THE BUDGET BLACK LINER TRIO

Eyeliner has become a step in my daily makeup routine and after a few weeks to a month of consistent daily lining, my peepers look odd to me without the slightly winged, not too thick, black line of definition.

The Felt Tip Pen: This is my favourite option to go for of the three. I have totally got to grips with using the pen to do a line (pretty much even on both eyes, can I get a round of applause?), quickly in the morning and it stays all day. The felt-tip in question is the Barry M Blink Precision Eyeliner which costs something short of £5, so is totally bargainous. There is no doubt that I will be repurchasing this once it has dried out.

The Gel Pot: This is a new addition to the liner posse, but strictly speaking isn't actually designed to be a liner. This in fact is the Maybelline 24HR Color Tattoo in Timeless Black, but it is so pigmented, that once set, it almost doubles as a gel liner. Sometimes I am worried that it'll smudge being as it isn't actually a liner but I haven't had any issues yet. For £2 in the Boots clearance, it isn't bad at all.

The Pencil/Kohl: This is the option I am least familiar with, but this is one to go for when you want something a little more laid back or a bit more smudged out and sultry. This is the Avon Glimmerstick in Blackest Black, and this stuff is seriously pigmented. You have a short time after applying to smudge, move and wing this liner before it sets which is what I like about it. For £6 it isn't pricey either.

Three great liners at 3 budget prices, and I feel like my eye look is never complete without a slick of the stuff nowadays, and for just over £15 for the trio, you can't resist...

BRONZING UP

It would seem that we are all getting tired of the horrendous British weather now, and most of us are hoping for spring and summer to hurry up (I am more excited about the clothes shopping to be fair), and as a result of this I have been craving the bronzed look more often.

Before, I used to be a bit scared of bronzers, purely because I am so pale, but I have found some products that have been working for me without any orange tinge.

For a bronzing base, (I do want to get my hands on Bourjois' offering), the Too Faced Primed and Poreless Bronzing Primer has been doing pretty well for me. This adds a hint of tint, and makes your skin look healthy, while also smoothing out the skin.

Too Faced are also the brand in which one of my favourite bronzers has come from, which is the Poolside Primping Sun Bunny Bronzer, and this is slightly shimmery, but translates on the skin to something more sheeny. Watch out to not be too heavy handed with this one, as things can get a little overpowering at times.

A new addition to my collection is the Sheer Cover Sun-Kissed Bronzing Minerals in Light*, which is a trio of colours in one pan, starting light, and making its way to something darker. The middle shade is slightly more shimmery than the others, but the outer two still have a touch of sheen as well. This is a really natural looking one and I have been enjoying using this daily just around my cheeks and temples.

The final product is one that I talk about quite a lot here, but one which I am unsure of where it is available from. The Milani Sunset Duos in 01 Sunset City  is a duo that makes its way into my MUJI drawers almost weekly when I change things up. The blush is stunning, as is the bronzer alone, but when you swirl the two, and just put it on the cheeks, we have a gorgeous bronzey blush.

You obviously need a brush to apply your product, and the one in question is the Sheer Cover Bronzer/Blush Brush*, which is an angled brush which isn't too dense so you don't have any issues of your products looking heavy handed. I must also add that I love the 'packaging', a dark wood handle, with dark bristles - an instant 10/10 from me.

My next bronzer on the wishlist, The Body Shop Honey Bronzer... Oh Estée, you are an enabler and a half...

 

THE BUDGET BUY: MUA UNDRESSED PALETTE

I'm sure we have all heard of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes, but the question is, have you heard of the £4 supposed dupes? The MUA Undressed Palette is rumoured to be a dupe for the first installment in Urban Decay's range of palettes, and if the Undress Me Too and Naked 2 comparison of mine is anything to go by, this is a pretty darn good dupe.

Summed up in a sentence, this is a bargain palette of 12 neutral, warm shadows which are perfect for every day looks, but the darker shades allow for something a little more sumptuous and smokey on the lids, with 2 matte shades and the rest shimmery, this is multiple eye looks in one place.

