Tuesday 30 October 2012

Last Minute Halloween Makeup

So as its the day before Halloween I thought I would post a few last minute makeup looks that can be done easily at home. I'm not by any means a professional and don't claim to be, but I just did these looks with a few Sleek Palettes that I already had. The point of it been last minute, is that you can use products that you already have, and don't have to go out and buy anything special. 


This Look was done using a few eyeliners and the Sleek sunset palette.
This one was created with kohl eyeliner and the Sleek Matte Darks V2 Palette.

The final eye look was done using the Sleek Glory palette and a unbranded red lip liner.

Finally, the lips were just a red lipliner and a black eyeshadow, then a matte red eyeshadow over the top.

So if you've been invited to a very last minute halloween party then you dont need to rush around looking for novelty things to wear, just dress up your face. The great thing about halloween makeup is that you dont have to be precise and neat, the messier the better. 

Hope you enjoy these looks, sorry the photo quality is a little poor, they were taken on my iPhone whilst my camera is poorly :(

Sunday 28 October 2012

Adopt some samples: GIVEAWAY!!! CLOSED

Like every beauty blogger, samples have started to pile up in my collection. I've already used samples of these or have the full size products so I simply do not need to use them again. So I thought rather than throw away and waste them, I would host a small giveaway, then one of you lovelies will get to try something new.

The Rules:
  • You MUST follow my blog via gfc
  • Any accounts set up just to enter giveaways will be void. Play fair people.
  • Have Fun :)
Just Fill out the rafflecopter form below to enter :)
The Prizes:
Kiss Exotic eyelashes
No7 Intense Volume mascara
Bodyshop Rainforest Body Butter
Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation
Chanel Foundation
Thierry Mugler Womanity
Body Shop Tea Tree Oil
(All sample size, with the exception of the eyelashes)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Saturday 27 October 2012

Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal Liners

Rimmel really have been on top of heir game recently, with the release of new Kate Moss lipsticks and the new kohl eyeliners, beauty bloggers everywhere have been getting our hands on them.

After taking full advantage of Boots 3 for 2 offer, I bought two of the eyeliners that were on offer, although I'm definitely going back to get more! 

The colours I purchased were Nude and Purple, both something that are welcome additions to my ollection as I dont really have any liners in these shades.



Nude has been the most sought after, being a very close dupe to the chromagraphic pencil that MAC did. I've been popping this on the waterline and just building up the black mascara, for a clean, bright eyed look. I've been wearing my makeup this way pretty much everyday since purchase.

Purple is a little strange for me as I do just love a nude or smokey eye, so colours aren't something that I wear a lot of, but I have been branching out recently. I wore this on my lower lashline and outer corner of my eye, also along the waterline. Then I've smudged this out and applied a few coats of black mascara for the easiest smokey eye ever!

The consistency of these liners is beautiful. They're so creamy and apply like a dream. Being a kohl liner they are easy to smudge to create a softer look, but they also apply nicely on the waterline. Most kohl liners wear off after a few hours, but these last all day and didn't need reapplying which is great.

I would really recommend these to everyone as they really have become a lovely edition to my makeup bag.

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Soap and Glory eyeshadow quad in What's Nude

I feel like I've been writing a lot of posts about Soap and Glory at the moment, but they have been my go to brand for the past few weeks.

This week I had taken full advantage of the Boots 3 for 2 offer and paid two visits there this week. This time I purchased the Soap and Glory eyeshadow quad in What's Nude along with two of the new kohl eyeliners from rimmel (review to come soon).

If like me, you crave the MAC eye quads but are on a budget, then at £10.00, the Soap and Glory quads are a great dupe for them. I'm a massive lover of nude eyes so the What's Nude quad is perfect for me.


The packaging is pretty standard, with emphasis on the pretty! It's one of those products that you would like to take out of your makeup bag just to swish about and let everyone see how pretty it is. Just me that does that? haha okay... 



So obviously guessing from the name of this palette, it consists of four nude shades that are perfect for everyday, or for creating a soft smoky look.
Vanilla is a cream based shade hat blends really well into the skin as a highlight tone. Perfect for those who like to highlight the inner corner and brow bone with a matte shade. Matte Finish
Pink T has been the one I've used the most. Its the prettiest nude shade I've come across in a long time, being a hybrid between dusky pink and beige it really is the perfect all over lid colour (oh and the embossed logo is just a lovely little extra). Matte Finish 
Mudhoney is the perfect crease colour to add an extra bit of dimension to your look. This does take a little more blending than the others but it is definitely worth it. Matte Finish
Finally, Aubersheen, I'm guessing would be the reason that most people would buy this palette. It's a deep chocolate brown that has the perfect amount of shimmer included. Shimmer finish


This quad palette is really beautiful and I recommend this to anyone who loves a nude eye look.
Available online or at Boots for £10


Sunday 21 October 2012

Autumn Wishlist...

