THE NATURAL BLUSHES

I spotted in Bazaar Magazine whilst flicking through (believe me, it's hard to find a page without adverts, but I got to the beauty bit with no issues), that the 'natural blush' look is becoming more popular; from the wise words of Charlotte Tilbury, so I had a root around in my stash, and found a trio that slot into the 'natural' category to create my own version of the look of being out for a walk on a chilly day...

One that has been featured in my posts quite a lot recently, is the Dainty Doll Cream Blush in Paper Roses 001 - A pale pink with a hint of silver shimmer, which allows you to create a delicate flush to the cheeks, with the swipe of your finger. My favourite for the no makeup, makeup days. This often pops up on Fragrance Direct, so be sure to have a stop by to get your mitts on this beauty.
Next up, is the Rimmel Lasting Finish Blush in Smoked Oyster, a peachy/brown which isn't quite the pink shown in the magazine, but nonetheless, it gives that very natural apporach to the cheeks. I even like to place this one on the brink between the cheek, and my contour line as an all-in-one product to look even more natural.
Finally, the Milani Sunset Duos in 01 Sunset City. I featured this one mainly for the blush section, which is stunning, a more natural and toned down version of the Sleek Rose Gold offering, if you will, this one being more pink than the red in the Sleek one. Swept lightly over the cheek, this gives a subtle hint of a flush to the apples.

I think a natural blush should be a staple in everyone's collection, and I have my fair share of them, with 75% of my blush collection being pale pinks, peach tones, or brown nudes, with the odd few being more stand-out, but I am still on the lookout for more.

MAKING SAVINGS ON TOOLS

I'm sure every beauty blogger out there dreams of the Shu Uemura lash curlers, but our purses - not so much. In the same way, of course we all hope to get our mitts on a MAC Brow comb, but it's not realistic either. Although my options may not be equal in quality, they serve me well and I am going to share my thoughts anyway.

If you want a brow comb, and you have finished/dislike a cheap mascara, give the wand a clean. This will be your new brow comb, without the price tag. The one I use is from a Natural Collection mascara, which wasn't the best, but it does a jolly old job of combing though those brows. In the same way, grab a cheap clear mascara and use it as a brow gel, instead of paying £15 for the same product with a brand name on it.

Lash curlers. The torture device look-alike. Primark sell these ones for £1-£2 with a replacement of the rubber pad to make sure you don't cut those lashes off, not a finest moment to pin in the photo album. Although the pricier ones will no doubt work a bit better, for someone like myself on a budget , they serve me well, and should do until I have the money for new ones. You can even get No.7 or Models Own ones from the likes of Boots, for under a tenner, instead of the £20+ high end ones.

I know most of us are probably brand snobs, but it doesn't hurt to make a few savings here and there, I know I do, and I feel pretty good about it. No-one likes an empty purse, with a 2p coin and a staggering receipt lingering at the bottom.

THE WATERPROOF MASCARA TRIO

If I see a mascara I want, I will be opting for the waterproof version whenever there is one. It isn't that I have oily lids or problems with smudging all that much, it is more like a security blanket for if I get a bit hot, or if I am caught out with the occasional  frequent downpours we get. I have been trying out this triad for a few weeks now, and it has come to reviewing day. 

Maybelline The Rocket has been the second mascara I have tried from the brand, after finishing my Falsies one. This used to be my #1 mascara, but I have realised that there are better. For those clump free, fluttery, long lashes, this is one to go for, but for volume, this mascara lacks - and trust me, I have wiggled that brush through my lashes, layered it, the lot, I tried. It is a trustworthy waterproof though, if that's what you are after, and still isn't the worst of the ones I have tried in my time. 

An offering from Collection (previously known as Collection 2000), is the Skylash Mascara in Waterproof. This is one that you can also find in Poundland, as it has been rebranded numerous times - if you like this, stock up at these times. This one adds that bit of volume missing from The Rocket, and also adds some length. This can be a very 'wet' mascara when you first open it, so be sure you wipe away the excess before you look like you have applied it with a paintbrush. 

My current favourite from the clan is the CoverGirl Volume Exact Waterproof option. Now, I don't know what I am going to do when this runs out, because I found it in TkMaxx, so I am assuming it is discontinued, and we don't have the rest of the CoverGirl selection here in the UK. I am crossing my fingers and my toes that this appears in another TkMaxx somewhere, because I am starting to adore this one. The packaging is another story though, reminding me of something you may find buried at the bottom of you Nan's collection, but in the end it's whats inside that counts.

Mascaras are one product I use every day, so my share of the latter is growing all the time. Just wait, in a few months time I will have a 'Take Two' of this post. 

