VALENTINE’S DAY CUT CREASE

It’s the day after Valentine’s day but a lot of you will probably still be celebrating into the weekend. Or if you’re like me, you might even be celebrating next week! So to keep myself in the spirit, I thought I would create a Valentine’s makeup look. This look might not be for everyone but it’s fun and that’s the way I tend to go when creating themed looks so I hope you like it.

I’ve tried to keep this makeup tutorial drugstore product based so it can be achieved by anyone and of course, the products I’ve used can be changed to suit what you already own.

I start the look by applying my base as usual.  I’m not going to go into detail about what I use because the focus of this post is the eyes.

I prime my eyes with Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden which helps keep the eyeshadow I’m about to use in place, while concealing any darkness and veins.

I then use the lightest, cream matte shade in my Makeup Revolution Redemption Essentials Mattes 2 Palette all over the lid to set my primer.

Using a blending brush, I take an almost neon matte pink eyeshadow into the crease as usual, gradually adding more to make the crease more vibrant. I continue by adding a selection of darker pinks and a hint of purple to make the crease even more defined. Using the same pink shades, I add some colour to the lower lash line. The palettes I chose to use for this are BH Cosmetics First Edition 120 Color Eyeshadow Palette and Makeup Revolution Redemption Acid Brights Palette.

To create the cut crease, I carve out my eyelid with concealer and blend this in. I also take the concealer out as far as I would when applying winged eyeliner. Keep your lines straight and clean cut. Again, I set this with the same light matte shade as before, then I use an off-white shimmer shade all over the lid. If you want to keep your look matte, then miss out this step.

Moving onto eyeliner, I take the NYX Vivid Brights Eyeliner in Fire, which is a red/pink shade, and create a thin wing to define my eyes.

With the NYX Vivid Brights Eyeliner in Petal (a pale, baby pink) I draw small hearts along the winged eyeliner, evenly spaced out. I find this step pretty tricky but if you take your time it should work out fine. If not, practice makes perfect!

I then go back and add any definition I think is needed to make the pink cut crease pop, ensuring I avoid any part of the eye where I applied concealer.

I finish off by applying some L’Oreal Paris False Lash Flutter Mascara and theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter in my inner corners and along the brow bone and I’m ready to go.

I hope you all like the final look. If you try this out, please let me know and direct me to any photos because I would love to see!

I also want to know how did you spend Valentine’s Day this year? If you’re like me and haven’t celebrated yet, how are you spending your time?
Thanks for reading,

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COLOURPOP LIQUID LIPSTICK HAUL

Part two of my Colourpop haul is on the ultra matte/satin liquid lipsticks. If you want to see the first part on their eyeshadows, check it out here.

Colourpop has become my favourite brand for liquid lipsticks. I find they are the most long lasting of any brand I’ve tried and I have quite the collection. They are incredibly affordable at  $6 each, bearing in mind that these are coming from the US and you will be charged a customs charge when they arrive in the UK but I still think they are worth this extra cost.

AUTUMN TAG

Just like so many of you, my favourite time of the year is Autumn so I thought I would do this tag to let you know why I love this season so much and allow you to get to know me a little better.

What signifies the start of autumn for you? For me, the start of Autumn is when you start seeing all the leaves falling from the trees, shops start bringing out cosy knits and coffee shops bring out their pumpkin spiced lattes.

BEAUTY BAY HAUL

Another haul? Yes! My bank account may not be happy with me at the moment but I’m perfectly fine with that.

This time, I had a shopping spree on the Beauty Bay website, which is one of my favourite ways to buy and try out new makeup products.

The main reason for my purchase was to try Zoeva eyeshadow palettes as I’ve heard great reviews on them and for such as affordable price I thought they would be perfect everyday palettes.

