits I think a kimono is the perfect finishing touch.

Look 1: Kimono, Top, Shorts, Shoes

Look 2: Kimono, Top, Jeans, Bag

Look 3: Kimono, Top, Jeans, Bag, Shoes

Look 4: Kimono, Top, Shorts, Sunglasses


As I say with all fashion posts I attempt, I'm sorry for my severe lack of colour and creativity when it comes to clothing, I'm a huge fan of simple fashion (clearly).

I hope this helped to give you some inspiration anyway! I'm definitely going shopping tomorrow to pick up the kimono in look one, I love it.


Are you a fan of kimonos?







Thursday 16 April 2015

Summer Essentials







In terms of beauty, Summer is a difficult season to get through. With your make up sliding down your face 20 minutes after applying it and your hair being frazzled by the sun I thought I'd share with you some of the products I couldn't be without in the burning London heat (that was obviously sarcasm, just in case you missed it).


sea salt spray

I really try to stay away from applying heat to my hair in the Summer as I think the heat from the sun is probably damaging enough without me adding to it so if I haven't shoved it up in a pineapple on top of my head I've used this. The one from Lush is my favourite. It smells of sweet lemons and isn't too drying as some salt sprays can be. You can buy it here for £9.95. The overall effect of using a salt spray is texture. It doesn't aid in curling your hair or holding curls etc is just gives you that beachy wave, textured look. Basically giving the illusion that you've made an effort when in reality it's taken you 2 seconds. The Bumble & bumble one is also really great I just don't use it as often because it doesn't really have a scent which I know some people will prefer but I like a little something to freshen up my hair, especially on day 2 or 3. You can buy the Bumble & bumble surf spray mini (50ml) from Boots here for £9.50.
I also really like this one from Lee Stafford for £7.99 and this one from Toni & Guy which is a texturising spray but does pretty much the exact same thing!



breath of fresh air toner

My hands down best friend in the Summer. I LOVE this. I'm sure Caudalie do a really similar if not identical product that I can't wait to try but this is absolutely wonderful. Despite saying that it's a toner it doesn't really do much for the skin for example there isn't any significant decrease in redness or glorious radiance but oh my god is it refreshing. It doesn't ruin your make up when you spray it on top so keeping this in my handbag for a refreshing spritz every now and again is essential for me. As the label says it truly is a sea breeze captured in a bottle. You can get it here from Lush for £7.95.



origins vitazing tinted moisturiser

Usually tinted moisturisers aren't very forgiving when it comes to my oily skin but this is beautiful. I'm head over heels for this whole range from Origins but I find myself picking this up more often than my other mositurisers during the Summer. It leaves the skin looking radiant and glowing and the sheer tint is enough for good skin days. SPF is obviously a must for all times of the year but more so in the Summer so the fact that this has SPF 15 is great. It provides a lovely base for foundation, feels completely weightless and sinks into the skin quickly so you don't have to worry about your face feeling tacky when you're trying to apply the rest of your make up. You can get it here  for £29.
Oh and just bare in mind that if you're using a moisturiser with SPF in it don't use a foundation, primer or any other base product with an SPF in it as they cancel each other out - a handy tip for you there if I do say so myself!





urban decay setting spray

We've all had to put it up with our make up lasting 5 minutes in the sunshine but are gone are the days of your make up sliding off your face. For us oily skin gals keeping make up on your face in the Winter is hard enough let alone in the Summer which is why I use this most of the year round, but there is no way I could live without this when the sun comes out. A few sprays of this keeps my make up in place for a lot longer than just dousing my face in powder. I have a mini version that I keep in my bag for touch ups during the day as using a powder is out of the question when you've been sweating. It isn't a good look - trust me. This doesn't hold your make up in place forever but will definitely add an hour or 2 to the length of time it will last. From experience, and I'm sure none of you are this stupid, avoid spraying it too close to your face because it makes for very patchy and dripping make up. You can buy it here for £21.


And that's all of my beauty essentials when it comes to Summer! Let me know if you'd like to see a make up version of this list.


Have you tried any of these?
Do you have a product that you couldn't live without in the Summer?






Monday 13 April 2015

Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil And Tint



Soap and Glory Archery Brow Pencil and Tint (Brownie Points) £10 - link
(Swatches: Top - pencil end // Bottom - felt tip end)

I've always been terrified of eyebrow pencils as my hand eye coordination is 0 so the chance of me losing an eye was always enough to put me off, but I took a chance in Boots a couple of months ago when Soap & Glory products were 3 for 2 (doesn't that always get you?!) and this ended up coming home with me.

I have nothing bad to say about this product. I usually like to balance my reviews so you can make a good decision if you were to buy any of my recommendations but there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, in my opinion of course. One end of the product is a traditional pencil. The formula is quite dry which makes for less product transfer but that does mean that you can make mistakes that don't have horribly dark and overdrawn consequences. The colour match is great although there is wiggle room if you're a light or darker shade of brown, as like I said,  the fact that the product transfers lightly means that you can press harder or lighter to get a variation of the shade. All in all it comes in 2 shades for blondes and brunettes, I (obviously) have the brunette version which is adorably named 'Brownie Points'.

The other end is a felt tip which I thought was completely bizarre but I actually prefer it. It creates a really natural look when done with small, short strokes and fills in any sparse areas whilst just slightly enhancing the rest of my brows. I love it.