 

THE BATTLE OF THE BALM STAINS

Balms, Stains, Chubby Sticks, Crayons, whatever you want to call them - they are everywhere.

I've tried my share, across 3 brands, and it would be rude not to compare them. They are all over a range of prices, starting at £3 up to £7.99, ticking everyone's boxes.

Starting off, we have the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey - £7.99. My first ever balm stain product was this, and I fell in love with it - as demonstrated by the 'nub' stage I have on this one. This is the wearable option of them all, as these balm stains are meant to be long lasting, and 'stain' the lips, a quality we all desire in a bright. I wear this at least once a week, I am in love. Lasting power wise, this does stain, but isn't drying, and fades naturally so you don't have that dodgy-lip-liner-style pout.

Second, we have the Rimmel Colour Rush in On Fire - £5.99. This is the most recent purchase of the chubby sticks. I am a little bit scared of red lips, but the cherry tone in this one is gorgeous. I have been wearing this lots on the weekends, I adore it for a bright. The texture and lasting power side of things, this is the closest I have gotten to a Revlon one, and they are £2 cheaper, not a major saving, but I will definitely be getting more. They smell nicer too, I used to be a fan of the Revlon scent...but now it has dawned on me that there is nicer.

Finally, we have the MUA Power Pout in Justify - £3. I have another one of these, but they aren't my favourite. They don't stain like the Revlon or Rimmel, as they wear off a lot and are more like a lip balm. They are quite pigmented, but not so much as the others. They taste a bit funny too, like the Sleek Pout Polish I own, the vanilla is almost a bit plastic tasting. If you want something that isn't going to break the bank, the colour selection is nice too, then these are an option if you want to try out the (not so)new lip crayon trend. 

Lip crayons play a big part in my lip product collection, and they are the easiest thing to use when you want to be quick and long lasting. After writing this, I am very tempted to run to Boots and try some other brands, Bourjois, 17, and even the Clinique Chubby Sticks if I can fork out - or maybe I can divert to the eye crayons. 

 

 

MY CREAM BLUSH/CHEEK TRIO

Cream blush...? If you asked me a year ago, cream 'anything for your face'  bar eyeshadows were my 'steer clear' product. I don't really know why, I guess I just had a bad application once and decided they were planning to attack me or something, I don't know. 
The bond has been built and my adoration for cream blush has grown, not that I don't have enough cheek products as it is, I want more. 
 I'll give you a quick tour of my cream products and 'the low down' on what I like... or not.

My collection of cream products, judging by the picture, is looking somewhat feeble, but I plan to change that, no matter how much my purse doesn't feel the same.

One of the favourites from them all is the Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush in the shade Coral Reef. If you want a blush that is easy to blend, not too noticeable (it goes against what it looks like in the pan), and something for quick, everyday wear, this is one to go for - especially if you are a little bit afraid of cream blush.

The Topshop Cream Blush Duo in Up in the Air - This is one of the first cream blushes I can recall buying, after Christmas in the sale season - about 6 months after I really got into beauty... 6 months it took me to buy a cream blush!? This one is the most pigmented of the bunch, and has a very creamy texture. I wore this one religiously in the summer.

Then we have the Dainty Doll Cream Blush in Paper Roses - this is a perfect blush for those 'no makeup, makeup days'. It is so natural but can also be built up if you want to look a little more pinched. The fine silver shimmer through this compliments the pale pink so well and prevents you looking overly Barbie.

Up next is the ELF  HD Blush in the shade Superstar. This is a weird one, it is very, very dark and hard to control how much you apply. This requires some shaking as well, otherwise you end up with a separated product and an oily mess all over your face/hands. It is a good product when you use it properly, but for me, I find it a bit too much, I will have to look at the other colours instead.

Last but not least - or maybe least - we have the Rimmel Wake Me Up Shimmer Touch in Shimmering Sand. It isn't a blush, I know, I know, but I'm not sure what it is. A highlight/radiance esque product, but far too dark to do any sort of highlight work. I have mixed this in with foundation one or two times, and it works a little better, but otherwise it is a bit naff.

Cream blush... A product I would never go near, and now one of my favourite cheek products to use. I think a trip to Boots is due for me (I went yesterday, but shhh), and I can stock up.

Lauren x

                                              

My Top Summer SPF Lip Products

Hi guys!

So I think here in the UK it is actually safe to call it summer, and with all this sunshine,  I need to whip out some SPF. I also have a lot of lip products and balms with SPF in them too, so I thought I would share my favourites with you. By the way, I am likely to be holding a Blog Sale (yay!) early next week so please let me know if this is something you are interested in. 