NYX HAUL

NYX is becoming a firm favourite in my collection, especially now Boots have opened NYX counters in many stores in the UK, Aberdeen being one, and once again I couldn’t help but pick up a few bits, oops…

I’ll jump straight in with the lip products I purchased.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream, £5.50. From left to right, I bought Abu Dhabi, Transylvania and Moscow.

The soft matte formula is one of my favourites when it comes to liquid lipstick. It is creamy, smooth and applies with ease. They dry down to a matte finish, long lasting but unlike most liquid formulas, it remains moisturising on the lips. I find Abu Dhabi perfect for work as it stays in place while I’m running about at work. Transylvania will be perfect now we are coming into Autumn and Moscow, well, I’m not sure when I will ever be brave enough to wear a dark blue lipstick but people that are pull it off very well. One last thing to mention is that these lipsticks have a strong vanilla scent. I’ve grown to love this but it might be overpowering for some, it was for me at first.

NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick, £6.50. This is in the shade Tea & Cookies. 

Again, this is one of my favourite formula of liquid lipstick and have many shades so decided to pick this one up too. It applies effortlessly and doesn’t make your lips feel dry as it remains slightly velvety on the lips while still looking completely matte.

For me personally, I find the colour a little too baby pink against my pale skin tone which isn’t how I imagined this colour to look which is disappointing. I’ve seen this colour on my friend and it looks completely different on her. I’m going to try again with a nude brown lipliner all over first to see if I can tone down the pink on application.

Here are the colours of each lipstick swatched – Moscow, Transylvania, Abu Dhabi, Tea & Cookies.

NYX HD Concealer, £5.50, in the shade Porcelain.

From the very start of my makeup days back when Bebo was all the rage, the only concealer I’ve ever used and loved is the classic Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer until I tried out this concealer from NYX. They actually have a shade which is light enough to brighten up my undereye which is the main reason I decided to pick this up but the concealer in general works great on me. It is quite full coverage which really helps cover up my dark circles but doesn’t look thick and cakey. I also find that this creases on me a lot less than anything else I have tried. It’s a winner.

NYX Colour Correcting Powder, £8, in the shade Banana. 

I picked this up because I’ve been enjoying using loose powder recently and I’ve heard great things about banana shade powders for brightening. I’m yet to try this out but I will let you know how I get on.

NYX Micro Brow Pencil, £7, this is in the shade Taupe.

My favourite brow product is my ABH Dip Brow but this can create quite an intense brow so I was on the hunt for something I could use for a more natural brow on a day to day basis. I had heard this NYX pencil was the same shade as my dipbrow but it is slightly warmer which I’m not too fond of. However, I will continue to use this on days where I’m less concerned about how brilliant my makeup looks because it easy. The pencil is thin enough that you can draw on natural looking strokes to any sparse areas of your brow.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil, £5, in the shade Milk.

Out of everything I purchased, this is definitely the one that makes me most excited. Originally I bought this for an eyeshadow base to intensify colour but I would always forget to apply it so I decided to try it out for my inner corner highlight and I fell in love. This really helps brighten and elongate my small eyes. It also stays in place all day, it’s amazing! Honestly, I cannot rave about this pencil enough, it’s exactly what I needed in my collection without even knowing it.

If there is one thing you buy after reading this post, make it this Jumbo Eye Pencil, you won’t regret it. I’d highly recommend trying out the Soft Matte Lip Creams also.

I’d love to know what your NYX must haves are, let me know!

Thanks for reading,

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I WON A COMPETITION

Recently, I signed up for The Blogger Programme, which is a site that allows bloggers and brands to find and connect with each other. Even though I’m not at this level of blogging, occasionally they hold competitions which is something we can all participate in.

Now, I’m in no way a lucky person. I’m perhaps the complete opposite so when I entered this Feel Unique giveaway in collaboration @moomooi, a fashion illustrator, never in a million years did I expect to receive a box full of beauty goodies.

As you can tell, the items I won are incredibly eye catching and I’m still in shock I actually won them.

@moomooi Make up Bag, £12.

