Eyebrow Routine

Hi everyone. Today I thought I'd share my current eyebrow routine with you. You only have to go back to early posts on my blog (although please don't) to see how bad my eyebrows used to be but I think I've got to a point where I won't look back at pictures and cringe inwardly. 

My favourite tweezers are these Browtician Slant Tip Tweezers that I have miraculously managed to keep in their little case (the only way I can save them from the tweezer eating demon that is the sofa cushions). I spent a bit more on these than I usually would but I'm glad I did. They grip the hairs so easily and whip them out with minimal pain. Tweezing is much less of a chore with these.

 I then use an old Soap & Glory Archery 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil & Brush. The pencil end ran out a long time ago but I really love the brush end so I've kept it. The brush really grips the hairs and I have really long eyebrow hair (but tiny eyelashes- go figure) so it's essential to have a decent brush on hand. 

Once I have all the hairs in the same direction I move on to my Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint And Pencil. The directions say to use the tint end first but I didn't read them at first and did it the other way around and now I can't change. So I go in with the pencil end first to do most of the filling in and to give myself the general outline. It's an ashy brown shade which is perfect for my hair colour.

 Then I use the tint end to make the edges neater and more defined. It's a much finer point than the pencil end so you can be more precise with it. It's pretty much the same colour as the other end but not as opaque which makes it perfect for doing the gradient effect at the front of my brows. If I go a bit over the top with this, I take the spoolie again and it takes the colour down a notch. 

 The last step in my brow routine is to put a gel through it. My current one is the Sleek Brow Perfector in Clear which isn't the most amazing gel in the world. It has a bit of a shine to it if you put too much on which I don't appreciate but it'll do for now.

To see th'eyebrows in action you can check out this post or this post.

That's all for today, I hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for stopping by, lots of love,

twitter / instagram 

The Perfect Palette Tag

Best Packaging: Charlotte Tilbury Dolce Vita Palette 

I don't think packaging comes much better than Charlotte Tilbury. It feels so luxury and I love it so much.

Best Colour Payoff: Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette 
A lot of the palettes I own have amazing pigmentation but I find the eyeshadows in this one are really pigmented without being over the top or hard to use. The shade 'bitter start' in the top left corner is the most pigmented white/cream shade I own. 

Most Versatile: Naked Basics Palette
I don't really know why I've chosen this one. I think if you gave this to lots of different people they'd probably all come up with different looks and it probably suits everyone. Although personally I only really use this for one look... I may have misunderstood this question and regret my choice wholeheartedly. 

Best for Travelling: Illamasqua Multi Facette Palette in Semblance

I love this palette because it has everything you need for your face in one place. I love the highlighting eyeshadow shade for all over the lid, the bronze shade is perfect for the outer corner and it even has a decent black shade so you have a full eye look. It has the cream pigment in Hollow which I use daily and a gorgeous blush shade as well. I used the eyebrow cake for a while and would use it again should I need to. I don't use the highlighter but I can go without that. All that comes housed in sleek packaging with a big mirror. Perfect for travelling. 

Biggest Regret: Smashbox Full Exposure Palette

Ooooh man, what a waste of my hard earned Boots points. I'm actually struggling to remember why I didn't like this because I used it so few times so long ago. I think it all looks really nice, the shimmers look stunning but it just doesn't work on the eyes I don't think. I don't like the mattes, they were chalky (if I remember correctly) and it will probably never get used again (still won't get rid of it though).

Best Colour Names: theBalm Nude 'Tude Palette

I only realised when taking the photo that they all begin with an 'S'. Love it!

Least Used: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

This might be surprising since the Naked palettes are such a cult product but I don't use mine half as much as I thought. I might have palettes I've used less (Smashbox Full Exposure) but when I bought this I thought I would absolutely love it and I just don't. It's never a palette I grab for, I don't really like the way my eye makeup looks when I use it. I'm glad I bought it so I could try it but it's not got the love I hoped for.

Most Used: Stila In the Light Palette 

My sister bought me this when I was first getting into eyeshadow and it was the only palette I owned for a long time and as you can see it was well loved. I used up every last scrap of 'Kitten' and 'Sunset' is still one of my favourite shades but I use it as little as possible because you can't buy it separately and I don't want to spend £25 to get one eyeshadow. It's such good quality and I love it dearly.

Most Loved: Charlotte Tilbury Dolce Vita Palette

I know I've said the same one twice but how could I not love this. It's perfection, I always love my makeup when I use this, it can do no wrong. 

Desert Island: Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro 2 Palette

Because it contains my favourite eyeshadow of all time. I'd buy a new one to take to the desert island.

