Seventeen | Flawless Poreless Primer & Stay Time Long Wear Primer

Seventeen Stay Time Long Wear Primer: £5.49 - 

Seventeen Flawless Poreless Primer: £5.99 -

Boots Seventeen range is a brand I don't often pay attention to. Being in my 20's now this range really is aimed at teenagers and they don't often release products that speak to me! But recently Seventeen have released a whole new range of base products including foundations, CC cream, concealers and of course, primers. I was in dire need of some new primers so picked up their Stay Time Long Wear and Flawless Poreless primers to use together. 

The Stay Time Long Time primer is an unusual consistency, and if you're looking for a silky smooth silicone primer, give this a miss. It's a thick nude cream that needs quite a lot of rubbing in. If you have dark skin this is definitely not for you, as it even pales down my skin tone and could make darker skins quite ashy looking, even with foundation on top. You do need to let this set for a couple of minutes, otherwise the product can 'ball up' which is just nasty. However, it does make my foundation last alot longer than normal and I really like it! 

The Flawless Poreless Primer is amazing. It's the pure silicone goodness most primer users love, and is actually like a balm which I've never seen before, hence the packaging. Think Benefit Porefessional in a more solid form. I hate sticking my fingers into this so I use the Real Techniques pointed foundation brush to apply this, which works really well. It blurs my pores and makes my skin look smoother, never a bad thing!

These two primers work really well together. The smoothness of the Flawless Poreless over the thicker Stay Time Long Wear is a great combination and together they create smooth looking skin and a longer wear time for foundation. I was a bit skeptical at first but I'm definitely impressed and plan to try more from the Seventeen range! 

Fiona xox

Wednesday Wishlist | #11

#1 NARS Fairy's Kiss Palette: £32.00 - Yup, I'm still lusting after this purple toned palette from NARS. I have so many similar shades but I'm still drawn to it. I may have to just pick it up after my first payday! 

#2 MAC Retro Matte Collection: £14.50/£15.00 - I love love love the Retro Matte formula from MAC, that was first released with their Rihanna collab. Some of these lipsticks and liners are limited edition, but I've got my eye on Flat Out Fabulous, which is thankfully a new permanent shade!

#3 Make Up Forever Aqua Creams - My good friend Victoria (Razzle Dazzle and Rock n' Roll) is heading to Paris soon and I've begged her to go to Sephora for me! These cream eyeshadows from Make Up Forever are on my wishlist, they look amazing.

#4 Urban Decay Face Case in Shattered - This is part of UD's holiday collection, and I just think this little palette is so funky! There are two variations with 4 eyeshadows; 2 blushes; a highlighter; an eyeliner and a super saturated lip pencil in each, but the Shattered palette's colours trump it for me. 

#5 Make Up Forever Aqua Brow in Blonde - Another product from my Sephora wishlist, I've heard so many brilliant things about the Aqua Brow. 

#6 Make Up Academy Matte Lipstick in Wild Berry: £1.00 - A little bargain product on my wishlist, MUA have released a new range of matte lipsticks and I really want to try them! I've particularly got my eye on the shade Wild Berry. 

Fiona xox

Sleek Matte Me Lip Creams | Fandango Purple & Birthday Suit

Sleek Matte Me Lip Creams in Fandango Purple and Birthday Suit: £4.99 each - 

These Matte Me Lip Cream's are one of the latest releases from Sleek Make Up, so I picked up two shades that really caught my eye. Fandango Purple is a magenta purple with an almost raspberry undertone. It's a cross between MAC's Rebel and Heroine, with some hot pink thrown in to make it a bit more wearable. I really really love it. Birthday Suit is the perfect nude shade with peachy undertones that doesn't totally wash me out. I normally look terrible with nude lips but Birthday Suit looks fab, especially with a smoky eye look. 

As for the formula, these really are matte! If you have any dryness in your lips whatsoever, you definitely need to exfoliate and moisturise before wearing these. They go on really creamy (not unlike the Rimmel Apocalips) but dry to a totally matte finish. Once they've set they really don't move, as with everything they won't last through a full night of eating and drinking, but otherwise they stay well! Fandango Purple also leaves a nice stain on the lips. If you want lasting power but don't like the dryness of a matte lip, once these have set you can pop a gloss over the top and it doesn't all smush together! 