The first item in my package was this large make up bag, which will be perfect for holding all the makeup I need for touch ups at university and more. It is made of canvas with this gorgeous print on the front. It even has a rose gold zip and baby blue tassel, too sweet.

@moomooi Travel Pass Wallet, £9.

@moomooi iPhone case, available for iPhone 5 & 6, £10.

Continuing with the theme, I received this travel wallet and iPhone case. The travel wallet is just what I need to keep my bus pass safe and it comes with a handy mirror for making sure my makeup hasn’t smudged during a long day in the library. Also, this pretty transparent phone case in the same style. Unfortunately, this is too small for my phone but I have passed this on to a friend to get the use of it.

@moomooi Flat Kabuki Brush, £14.

Just look at how adorable this brush is though with its blush pink, Parisian theme and the rose gold hardware. I’m not the biggest fan of flat topped brushes as I can find them quite harsh on my skin but even if I don’t use it for make up, this will be great for flatlays, yes I just said that…

ELEMIS British Botanical Hand and Nail Butter, £18.

This is one item I am very excited about. I am a huge ELEMIS fan but it’s a brand I tend to only use when I receive sets for Christmas as it is more on the pricey side. This smells lovely and I know I am going to get on well with this product.

STEAMCREAM Moisturiser, £13.95.

I’d never actually heard of this brand before but after looking this product up I am intrigued and excited to try this cream out. It is a multipurpose cream that is uniquely formulated using pure, unrefined steam for maximum absorption. This exact tin design is no longer available but they have a couple of others to choose from.

Invisibobble Hair Bobbles POWER Pack, £4.75.

It’s no surprise I love these bobbles, I’ve even spoken about them in a monthly favourites post before. Up until now, I’ve only tried the original bobbles so I can’t wait to see if the POWER range will hold up better as I find mine tend to snap quite quickly due to having my hair up almost every day for work.

Fleur De Force Eyeshadow Quad – Lunar Rose, £5.35.

This palette will be great for throwing into my uni bag when I’m in a rush and after a natural and simple make up look. It doesn’t have a mirror but with my travel wallet I’m all set! I’ve never tried any of Fleur’s range before so I look forward to giving this quad a go.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream – Stockholm, £5.50.

This is probably my favourite product I received. The formula is smooth and glides on your lips like a dream, dries down matte but doesn’t make your lips feel dry like other matte lipsticks. The colour reminds me of Velvet Teddy by MAC and I find the formula lasts longer on the lips than Velvet Teddy lasts on me.

And there was a quick look at everything that I won in the TBP competition. Thanks to them and Feel Unique for holding the competition and let’s hope my luck continues!

Thanks for reading,

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I’m Feeling 22 | Birthday

It’s been over a month since my birthday, but finally I am finding the time to write about my day.

Just like every year, I was very lucky to have had such a lovely day spent with most of my favourite people.

My friend, Holly (DaSilvax.com) and I went out for a quick lunch then she came back to mine early afternoon and helped me set up for the day. We shared a few drinks as we got ready.

One by one, all my friends turned up for an evening of Domino’s pizza and drinks in the garden – until it started raining, that is. It was a great evening spent with my dearest friends. We played games, had a nice catch up and drank ourselves merry.

Later on the night we decided to head out to a club, Exodus, for their Motown night which is always such a brilliant night! Unfortunately, as a couple of my friends had work the next day, they were unable to join but I am thankful they stayed out as long as they could.

Speaking of being thankful, I thought I would show you some of the presents I received from my friends and family. If there is one thing I love to see, it is what gifts people were given from loved ones.

Let’s start with family.

My mum knew I was after a more luxe skincare routine so I asked her to pick out some products for me. She surprised me with this set from Clinique. 

This set included:

Clinique Liquid Facial Soap in Extra Mild which is meant to cleanse the face without stripping protective layers.

Clinique Clarifying Lotion 1.0 Twice a Day Exfoliator is an exfoliating lotion that claims to be non-drying, soothing while de-flaking the skin.

