March Favourties | 2014

L'Oreal True Match Foundation - I've only had this foundation a few weeks but it's already become one of my favourites - as you can tell! I don't know about the 'true match' part as this foundation is a little too dark and a little too pink toned for me, it definitely doesn't adapt to skin colour. However the finish is fantastic, I'd say this is a medium coverage foundation with a not too matte, not too dewy finish. It's not cakey in the slightest and I will definitely be repurchasing in a different shade.
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - Normally I like an oil control primer but Laura Mercier's original foundation primer helps my foundation last longer and along with the L'Oreal True Match foundation makes my skin look smooth and perfected! If this is the normal primer I can't wait to try the oil free version!
Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Tantalizing Taupe - Normally, nude lipsticks are a big no no for me. I despise the 'concealer lips' look and prefer something with a little more colour. But Tantalizing Taupe from Maybelline is the perfect in between pinky nude.
NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Bangkok - Another nude lipstick, Bangkok from NARS is a matte nude pink with a small amount of silver shimmer. It's definitely on the pinker side of nude and completes any make up look.
MAC Paint in Sublime Nature -  This is the first paint from MAC I'd tried, and although the packaging isn't my favourite the product is a long lasting cream eyeshadow that stays on all day. Sublime Nature is a dark nude shade that I really like to pair with MAC's Patina eyeshadow in the crease.

Fiona xox

Maybelline | Instant Anti-Age 'The Eraser Eye' Concealer

Maybelline Instant Anti-Age 'The Eraser Eye' Concealer - £4.99

This concealer took a while to make it's way over to the UK from America, but when it finally landed I snapped it up and have been using it regularly ever since. 

It's described as a 'Perfect & Cover concealer' with Goji berry and Haloxyl, and although it's targeted as an under eye concealer it can be used all over the face. I tend to stick to using this under my eyes as the coverage isn't heavy enough to cover redness and spots. It's the perfect everyday light concealer to hide dark under eye circles, although I prefer to use something more heavy duty for nights out. It's lovely and brightening and not too thick.

The product itself has a 'clicky' twist up with a sponge on top, which is really good for getting the right amount of product and stops the concealer looking cakey. I tend to give the sponge a good clean with a face wipe every so often to stop bacteria building up. 

I have the shade Light, it has slightly pink undertones which is perfect for hiding under eye circles. I really like this as an everyday under eye concealer and will probably repurchase! 

Fiona xox

February Favourites

Origins Drink Up-Intensive Overnight Mask:

I was lucky enough to receive the Origins Mask Marvels set for Christmas, and I've been loving all the masks, but the Drink Up-Intensive in particular mask has been a life saver. It's an overnight mask and is just amazing for hydrating tired skin.

Maybelline The Eraser Eye Perfect & Cover Concealer:

This has quickly become my favourite every day under-eye concealer, it's not the most heavy duty product but it's very brightening and light for daytime make up. 

Rimmel BB Cream Matte:

I posted about this BB cream last week and I absolutely love it! I'm definitely going to repurchase this but next time in the shade Extra Light, as I feel the Light shade is just a little too dark for me! It's matte without being drying and provides great coverage.

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover:

A true peach blush that almost verges on orange (the good kind of orange!) I've been reaching for this a lot since I got it in January. Illamasqua blushes are always incredibly pigmented and you only need a tiny bit to pack a punch on the cheeks.

MAC Pigment in Vanilla:

I really really love this pigment, it's perfect for highlighting just about everywhere, but it's especially nice on the browbone. It's frosted white with gold sparkle but it still manages not to be too OTT. Also, you get a huge amount of pigment and this is going to last a long long time!

MAC Paint Pot in Painterly:

This is another new addition to my make up collection. I loved my first MAC paint pot in Bare Study, but I'd always wanted a matte base product and Painterly is brilliant for creating a blank canvas for eyeshadow.

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm in Demure:

When Revlon released their new colorburst balms I wasn't excited about the lacquer versions at all, but I picked up the shade Demure and it's lovely. A pale peachy pink with chunky glitter (which isn't very comfortable but I can deal with that!) it's the perfect nude lip to wear with a glamorous smoky eye!

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

Boots Haul | Real Techniques & Maybelline

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 125: £7.99

Maybelline Fit Me Anti-Shine Stick in 130: £8.99

Maybelline Fit Me Powder in 125: £5.99

Maybelline was on 3 for 2, who can say no to that? I picked up the Fit Me foundation in the shade 125, I've been using a sample in 135 which was a bit dark for me, so 125 is perfect! I really really wanted to try the anti-shine stick, so picked it up in the shade 130, which is a tiny bit too dark but Boots had a rubbish shade range! I have a bit of a summer tan just now so its fine. Finally I picked up the powder in 125, as I don't have any 'travel friendly' powders for popping in my bag. It comes with a powder puff which is handy too!