That's all the categories! I hope you enjoyed this tag and let me know what you think of my picks. Thanks for stopping by! Lots of love,

twitter / instagram 

Dupe? MAC Plumful and Max Factor Lipfinity in Evermore Lush

Max Factor Lipfinity in 60 Evermore Lush and Mac Plumful (I don't even know what happened to it, don't ask me)

 Top: Max Factor Lipfinity in 60 Evermore Lush

Bottom: Mac Plumful 

Max Factor Lipfinity

Mac Plumful

Hi everyone, today I thought I'd share a possible dupe I discovered recently. I really wanted to try one of the new Lipfinity lipsticks from Max Factor but wasn't really amazed by any of the swatches until I suddenly had a thought that one of them looked a bit like Mac's Plumful, which I already own but barely wear anymore since it looks like I retrieved it from the fiery depths of hell. When swatched next to each other they don't look that similar. To me, Plumful is slightly pinker and a tad darker however the Max Factor swatch is more plummy. Bear in mind that the light is stronger on the Max Factor swatch so it appears a bit lighter than it really is (blame my photography). The Max Factor one also has a bit more shimmer in it whilst Plumful is a lustre finish so has more of a gloss than a shimmer. I don't really care for gloss or shimmer, I'd prefer it if they were both matte but whatever. 

When they are both on the lips I think they look really similar, it's almost impossible to tell the difference in fact. I always pat lipsticks into my lips and when you do this it kind of gets rid of the finish so they both look like they have the same finish in the end. 

There's about a £6.50 difference in price between these two lipsticks so it's not the most amazing dupe but if you are trying to save a few pounds then it could be worth it. I, for one, won't bother buying Plumful again which I was planning on doing before I found this dupe.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other good dupes or what you think of this dupe. Thanks for stopping by! Lots of love,

twitter / instagram

Lust List #3

Hi everyone! I haven't done a lust list in a while so it's definitely time for a new one. 

I've wanted a new phone case for a while (even though 5Cs don't really need one, I could throw my phone into the Grand Canyon and it would come out without a scratch) and Iconemisis has some gorgeous ones, I love the pale blue colour and the print is also really pretty. I also love this terrarium from Asda (they have some stunning homeware bits), I'm particularly into homeware at the moment since I'll be moving out in September and want to get stuff to make my uni room feel less like a uni room. I don't know what I'd use it for (I can't actually put a plant in it, that would be madness) but I really love the look of it. The Sali Hughes Pretty Honest book is something I've wanted to read for ages and I think it'll look really nice on my shelves. I've never been that bothered about Velvet Teddy from Mac before but then I saw a blogpost that had a really gorgeous swatch and now I'm thinking maybe I do need it. Anyone? I also bought my sister a Charlotte Tilbury lipstick and I have never seen anyone go through a lipstick faster, which tells me I need one too, I just have no idea what colour to go for. In my Getting Back into Highlighter  post I said that I wanted the Mac Mineralise Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle, I just wish it wasn't £24. 

Two fashion items I'm lusting after at the moment are these Jamie jeans from Topshop in a corduroy fabric. Cords remind me of being about 10 years old but I think it would be an interesting texture to add to an outfit and a nice change from regular jeans. And the hunt for the winter coat has begun. I really like the colour of this one from Asos because it's not black which is usually what I go for. I'm just teetering on the edge of taking the plunge and ordering this before it sells out (again). 

Let me know if you already own anything on my lust list in the comments. Thanks for stopping by, lots of love,

twitter / instagram

Venice: Sights and Outfits

Venice is absolutely stunning. It can be extremely busy especially in the big tourist areas such as St Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge but if you go a bit further out the streets become really much calmer and it's just nice to stroll around or have a drink in a quiet square.

We also took a boat to Burano which was absolutely gorgeous. All the buildings are painted different colours and it's unlike anywhere I've been before.

I know these outfit photos are the worst in existence but I don't have a photographer boyfriend, what are you gonna do? 

I went to Venice for a week for my holiday and whilst I got some great shots of the scenery I got basically no good photos of the outfits I wore the whole week. The culottes are from Primark and they were a life saver! I think they were about £5 and I got them the day before I went. I wore them loads and don't know what I would have done if I hadn't got these at the last minute. The top is from H&M and I liked how it looked with the culottes. The dress is from Urban Outfitters and I love the shape and the pattern of the fabric. And lastly I have this jumpsuit from H&M. It's such a light fabric and has a nice shimmery-ness to it and I love it! Don't know when I'm going to wear it in England though. 

Now I've finished it this seems like the most pointless post in the history of blogs but I guess it's better than just having the photos sitting on my laptop! Hope you enjoyed seeing some of Venice and let me know in the comments if you've ever been. Lots of love,

twitter / instagram 

Review: Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in Eclat Clair (52?)

Today I thought I'd do a quick review of this concealer that I've been using lately. I'd never read any reviews of it before, I just bought it because it was 3 for 2 on Bourjois and I needed a new concealer. It's supposed to be an anti-fatigue concealer and is extremely yellow in colour so I only use it under my eyes as a brightener (they say to use yellow under your eyes, right?). However, my skin is quite pink toned so I think this concealer is a bit too yellow for me, if you look at my under eyes in this post you can see quite obviously that it's a different colour to the rest of my skin and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I think it would work better on someone with warmer undertones. 