Clinique City Block Purifying Charcoal Clay Mask and Scrub which is a deep-clean treatment to help remove impurities and dirt from the face.

Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief is a daily moisturiser that claims to be lightweight, comfortable and plumps skin with hydration for 24 hours.

Along with the set, I received these little sample products which includes an eye cream, overnight mask and another moisturiser.

I am very excited to try all these products out but I am currently working on finishing the products in my current routine so unfortunately I won’t be using these for a month or so. If you would like a post on my current routine, let me know and I can make that happen.

If you are interested in Clinique products, check out their products here.

Another gift from my parents is this Karen Millen purse which is just so classic and gorgeous. It is made from saffiano leather and matches my handbag perfectly. I love it.

My sister, Hannah, kindly bought me this lovely rose gold necklace from Karen Millen which matches perfectly with my rose gold watch. It seems very well made and looks great for an evening out or even just making something casual more dressy.

If I’m not wearing this necklace, I will be wearing this adorable elephant necklace that my friend, Holly, gifted me. Once again, this necklace is very me as I love elephants. It is just a little longer than choker length which is another huge plus.

Holly really spoiled me this year by getting me this Zoeva En Taupe Brush set which consists of 6 beautifully designed eye brushes and a small zipped pouch for storage. The brushes included are:

• 227 Luxe Soft Definer Brush
• 228 Luxe Crease Brush
• 230 Luxe Pencil Brush
• 238 Luxe Precise Shader Brush
• 317 Wing Liner Brush
• 322 Brow Line Brush

I definitely think this is the prettiest brush set I own. I can’t wait to finally be able to use them.

And lastly from Holly, I received this Makeup Revolution I Heart Makeup Naked Chocolate Palette. I use this palette most days when I am after a subtle make up look, such as when I’m working. It smells of chocolate and vanilla and is divine! Give it a sniff and you’ll automatically be hungry. The colour pay off is great and it really is a little gem.

And finally, from my friend Eilidh, I was gifted this lovely notebook and sticker pack from Paperchase. Eilidh knows me far too well as London is a place I adore and dying to go back to visit. I am a huge stationery addict and have more notebooks than I know what to do with. Also, probably the largest sticker collection of someone my age so these are just perfect to add into it! I might do a stationery collection and show you how I decorate my planner as I’m sure I’m not the only one out there with this obsession.

As well as this, Eilidh bought be the most adorable elephant pyjama set which again just shows how well she knows me. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of them to show you.

And that wraps up my 22nd birthday. I am beyond grateful for everything I received and can’t wait to shower my friends and family with gifts for their birthdays to show my appreciation.

Thanks for reading,

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A Day in Stonehaven

You don’t see the sun very often in Scotland, so when you do you have to make the most of it. This is exactly what myself and my friend, John, did a couple weeks ago.

We went on a road trip to Stonehaven for the afternoon. Stonehaven is a picturesque harbour town which is a short 30 minute drive south of Aberdeen. 

As you can see it is a lovely place to spend a sunny afternoon.

We went on a stroll up to Dunnottar Castle, passing these friendly faces along the way.

Dunnottar Castle is a medieval ruin located on a cliff that is a brief walk away from the mainland. If there is one thing I enjoy to do, it is visiting historical structures.

On our travels, we came across a a film crew filming an advert in front of the castle for a bank and a young man playing bagpipes in his kilt to entertain the crowd which made a nice extra to the day.

On our walk back, John kindly agreed to take some photos of my outfit. It’s pretty casual and most of the items I have spoken about before on previous posts. However, I did want to mention my vest top. I picked up this little gem in Thailand for the equivalent of about £5 and I just love it. Unfortunately, this means I cannot link where I bought this but I wanted to show you nonetheless.

