Sunday 30 March 2014

Spring Makeup


 Products used: Boots essentials moisturising cream, Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in 100 ivory, Lasting Perfection concealer in 01 fair, Rimmel Stay Matte powder in 004 sandstorm, Eco Tools large powder brush, Sleek Face Form palette in light, MUA Undress Your Skin shimmer highlighter, Elf Eyebrow Kit in Light Ash, Natural Collection Lash care mascara (clear mascara used as a brow gel), Urban Decay Primer Potion, 17 Rose Quartz single eyeshadow, Urban Decay Naked & Virgin eyeshadows (from the Naked palette), NYX the curve eyeliner, Maybelline The Falsies mascara, Collection Cream Puff moisturising lip cream in fairy cake 03, 17 Mirror Shine lipstick in beehive (on top of Collection Cream Puff) and GOSH velvet touch waterproof eyeliner in 006 bananas. 

Buds of crocus and fresh yellow daffodils are the first sign of spring for me. As soon as the days start getting longer, and the evening are lighter I know summer is also soon to arrive. With 2014 already rushing by so fast, I couldn't not include a pretty spring makeup look. With the colder weather behind us and brighter days to come, all the elements of spring really inspired me to create this look. I had this idea in mind for a while, and already made one attempt a few weeks back. But the outcome just wasn't what I hoped, so I tried again this weekend spontaneously and the result is much preferred. 

I decided to use a few new products I had bought yesterday, one being a gorgeous Rose Quartz eyeshadow from the makeup brand 17. The eyeshadow wasn't something I thought would associate with spring as a colour, but once applied it turned out just perfect. The Rose Quartz eyeshadow blended into a slightly deeper purple, therefore I wanted to make the lips quite bright by using a fresh pink shade. As for the rest of my face, I make a conscious effort to apply some bronzer, blush and highlight - this is no longer something I would apply on a daily basis. To keep it simple as a base before this, I used a daily moisturiser and mixed a small amount of foundation with this to create a tinted moisturiser - which I applied with a stippling brush to give a more sheer coverage. To finish of the eyes I used my everyday mascara, then attempted a winged eyeliner... But failed so kept with the general swipe of black along the lash line. All the products I used for this look are listed above, some of which I may review in the future as I'm already really enjoying using them. Hope you liked this post as I don't do makeup looks very often, but I would love to do more. Have a lovely week! 
How does the season of spring inspire you? 

Sunday 23 March 2014

Ocean Salt





Skincare, an element of beauty that has grown upon me. Yes some days it becomes a chore, however a lot of the time I really enjoy washing, scrubbing and cleansing my face - it's just such a refreshing feeling to get rid of all the makeup and dirt hidden beneath your skin. When I received a lush box for christmas containing several products, I really was excited to try some of their skincare. I'm already fond of their bath bombs for sure, but for some reason had never chosen to try any of their skincare.  

Lush is a brand and a shop I really love. When you walk into the shop there's always that distinctive soapy scent lingering, and I can't forget to include their customer service as they're always so helpful! But after been given a few of their products for christmas and realising how much I love them, I think lush will be a shop I'll visit a lot more in the future. 

Today's post will feature one of the products from the gift set I got, which is Lush's Ocean Salt face and body scrub. I think there was a slight blue theme in the gift set, apart from a happy hippy shower gel (be expecting some more posts concerning some of these other lush products soon!). When it comes to scrubs they're not a skincare product I would use daily as I think it can become harsh on the skin. Therefore I would normally use the desired scrub every other day, however this scrub not even that. It's very harsh on the skin. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, as this product really does it's job. Meaning I normally use this weekly, if not every other week when I really feel my skin needs it. I have combination skin, and can experience dry patches whilst also having oily skin throughout the day. So when my skin really needs exfoliating I instantly reach for this product.

This scrub can be used on the face and body, but as I got a separate body scrub from the set I thought if designate this for exfoliating my face instead. With lashings of 'fine sea salt', organic limes to brighten and avocado butter to soften the skin - the scrub really does leave your skin feeling super soft. It says 'fine sea salt' but I'm not sure I would call it fine, as it's quite abrasive on the skin. The 100% recycled plastic tub holds 70g of product, which can then be sent back to the store with 4 other finished tubs or tubes - so you can then receive one fresh mask for free! All Lush products also support fighting animal testing, which is a great bonus.