Real Techniques Your Eyes/Enhanced Starter Set: £21.99 (£11.99)

Real Techniques Duo Fiber Collection: £23.99

Real Techniques were on a buy one get one half price offer so I picked up the two sets I've had my eye on for a while. The eye collection contains some brushes I'll use for sure, and others I might not. So far, I've used the brow brush, which I really like, and the base shadow brush and the deluxe crease brush. The deluxe crease brush is a bit big for detailed crease work, but for blending out an over defined crease it could work! I haven't tried any of the duo fiber brushes yet, but I'm sure they'll be up to the usual RT standard!

I don't normally blow this much in one go at Boots, but it was my birthday! I hope you enjoyed this post!

Fiona xox

Maybelline Colour Tattoo | Light In Purple

Recently Maybelline have released three new colour tattoos on to the UK market. Still not as good as the American shades, but better than nothing! I picked up Light in Purple:

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Light In Purple: £4.99 via Boots and Superdrug - 

Maybelline describe this as a holographic cream eyeshadow that can be layered over other colour tattoos or eyeshadows to create unusual effects. 

I wouldn't describe this in any way a purple colour. It's a light metallic blue that in some lights has a pink/lilac duochrome. It's really unusual. 

As always it stands up to the usual quality of the colour tattoos. Creamy, pigmented and long lasting. I haven't worn it much as I'm still trying to figure out how to make it work. 

I'm excited to try this out over other eyeshadows and even more excited to see if Maybelline will bring out any more new shades in the future! 

Fiona xox

Haul 11/04/2012

Hello all! Went on a wee shopping trip today, and picked up a few things!

Knayton Hall Scented Room Spray in 'Boudoir' 200ml - £4.99. I've always faniced myself as a lover of all things vintage or vintage styled, so when I seen this room spray with the old fashioned 'sprayer', I could'nt resist. It smells gorgeous too, bonus!

MNY Nail Varnishes in 669 and 553 - £2.99 each. These colours were so gorgeous I couldn't resist. 669 is a lovely dark steely silver grey, and 553 is a nice purply pink magenta.

Great Hair Anti Frizz Conditioner 1L - £1.99 each. When I seen these in B&M Bargains, I couldn't believe it! One litre of conditioner for £1.99? Yes please. I go through conditioner like nothing else as I have super curly, frizzy hair. These will allow me to splurge on a more expensive hair smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner and not waste money on expensive deep conditioners! Might go back and stock up i they're any good!

I never went out with plans to buy anything, but came back with some amazing bargains!

Hope you enjoyed this, have you discovered any bargains recently? xx

Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadows.

Hello! Heres an overview of Maybelline's Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadows:

Disclaimer: Although I have previously stated on this blog I will always try and use/review cruelty free brands, these items were given to me by a friend who didn't realise I had stopped buying Maybelline. It would be unfair to throw away such beautiful products and unfair to hide them away without showing you.

I have two of the colours - On and On Bronze and Permanant Taupe. I believe these have different names and packaging in the States, but are exactly the same colour. I've wanted to try cream eyeshadows for a while, M.A.C's Paint Pot's and Benefits Cream Shadow's have been a little out of my price range.

They come in small glass pots (not dissimilar to M.A.C's paint pots), and retail for £4.99 each here in the UK and are available at Boots and Superdrug, although so far in Scotland I've only seen them in Superdrug.

Permanent Taupe is a lovely greyish, slightly purplish taupe, and is almost matte. On and On Bronze is just a bright, shimmery bronze, and very pretty.

Heres the swatches!

They really are lovely, I'm looking forward to seeing if they have anything near the 24 hour wear they claim to, and if I'll need an eyeshadow primer with them!

Hope you enjoyed this post! xx

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Mascara Review.

After seeing a few mixed reviews, I picked this up in ASDA a few weeks ago since it was on offer at £4.98.

I've been looking for a replacement for my 'Maybelline Colossal Lash' mascara, its my all time favourite but unfortunately I'm giving it up as Maybelline are owned by L'oreal. I am aware that Rimmel still do on occassion test on animals, however they are very apologetic about this and I believe they are working towards becoming a cruelty free brand.

Anyway! The first thing you'll notice about the product is the bright orange packaging, not to everyones taste but it certainly appealed to me. The second thing you'll notice is the huge brush - its massive!

I expected more from this product. There was so much hype around it and it sold out everywhere the first few weeks after it launched, that when I finally tried it I was dissapointed. Its gloopy, theres far too much product left on the wand, and (I thought I'd never say this!) the wand is just too big. Its hard to work with and you end up with mascara all over your eyelids. It does lengthen and volumise to a certain extent, but its nothing amazing.

I might change my mind once this dries up a bit, I always prefer mascara after its been open and used for a few weeks. Overall, its nothing spectacular and I don't think I'll be buying it again.

If there are any products you'd like me to review, just leave a comment and let me know! x