Tuesday 29 September 2015

September Beauty Favourites

 
Where did September go? We are well and truly in Autumn now and over the last month I have been making changes in my everyday routines to accommodate for the colder weather. I think every product I am going to tell you about was new to me this month. I will have full reviews already done of some of these and I will link the full blog post as I talk about them so you can check them out! 


Vichy Idéalia Skin Sleep Moisturiser
I am already a massive fan of the Idéalia serum and have been a big fan of that for years. So when I seen online that there was a new addition to the Idéalia family, I had to get it. This cream is based around the idea that people don't get enough sleep & their skin doesn't get a chance to regenerate over night. Since starting to use this, I have found that my skin looks brighter & healthier while feeling a lot more moisturised. It is not as thick as some other night creams that I have used in the past, it is a very light-weight consistancy-almost like a gel. It sinks in so quickly and in combination with the application techniques they give you, it helps relax me so much for bedtime. It also has a gorgeous scent.


Charlotte Tilbury "Bitch Perfect" Lipstick
I keep thinking the name is Bitch Please, that's what I've been calling it anyway! This is the first lipstick from Charlotte Tilbury I have tried and I have fallen in love. It was always the price-tag that put me off but the quality of the lipstick definitely justifies it. It has a gorgeous formula that literally glides on to your lips. It is really long-lasting and pigmented which is all I want out of a lipstick. It is a gorgeous pink neutral shade that seems to just suit all kinds of make-up looks. I reviewed this on Monday so click here if you want to read more about it! 


GlamGlow YouthMud Face Mask
I haven't actually mentioned that I got this on my social media or on here. I just wanted to give it a proper test before I said anything about it. There has been so much hype surrounding the GlamGlow masks lately, and again it was the eye-watering price tag that put me off. But I picked it up when there was a sale on at the the end of August and have been putting it to the test since. I do have a full review of this coming up soon but since adding this to my routine I have found the texture of my skin has really improved. It has helped clear up any imperfections a lot quicker, made it look a lot clearer over all and made it feel so soft. I have been doing this mask once a week and really love it. So expensive but definitely worth it in my opinion!

Urban Decay Riff Eyeshadow
Another hyped product that I had to get my hands on. Again I picked this up at the end of August and it has taken up permanent residence in my make-up bag since. It makes for a perfect all over the lid colour or for in the crease. It is a burnt orange/brown colour- a colour I would never have worn before because I just didn't think it would suit me. It really looks lovely with a bit of liquid liner and lots of mascara. I find it really looks lovely with blue eyes- but I imagine it would suit a lot of different skin tones and eye shades. It has been my go-to eyeshadow on an everyday basis- especially on an early morning this is perfect.


Boots Essentials Vanilla Body Butter
I randomly picked this up in Boots one day to give it a smell, and had to buy it instantly. This moisturiser smells good enough to eat. I have been slathering myself in this every night before bed and my skin has definitely gotten better because of it! My skin is so soft because of this. It is a really rich, thick body butter- but it does sink in quickly so you don't have to hang around waiting for it to dry. When I find a body butter I love the smell of, it really motivates me to actually use it. I will definitely be repurchasing this when it runs out, and it doesn't break the bank either!


Ariana Grande Ari Eau De Parfum
I really didn't expect to like this as much as I do. I'm not the biggest Ariana Grande fan so I was pretty much indifferent to the news that she had released a perfume - until I smelt it. It is a citrus/fruity scent with a hint of marshmallow apparently. It has a slight sharp scent to it also. I really am terrible and describing scents so I would recommend that you go give it a smell. The full sized bottle is so cute too! Don't be put off because it is a celebrity scent!

So those are my favourites for September- I still can't believe we're in October already. Let me know if you would like to see any full reviews of any of the products mentioned, and let me know what you have been loving this month!
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Monday 28 September 2015

Charlotte Tilbury | Bitch Perfect


 I have recently become obsessed with all things Charlotte Tilbury. I bought two items in the last month of hers and have been using them on an everyday basis since. I will blog about the other product in the next week or so, but I couldn't wait to show you this beautiful lipstick! This lipstick was not on my up until recently where I started to notice it pop up on a few peoples blogs and Instagram.