I've been lusting after a lot of things recently, but a delay in my student finance has meant that I have had to be more thrifty than usual. Here's what I'm wishing for this autumn...

Red Striped Jumper: River Island // Studded Jumper: Ark // Cosmic Print Leggings: Ark // Heeled Boots: Boohoo.com // Lipstick in Innocent: Topshop // Burgundy Jeans: H&M // Pleated Skater Skirt: Miss Selfridge

I think all of these items are lovely for autumn and winter, if someone would like to treat me to any of these that would be great, Haha!!! 


Saturday 20 October 2012

Makeup Storage

After moving out of my mum and dads, and moving in with my boyfriend I've slowly found a place for everything I own. Except from my makeup. Being in a rented apartment meant that having a permanent fixture for my makeup was near on impossible. Damn Rules. So here's what I came up with...

Whilst I was in Ikea I noticed that these drawers were on sale and they are perfect! They matched the wardrobe that I bought before we moved into our apartment, so that was an extra bit of luck! At £35, these drawers were a steal and are great for storing my cosmetics. 


The top of the drawers pretty much speak for themselves. I store my makeup brushes which need a good clean in some glass jars that used to be candles. Then I have some cosmetics tissues which are a nice little addition, along with some scented candles and my favourite perfumes at the minute.


Having my makeup like this makes it alot easier to see what I have, so I can just grab and go.


Sorry this is a slightly dodgy picture. Here are my palettes, and single eyeshadows. I tend to prefer palettes over single eyeshadows purely for storage reasons but the few that I do have sit nicely by the palettes. 



This makes it look slightly messy but I promise it is organised. In the corner I have my foundations and BB creams which I'm alternating between at the minute. By my eye palettes are the smaller eye products such as the Maybelline Colour Tattoos and the MUA eye trios. I also have two smaller pots in here, one which stores my eyeliners and mascaras, the other storing my glosses and liners. Glosses and liners are a very small part of my collection.


My favourite part! My ever growing box of lipsticks! I need to stop buying these but I just cant help myself. The only problem with this is that I can't store my MAC Lipsticks upside down as they don't stand up properly, so I can't see what shade it is. I also store my face products such as powders, blushes and bronzers which fit perfectly.


Finally, I store all he boxes of eyelashes and nail wraps in the bottom corner as these are what I'm less likely to reach for on a daily basis so they do take up less space.

I hope you like this post, and in now way at all am I bragging about cosmetics I have ( I know that some people  can think posts like this are just an excuse to show off). I love reading posts like this so if you have done one please link it in the comments and I'll definitely check it out. 

Monday 15 October 2012

Soap and Glory The Fab Pore

Those who are lucky enough to have skin that does not show up their pores, I envy you! For those like me, who have to use numerous products in order to have better looking skin, then this product is for you!

The Fab Pore is a facial peel that helps minimize the appearance of pores and oily skin. This looks like a thick, sort of moisturiser but is more akin to a face mask, The basis of this product is a mushroom extract, which sounded really disgusting, when I first read this, but after a little research it seems that mushrooms are extremely beneficial for many aspects of beauty. In this case, it used for the tightening of pores. Salicylic acid is also used to aid the breaking up of dead cells that are responsible for clogging the pores. For the excess oil on the skin, kaolin, or clay as its more commonly known, is used to smooth over the skins surface by mopping up all that oil. Finally, Vitamins E and C are provided for your dose of antioxidants.


Ive been using this every other day for a week now and I can definitely see a difference in my skin. I always used to have really bad pores around my nose and skin, but these areas are now silky smooth, which means that my makeup sits nicely on my skin without looking cakey. 
I've found that the best way to apply this is straight after a shower/bath when the pores are open, and to apply a small amount, massage it in until the green beads have disappeared, paying extra attention to my chin and t-zone. You are left with a slightly ghostly looking face that feels dry, leave it like this for 5-15 minutes, then rinse with warm water. 



I have so much love for this product, you can expect to see it in a favourites post soon! 
Have you tried this before? What's your favourite Soap and Glory product?

Sunday 7 October 2012

Peaches and Cream

I'm not normally one to wear much colour on my eyes unless its for a night out or party, you get the picture, but recently I've been loving wearing a subtle amount of colour to brighten up my eyes.

As we are now in full on autumn mode so there's a lot of browns, burgundy's, coppers and golds everywhere at the minute, so I thought I'd try something a little different.



