Contour Kit, Make Up Revolution | Review

Hello everyone. Recently I have been loving messing around a bit more with my makeup. I started off by just adding some bronzer into my routine to see how this worked out and once I felt I became confident using this, I decided I could upgrade to getting a contour/sculpt and highlight kit. I'm not one to go all out with the different lines all over my face but I do admit that knowing where to put shading and adding a highlight onto my face really makes a difference... especially for those all important selfies! 

As I am in no way a pro at anything makeup related, I decided I would start with something budget, to give it a try and practice with. I'm pretty sure you should be starting to guess by now that I love budget makeup brands. And one in particular that I can't get enough of is Makeup Revolution. Walking into Superdrug to decide which pallet I was going to go for, I was honestly spoilt for choice. They seem to be so popular at the moment but the one I ultimately went for was obviously the Makeup Revolution Ultra Sculpt & Contour kit, light medium. I loved this one when I first saw it as it didn't look too over complicated, some of them had nearing to 8 different shades and textures on one pallet and, as I'm no pro, I just got a bit freaked out by it all. 
The shades in this kit are really easy to work with also. The bronzer shade looks dark at first look, however using a small amount on your brush to start with works really well. I find it is a really good shade to build up for a more intense, dramatic look for night time and just a light contour for those everyday cheek bone effects! 
The highlight in this pallet isn't the best one that I have seen. However it worked for what I needed it for as a beginner. I just feel that it doesn't give the same glow as some of the others I have tried. If you are looking for more of a subtle glow though then this is perfect. I find it particularly good for everyday wear as it just adds that extra dimension to my face without looking like i'm going clubbing at 10am on a Monday morning (wishful thoughts!).  I also haven't used the blush from this one. I tried it when I was first playing around but it felt that it just didn't match my skin tone right. I felt that I was left with little orange-y shaded cheeks, in stead of the cute rosie ones I suit much more. Therefore I just don't use it. However I can imagine the full pallet working well on someone with a more olive tone to their skin. I am just way too pale to pull off the bronzed look unfortunately! 
All in all this is a really great starter pallet for those of you, like me, who are looking to get on the contour band wagon but are not really sure where to start. I would definitely recommend this, the price is really great so even if you feel that you can't get the hang of it, you're not breaking the bank. It's small and compact so really easy to travel with and fits straight into your handbag if you're wanting to keep your look topped up during the day. Another point there actually, the lasting power of the kit is really great. It last all day at work for me and the end of the day results very rarely vary from the results I get as soon as it has been applied. 
I would love to look into a more advance contour look now, especially a great highlight, leave your recommendations below! Thanks for stopping by and until next time my lovelies. 
xoxo

September Favourites

Hello again lovelies! Today I am bringing you my first favourites post! As you probably well know by now, Autumn is my favourite time of year and I have been loving so much through September to get in the Autumnal spirit, I thought I would share it all with you!

My first favourite was a really obvious choice, I have been wearing it as much as possible through September and that is my Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro 2 Pallet. I did a review of this actually when I first brought it and you can read that here. I just have been loving this. The shades match really well for this time of the year and also they are really easy to blend with each other. I have been creating a few different looks and trying out different shades. The colours are really pigmented which is fab and they apply really easily. It's one of those products that I can't wait to get out and use in the mornings so for that, it definitely had to go in my faveys! Next is my Collection Eye Liner. I cannot stress how much I love this eye liner!! I have been using it for so many years now and it has never let me down. Winged eye liner is my favourite part of my make up so a reliable liquid pot is essential for me. I try different liquid eyeliners and hope that they will be just as good but this is the one that I always go back to. It is SO easy to apply which I love as the struggles of getting the perfect flick are painful at times so having something that applies quickly and easily is great. The lasting power of this is also really great, I wear it for nights out regularly and it has never failed to last the whole night. I just have no bad words, if you love this as much as I do please let me know as I would love to find a fellow worshiper of this product. If you have never tried it - DO! You will not regret it. Ooo another point - It's really black! I know that sounds random, but some others I have tried are sometimes a little grey in colour and require a couple of coats to get them looking really black. This is black as soon as it is applied and it stays that black for the duration of the wear. Ok, enough raving about that one, onto the next!   So this one is slightly random but I thought I would add it in because I like a bit of random in my life. I have been loving Quaker Oats, Oats So Simple Porridge sachets. They are so good for the colder mornings which we are now getting here in the UK and they just make my mornings a little bit happier. I have been loving the golden syrup flavour ones especially. They taste incredible as they are sweeter than the plain porridge but the syrup flavour is not overbearing, it's just enough syrup! Also they smell INCREDIBLE! When it first comes out of the microwave in its steaming bowl, the sweet smell that fills the room is just the best - another way to add a bit of extra niceness to the dull cold mornings. These have just been making my getting ready for work mornings that little bit warmer and brighter and I just wanted to share with you how lovely they are. I have personally been using the sachets where you just add milk and pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes but you can also get them in little pots which effectively do just the same thing, they are just a bit easier if you are on the go!  And last but not least, my final favourite comes in the form of shoes! I got these at the beginning of September as I was after some plain black chelsea boots to see me through the Autumnal months but didn't want to spend too much money. I'd actually forgotten that I'd signed up to Just Fab a while back so after rediscovering their website, I found I had received a store credit! Therefore I decided to treat myself to this lovely pair. They came really quickly through the post and fit like a glove! They are really comfy as well which is a bonus! I have been wearing them so much this month so they had to be included in here somewhere. I love the chunky sole to them and the simple matte black finish. So perfect for the Autumn months and they just go with everything I wear. I'm sure they will be featuring in many more posts to come!  And that concludes my monthly favourites. I am already loving many more different things through October so I am really looking forward to my next post. I hope you have enjoyed reading! Until next time my lovelies, 