First of all look at the packaging...it's rose gold. I had to have it, if only for that- which does seem a bit obsessive but I just adore anything Rose Gold! So the packaging itself was just compete luxury and really helped justify that eye-watering price-tag. The shade itself is called "Bitch Perfect" which is possibly the most sassy named lipstick I own. The shade is just right up my street. It is a peach-toned pink which looks amazing with a tan. It is so amazingly pigmented and creamy. It feels so similar to a MAC Cream Sheen finish on the lips, so it's perfect for this time of year when its getting a bit cooler and you need the extra moisturisation on the lips. I have been wearing this on an everyday basis since I bought it, which I know I really shouldn't because of the price but I just can't seem to put it down.

The thing I like the most about this lipstick is that it really goes with any look. I have worn this with my everyday make-up look and a more smokey eye look. It compliments both looks and like I said earlier, it looks gorgeous with a tan. It seems to brighten up my complexion when I apply it. I am just addicted to it! It is expensive, but the quality of this product is just out of this world so I think if you want to treat yourself get down to Charlotte Tilbury and pick up a lipstick!

Charlotte Tilbury is available from Brown Thomas and this lipstick is available online here


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Wednesday 23 September 2015

Urban Decay | Riff Eyeshadow


This is quite possibly the most talked about eye-shadow this year. Urban Decay's Riff has caused quite the commotion the past couple of months with bloggers going absolutely mad for it. When I was up in Belfast a couple of weeks ago I decided to pick it up and see what the fuss was about. The girl on the counter didn't even know what shadow I was on about, so maybe they are part of a new collection or it has only just been released. But it was kept separate to the other eye-shadows and it took abit of explaining to get my hands on it!

This is not my usual kind of colour. I am a matte, cool-toned eye-shadow wearer through and through and this is totally out of my comfort zone. As you can see from the pictures it is a very warm-toned brown shadow, with the slightest hint of sparkle going through it. I will say that the sparkle doesn't really show up when you have it applied to the eyelid so I did manage to get away with that. I don't really like to have anything overly sparkly on my eyes for everyday.



The first time I applied this, I fell in love. I was heading out with my boyfriend at the last minute so it was a quick get ready job. I put this all over the lid with some liquid liner and lashings of mascara. When I got in the car and had a chance to look at the eyeshadow in proper light I loved it. While it is a very orange looking brown, it made my blue eyes stand out so much more than usual. It looked amazing when I was tanned and really gave a bronzed look to my complexion. The quality of the eyeshadow is unsurprisingly amazing. Like any other Urban Decay shadow I have tried, it is pigmented, easy to blend and really long lasting. I have found myself reaching for this over my palettes lately. It creates such a lovely look on the eyes for everyday and is so quick and easy to do in the mornings!

Have you picked up the eyeshadow of the moment? What are your thoughts on it?

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Sunday 20 September 2015

Top Five Make-Up Brushes


I love writing "favourites" posts, I love organizing everything and narrowing everything down to my top favourites. I decided to do my favourite make-up brushes today because like I mentioned in my "Current Favourites" post I have been away from home a good bit and I feel like I have really picked the best of the bunch when it comes to my make-up brushes. I want to just mention that I have far too many make-up brushes. It really is excessive the amount that I have and when it comes to cleaning/drying them, it takes up a day at least. But if I had to only use five brushes to do my make up, these would be the ones.



Real Techniques Buffing Brush
I decided to get the obvious out of the way first. Best foundation brush ever. I really don't know how I put on foundation before this came into my life. It makes foundation application fool-proof. It really does all the work for you. It is made of synthetic hair, so it is suitable for powder, cream and liquid products. I use it daily for my foundation, and it always leaves my skin looking even with no streaks. This comes in a set from Real Techniques with three other brushes and in my opinion it is worth buying the set for this brush!


MAC 217 Brush
Yes, another obvious choice, and one everybody probably owns. But I couldn't write about my favourites without mentioning the 217. There are so many dupes for this on the market, but I still think the original is the best. I use this both to apply and blend my eyeshadow. It picks up the perfect amount of product and blends everything like a dream. It is so soft and even though I have had it for years, and use it everyday without fail, it has not lost its shape. It is one that I really couldn't do my make-up without!



Charlotte Tilbury Powder & Sculpt Brush
This is one that I debated getting for months and I'm not going to lie, it was expensive. But since getting it, it has proven to be an investment brush. The quality of it really does show in comparison to some of my more affordable brushes. I have had no problems with shedding or anything like that, and the detail on this brush is amazing-right down to the flattened parts on the handle, so it doesn't roll off a table. The hairs on this brush aren't the softest I've used, but don't let that put you off as it does pick up the right amount of product and always blends perfectly. I have used this for so many things- highlight, contour, powdering under my eyes, blusher.