For my first brow pencil experience I couldn't be happier. I can't even imagine filling in my brows with an eyeshadow anymore but that was very 2012-esque so I was definitely due to move on. Next on my list is the Anastasia Brow Wiz and I'm really interested in trying the Dip Brow Pomade too.

If you have any recommendation for brow products I'd love to know!


Have you tried this? What's your favourite brow product?






Saturday 11 April 2015

Charlotte Tilbury Wishlist





It has taken a lot of restraint to not buy anything from Charlotte Tilbury yet. The packaging is to die for and almost all of the products have made it to holy grail status in the blogging world which has made me even more desperate to try something from the brand. 
This is a list of all the things I'd like to try first but justifying £300 and then some to spend on it all is a little difficult to say the least - even with the beautiful packaging although it does help a little bit. 

The lipsticks, retailing at £23 each, are at the top of my list. They are so unbelievably beautiful that I have a mini heart attack just looking at them. Red carpet red is definitely my favourite after spending hours swooning at swatches, who would of guessed that I like a red shade the most..

I haven't seen many reviews of the mascara but as you might know mascara is my ultimate beauty weakness so it's inevitable that it's one of the products I want to try the most.
The bronze & glow duo looks incredible and the amount of good reviews I've read have persuaded me that it may be worth the £49 price tag. And did I mention the packaging?!

If anything this post has just convinced me that I need one of the lipsticks in my life if not the whole collection. Payday couldn't come soon enough.


Have you tried anything from Charlotte Tilbury? What's at the top of your wishlist?







Thursday 9 April 2015

Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet Foundation



Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet Foundation SPF 15 (Beige 20) £33 - link

A few months ago I did a review on the Vitalumiere aqua foundation (which you can read here) and promised a review of this baby and here I am finally getting around to it.

I'm going to start off by saying that I don't love this as much as the Vitalumiere. I much prefer a dewy finish and this is more of a demi-matte finish. It works so much better for my oily skin but I feel like when applied it looks much more like I have foundation on rather than just looking like my skin. It hasn't hindered my love for Chanel foundations at all and I do like this a lot but not as much as I hoped I would.

It's a really watery consistency like the Vitalumiere so it definitely needs a good shake before applying it. The consistency doesn't really affect anything though and when applied gives a medium to full coverage. It easily conceals any uneven pigmentation, dark circles and some blemishes but you'll need a concealer for any heavy duty spots and possibly darker dark circles (I know from experience that this is absolutely not enough to cover up what a hangover and severe lack of sleep does to your skin). The lasting power is great at around 4-5 hours without any signs of fading or movement but it does gradually get drier throughout the day and also slightly darker which is really annoying. I keep a powder with me to even out the shade throughout the day but that really did put me off of this foundation quite a lot. Not so much that I have to powder over it throughout the day as I usually have to do that with other foundations anyway, but to powder to correct the colour so it blends with the rest of my body I was not impressed by - at all.

I haven't found it to be patchy as some people have said in reviews of this product and really the only downside for me is the oxidation of it over time. It preforms well against my oily skin and I didn't get shiny enough to powder until 3 hours of wear. There are definitely better foundations to control oil than this one but I was still happy with 3 hours.

This is not the best foundation from Chanel by far but it still isn't that bad. I wouldn't recommend the £33 as I think there are much cheaper foundations that can do a better job.



What do you think of this foundation? Have you tried any foundations by Chanel?







Monday 6 April 2015

YSL Rouge Pur Couture - The Mats 204



Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture The Mats in 204 £26 - link

Oh holy Jesus. I could have taken pictures of this all day and not one of them would have done this lipstick justice. It is BEAUTIFUL ..and cost way more than I'm prepared to pay for a lipstick, but thankfully, my wonderful boyfriend bought me this as a congratulations for reaching (and surpassing) 200 followers. He can be a cutie sometimes.

It took me forever to pick a shade as like I said neither my boyfriend or I have the funds to buy YSL lipsticks whenever we feel the urge (and by we I mean me - I don't think he loves lipsticks quite as much as me) so I wanted to choose one that I could get a lot of use out of. Of course I had to pick one from the matte line, nothing compares as far as I'm concerned, especially when it comes to red lipsticks so after much deliberation, and I literally mean an hour, I eventually settled on 204 which is a bold deep red with warm undertones.

It applies creamy but dries to a velvet finish but not completely matte as the range is supposed to be. That does mean, however, that the moisturising feeling when it's first applied lasts hours into wearing it. It is honestly the most comfortable lipstick I have ever worn. It didn't dry out at all and took 4 solid hours before showing any kind of fading or bleeding. And to top it all off around an hour after application I had my dinner, you'll know this is how I test my red lipsticks if you read my last lipstick post, and it was completely smudge free. To say I was over the moon is an understatement. I might even go out on a limb and say this is the best red lipstick I have ever tried and my new most favourite lipstick of all time. Sorry MAC, you did me well!

It does also stain the lips which I'm not a fan of at all, if my lipstick is gone I just want it gone but I know that some people are happy to hear that a lipstick does that. The packaging is beautiful just as is all of YSL's packaging and I'm just completely besotted with this lipstick.

If you are a red lipstick lover like I am or have the money to treat yourself, go and buy this immediately. You won't regret it.

Have you tried any YSL lipsticks?
I'd also really love to know what your favourite lipstick of all time is - let me know in a comment!