There are no shade names, just numbers in the order that you go along from left to right. My particular favourites are; Shade 2 which is a pale shimmery champagne toned pink, Shade 4 which is a light brown shimmer, Shade 5 which is a warm medium brown matte (perfect for warming up the crease and defining), Shade 7 which is a super pigmented, slightly gold and coppery brown shimmer, Shade 8 which is a stunning olive-brown, and Shade 9 eased me into the red shadow look at the end of last year.

You can see by the swatch just how pigmented these shadows are, and it is especially impressive when you realise that these shadows come to under 35p a pan - bargainous or what?

Maybe not as great quality as the official Naked palettes, but the colours are almost identical from what I know, and the quality is outstanding for the price. When is the Naked 3 dupe coming out then MUA?

THE WET BRUSH

The Wet Brush* has certainly gained its spotlight in the beauty world recently, particularly after Lily and Anna's ravings about the tool. I've been trying it for a matter of days and I already know that it's love.

The concept is fairly basic; a normal looking hairbrush but with bristles specially designed to be used on wet (and dry) hair without causing as much damage to the hair as a normal brush would. I can't examine damage to my hair, but boy, does this brush glide through your hair, especially when it's wet.
I'm not sure about you, but when my hair is just fresh from being washed and in a towel for a while, it is a pain to brush through and I feel as though I am tugging so hard that most of my hair could snap off. With this though, I haven't had any experiences of the sort.

This is said to be even better than the Tangle Teezer, and that's a comparison I wish to make at some point, but for now I will stick with the other bloggers' word on the matter, and say that it probably is, because I simply can't imagine a brush being better than this one, and for only £6.95 a piece, I think I have found a winner.

A new favourite, and it seems to have already gained a place on the podium of hair tools in my collection...

ORIGINS CLEAR IMPROVEMENT MASK

I'm sure you all get tired of me complaining about how my skin is rather bad, but it seems that here we are again. But, I know most of you have heard the story (main characters: my face, and a ton of spots), sI ove I will just get onto the product that I have found to help me out a fair bit.

I love face masks, and when one promises clear skin, I'm all ears. The Origins Clear Improvement Mask has been on my wishlist for quite some time now, and when I got it in a trio last Christmas, I knew it would be love.

At first, I thought this would be a clay like mask, but when you squeeze it out and start applying the mask, it is like a thick gel, but then hardens after some minutes of waiting, but you don't get that cracking, clay effect which I actually like. I'm not sure whether this is meant to happen, or that my imagination has just run wild, but it almost feels a little warming on the skin once it is applied - correct me if I am wrong (I probably am).

The morning after using this, I feel like my skin looks much clearer. If you know me in person, you will know (Megan knows the best), that my skin looks much worse because I have awful scarring, and when you actually touch my face there are barely and bumps which is an annoyance. But this seems to reduce redness and the size of any spots I have and then any new scars (I have finally gotten over the fact that my old scars won't be going anywhere any time soon) and faded slightly too.

I think once I have finished this bottle, I will have to buy another, because using this weekly on Sundays just seems to get my skin ready for the upcoming week...

THE DRUGSTORE FOUNDATION BATTLE

For me, when it comes to bases, I have never ventured out into the high end area, because there are so many gems hidden in the high street/drugstore. I've put my 5 current bases into categories so hopefully you can find a foundation that is the best for you.

The Natural Base: In this category, I have 3 foundations which slot in. First up, probably one of my favourite foundations ever, which is Revlon Nearly Naked, which has a light-medium somewhat buildable coverage, that looks like skin, and is slightly dewy. I only have about 1-2 uses left out of this bottle so I'm holding onto it.
Then, we have Rimmel Match Perfection, which literally makes your skin look like silk. It is yet again a light coverage but can be built up to something a little heavier if you wish. The colour is a little dark, but because it is so natural looking, once blended down the neck it looks seamless.
The Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum is one that got everyone a little bit excited when people started to rave about it. This is another light-medium coverage but I find it easy to build this one if I need a touch more coverage. I'll briefly touch on the scent - its gorgeous. Fruity goodness which makes you want to smother it all over your face.