Zoeva 317 Wing Liner Brush
When I used a powder for my eyebrows, this is always the brush I go for. It is so fine and slim at the top that it gives a really precise look to my brows. It never applies too much product. It makes it really easy to mimic the look of natural hairs on my brows. I also use this if I want to use a shadow to create liner on the upper eyelid. It gives a really gorgeous smoked out look with minimal effort!



Sigma E10 Brush
Another brush I don't think I could do my make-up without. This is a really soft long-haired brush that I use to blend my eye make-up. I sweep it across my eye-lid to make sure there are no harsh lines left and to finish off the look. Again there are so many dupes of this on the market but I've always just stuck with this one.

So those are the five make-up brushes which if I didn't have,  I wouldn't be able to do my make-up! What brushes are your all time favourites and let me know if you have any recommendations! 

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Wednesday 16 September 2015

Current Beauty Favourites


Yes I know. I'm back again. This time I'm back for good, I swear. I have really fallen off the blogging bandwagon the past couple of months but I am back and ready to share lots with you. I may have not been blogging as much the past few months, but I definitely have not stopped shopping! I'm going to share my current favourites with you today because I didn't do an August favourites but I still want to show you what I have been loving lately.



Blank Canvas Pippa Palette
Over the past few weeks I have been staying away from home alot and needed to fine tune my make-up bag. This palette has been pretty much all I've been wearing on my face since getting it. It has six very wearable everyday shades, a blusher, bronzer and the most beautiful highlighter. I have been using the shade "Tobi" all over my lid with a little bit of "Dodo" through the crease. I find the shadows very easy to work with, long lasting and a great combination of colours to create any amount of different eye looks. The highlighter in this palette has taken over from my beloved Mary Lou-Manizer. It is just fabulous! I did crack the mirror on my travels which I'm devastated about but thankfully it didn't affect any of the powders. I would 100% recommend you pick up this palette, especially if you are a girl on the go and like to have everything you need in one spot!




Cocoa Brown 1hr Tan Dark
My love for Cocoa Brown is no secret, but I recently picked up the 1hr tan in the darker version and I have been obsessed! It gives such a gorgeous deep colour. It is the easiest tan to apply, it's a tinted mousse formula which means you can see exactly where you are putting it. You can leave it on for an hour and get a lovely natural shade or if you like a more intense colour like me, leave it on over-night and wash it off in the morning. It doesn't have that usual tan smell that alot of other tans have as they develop which is always a bonus. I find I can get a good five days out of wearing this before it needs a top up. All time favourite tan, and I won't use anything else!



No.7 "Graceful" Lipgloss
Recently No.7 had their 80th anniversary, and to celebrate they launched some limited edition products. They released a limited edition highlighter, two eyeshadows palettes and three lipglosses. I picked up one of the lip-glosses in "Graceful" to try out and was pleasantly surprised. It has a gorgeous creamy formula, similar to the formula of the NYX Butter Glosses which I am a big fan of. It has a lovely tint of colour, and is surprisingly long-lasting for a lip-gloss. It contains jojoba oil which leaves your lips feeling nourished and moisturized.

Smashbox Matte Tech Brow Pencil
I felt that my brows just weren't working for me lately so I invested in this newbie from Smashbox. I picked up the shade "Taupe" which works well for me. The nib on the pencil is one of the smallest that I've used, and the pencil itself is very soft and easy to work with. It makes it so easy to mimic the look of hairs on the brow. It gives a lovely defined look to my brows, and it is the perfect pencil to amp up the brow look or just to create a nice everyday look.



Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation
Rimmel recently relaunched their Match Perfection foundation. I was a fan of the original formula so I decided to pick it up. It claims to have 24hr moisture hydration and a pore blurring effect. You all know that my all time favourite foundation is Nars Sheer Glow, and I actually think this is quite similar. It's not as long lasting but when you first apply it, it gives the same flawless, dewy finish. It has very good coverage, and does a good job at covering any imperfections. I use the shade 100 Ivory which I think is the lightest in the range. 

So those are the fews bits that I have been reaching for the past couple of weeks while I have been off the grid! Have you tried any of them? Let me know what you think!
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