Real Techniques Blush Brush and Setting Brush

I know I know, more brushes! But what can I say, I was on a roll. I threw away one of my tatty ancient blush brushes the other day, so I was in the market for something new.

I wanted something big and fluffy, and you can't get bigger or fluffier than the Real Techniques Blush Brush: £9.99 from Boots. I also immediately fell in love with the Real Techniques Setting Brush: £7.99, so picked them both up! I already own the Stipping Brush and love that, so didn't think I'd be dissapointed.

The blush brush is huge! I've seen other bloggers say they thought it was too big for blush, and at first I thought so too, but it works perfectly! It works nicely when you're going for rosy healthy looking cheeks instead of a more sculpted look. Its so so soft and great quality.

The setting brush is designed for putting powder under the eyes or applying highlighter. I love it for applying highlighter, and its great for contouring too;because its quite fluffy you can really blend the contours out.

Another great thing about Real Techniques is the price; £9.99 and £7.99 are really decent prices for such high quality brushes! I'm so so happy with my brushes now, I never really used to care, but now I know if I have decent brushes, it makes a big difference to my make up.

FYI: I'm going on a short spending ban. I'm only allowed to buy from the upcoming MAC Marilyn Monroe collection, so that I can save some money and expand the kinds of thing I blog about! So expect lots more 'top 5' and favourites posts! :)

Bye for now! xx

Sigma Synthetic Kabuki 5 Brush Kit

Hello everyone! I'm really excited about what I'm showing you today! My very first Sigma brushes. I've lusted after these for ages, and I mean ages. I've been eyeing them up for probably over a year now, but I finally caved in and purchased the Sigma Synthetic Kabuki Kit at the rather pricey £59.99. This is the most I've ever splashed out on brushes, but I have wanted them for ages and they work out much much cheaper than some high end brushes like MAC or Illamasqua.

But anyway, onto the main event!

The brushes arrived in this beautiful Sigma box. I got a little instruction leaflet too. I wasn't expecting all the fancy packaging as I purchased my brushes from Cocktail Cosmetics and not the official Sigma site. My order also arrived within 24 hours, brilliant service!

I also recieved a travel sized E25 blending brush as a free gift, which I thought was really nice. I haven't used it yet but its so so soft, which is promising!

Finally, I'll show you the brushes and explain what each one is and what I've been using it for:

F80, F82, F84, F86, F88

All the brushes are incredibly soft and dense, they're hands down the best quality brushes I've bought.

F80 Flat Kabuki: This is the replacement for my ELF Powder Brush, and although its smaller, its gives a much nicer finish! It really buffs my foundation into the skin. I haven't used this for anything other than foundation and I don't think I will!

F82 Round Kabuki: I haven't had much of a chance to use this for anything other than powder application. I think it would be great for applying mineral powders, blusher and highlight.

F84 Angled Kabuki: So far I've only used this to apply cream blush, and I love it for that! I have to be honest and say it makes applying cream blush much easier than my Real Techniques stippling brush does, but I still like both. I think this could work great for contour, highlight and blush.

F86 Tapered Kabuki: I love this brush. Its made highlighting (both cream and powder) and contouring much easier and more precise! I think it will be great for applying foundation to the nose.

F88 Flat Angled Kabuki: This is the newest addition to Sigma's Kabuki brushes, and I have to be honest and say its the most dissapointing. I tried using it for foundation, but the angle just made it tricky and dragged foundation round my face. So, I'm not too sure what to use it for. I'm sure when I find out I'll love it just as much as the other four, so I just need to keep trying! Any suggestions?

Overall I'm so pleased I finally got these brushes! I'm sure they'll be in many favourites posts to come! Bye for now :) xx

Rimmel London Haul

Hello everyone! Firstly, apologies for not posting for the last week or so, being back at Uni has meant I havent had a lot of time to sit down and relax, never mind blogging!

I have some new offerings from Rimmel to show you, two of the new Kate Moss matte lipsticks and a Scandal Eyes Kohl eyeliner. Officially, these don't go on sale until the 6th of October, but my local Superdrug already have them on the shelves, hoorah!