Mini Drug Store Haul

Hello lovelies. I am sharing with you my latest mini drug store haul. Since I have just been paid, the first thing I had to do was march straight over to Superdrug in my lunch hour and pick up all the bits and bobs that I have been reading lots about this month.   Anyone who actaully knows me will know that I have literally not changed my makeup routine in YEARS! I mean I mess around with looks, so different lipsticks and eyeshadows etc. But the base of my makeup NEVER changes. This is because I struggle with bad acne and it makes me super conscious of trying out different foundations, concealers, powders etc etc. HOWEVER this is all changing - well I say all, my foundation is most certainly not, but a few other things are! I have branched out into different brands and different products and this is what I found...    

First I knew I needed some new powder, the Rimmel London Stay Matte is my absolute holy grail powder. This will never change until I decide to maybe venture to something new! So this was my first pick. My usual make up routine consists of foundation, powder, concealer and a bit of blusher. However since I have been beauty blogging, I have realised I probably need to update this a little, hence the introduction of the bronzer. I went for this one as a lot of the ones I picked up and tried had quite orange undertones which I didn't want at all. This one didn't really have this. When applied it has a light shimmer and more of a brown/tan undertone to it. I like the shimmer as it makes it look a bit lighter on the skin and also keeps it a bit warmer for the colder months I feel. Sticking with the facial products, I have been after a new blusher for a while. I tend to mix up my blusher quite a lot, I get hooked quickly to a colour and then quickly get bored of it! I have heard some really great reviews about collection cosmetics recently, therefore I thought I would give this one a try. For the amount you pay - this is a fantastic blusher! It's really pigmented so you don't need a lot on the brush to get a good colour, making it long lasting which I always love! It's also not got too much of a shimmer to it. I hate shimmer blush products - as I struggle with oily skin, they just make me look 10x more oily than I would like! I also thought with my light shimmer bronzer, I didn't want too much shimmer going on - didn't want everyone to wear sunglasses every time they saw me! 

More face products now. Frankly, the concealer I have been using for 50million years just hasn't been cutting it recently so the time came for a change. After reading so many wonder stories about this particular Collection product, there was no question in my mind about giving this a go. Well, talk about does exactly what it says on the tin - this is the most long lasting concealer I have ever used. So many others tend to go a bit oily after a while or just blend in/rub off my face. This one has not. I wore it for a night out about a week ago (sings about a week ago, week ago) and it lasted really, really well! I have been applying with a small headed concealer brush and blending it in to blemish areas on my skin and this has worked really well. The colour I chose was Medium Fair. I have to admit it is ever so slightly orange-y when first applied so when I come to re-buy I will probably go for a lighter shade. But when it is blended with the powder, you can't tell. Guys if you are looking for a cheaper alternative concealer - go for this one! It truly is lasting perfection! 