Lets get onto the products!

The first product I love is this lip balm with SPF 15. It is from the brand 'UltraSun' and the lipbalm itself is called UltraLip. The company specialise in sun protection, and so I always know that this is a reliable one to keep with me when it's hot. It doesn't have any colour, and it is extremely moisturising on the lips, especially if they have got a little sore from the sun, this will soothe that a bit too. 

Another lip balm with SPF that I love is the Strawberry ChapStick. This only has SPF10 but it still is better than none at all. It has a lovely scent, which bearing in mind I do not like artificial strawberry scents at all, this must be good in some way. It doesn't apply really much colour at all, but if you put a lot of this on you will get a slight tint to the lips. 

Although I really do not like the taste of the Sleek Pout Polishes, they give a nice pigmented colour to the lips and also provide you with sun protection, so sometimes the taste has to be forgotten. This one is in the shade Powder Pink and is the only one I own, and one day I hope they will change the formula so they taste better and then I can buy some more, as they are really good products!

Finally, one of my absolute favourites is the Malibu Lipcare mint flavoured lip balm. This is a lovely moisturising and thick lip balm with a long lasting softening effect on the lips - I do not have to apply this very often at all compared to some lipbalms. This one also has the highest SPF so whilst it has been really hot I have been slathering this on.

So, they were my favourite lip products with SPF in for summer, let me know yours in the comments, as I love to buy more! (I am a lipbalm addict haha!). 

Also, don't forget to let me know if you are interested in me having a blog sale, as I think it may be up at the weekend or Monday!

Thanks for reading! Lauren x

My large advertiser this month is www.thebestmakeupproducts.com If you are interested in advertising on this blog visit the Sponsor and Advertisers pages on my blog. 

My New Makeup Storage/My Collection

Hi guys!

As a beauty blogger, my makeup collection is rapidly increasing, through PR samples, or just purely my growing obsession for all things beauty related. This means, I am outgrowing my storage space, and MUJI nor Ikea Alex units are within my small teenage budget, and so I was holding on for a long time until I found something that I could add to when my collection grows or that would keep me going for a long time.

The 2 units I actually found were in WHSmiths, each £14.99 or 2 for £22.50 (Buy one get one half price!), and are amazing quality and have enormous amounts of space. They match with the monochrome w/ purple theme of my room too, so just an extra bonus! - what a ramble of an intro, grab a cuppa, because at this rate this post is going to be a long one! I also used the DSLR today, so the pictures are super good quality - yay!

So, this is the makeup storage area. It makes my collection look a lot more condensed than it actually is (until you open a drawer!), and looks very tidy. I have some fake Ikea flowers in an Ikea vase for decoration, and my 'Tatty Teddy' sits on the other end, to fill some space. I have all my brushes on top. The purple cups are from Instore/Poundstretcher and one contains the eye brushes and one contains face brushes. The cup in the middle is from the range and contains my Real Techniques brushes (only 4 so far, but soon to expand), and also some cleaned mascara wands for eyebrow combs.

In the very first drawer, you can see that I have all of my lipglosses. This I have some MUA, Sheercover, A 'Cocktail Kiss' which I have hardly ever used, a mini Urban Decay one, and some others too.

The next drawer along holds all of my GOSH Soft 'n' Shine lip balms at the back (I have 8) and then at the front you see my 2 Anatomicals lip balm/glosses, and then a GOSH Lip Marker, and then my 3 Balm-Stain/chubby stick items, 2 MUA one Revlon - which is soon to grow too! By the end of this post, I think my makeup collection is destined to triple...

As you all most definitely know, I have an addiction of some sort to lipbalms. This isn't even all of my collection of lipbalms, but it is most of them. I have some staples in there like 2 Vaselines (the Rosy Lips one is further back) and also an SPF one, by UltraLip/UltraSun.

So,  this is my lipstick drawer. At the front I have my Sleek Pout Polish and an ELF lip colour, and 2 Rimmel lip liners. Then at the front row, I have my 5 Rimmel lipsticks which I love, and then you see some MUA, quite a few Avon, and some other brands like Natural Collection and Sally Hansen.

Here you can see that this drawer is the home to by cream and powder blushes, along with a Sleek Face Form somewhere, and a GOSH Giant Sun Powder, which I am not a fan of. But I have my favourites there, and I am really loving the creams when the weather is like it is at the moment. I also have a few of the MUA Powder blushes as they are just bargainous.