111 Kiss Of Life, 101

Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl in Nude

I've been excited about these releases from Rimmel for ages now, and I wasn't dissapointed. I'm already a fan of the Kate Moss lipsticks, so picked up two shades, 111 Kiss Of Life, a bright red that is bang in the middle of reds, neither blue or orange based so (theoretically!) should suit everyone, and 101, a mid toned light pink thats just lovely. Its not bubblegum or baby pink, it has almost a nudeyness to it. They retail at £5.99 each.

I also got one of the brand new Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohls in the shade Nude, which was £3.99. This is really exciting, as nude liners are few and far between on the high street, but are really popular within the beauty community. Its great for putting in the waterline to open up the eye, and I'm so glad I got it!

I seriously suggest you go check out the new ranges from Rimmel, I'm really impressed. The brand as a whole just seem to keep bringing out amazing products this year! Bye for now! xx

I Won! £1000 of Models Own!

Hello everyone! Well, as I mentioned last week, I won £1000 worth of Models Own goodies! I never win anything, so I was so shocked when I found out I won. I'll never need to buy nail polish again! I'm so so grateful to Models Own and Malibu who hosted the giveaway.

This post isnt by any means bragging or showing off, but I thought some of you would be interested in seeing what I recieved! I could never use all this of course, so I've given some of it as gifts to friends and family, some will be on my blog sale and I might sell some on Ebay. I will also include some of it as part of a giveaway in the future!

It came in two big boxes, sent airmail from Stansted to Glasgow - exciting!

 

All the nail polishes, so many colours!

I also recieved the two mini sets of nail polishes.

 

 



Headbands, nail files, make up bags and a travel brush set.

 

 

 

The lovely note cards I got with my prize!

 

 

Mascaras and an eyeliner

 

Nail Art Pens

 

Eye/Lip liners

 

Eye Pencils

 

Lipsticks

 

Lipglosses

 

Smokey Eye Kits

 

Nail Wraps

 

I am seriously so so grateful for this prize! Its incredible, I'll never use it all! Although I'm keeping quite a lot of it stored away for use in the future if I ever run out of what I'm using now! I'll put some to the side for a giveaway on here at somepoint, so keep your eyes peeled! :)





Blog Sale Update; MAC, Models Own etc.

Just to let everyone know I've updated my blog sale again, go take a look! :)

http://thebeautyfiend13.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-sale.html

Garnier BB Cream For Combination To Oily Skin

Hey everyone! Got a quick review for you today, of Garnier's new BB Cream for Combination to Oily Skin.

 

It claims to:

Be anti-shine

Blur pores and imperfections

Even tone and boost glow

Moisturise

Have SPF 20 protection

I got this as part of a magazine subscription gift along with a few other Garnier skincare products, but this was the most exciting part! I did own the original Garnier BB cream, but we didn't get on well. It made my skin greasy, shiny, the coverage was bad and it never lasted. Which is what you'd expect for a normal BB cream on an oily skinned girl.

There are quite a few differences between the original BB cream and this new version. The packaging is the most obvious, with the original coming in a shorter wider tube with a flip top lid. The new version comes in a long sleek packaging with a screw top lid with a pointed applicator.

Compared to its original counterpart, this new BB cream has a much thinner, runny consistency, but provides more coverage. It goes on matt, and stays that way for a good few hours. I'd definitely say it blurs imperfections to a certain extent!

I really like this new version of the Garnier BB cream. For those who lean towards the oilier side of skin types, I'd definitely say give this a go if you're looking for a lightweight product to give a bit of coverage on days where you don't want to wear heavy foundation.

I hope you enjoyed this review! Bye for now :) xx

Models Own Haul and Exciting News!

Hello everyone! My Models Own order arrived this afternoon, so I thought I'd show you what I got, including some of the new Mirrorball polishes! I've also got some exciting news to share with you, but I'll save that for the end of the post.