One item you can purchase are my sunglasses. They are from the brand Quay Australia and you can find this exact pair here. I personally love this brand and think they have some great pieces. If you are from the UK and don’t want to buy internationally, then ASOS have a selection of Quay Australia sunglasses that you might be interested in which retail between £25 – £40.

We finished off our day with ice cream at the popular Aunt Betty’s Ice Cream and Sweet Shop. If you find yourself in Stonehaven, this is one place I highly recommend checking out. They have a great selection of ice cream flavours and each can be topped with a range of toppings at no extra cost. Brilliant.

I had a lovely day in Stonehaven and it’ll be a day I will cherish for a long time.

Thanks for reading,

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Collective Beauty Haul

After a lovely couple weeks in Thailand then a stressful week or so moving house, I’m finally able to sit down (at my new desk YES) and show you what beauty bits I have purchased recently.

MAC Matte Lipstick, Honeylove, £15.50. I decided to treat myself at the airport on the way to Thailand and I’m very glad I did. This is a matte lipstick and I’d describe the colour as a light beige/ peachy nude which I think is perfect for summer. I wore this most nights when I was away and it is a lovely colour to add to my collection.

SRICHAND Loose Powder, roughly £1. While on the topic of Thailand, I picked up this loose translucent powder from a local department store in Bangkok. This is a pale pink loose powder designed for oily skin. I wouldn’t normally pick up an item for oily skin, however with the Thai heat I was finding my face to be a shiny mess. This product really helped battle shine and kept my face looking matte all day. I loved it so much I went and picked up a second pot because I don’t think I’ll be back in Thailand any time soon unfortunately.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Brush. I can’t remember the price of this one but I’d guess a couple pounds. I picked this up from a street market in Thailand so it is a fake brush but the quality is lovely considering. The bristles are very soft and the shape of the brush fits perfectly on my face giving me the perfect contour.

Bobbi Brown Powder Brush. Another street market purchase was this powder brush. Again, I’m not 100% sure how much I paid for this but I’d say a few pounds. I was on the hunt for a powder brush as I forgot to take mine away with me. For being so affordable, the quality is great. It is large in size making it perfect to dust a thin even layer of powder all over the face and the bristles are incredibly soft on the skin.

 

L’Oreal Paris Infallible Matte Foundation, £7.99. I went to Boots to pick up my favourite foundation L’Oreal Paris Infallible 24H Foundation  and noticed they had a ‘3 for 2’ offer on L’Oreal cosmetics so thought I would give this a go. I’ve used it a couple times so far and I am really enjoying it. I prefer the matte look so it’s surprising I haven’t tried this before. This foundation, teamed with my SRICHAND powder, will be superb for tackling the greasy, fast food conditions I work in.

L’Oreal Paris False Lash Sculpt Mascara, £9.99. I chose this as my third item for the Boots deal. I’ve never tried it before and picked it up thinking it had the large brush I prefer using for mascara. I was wrong. The brush with this product is unlike anything I’ve seen. It has two rows of bristles on one side of the brush. That’s it. I’m unsure how this will work and if I will achieve my desired lash look but I will remain positive until I try it out.

NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick, Kitten Heels, £6.50. I’m ending this haul on a slightly negative note but when I saw this colour, I knew I had to purchase this. A matte red in one colour I lack in my collection and I love the liquid suede formula so what could go wrong? Well, the formula apparently. I have 4 other liquid suedes and they are my favourite liquid lipsticks hands down but in the colour, I find the formula never dries and remains wet on the lips making this a very messy lipstick – it transfers everywhere! I’m so disappointed but I do love the colour so I will try make  it work for me by wearing it when I don’t plan to eat, drink or be around anything white.

Have you tried these products and how did you get on with them?

In the next few weeks, I’ll have a Makeup Geek Z-Palette collection and What I Got For my Birthday posts, so keep your eyes peeled for those!

Once again, thanks for reading.

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Make-up Haul

My make-up collection is starting to increase rapidly and I’m running out of places to store it all, but of course, I couldn’t say no to a shopping trip to purchase some more.