The consistency is quite thick and if you put too much on it can be quite difficult to get it to blend in and it becomes a bit cakey. I try to be careful not to squeeze too much out but the packaging makes that a bit difficult. When it does blend in, it looks okay but it doesn't make the skin look flawless or particularly brightened or radiant and it's not a dewy finish at all.  It also doesn't offer that much coverage in my opinion which is weird considering the thicker consistency. I'll continue to use it so I'm not being wasteful but I probably won't buy it again after that. If you have quite dark circles it might be worth a try since it is the most yellow concealer I've seen in the drugstore but if you're going for coverage or perfected skin this wouldn't be my first recommendation. 

Sorry to be such a debby downer! Let me know if you're tried this concealer and what you thought of it in the comments :) Thanks for stopping by! Lots of love,

twitter / instagram 

Look of the Month ft. Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette

As mentioned in my current favourites post I've been loving the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette recently so thought I'd use it in a makeup look. The colours I used were the palest shade called Bitter Start all over the lid then Substitute for Love as my transition shade and then Freshly Toasted in the outer corner and the crease. Then a crap tonne of eyeliner and mascara as usual. I've been loving using a combination of Benefit Rockateur, Soap and Glory Solar Powder and the No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter (which doesn't show at all in these pictures). Then on my lips I've been using a new combination of the Body Shop Lip & Cheek Stain with the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in 04 Peach Club. The Body Shop stain is very pink whereas the Bourjois Lip Velvet is much more orangey. Together they make a really pretty coral-ly pink that goes really nicely with the warm tones in the eyeshadow. It's not a natural look but I love wearing loads of makeup so it's all good.

Products used: L'Oreal Infallible Matte Foundation, Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint and Pencil, Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette,  Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner, Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer, Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow, Benefit Rockateur Cheek Powder, Soap & Glory Solar Powder, No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter, The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Stain, Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in 04 Peach Club.

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by! Lots of love, 

twitter / instagram 

Current Favourites!

 I missed my monthly favourites last month because I was on holiday and lack any ability to plan ahead so I decided to do a current favourites now instead. (Don't know what I'm going to do when it comes to August favourites time- I told you I can't plan ahead). Here's what I've been enjoying recently...

Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette

When I'm not using my beloved Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro 2 Palette I've been loving using this palette. I was wearing it one day and I was at the queue in Home Bargains (don't know why the shop is important but I'll continue) and the lady serving me was looking at me really strangely. After a bit of awkward half smiling and nervously looking around (on my part) she asked me what eyeshadow I was wearing and I told her it was this palette. She even made me write down the name and where to get it on a bit of receipt. She ended up forgetting to charge me, I did go back and tell her but she said I had paid (I definitely hadn't). The moral of the story is that this eyeshadow palette might get you free lunch. Anyway I really love these eyeshadows, the only shades I don't use are the last two on the bottom row (the two that I've stabbed my nails in by accident). They're gorgeously buttery and a nice mix of shimmers and mattes. It's cheap too. 

 No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter

As mentioned in this post I have been getting back into highlighter and this has been my highlighter of choice (because it's the only one I own). It's the perfect shade for my skin tone and, although I have to quite careful to not apply it too heavily as it can disturb my foundation, I'm really enjoying the dewy look it gives.

Benefit Rockateur Cheek Powder

I had a £10 Boots giftcard that was burning a hole in my pocket (purse) and decided I would put it towards my first Benefit product. I went for the Rockateur blush because it's unlike any blusher I already own and my sister has this and it looks stunning on her. It's quite an autumnal shade, I'd describe it as a muted rose colour (lol such bullshit) with a shimmer to it, but with no chunks of glitter. I've pretty much said goodbye to my other blushers since buying this. However I wouldn't have bought this full price and I think considering the price it could be housed it something a bit better than cardboard. 

Nail Apothecary 04 Toughflex Base Coat Nail Treatment by Elegant Touch & Nail Apothecary 06 Gel Effect Top Coat by Elegant Touch

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but nail varnish will not stay on my nails. It chips within a day, I want to throw myself against a wall... it's not a fun time. My mum has the same problem so we decided one of us would buy a base coat and the other a top coat. I'd never seen these in Boots before so decided to give them a try and I absolutely love them. My nails aren't chipping after a day, they're not chipping after 2 days, they're lasting 3 or days! It's a miracle. I don't know if it's just one of them that's doing all the work but the combination of both is working so well for me and my mum too. 

Bourjois La Laque Nail Varnish in 7 Lycheers

Having a good base coat and top coat now means I can wear nail varnish and this colour from Bourjois is beautiful. It's the kind of colour I like to wear on my lips and it also looks stunning on the nails. The formula of this is also amazing. It only needs one coat because it's so opaque and the brush is thick but not too thick so it makes for incredibly easy application. It also dries really quickly which is a major plus. I have two other colours from this range which are a dark red and a bright red and I'll definitely be buying more from this range.

Fashionology Necklace

I have an obsession with anything with my initial on and I refuse to let Pretty Little Liars ruin it for me. This necklace was meant to be around £30 but I got it for about £10 in the sale and I love it. It might be slightly narcissistic to be so obsessed with my initial but I think it looks really cute. It's sterling silver which means I can wear it over and over again and never worry about tarnishing which is great. The chain is actually my own because the chain it came on was a bit chunky but the A is perfect.

I hope you liked this post! Thanks for stopping by, lots of love,

twitter / instagram