Models Own Purple Mystique: £5.00
Models Own Beetlejuice Purple/Blue: £5.00

Purple Mystique doesn't look like much, until it catches the light. Its a beautiful dark purple, not dissimiliar to Baptiste by Illamasqua.

Beetlejuice Purple/Blue is a lovely mix of, well, purple and blue! It changes colour in different lighting, and is a good dupe for MAC's Formidable polish.

Models Own Boogie Nights, Hot Stuff and Freak Out! £5.00 each

These polishes are incredible. They're a mix of different coloured and sized glitter particles. Some circles, some hand cut chards.

Boogie Nights: A mix of lilac, purple, magenta and dark blue glitter.
Hot Stuff: A mix of light pink, dark pink and gold holographic glitter.
Freak Out!: A mix of dark blue, light blue and purple glitter.

They're all gorgeous! Now, onto my exciting news! It isn't too obvious in the photos, but the packaging is still on these polishes; the reason?

I won £1000 of Models Own goodies thanks to Malibu UK! I can't even believe it, £1000?! Its incredible. I was contacted yesterday so the prize can be sent out to me. I am so so chuffed, I can't wait to show you what arrives!

Ombre Lips: How To

Hello everyone! I'm doing something a little different today, a 'tutorial' style post on how to get ombre lips. Ombre is a huge trend this year, and is the graduation of colour from dark to light, or vice versa.

Today I'm going to show you how to do pink ombre lips - darker on the outside, and light pink in the centre of the lips. Not only does this look really unusual, the lighter centre creates the illusion that your lips are much fuller than they really are!

You will need:
A dark pink lip liner, I used ELF Studio Lip Liner in Fuchsia
A dark pink lipstick, I used MAC's Girl About Town
A light pink lipstick, I used MAC's Viva Glam GaGa

1. Start by lining your lips with the dark lip liner, go the whole way round the outside, but don't fill your lips in.
2. Then use the dark pink lipstick to begin filling your lips at the corners, working your way towards the centre but stopping about half way in.
3. Take the light pink lipstick and fill in the centre of your lips.
4. Smack your lips together softly to blend the colours together, and there we have it! Ombre lips that give the illusion of bigger, fuller lips.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Don't forget to enter my 100 follower giveaway: http://thebeautyfiend13.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/100-follower-giveaway.html ta ta for now! xx

New Look Haul

Hello everyone! So, today is my first fashion related post in a while. I am a plus sized girl, so a lot of the clothes I buy arn't available to most of you slimmer ladies, so not worth showing! But I bought a few bits and bobs from www.newlook.com from their Inspire range, which are also available from their main clothing section, and I got some accessories, so I thought I'd show you!

I'm going back to Uni for my 3rd year pretty soon, so I needed a few things for wearing everyday. First up, I got two pairs of leggings:

New Look Inspire Cross Print Leggings: £14.99
New Look Inspire Galaxy Print Leggings: £14.99

Both of these leggings are available from New Looks main line of clothing for £12.99 each, The cross pair are really flattering, I thought I might look like I was wearing jammies! The galaxy print ones are amazing, I never thought I would find plus size galaxy leggings. They are black, with a purple, white, pink and neon green print, all my favourite colours!

New Look Unicorn Print Snood: £7.99

I love love love this snood. Its big, long and won't fall off or blow away in the wind because its all attached! And the Unicorn print is so cute and right up my street. You can wear it loose and long, or double it up when it gets really cold!

New Look Gold Skeleton Necklace: £5.99, Buy One Get One Free
New Look Gold Skull Necklace: £5.99, Buy One Get One Free

These were buy one get one free, can't complain! The skeleton necklace is very long and dangly, and so cute! The triple skull necklace is a little more edgy, its quite short so I might have to find an extender chain for it.

New Look Socks: £1.99 each or 3 for £4

I fancied some fancy socks, so I picked up these three pairs. Leopard print, Houndstooth and these wintery 'Aspen' style socks with a Skull twist. They're so cute and I can't wait to see what they look like worn with creepers peeking out the top.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Don't forget to enter my 100 follower giveaway here! Bye for now! xx

Clarins Make-Up Vanity Traveller Exclusive Set

Hello everyone! So, last week my Dad went away on a lads/football holiday, (which at his age he's now regretting), and brought me back this Clarins travel set! I've never owned anything from Clarins before, so I'm really chuffed!