Here is what I bought:

Make Up Revolution Iconic Lights and Contour Palette, £8. This palette comes with 8 contour/highlight shades to create those chiselled faces we are all after. It reminds me a lot of my Anastasia Beverly Hills Original Contour Kit which retails at £39 so if you are after something more affordable but also with great pigmentation and quality, I would definitely recommend this palette.

Make Up Revolution Essential Mattes 2 Eyeshadow Palette, £4. For only £4, you get 12 matte neutral shades and a double ended applicator. I won’t be using the applicator as brushes work better but this little set would be great for a beginner. I lack matte eyeshadows in my collection so these will be great for transition shades and the choice of colours is perfect for everyday wear.

 Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation, Ivory, £7.99. I was originally going to pick up Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation as I wanted a foundation that was lighter and contained SPF, unlike my current, to bring with me on holiday. I noticed Wake Me Up had SPF 15 and that this foundation has SPF 20 so I opted for this instead. This is a blind purchase, I have no idea if it has good reviews but I’m trying out for the first time tomorrow so fingers crossed I like it.

Rimmel Supercurler Mascara, £6.99. I picked up another bottle of my favourite mascara. I find this mascara gives my lashes a real sense of length and volume. I have dead straight lashes so it maybe doesn’t keep them curled for 24 hours, or anywhere close, as mentioned but I don’t mind that too much.

Rimmel Natural Bronzer, £5.99. If you spent £9 or more on selected Rimmel products in Boots, you got this bronzer for free. I’ve tried this bronzer before and I used to use it daily so it will be good to see if I still like it after all this time. This bronzer also has SPF 8 in the formula which, correct me if I am wrong, is quite unusual for a drugstore bronzer.

Primark PS… Lip Liner Pencils, £1 each. I lack lip liners in my collection as I tend to find I only really get on with MAC lip liners and I just can’t justify buying too many at £12.50 a pop so when I saw these in Primark for £1 I thought I would give them a quick swatch. I wasn’t expecting much from these but they are surprisingly creamy and pigmented. They don’t drag your lips which is something I hate about some drugstore lip liners. I would say that the colours of the packaging don’t match the product colour exactly so try them out before you buy but I seriously suggest adding these into your collection.

Primark PS… Kohl Eyeliner Pencils, Ivory and Green, £1 each. Like the lip liners, these are surprisingly creamy and apply well. The ivory shade will be perfect for the waterline and the green was sort of a impulse buy. I am trying to buy shades a little out of my comfort zone so that I can play around with make-up more. They have a good range of shades in each collection.

MUA Lip Liner, Sloe Berry, £1. This is a dark purple lip liner which will be perfect for a lot of my darker lip shades. It doesn’t seem to be as creamy as the Primark liners but for £1, I’m okay with this.

MUA Luxe Metallic Liquid Lipstick, Lustre, currently half price for £2. So far, I haven’t got on as well as I would like with this lipstick. The colour, a silver/nude, is gorgeous but it does take a few coats to get it looking opaque on the lips.  I find this means that the formula doesn’t dry down and stays tacky on the lips which is why I prefer lipsticks over glosses. It also has a strong scent which is another factor of certain make-up items I do not get on with. I will play about with this more though because I think the metallic, futuristic look on the lips is fun and quirky and the colour is lovely.

MUA Lipstick, Raven, £1. This won’t be to everyone’s taste but I have wanted a black lipstick for the longest time. I have had a dark grey lipstick for a while now but wanted to go all the way with a true black lipstick and what better time to try it out now that it will be more ‘socially acceptable’ with the launch of the Kylie Jenner’s new lip kit in ‘Dead of Knight. I was on the hunt for a matte black but I wasn’t so lucky so I picked this up instead. Even if I don’t have the courage to wear this out, it will be great for Halloween.

And that is everything I purchased. I’d love to know how you got on with these products.

Thanks for reading,

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