Concentrating more on the product itself... I really have been enjoying using it and don't want to finish the tub. I'm not sure what price it retails at, but the only mishap when walking into the store is that I know Lush can be fairly pricey (well for me, and what my purse contains). But after using this several times, I don't think i'll be able to find another product like it. Yes I own quite a few scrubs which I really enjoy using, however non of which really preform as well as this one.  

In a nutshell. It smells, looks and feels divine - containing natural elements such as salt, which really help the skin recover and keep healthy. I just hope when I finish the product and pop into Lush for a repurchase, that it's not too pricey for my pocket.  

I hope you enjoyed this post and apologies for the lack on content on my blog recently. Sadly the light sensor in my camera has gone, and went a while ago - meaning the problem is only getting worse. So I'm currently finding it hard to picture any products without the outcome being a white blur, and this means I can't post as regularly; a bloggers worst nightmare. So with a hope to get that sorted, any help below about digital cameras (I own and use Nikon L310) and a bust light sensor would be appreciated. 

After not composing nor posting much, writing this made me realise how much I enjoy blogging as a whole - I've always tried to keep in mind it's a hobby and not a chore! Have a lovely week, and I really hope I can post again next Sunday. 

Have you tried Lush's skincare? 

Sunday 9 March 2014

P.S Love Brow Pencil | A Quick Review










P.S Love Brow Pencil in Light | £1



I wasn’t intending on sharing my brow ‘routine’/what products I use on my brows, to then write a negative review on a brow product straight afterwards. Yes, this will be a negative post. But we can’t not be negative once in a while, when sharing how we feel about particular products. As much as I enjoy sharing what I love, sometimes I feel the need to also talk about what hasn’t pleased me so much.

When I heard Primark (a clothing store, if you didn’t already know), were bringing out a makeup range, I was suddenly intrigued. In the past Primark have supplied the basic cosmetics, and still do, but how now established a makeup range called P.S Love. I instinctively knew this range was going to be far from over priced, as its Primark. But was unsure if the quality would in any way surprise me. I didn’t actually purchase much from the range, only a few products – one of which I shall be sharing with you today!

As mentioned previously in my ‘Eyebrows’ post, I was on a hunt to find an affordable new brow product. With my current e.l.f. brow product virtually gone, I felt pushed for time. Filling in my brows is a step I rarely miss out, and having nothing to fill them in with wouldn’t be great. But even after purchasing a new brow product, I’m sadly still searching. 

Having three shades to chose from - light, medium and dark - I opted for the light shade hoping it was a cool toned brown. Annoyingly it wasn’t. When swatched and also applied to the brows it becomes even more obvious that this ‘light’ brown pencil is very warm toned – the one thing I avoid. I have blonde hair and dark blonde eyebrows – therefore I need a cool toned light brown to match. I’m obviously not expecting a £1 brow pencil to be the perfect shade, but it also had a negative element which I didn’t even know could occur.

Once I applied the product (considering I didn’t apply much), I then went in with the spoulie it had on the other end. Assuming this would brush through the brows to give a natural finish, instead it made it look a whole lot worse. The consistency of the product must have been so blend-able, because half the product I applied wasn’t on my eyebrows anymore, and was around them. It left my eyebrows surrounded by a brown pigment, but all due to blending it out with the spouile. However I think the consistency of the pencil was to blame here, not the spoulie. Meaning this product did let me down, but considering it was only £1, my expectations weren’t initially too high.

This has left me still searching for another brow product, which I hope works out better for me than this one did. But if you have any suggestions or recommendations, please leave them below! I’m also sorry about not posting last Sunday; I’ve had quite a few MOC’s and tests at school, which I prioritise over blogging. I would love to share my thoughts more than once a week, but somehow I don’t see that happening any time soon (except from the summer holidays…no work for 6 weeks!).

Have a lovely week and be expecting another review on another product from the P.S love range soon (hopefully a bit more positive).  
                                                                                                                              

Have you tried Primark’s P.S Love makeup range? What do you think?