So onto one of the most full up drawers, the face products. In a little cardboard thing (from a simple moisturiser wrapped in paper haha), I have my concealers. I don't actually have that many, but my favourites are the Collection Lasting Perfection ones and a SheerCover duo I have. I also have my powders, and then some primers at the back but I rarely use them, because they are mostly silicone based and that doesn't work with my skin. I then have some other bits 'n' bobs at the back which aren't very well loved to be honest.

I'm a mascara hoarder. That's the best way I can explain this. I have 2 minis in the back, which are hard to see, so that gives me a grand total of 8 mascaras, why... I don't know. I can't help it. Even if I don't like one I still have it tucked away in this drawer - the worst thing is, I threw a couple away a few weeks back. I'm sorry. I shall not buy a new one until at least 2 have ran out.

Primers and liners. I have the Dainty Doll Frankie Girl eyeshadow base at the back, and then the MUA eye primer. The rest is a stash of liners, though I barely ever use them. Saying that, I do want to purchase some more of the MUA Extreme 3 in 1 contour liners, as they are really nice and are only £1.50 a pop.

 I once got sent a huge batch of eye serums and creams, and I have 4 of them in here, still waiting to be used more than just a small time for reviewing purposes. I also have a moisturiser there which I never use and also a mini Clarins facial SPF/Moisturiser to try.

Shadows. Mono's or duo's live in here. I have some favourites like my ELF 'Pebble' one, and my Rimmel ones, and an old friend which is a simple duo from NYC. I like to wear shadow most days, and this way I can see lots of them which allows me to try out more of them. I also really like the MUA ones which are bargainous at £1 each.

Miscellaneous (is that spelt right?!) drawer. Everyone needs one. I normally keep my H&M beauty blender dupe in here, but it was elsewhere when the picture was taken. I have cotton pads and Q-Tips and then some blotting sheets, nail files, and then some sharpeners for pencils. This drawer is a necessity - I always have these things lying around and now they are controlled and condensed into a drawer. 

The final drawer (at last!), contains all of my eye palettes and larger quads.I have the well loved Naked 2 palette on display there, and then my MUA dupe. I also have 2 SheerCover palettes which I love. I also have 2 GOSH quads in there somewhere and some random ones too. This is one of the drawers which I really love, as I love palettes, for a grab and go look. 

So, that is my makeup collection, and this post literally has taken me 3 days to write! So I will be back with my next post soon, and hopefully I won't keep you waiting for as long!

Bye, 

Lauren x

My large advertiser this month is www.thebestmakeupproducts.com if you are interested in advertising on this blog visit the Sponsor and Advertisers page on my blog. 

My Everyday Makeup Products | Youtube Video

Hi guys! I have recently been considering doing some youtube videos that have my face in them. This is my first on this channel, and it would be great if you guys could leave some nice comments and subscribe to my channel. I'm going to see how the response is with this video and then decide whether I should do weekly/half weekly videos as a routine - it takes a lot of work you know!

Thanks guys, I hope I see you all there on my subscribers list!

Lauren x

 

 

 

 

Winged Out EOTD

Hi guys!

So, I may sound a little overexcited in this post, as I am very hyper after just managing to pick up my own pair of disco pants from Primark! Eeep! So, yeah. That happened.

 I will be doing some upcoming posts on ways I wear my disco pants, and also I may be doing a comparison between Topshop ones (belonging to Megan) and my Primark ones at some point.

Onto todays post.

I have always been a fail at applying winged liner, because I don't have a proper eyeliner that works. I saw on a youtube video that you could use some mascara and an angled brush to create the wing, and thats what I did!

For my brows, I used Tease from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. For the liner, I used Blackout from the same palette, and then went over it with and angled brush and Maybelline the Falsies Waterproof. On the waterline I used a Bourjois Smokey Effet liner in Sparkling Granite, which is a navy glittery liner, but the glitter doesn't show too much. I also used some of the Avon Glimmerstick in Blackest Black over it to deepen it up. For actual mascara, I used the Sheer Cover Extra Length Mascara in Black/Brown, which I find does an AMAZING job of adding length.

As a base, I used the MUA Pro Base Eye Primer, which I love. Then for my base colour I used Bootycall from the UD Naked 2 palette, and then I used a teeny tiny amount of Suspect on the outer third. I then worked a small amount of Tease into the crease, to add slight dimension. To line the lower lashline, I used Half Baked - a strong gold shimmer, which I thought completed the entire look. I saw on a post Megan did, which invlolved gold on the lower lashline, and I am now obsessed with it myself.

So, thats all for todays post... well, there was actually quite a lot there if I am honest!

What eye products have you been loving recently?

Thanks for reading,

Bye!