BEST 5 OF 2013: EYES

Another 'best of 2013' again today. I promise there is one more to come after this, and that will be the lip installment, and after that, you can escape from me praising categorised products day in, day out.

First up, the ELF Single Eyeshadow in Pebble has been gaining daily wear from me this year, not only for crease definition, but this is the perfect shade for my brows, not too red, not too ashy.

A little cheat here from me, this is MAC Bare Study Paint Pot which I only just bought in the last month of the year on my birthday, but it is just simply too good not to include. It's the perfect base, or the best option to sweep over the lid in a hurry, and it even looks good with the next product on the menu...

Maybelline 24HR Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze. How many times have you hard about this guy over the year. There is even a little bit of pan-hitting going on in this now, and that goes to say something good about a cream eyeshadow. This, just over the lid, with minimal blending, is an entire eye look in a pot, and I blimmin' love the stuff. Expect more praise for this one throughout this year too.

The Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette has been my eye shadow best friend throughout the year. All the prettiest neutrals packed into a sleek palette, buttery soft on the lids, and blendable too, what more could you want? This palette is giving me the itching to buy the first offering of the Naked Palettes and maybe eyen the third... Who knows what this year holds. 

Finally, the Too Faced Lash Gasm Mascara has managed to sneak it's way into this post. I was wanting to include a mascara, and this was the best of the ones I own. My only gripe is that it isn't waterproof, but I can get used to it I guess, because this does some pretty good stuff to my lashes.

What have your lids been sporting this year?

 

THE BROW MAINTENANCE

Eyebrows. There's been the over plucked, the bushy, the 5 shades too dark, the non existent brows (shaven off), and the invisible brows, and many people struggle to find the level in between, but I think I have found my brow preference. As seen in Bazaar Magazine, strong, slightly masculine brows are in now, and after having my brows a little too thin for a while, they are looking a tad thicker, and I am liking it.

It is a question of finding the right colour for your brows, whether this is a powder shadow, a pencil, or a gel. There's the whole 2 shades lighter, two shades darker statement, but for me as a individual, I would much prefer the trial and error method, and my preferred shadow is ELF Pebble, a slightly ashy, dark but still a little warm toned brown, that it isn't too red, nor too dark and grey. It works fabulously in the crease too, so it is a win, win.

Secondly, whether you have a stray hair here and there, or a full on bushy mess, a brow gel is your best friend. This £1 MUA Clear Mascara keeps the bushiness at bay, whilst also keeping all the colour from the last step in place. Beware, it'll get a little murky throughout it's life, so not one for displaying on the vanity I'm afraid.

Throw in some tweezers, I opt for the budget friendly Boots Tweezers and they seem to do the plucking job okay. Also, a handmade spoolie-comb to brush through them is an essential, and whatever else you choose. Darn, I wish we had mini eyebrow razors at easy access like you US ladies...

 

My Favourite Top 3 Spring Lip Products!

Hi everyone! Another spring post again, and this one is about lip products so I will just jump straight into it?



Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in £7.99



This was purchased when Revlon were selling all of their lip products for £5 each, and I will tell you now I most certainly do not regret buying this. Similar to the Clinique Chubby Sticks, this is a product which I think is worth the place in your makeup bag. This can be used all over the lip, or blended from the center outwards to give a natural 'plump' look. I like both.

GOSH Soft and Shine Lip Balm in Barbie £0.99 in a clearance!?

 This is a really great product for spring. It is a very very pigmented tinted balm, which is super moisturising and not too brightly coloured, but it definitely does have a 'pop' to it when it is on the lips. The only downside I have of these are that they melt and break easily, so try not to keep them in a pocket or in sunlight, and if it does happen, leave it in the fridge or freezer for a few hours.

ELF Conditioning Lip Balm in Mellow Melon £3.75

It's always great to have a conditioning product in summer and spring, and even more importantly, one with SPF in it, SPF 15 in this case. The thought of sunburn lips makes me shudder, and a chapped lip makes me cringe. This little gem takes control of those two things whilst portraying a stunning sheer wash of colour on the lips. Such a good buy!

 

So, those are my top 3 spring lip products, let me know what yours are in the comments, I am going to Boots tomorrow, and a couple of other shops so if I think I should get something you recommended, I will! :)

Thanks for reading, don't forget to follow me on GFC and Bloglovin' (buttons to the right) and also on twitter - www.twitter.com/thebeaubow :)

Bye! Lauren x

ELF HD Blush in Superstar - Swatches and Review

Hi everyone! As you may know about 3 weeks ago ELF cosmetics were doing a BOGOF offer on all studio products. You have seen my haul post when the things arrived with small reviews on each, but now I have chosen to go back and do a full review on each product.