It is a traveller exclusive set, so only available in airports sadly, but who knows, some of you may still have holidays to go on! I couldn't find an exact price online, but I think this set retails for somewhere around 30 euros.

It comes in a gorgeous red glittery fake snakeskin case, its really high quality and I'll be using it long after the make up inside it has ran out.

Inside the case is a mascara, lip gloss, six eyeshadows, a face powder, blusher and a mini blush brush, plus one of those horrible sponge eyeshadow applicators.

All the eyeshadows are lovely neutral colours, ranging from a shimmery white to a dark brown with golden shimmer. The blush is a peachy pink with golden shimmer, much in the same vein as Coralista by Benefit or NARS Orgasm, so its definitely a colour I'll use! None of the eyeshadows or the blusher have names, but the lip gloss is called Candy, and is a lovely pink with yet again, golden shimmer!

I really like this set, and truthfully, you could get away with taking just this away on holiday with you, with maybe concealer, foundation, and anything you use for eyebrows. For me to say that means an awful lot, because I'm a serious over packer when it comes to travel make up!

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you are in duty-free at any point this year, I'd definitely recommend checking this set out.

Don't forget to enter my 100 follower giveaway here! Bye for now :) xx

Technic Nail Varnish in Carnival

Hello everyone! Another quick wee post. As I'm sure you all know by now, multi glitter nail polishes are all the rage! First, there was OPI for The Muppets 'Rainbow Connection', which I missed out on. Next, there was Models Own for Hed Kandi in 'Ibiza Mix', one of my most loved nail varnishes.

Now, I bring you 'Carnival' by Technic:

Technic Nail Varnish in Carnival: 99p

Thats right, 99p! What a bargain. I picked mine up from my local Bodycare store. Its a mix of different sized glitter pieces in blue, red, gold, silver and green suspended in a clear base.

Its actually very different close up compared to Ibiza Mix, Carnival has much brighter colours of glitter. They're both beautiful and I'm glad I got Carnival, because I'm terrified of the day I run out of Ibiza Mix if its limited edition!

Close up of Carnival.

Don't forget to enter my 100 follower giveaway here! Bye for now! :) xx 

Haul: The Body Shop, MUA. Benefit

Hello lovelies! I've got another small haul to show you, mostly cheaper high street brands or bargains. So lets get on with it :)

The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore Minimiser: normally £7.50
Luckily, 'Love Your Body' card holders were getting a discount off new products, so I got 30% off this pore minimiser. Unlike their seaweed pore minimiser (review due in the not to distant future), this is more of a primer than a facial serum, and will live in my make up drawers instead of the bathroom.

Benefit Silky Powder Eyeshadows in Low Profile and Moody: £1.99 each
I can't believe I found these little beauties hiding in Semi Chem for £1.99! They're the real deal, but were discontinued long ago. I can see why. Although pigmentation looks fantastic when swatches, they're a bitch to apply with a brush, Low Profile really is low profile, you can barely see it! They're lovely neutral mattes though, and I can see me reaching for them when I'm wearing a bold lip.

MUA Lip Liners in Softly Lined and Brooding Plum: £1 each
These are pretty much what they say they are! Basic lip liners, Softly Lined has a lot of shimmer to it, which I'm really not liking, but Brooding Plum has no shimmer and will be great for lining dark lips.

MUA Pearl Eyeshadow in Shade 11: £1
You just cant go wrong with MUA eyeshadows. Highly pigmented, creamy texture and they're only a pound! Shade 11 is a lovely shimmery brown. I'm planning on copying Describing Beauty by getting myself a eyeshadow palette and depotting my MUA shadows into it!

Thats it for this haul! Hope you enjoyed seeing my bargains!

Don't forget to enter my 100 follower giveaway here! Ta ta for now! :) xx