Overall I really really like these. There are 3 more shades in the range as well as 5 Gloss Me lip products. As far as I'm aware these are limited edition (don't quote me on that!) so I will be repurchasing these two shades as back ups since they are a bargainous £4.99! 

Fiona xox

Life Update | 250 Followers, Honours Year and a New Job

Firstly, I'd like to say thank you because today I hit 250 followers! Thank you all so much, I treasure each and every one of you and it means so much that people read my little blog! I will do a giveaway sometime in the near future to say thank you, but first I'll tell you a little about what's going on in my life.

I head back to Uni this week for my 4th and final year. For those of you who don't know, I'm a journalism student at the University of The West of Scotland! I officially got my degree this year, but I won't graduate until next year (with hopefully a good class of honours!). This is going to be tough and I am nervous, but I'm going to put my all into it. 

I've also started a new job! I'm now a member of staff at my Student Union, and so far I'm loving it! The late nights during Freshers week have been really tough, but definitely enjoyable. I've mostly been working behind the bar and even had a shift DJ'ing one night! Luckily I already knew a few of the people I work with, and those I didn't are all super nice and we make a good team! The extra income it's going to give me is great too (more make up, yay!). 

So forgive me if blog posts are few and far between for the next few weeks, I will try my hardest to keep posting regularly and I already have a few things lined up. Once I'm into the swing of things The Beauty Fiend will get back on track! And thank you again! 

Fiona xox

My Eyebrow Routine

I've always done my eyebrows since my early teens, and although I went through an embarrassing period of shaving them off and drawing them back in, I finally have a brow routine that really works and brows to be proud of!

For brow maintenance, I use Barbara Daly fine pointed tweezers, that come in a set of three from Tesco. The point of these make plucking even tiny hairs super easy. For my actual brow routine I fill my brows in using a mix of Omega and Soba powder eyeshadows from MAC. These came together as a 'blonde duo' as part of the Stylish Brow collection earlier this year, but theres nothing stopping you putting the duo together yourself! They make a really good colour for my brows but when I run out I'll probably just repurchase Omega. I use the Real Techniques Brow Brush from their eye collection to apply the powder, it's quite a thick brow brush that gives surprising precision! Finally I run through my brows with my new Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara to set them and keep them in place all day! 

Fiona xox

Maybelline Haul | Baby Lips & Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara

Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss and Mint Fresh: £2.99 each

Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara in Dark Blonde: £4.99

Maybelline was on 3 for 2 in Boots so I decided to pick up a few of their new products! I bought two of the much awaited Baby Lips lip balms and the new Brow Drama brow mascara. The Baby Lips are really nice, the packaging is super cute and I feel much better pulling one of these out of my handbag rather than a grotty old balm! Mint Fresh is a clear balm with a (you guessed it) minty scent, and Peach Kiss is a peachy tinted balm with some shimmer. For £2.99 I would definitely buy these again when I need more lip balm as they're nice and moisturising.

The Brow Drama sculpting brow mascara will be in my September Favourites for sure. It's the first high street tinted brow gel I've seen, and I love it. The brush is a weird shape, but it applies the brow gel really well. The dark blonde shade is perfect for my brows, and it sets so well! It's so pigmented that if I was in a rush I could skip filling in my brows and just use this. I will buy this again and again, it's so affordable! 

Fiona xox

Revlon Evening Opulence Collection | Lip Butter & Colorburst Gloss

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Invite Only: £7.99 (2 for £10 in Boots)

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Gloss in Adorned: £7.99 (2 for £10 in Boots)

Revlon recently released their A/W products for 2013, called the Evening Opulence collection. It consisted of two new lip butters, two new glosses and a couple of eyeshadow quads. I picked up one lip butter and one gloss, and here are my thoughts on them!

Don't panic, the lip butter in Invite Only isn't actually mint green! Only the packaging has a minty hue, the actual lip balm is clear with mint and blue iridescent sparkles. Not really worth £7.99 if I'm honest. It's also not as soft as the usual lip butters, it has a harder more balmy texture, which I quite like. It seems to be one of those 'teeth whitening' shades because of the blue sparkles. Although I love the outer packaging, the product itself is nothing to shout about and I won't repurchase. 