 This is a cream blush in a pump form. This one is a little dark though, as it is the second shade they have. I originally wanted the lightest one, but it was out of stock, as quite a lot of things are when there are offers on like this one was.

 

Grassy Product Shot. Superstar - £3.75

 Although it is dark, I find it is really easy to blend and it is very workable. For £3.75 a pop, you can’t really complain. I did find that when this came in the post it had separated a little, but a shake got rid of that and it was totally fine and useable!

 

Ooh pretty. A little more pink in real life though. :)

Superstar is a bright coral/red based pink, with no shimmer from what I see. It gives the skin a real glow and I absolutely love it! This is going to be great for the summer when you don’t want to be applying tons of matte powder products.

 Do you have any elf products? I absolutely love this one! When there is next an offer on I will be getting some more things I think!

 Thanks for reading, don’t forget to follow me on GFC and Bloglovin’ (buttons to the right) and also twitter: www.twitter.com.thebeaubow J

Bye! Lauren x

 

ELF Studio Shimmer Palette Swatch + Review

GUESS WHO FINALLY HAS INTERNET!

Hi everyone! Another ELF Review for you today! I love ELF makeup, some don’t but I think the studio range is great. This little thing caught my eye whilst I was having a little splurge during the BOGOF offer. It is such a versatile product; it can be used on the face for a stunning dewy glow, on the eyes as a base or wash of colour, and on the lips to define and give more shape. It’s great! The creams are super pigmented and have a very smooth and lightweight touch.

Product Shot.

Swatches.

 For £3.75 to get 4 stunning creams (white, champagne, peach and pink) and a cute little brush to apply them, you can’t really go wrong! It is something really fun to experiment with and a good item to carry around with you, to save space of lots of individual powder products.

In summer, I love to wear cream products rather than caking on the powders. Do you? What is your favourite cream blush? I love the Topshop ones and would love to try some more!

Once again, thanks for reading, and don’t forget to follow me on GFC and Bloglovin’ (buttons to the right) and also on twitter – www.twitter.com/thebeaubow Tweet me anything you like!

Bye! Lauren x

ELF Cosmetics Haul

HI everyone! The other week me and Megan took advantage of the BOGOF offer on ELF Cosmetics. We each got some lovely things and I wanted to briefly show you the things I purchased. I was going to post induvidual posts on these things, but let me know if you would like to see more detailed posts after reading this with some swatches too? 

(This post is a little picture heavy, but everyone loves a good product shot!

Product Shot of the 5 items I purchased. Lovely!

So there are the 5 things I bought. So now onto the induvidual pics of everything I got in more detail!

By the way? How do feel about my pictures being larger? Do you still think the quality is OK? I was inspired to make mine larger after seeing how great Megan's posts looked with larger images!

Studio Conditioning Lip Balm SPF 15 £3.75 in the shade Mellow Melon

So, the first thing that made me lust after this product was the colour. I loved how summery it looked, but I knew that it would be wearable and sheer at the same time! The packaging is a little bit bulky, as the plastic around the sides is a little bit larger than needed. Kind of like the Maybelline Colour Tattoo packaging. Melon is a favourite fruit of mine so I guess the name enticed me in too.

Studio Single Eyeshadow £3.75 in the shade Pebble

So this is the next thing I bought. I knew I needed this as soon as I saw the product image, and then I googled some swatches, and I fell in love a little bit. It's a dark taupe/chocolatey colour, with a tiny bit of shimmer, but so little that it looks matte. I would say a satin finish is the best way to describe this little gem. Lasting power is pretty good, and the pigmentation is more than decent.

Studio Shimmer Palette £3.75

So this product looked pretty interesting when I was reading about it. It claimed that you could use this on your face, eyes, and lips, and I thought it would be handy to have such a versatile product in my collection. The texture is different to what I expected it to be, its very smooth to touch and feels very 'thin' but is still excellently pigmented.

Studio HD Blush £3.75 in the Shade Superstar.

I had seen these being blogged about for a while now and I really wanted to try one out. The lightest shade that I wanted was called 'headliner' but that was sold out, but considering there was an offer on it would be rude not to buy one to try! When I first opened this product, I was left with oil on my hand, but a good shake was the solution to this issue! I think this blush will be a staple in my collection this season!

Studio Pressed Powder £3.75 in the shade Porcelain

This product was a little bit deceiving. This powder is the lightest shade, but in real life it's quite dark! Translucent powder please elf?

This powder has a wee bit of coverage, an I admit it does mattify the areas it is applied to for the majority of the day. It comes with a sponge applicator, but I am not a huge fan of them, so I stick to using it with a powder brush.

 

So that was everything I got in this 'mini' haul from ELF. This offer isn't on anymore, but sign up for the emails and you will be notified when there are other great offers for you!

Thanks for reading, come again soon!

Lauren x