Beauty Review: L’Oréal Paris Paradise Mascara

Hello again guys; it feels like a while since I’ve done a beauty related review. Over the past few months I’ve worn make up a bit less (or less make up, at least) however it definitely feels like time for a new review. There was so much hype surrounding this mascara on blogs, YouTube and simply in general that I felt like I just HAD to buy it. The mascara that I’m reviewing today is the L’Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic Mascara in the shade 01 Black. Priced at £11.99, it is a more expensive drugstore mascara however the packaging does also match that; with a rose gold cardboard outer that reminds me a lot of Benefit packaging, this mascara is definitely marketed and aiming for the drugstore high-end and it does look absolutely lovely. The actual mascara packaging is just as nice as the cardboard outer with the main body in a matte rose gold and the lid is a shiny rose gold with constrasting white typeface across the main body with the mascara name. At first glance, I wouldn’t have guessed that this was a L’Oréal product, visually it is very different to their other mascara ranges, a couple of which are shown in my photographs below. As much as I love the packaging, I do feel like this is a lot of money to drop on a mascara, but as I wear mascara more or less everyday I guess that isn’t too much but it is more than I would usually spend, to be honest.

One of the reasons why I was so excited to try out this mascara is that it has been constantly compared to the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, which is a product that I’ve personally never tried but have always wanted to. I did have some reservations as generally I do prefer plastic bristles on a mascara wand and this mascara has a soft fibred wand which I do find harder to work with but that said, I do have naturally full, long lashes so any wand does the job for me. The outer packaging boasts that this mascara gives Intense Volume and Spectacular, Long Lashes as well as being a Pleasure to Apply. Basically, a lot to live up to as all of those things sound pretty desirable. Personally, I like my lashes to look very full, separated and long; I love it when a mascara is visibly on my lashes and very dark black to stand out against my green eyes.

The wand is a fairly unusual shape; a curved hourglass shape, it is larger at the top and bottom and thinner in the centre so should be great at opening up the eye shape and lengthening the edges. Below it is the mascara wand on the left side, the centre mascara is Maybelline Lash Sensational and the mascara to the right is Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot, pictured together to demonstrate the clear differences in mascara wand shape, size and material. Personally I’ve found that plastic bristles grip to my lashes better than fiber bristles, but I can work with either kind if I have to. I was a little disappointed that the wand on the L’Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic Mascara is fiber as I was expecting a plastic wand (not sure why I thought that...) but I’m dreaming of long, full lashes with this mascara regardless of the less preferred style of wand. Generally, I am quite a messy applier of mascara and this wand is pretty thick, so unfortunately I’m expecting a very messy look with this mascara; I’m terrible for having an unsteady hand whenever I apply mascara, oops. I’m hoping that this mascara won’t be a regret as I do feel like I was drawn to buy it due to all of the hype that surrounded it, but I’m planning to try it out everyday for a week with a number of different base looks to give it a fair chance as although already I’m having some reservations, I do want to be impartial to start with. Plus, the packaging is stunning so there is that to be positive about!

The formula is very thick, which I like in any mascara as that helps create a fuller look when on the lashes. However, it’s also a very dry formula which makes it difficult to work with; once it’s on the lashes that’s it. It doesn’t budge. In theory, that could be great, but for me that is an absolute nightmare because as I explained previously, I’m a very messy mascara applier; I need time to work the mascara into my lashes to achieve the shape that I like (long, full and separated; basically real lashes that look fake) and with this formulation that was impossible. The shape of the wand was actually pretty nice, I just wish that it was a plastic bristled brush as I feel like I could’ve worked with the mascara much better that way but obviously this was never going to be my favourite mascara because over the course of a week, I felt like chucking this mascara in the bin. As I’ve said, the mascara doesn’t budge once it’s on the lashes; it literally doesn’t budge to the point that it’s so hard to take off at the end of the day it hurts. I felt like I was pulling out my lashes each day, which is a definite dislike for me. This isn’t even the waterproof version, it’s the standard one! It looked nice on my bottom lashes but on the top... They just looked short and stubby, clinging to each other and overall I’m just not a fan. It’s not the worst mascara in the world, but it’s definitely one that I’ll never be reaching for ever again. 

The packaging is simply beautiful, but that’s not enough to make me want to give this mascara another chance. I hate the formula and the way that it makes my eyelashes look; for £11.99 I was expecting it to be so much better. In all honesty, I’ve used £3.99 mascaras with better results so I’m super frustrated with what I’ve spent for what I’ve got. In fairness, I do prefer plastic bristles so that may be one of the reasons why I hated this mascara so much as the fibers didn’t seem to grip my lashes fully, but at the same time I do love some other mascaras such as the Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot and that has a fiber brush so perhaps it’s more an issue with the dryness of the formula. I definitely won’t be using or buying the L’Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic Mascara again and that’s a bit of a shock for me as usually I love L’Oréal products so I’m genuinely really disappointed as it was more than I would usually spend on a drugstore item. I also hated how difficult it was to take off when needed; my lashes actually hurt so much after scrubbing at them with micellar water, make up wipes... Not impressed. I’d give this mascara a 2 out of 5 simply because the shape of the wand was nice and the packaging is lovely, but the price is too much for the quality. Let me know your thoughts on this mascara in the comments!