So you can probably tell its not a massive amount of colour and I think it looks pretty for the daytime throughout autumn. I didn't add any liner which s really unusual for me, but I prefer this look without it as it looks cleaner without. Saying that, I did have to put on the darkest mascara I own (Soap and Glory Thick and Fast) just to add slightly more definition. The eyeshadows in this look are all from the Sleek Respect (Shangri-La Collection) palette, however if you haven't managed to get your hands on this limited edition one, there are plenty of other shades from other brands that work just as well.

I usually team this with a nude, or pink lip, nothing too flashy or bright, so that the subtlety of this look is kept.

Hope you enjoy this look, and I would love to see your autumn looks :) 

Friday 5 October 2012

Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara

As a beauty blogger, I have tried many many mascaras, and to be honest, I'm really picky about them. I like my lashes to look full, long and really black, something which is quite hard to find in a mascara.

After reading mixed reviews of this mascara I wasn't expecting much from it, so using this product for the first time I was a little dubious about the way it would work for my lashes. But I have to say that I was really pleased with this mascara.

Firstly, the brush isn't big, it's HUGE! I thought that this might have been an issue for applying, but it actually works really nicely, and isn't difficult for coating lashes at all. The large brush also acquires just the right amount of product to create full lashes, and not spidery ones that everyone hates. 
The mascara is also one of the darkest I have ever tried, giving me that really defined look that I crave from a mascara. Its also a very wet formula. Unlike most other volumising mascaras, it doesn't flake after a few hours , or make your eyelashes crunchy. However it does dry very quickly on the lashes, so there's no need to worry about those annoying sneezes that come at the most inappropriate times just after you have applied your mascara, Hello unattractive smudge...


I really did notice a difference to my usually short, stubby lashes so I would definitely repurchase this. 



Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara is available from Boots for £10

Topshop Lipsick in Beguiled

Back when Topshop first launched their makeup range in 2010 I knew I had to get my hands on something from the range. So of I trotted to Topshop on Briggate in Leeds and I picked up Brighton Rock. I was in love.

Since then I've bought a few bits and bobs here and there but until now Brighton Rock was my only lipstick from there. 

This week I've bought Beguiled, which is just the latest in my collection of dark reds, perfect for autumn. 



This shade isn't matte or opaque, but more a sheer wash of colour that can easily be built up into a deep opaque block of colour that has just the right amount of subtle shimmer. I hate frost lipsticks. Beguiled is a warm, red wine colour, that is deep enough for those who like to sport something a bit more exciting than a nude lip (although, who doesn't love a good nude lip?!), but not so much that people should be afraid of wearing it. Oh and it s definitely moisturising, and makes lips look lovely and nourished, unlike Brighton Rock which is a little bit too drying.

Overall, I really like this lipstick and can see myself wearing this throughout the winter. 




Do you like Topshop lipsticks? What's your favourite shade?

Thursday 4 October 2012

Aussie Hair Care



Want to know what the best thing since sliced bread is? Look no further than Aussie hair products. I was once staying at my boyfriends mums and used these for the first time on my hair and thinking oh my wow (err what?!), I prayed that the hair salon I worked in would start using this.

I always thought that this particular brand of hair care products were slightly over priced for what you can essentially get for a lot cheaper. Now that I have tried numerous products I can honestly say that the quality is amazing, and whilst it might be a little more than what some people would like to spend, it certainly is worth the extra few pounds for a little bit of luxury.

These are the items that are top of my Aussie list...

Aussie Dual Protection Hair Spray:
Providing thermal and UV protection from the sun means that your sun is well looked after even on  those hot days/nights. This provides a strong hold, but maintains your hairs natural flexibility. No crunchy hair here ladies!

Aussie Shine Serum:
I actually bought two of these because I love it so much. A lightweight serum that has been a saviour for my thick hair. This enhances yours hairs natural shine and makes it extremely soft to the touch. This isn't as big as some as the other products but you only need a tin amount so it will last you a long time.

Aussie Take The Heat protection cream:
The most amazing smelling product you will ever use on your hair! This is a thick cream that protects your hair from all the heat appliances that we are guilty of using on our hair. Apply after towel drying your hair and then style as desired. Your hair will feel so much better after using this!

Aussie Colour Mate 3 Minute Miracle:
As a lover of hair masks (my thick hair does need some lovin') this was definitely at the top of my list. I colour my hair quite frequently so was after something that bring it back to life from its usual lack lustre ways. This certainly did the trick!

Aussie Luscious Long 3 Minute Miracle:
Again like the colour mate one, I knew I needed this! I have long hair already but have decided to grow it, so this conditioner helps me maintain the healthiness of my hair that is needed when growing your locks.

Aussie Leave In Heat Spray:
This is a nice addition to my collection because I like to use it after applying the heat prptection cream and blow drying my hair. A little spritz of this and them I'm ready to straighten or curl my hair.

Do you enjoy Aussie Hair Products? What are your favourites?