The Color Burst lip gloss is a totally different story, its packed with colour! It's so pigmented I'd call it more of a lip lacquer than a lip gloss! It's a gorgeous magenta pink with pink and purple shimmer that really shows through. Plus it's not sticky! I'm really really impressed, it's the first lip gloss I've tried from Revlon and I'd definitely buy more.

Fiona xox

Wednesday Wishlist | #10

#1 Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayons: £7.99 each - The blogging world has gone crazy for Bourjois version of the lip crayon, and I'm so tempted to join in! I've heard nothing but good things about these. I really want to try Peach on The Beach and and Orange Punch, but they all look gorgeous!

#2 Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation: £5.99 - One of the latest releases from Rimmel, how can I resist? They're one of my favourite high street brands, I love their Stay Matte powder and at £5.99 it's a bargain! Definitely buying a tube when it appears in Boots!

#3 MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation: £21.50 - One of my favourite foundations, I've been out of it for ages and really need to repurchase! 

#4 YSL Glossy Stain Rebel Nudes Collection: £23.50 each - In my last post, I proclaimed my love for the YSL glossy stains! They've released a new range of shades called the 'Rebel Nudes' collection. I have my eye on two shades, 101 Nude Provocateur and 108 Violine Out Of Control! 

#5 Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Pencils: £19.00 each - British make up artist Charlotte Tilbury has released her own high end cosmetics range, and I can't help but lust over her Colour Chameleon eye pencils. Their are two shades for each different eye colour (blue, green, brown and hazel) and Charlotte has designed them so that they really make your eye colour pop! 

Fiona xox

August Favourites | 2013

A very small favourites post, more like a Top 5 of the month haha! But anyway, here are my August favourites:

Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean Cleansing Milk: I have at least 5 different cleansers on the go, but I've gone through this so quickly, it has to be a favourite! I've been trying to avoid foaming cleansers (thanks Caroline Hirons!) but a lot of creamy cleansers are too greasy for my oily skin! Peaches & Clean is doing a fantastic job and makes my skin feel so fresh. It's designed for oily skin and clogged pores, and it smells amazing, like peach Soothers! 

W7 Photoshoot Foundation: This foundation costs about £2.99, but its brilliant! It's not the most full coverage or long lasting, but it makes my skin look amazing, almost airbrushed. With primer, concealer and setting powder it really is lovely and lasts a good while.

Stila All Over Shimmer Duo in Kitten: This is definitely a rediscovery, I even had it in a blog sale! It has two multi purpose shimmery powders inside. But I'm glad it didn't sell, as both sides make fantastic highlighters and give a really nice not too glittery glow! I love using the gold side with bronzy smoky makeup looks, and as you might predict, the pink side for more girly daytime looks! 

MUA What Makes You Beautiful Cheek Tints in Coral Cutie and Rose Riot: I've never liked cream blush, but these are the exception to the rule. Easy to use, they last for a decent amount of time and are really pigmented! Oh, and they only cost £3.00 each! 

Fiona xox

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain | #9 Rouge Laque

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in #9 Rouge Laque: £23.50 (£14.10) from Debenhams -

My second YSL Glossy Stain purchase was not pre-planned, I spotted this for £14.10 in the Debenhams sale and snapped it up! #9 Rouge Laque is a true red shade, which on first application verges on 'tomato' but after a second coat turns into the perfect bright red.

I absolutely love these stains. They take two coats for totally opaque coverage, but the pigmentation and wear time are incredible, and they aren't at all sticky. It won't last through a whole night of eating and drinking, but the point of these is that they leave a gorgeous stain on the lips! I'm not a gloss fan at all but these have to be my all time favourite. You get quite a precise application from the pointed wand and it doesn't distribute too much product. You might have to dip into the tube a couple of times to coat the lips twice, but I'd rather that than an overload. 

I would never have picked #9 Rouge Laque unless it was in the sale, but I'm glad I did, it's gorgeous! I'd highly recommend these to anyone and they're definitely worth the hefty price tag of £23.50 if you're looking for a little luxury. I can't wait to try the new Rebel Nudes collection and also compare these to the L'oreal dupe which I haven't tried yet! 

Fiona xox