To conclude my little drug store haul is this Maybellene Lash Sensational mascara. First of all, the packaging to this product is gorgeous. Anything remotely rose gold coloured always gets my vote! Again, I have heard so many favourite posts where this has featured and lots of good reviews, I had to give it a go. I have been using it for about a week now and it has definitely lived up to the reviews! The applicator is a curved brush with thin bristles. This works really well on the lashes as it elongates them as well as separating them making them look fuller all at the same time! I like to wear my mascara quite thick so I tend to put a couple of coats on and this works well for my desired look. It's lasting power is also really great, I haven't had much smudging at all - this is one of the reasons I would tend to spend more on mascara as I hate smudging - for a drug store price of £7.99 it is a really great spend. If you haven't already tried this but are not sure if you want to get on the hype or not - DO! You won't regret it, seriously!  Also in my little haul, I purchased a new foundation brush and an eyebrow pencil. Both fab products and re-buys. No doubt that some of these products will definitely be featuring in my September favourites. I'm so excited for that post as I have so many things I have been loving through September so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for that one. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my little shopping trip! If you have your favourite drug store buys, new or re-buys that you always love - I would love to know in the comments. I am always looking for new things to try!  Thanks for stopping by! Until next time,

Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro 2 | Review

Hello you lot! Today I thought I would review my most recent Makeup Revolution purchase, the Iconic Pro 2 eye shadow pallet.  My first impressions were great - I love the choice of colours and it even comes with a synthetic blending brush which is actually really fab! The packaging is a little on the cheap side, but I still think it looks like a nice pallet and it does it's job perfectly. Since using it, I have found that the pigment in some of the colours isn't as strong as I initially would have liked, especially in the lighter colours. I am also tending to use more of the matte shades rather than the shimmer ones as they do seem a little bit messy (the shimmer ones I do use are more of the neutral colours). Having said that, for a very reasonable £6.99, this pallet is probably one of my favourites I have brought this year. I have been disappointed with a few of them for the choice of colour or some of them wearing away and not lasting all day. That actually hasn't been an issue at all with this pallet - not that I have experienced so far anyway.  I have mostly been using this pallet to create really lovely nude looks which do just go with everything I ever wear! I haven't had much chance to try out many of the other colours but I can't wait to create some more smoky type looks and since its coming to Autumn I'm feeling that the more orangey/brown shades are going to get a lots of use.  If you are thinking of getting this pallet but you're not sure about going with a cheaper brand, I would definitely say that for what you pay, the quality is great! It has lasted really well during the day for me and even though some of the colours I would never touch, and some of the pigments aren't as I would have liked - it is all in all a great pallet for a great price. I will be using this a LOT more over the next months, and as it is coming to Autumn, I'm sure it will feature in a look of the month! Sorry it's a bit of a shorter post today but I just wanted to let you know what I thought of this pallet. Let me know if you have purchased this before and if so what do you think of it? How are the colours for you? I would love to hear you comments!  Until next time,

Clinique Summer Gift!

Guys - I've been shopping! As I am going on holiday soon, topping up on beauty supplies is essential and also a great excuse to buy things that I don't necessarily really need. This came in the form of lovely Clinique products this week.  I was in need of some Mascara anyway, and the High Impact mascara from Clinique is my all time fave! It goes on with a few simple sweeps and leaves my lashes looking fuller and longer in a few seconds - what more could a girl want from a mascara? Obviously once I wondered over to the counter and found there was a summer gift in store, I knew there was more money going to be spent that originally anticipated! 

To qualify for the gift, you have to purchase two products, one of them has to be skin care. I settled for this redness solutions moisturizer. I could never get into moisturizer growing up when I should have but this one has always worked wonders for me and really reduces the appearance of redness on my skin - perfect for an acne sufferer! I do have to admit this wasn't a necessity buy - but for the summer gift it was totally worth it!

The gift is gorgeous and includes some great summer treats! I love the lip balm crayon. It is one of my favourite lip products anyway so getting it as a gift is a great bonus. It's quite a subtle colour so feels lovely and light for the spring/summer months but it is also a deep enough shade to use for any occasion. And it apply's great moisture to your lips - perfect for the unpredictable weather of the UK!

Included in the pack among others is a really cute nail varnish. I'm not usually one to go for 'hot pink' colours but this one looks great and really summery so I will definitely be trying this out. 

Also included is the 'Take The Day Off' make up remover which is one of my all time favourite products simply because it is insanely good and removes any kind of make up really easily. It also leaves my skin feeling great and thoroughly cleaned, which is sometimes rare with other make up removers. I usually feel that I have to add cleanser and toner after using other removers but with this one, I can just get away with a light toner.   A 'Rinse off Cleansing Foam', 'Custom Repair Serum', a 'Moisture Surge' are also in this great packed bag all of which I am yet to try from the Clinique range so really looking forward to this little lot. I'm super excited to review these and so in love with my buys and summer gift. I think there is always some thrill in getting to review products that are free!  Get yourself down to a Clinique counter to claim yours. A really fab gift and a perfect summer treat for the skin.  Thanks for stopping by,