BOBBI BROWN TINTED EYE BRIGHTENER

I'm sure I have mentioned more than enough times but I have serious under eye woes, and whether I sleep for 1 hour or 12 hours they are always a bit dark and with puffy bags and I have tried my fair share of concealers, brighteners and more in an attempt to banish them and although I still haven't found the perfect product, this comes pretty close.

I have the shade Porcelain which is actually a bit light for me, but seems to enhance the brightening effect even further. It is quite a light consistency, making it ideal for under the eyes and I have never found this to crease of me at all so huge points there. It blends seamlessly and just seems to lighten up the under eye area with such ease.
I think when buying this you have to bear in mind that this is a 'tinted' product, it isn't designed to work like the heavy duty corrector, but certainly doesn't go unnoticed when you use it - it has become an essential part of my daily makeup routine. Not everything is covered but sometimes using something a little more correcting with this over the top is a nice idea, or just this alone when you are looking for a more fresh faced look.

I picked this up in a CCO for £13.75 which was an amazing price, but I probably wouldn't have an issue with repurchasing at the full price of £20. I do really like the Kiko Natural Concealer but this is a nice high end alternative and if you want to try something without buying the full on corrector if you under eyes aren't such a huge issue (or even if they are, like mine), I really recommend this.

If you have tried any holy grail status under eye products, let me know as I am always open for adding a few more to the makeup bag...

ORIGINS CLEAN ENERGY CLEANSING OIL

I do enjoy a good oil cleanser, there's always something about the whole process of cleansing with them that I really love, and my skin seems to be thankful whenever I use them as well. I've had this for well over a month now and I thought it'd be a good time to write a review now I've gathered my thoughts about it.

The scent isn't brilliant, but nothing I absolutely hate, just quite a natural scent. I use this as my second cleanse after a micellar water/eye makeup remover to remove the majority of makeup, and massaging this onto dry skin seems to be the way to get the best results.

I often find that using cleansing oils helps fade scarring, not this one so much but I have seen a slight difference. This doesn't leave a greasy residue nor does it strip the skin - it genuinely leaves the perfect nourished balance to the skin, which is why I love it so much, and I would say that it could work for pretty much all skin types.

I got this in a CCO so didn't pay full price, but I am fairly tempted to do so when it runs out as I use it morning and night as a staple step of my skincare routine and can't imagine life without it (a bit dramatic perhaps), but I have been really enjoying its stay on my skincare shelf.

Do you have any recommendations for cleansing oils for when this runs out?

 

REVLON COLORBURST BALM STAINS

Since my early days of blogging, the Revlon Colorburst Balm Stains (previously known as the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains) were a firm favourite of mine, with Honey even reaching a holy grail status at one point. I treated myself to a trio on my flight home from Madrid for £16 (bargain)  and so thought I would revisit them for a full review.

I have three shades; Sweetheart, Rendezvous and Honey, all of which have become staple colours for me. Sweetheart is a bright pink, one I will be getting a ton of use out of in the summer months, and Rendezvous is a classic orange colour that actually suits me really well and fulfills my wants of an orange lip colour. Honey is a classic neutral mauve pink colour, that if applied too generously can look a bit ancient but with experience you get the right balance.

The formula is what I love, they apply so easily to the lips, and I never have any trouble with bleeding or uneven fading. These really do stain, so when that slight glossiness (which can be blotted down if you aren't feeling the sheen) has faded, you are still left with the strong colour - even my holy grail eye makeup remover struggles to get this off my lips sometimes.

I am looking to get my mitts on the rest of the collection, as well as trying out the Matte and Lacquer offerings which I am leaving too late to purchase (note: must go to Boots), so that I can compare the formulas...

THE PRIMER COLLECTION

Using a primer is often a step that I miss out in my makeup routine, because I have struggled for a while now trying to find the perfect one, and sometimes I'm just too lazy. I do however have quite the compilation of primers so I thought I would categorize them and ramble.

BRIGHTENING: So, we all have dull skin days at times and on those of mine I quite enjoy the Bourjois Luminous Serum Primer, which doesn't have any shimmer in, but just seems to make the face look radiant. It really is glowy skin in a bottle, and although it doesn't help with longevity it is worth it for the glow.

SMOOTHING: Smoothing primers tend to be quite heavily silicon based at times so I do often experience breakouts after using them. The first is a love hate relationship primer; the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer, which is really smoothing, and keeps makeup on all day (I like to use it just on oily areas when I am using BB Cream or glowier bases), and I have just got back into using it so I will report back if I get any breakouts. I also have the Proactiv Smoothing Primer but I don't use it too often as it smooths but doesn't help with longevity all that much.

BRONZING: In the summer when you want to rack up the tan or in the winter when you are fed up of your pale skin, a bronzing primer is always a good'un to have in your stash. My personal favourite is the Bourjois Bronzing Primer which I also like to use over foundation around the outer areas of the face and on the cheekbones for an extra glow. I also like the Too Faced Primed and Poreless Tinted Primer as it is almost a mix of the Bourjois and Smashbox primers in one.

This post has actually inspired me to use my primers more often, we'll see how it goes tomorrow morning aye?

HOLIDAY BEAUTY HAULING

First thing first (I'm the realest - I joke), you may be wondering why I haven't posted for almost a week, well, I was in Madrid soaking up the sun and hitting up the sights (as well as the shops), and now I am reporting back with a haul whilst trying to inspect whether I tanned or not.

Megan and I were on the hunt for a Sephora from day one and although I didn't get too much it was nice to experience a Sephora for the first time and pick a few bits. The first was the Sephora Honey Fiber Mask which I used the day I got it, and really want to try more sheet masks now. I also picked out a Soothing Facial Mist for the face as it was very hot which kind of made me buy it immediately, as well as buying the Waterproof Eye Maker Remover as the one I took with me on the trip was frankly awful. Last but not at all least from Sephora was Nails Inc Porchester Square, the cult classic, or 'hero shade' which cost me a tiny 6 euros - it would be stupid to leave it.

In Zara I got the Woman Cherry Perfume which smells so good, and for a 50ml bottle it only cost me 4.95 euro, and yet again it was a bargainous find. In a shop called Tiger which I think is in the UK too, I got some eyelash curlers and a spoolie for a euro a piece so I look forward to giving them a go. The rings aren't beauty but I got them from Bershka (as well as some other clothing... fashion haul?)

Finally, I spent the some left over money from the In Flight magazine, and chose the Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain/Just Bitten Kissable trio, containing Honey, Sweetheart and Rendezvous. I already had Honey but it was looking a little worse for wear and in need of a replacement, and I previously had my eye on one called Lovesick but Sweetheart is fairly similar and Rendezvous is just a nice summer addition to the lip collection and I don't really own many orange lip colours.

So, perhaps I need to refrain from spending for a while, as I do need to save for a trip to America later this year (hitting up the makeup shops once again), so perhaps a full spending ban is on the cards...