The Glow-Getter: It's safe to say that most of you will have known which bottle was going to be slotting into this category. If you guessed the orange-lidded, shimmery stuff which goes by the name of Rimmel Wake Me Up, you get a round of applause. This has mixed reviews, and I am sitting on the fence. It is shimmery, but I have yet to experience the Edward Cullen look. The colour is what puts me off, this is about 2 shades too dark for me, and being the lightest shade in the range - it's slightly disappointing.

The One for Coverage: Revlon Colorstay. This is my third bottle of the stuff, and being someone with bad skin I like this a lot. But, nowadays in some areas (I had a crazy 'dry skin everywhere' week recently), it looks a little too heavy, but maybe I'm just not blending it enough. But with an hours wear or so, I think it fades evenly and looks a much more natural, but maintains the coverage.

Which one will you be going for? I think the Bourjois Happy Light is next on my wishlist, Not that I'm in need of a stock up...

CURRENT HAIRCARE FAVOURITES

Recently, for me, haircare is where it's at. I never used to care about what I used, but due to the fact that I am way too many weeks late on my regular cut (I'm going in two weeks though), I have been paying more attention to what I use on it.

My hair is very thick, and so it often gets dry at the ends, so whenever I use heat on my hair I will always go for a protectant prior to the curling, blow drying etc. and that is where the Lee Stafford Blow Dry Your Hair Faster Spray comes into play. This detangles, protects from heat damage, and supposedly allows your hair to dry faster, and I really, really like this.

Sometimes my hair can look a little on the greasy front in between washes, and so I need to use something to banish the oil. I used to love Batiste, but I just fell like it is very powdery and whenever I touch my hair in the day I have the powdery residue everywhere. But, the Toni & Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo is brilliant, and I would like to purchase the full size when this is finished. Full marks for the sleek packaging too.

I'm not a hair spray person really; I don't like the smell, and I hate the crispy look, but when it comes to styling my hair I need some sort of hold in there to get me through the day without my hair going cray. This Toni & Guy Extreme Hold Hairspray gets the hold on point, but without and crisp of crunch, and doesn't smell like stereotypical hairspray either. This is another that I would love to get my hands on the full size.

FInally, to banish my pesky dry and lacklustre ends, I use the got2b Oil-licious Tame & Shine Styling Oil religiously and it makes my hair feel like silk. I either apply this on damp hair after towel-drying it, or when it's dry, and sometimes if my hair is feeling extremely dry, I slather it on in both situations. This also has a lovely scent to it, and is a thin texture so your hair soaks it up, and you aren't left with any residue.

My next item on the wishlist? A good, deep conditioning hair mask, and a dry texturising/volumising spray...

UPPING THE MOISTURE

Even being an combination skinned gal, I love to amp up the hydration more recently than I ever used to, and my skin most definitely thanking me for it - shout out to Megan for complementing my skin while in our Business lesson. These are the products that have been seeing me through winter with that extra helping of moisture...

After reading my rave review the other week, I think you all know how I feel about the Origins Drink Up Intensive Masks, and these have been my ultimate go-to for any time when my skin is feeling a little lacklustre and needs some plumping, nourishing action.

For a cleanser, the Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm* has been seeing me through the dull skin days (this 10ml mini is almost out), and you can almost feel your skin drinking up the moisture as you massage it into the skin - I feel a full size purchase coming on...

Then, there is the Dr Jart + Most Moist Water Sure Gel, which basically has the same function as Hydraluron in a pot in my eyes. I use this daily under my moisturiser. It is packed with hyaluronic acid which just does the best job at holding in all the moisture it can (it is known for holding 1000x its weight in water), and my skin has really been seeing the difference. I think that once this is run out, I will purchase the full size.

Finally, I have the Akin Unscented 24HR Moisture* which is a moisturiser that I use lightly in the day to offer hydration and a good base for my makeup, and then I apply it a little more generously in the evenings and I find it still offers enough hydration to last me throughout the night.

If you have any moisture boosting companions, so let me know in the comments... I am always open to new members in the skincare cupboard...