March Beauty Haul

Hello again guys; it feels like it’s been a while since I’ve blogged a beauty related haul, most of my recent hauls have been book related as you’ll have probably noticed. This is a fairly small haul, but a one with some amazing products, some of which have already started making their way into my everyday make up routine! The Maybelline Rocket Volum’ Express mascara in the shade Very Black is a repurchase for me; I absolutely love this mascara for the way that it volumises, lengthens and separates my lashes for the incredible price of £7.99. I’m a sucker for very dark lashes, I love how this mascara instantly looks dramatic because of how pigmented it is, plus it doesn’t clump much, so it’s great for everyday wear. Another product in this haul that I’ve repurchased is the L’Oréal Paris True Match Concealer in the shade Ivory Rose. I’m lucky in that my skin is fairly clear, other than the odd blemish and dark circles, so generally I prefer to wear concealer rather than going all over with foundation for everyday. This concealer is a lovely consistency, not too thick or thin but nicely buildable; for £7.99 I’m satisfied as it lasts me over a month with regular use so it’s good value for money. It’s one of the only drugstore concealers that I’ve found to be pale enough for my skin with a pink tone, so I feel like this will be a favourite of mine for a long time. Similarly, the Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick in the shade Latte To Go is now my fourth lipstick from the same range; I love the lightweight formula and the reasonable price of £5.99. I’ve also been impressed with this range of lipsticks because I’ve found it stays on even after eating and drinking for a good few hours, which is always a bonus.

Over the past couple of months I’ve been searching for a drugstore eyebrow gel, as I’ve been using a more mid range one but I do tend to stick to a budget a lot of the time so I wanted one that I could repurchase cheaply if necessary. After reading some good reviews about the NYX Control Freak Eyebrow Gel I decided to take a risk for the bargain price of £6! I like my brows to look natural but neat, so having a good gel is a necessity; I’ve got really high hopes for this gel as fingers crossed it’ll last the whole day and have a nice smooth formula. I’ve definitely become a bit addicted to highlighters recently, as I ended up with the MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter in the shade Pearlescent Sheen in my basket, too! I’ve used so many of these highlighters in various shades and they never disappoint; in fairness, for £3 you can’t really go wrong. It’s a pretty sizeable pan and very pigmented, adding a nice shimmer to create some cheekbones (something I wish I had, haha). I’ve also ended up with highlighter palette, oops. Definitely spent too much on make up this month! However I have been lusting after the MakeUp Revolution x Soph Highlighter Palette for what feels like forever. It’s got a variety of shades and in all honestly it’ll be great for any occasion because you can mix up the make up look you’re going for by using any of the shades in the palette. The price of £8 is reasonable when you consider that there’s 8 shades, so it’s essentially £1 a pan; excellent value for money, although I’ll likely only use the 4 shades that are light enough for my skin tone.

I also ended up with the MakeUp Revolution x Soph Eyeshadow Palette a couple of days later. As much as I was wary about spending another £10 on make up, I’d been tempted by this palette for a while. There are 24 different shades, even mixtures of shades and shimmers and I didn’t have another palette like it, so I feel like I’ll get good use out of it. I doubt that I’ll use every single one of the shades on a regular basis, but there’s plenty of shades that I will use regularly enough to make the money worth it; plus I love the sturdy feel of the palette, it feels like it’ll travel well. Lastly, I purchased the Anna Sui Fantasia 50ml EDT and it feels like forever since I last splurged on a perfume! For £45, it wasnt the cheapest of purchases, but unfortunately perfume is one of those things that I just can’t resist, I wear a bit of perfume every day and I own far too many perfumes. I couldn’t resist the gorgeous bottle of this one; the delicate gold, the unicorn... All of it! I haven’t used it properly yet, but I have smelt the perfume and as I love floral and fruity smells this one was going to be a new love of mine. I do feel a little guilty as I’ve spent a fairy amount of money on beauty related items this month, but I’m hoping that each item will last a while so I can go back to my usual budget for now. Let me know in the comments what you think of these kinds of posts as I love getting feedback! :)

Beauty Review: Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara

Hello again guys; it’s been a bit of a while since I posted a beauty review so it feels a little overdue! If I had to choose one kind of make up product to use for the rest of my life it would have to be mascara; I’m actually addicted to wearing mascara all the time. I just feel like it helps brighten up my eyes and open up my face. I’m forever in search of the perfect mascara and after reading some rave reviews, I decided to take the plunge and purchase the Maybelline Lash Sensational Limited Edition Rose Gold Mascara in the shade Very Black. If there is the option to buy a ‘very black’ version if a mascara, I always do; where I have very pale skin, I love the contrast between my skin and the darkness of the lashes and it does really make a difference to how my eyes look framed against the rest of my face. There are three versions of the Lash Sensational available on the market; regular, Rose Gold and Waterproof. As I review the product I’ll also explain the small differences between the mascaras. 

Starting with the packaging, I think it’s a really beautifully designed mascara; all of the three types are pink all over, with the regular and waterproof versions being a delicate matte pale pink with black or blue typography. The reason that my magpie like self chose the rose gold version was that I loved the shiny texture of it, plus I’m an absolute sucker for limited edition packaging. All three designs have the same size, type and the black really stands out against the pink on the regular and rose gold versions and the light blue shade looks lovely on the waterproof version too, although I’m generally not a fan of waterproof mascaras. In comparison with other mascaras, it’s a similar size and it actually looks identical in shape to the Colossal Big Shot mascara that I own, although that is likely because they’re both by Maybelline. However, the chosen shade of pink is unusual, as is the rose gold version; it definitely stands out in a make up bag or when it is placed in a flat lay, as above.

One of the things that make this mascara so unique is the unusual shape of the wand and its bristles. The photograph above demonstrates the difference in wand shape between the Miss Baby Roll (left), Lash Sensational (centre) and Colossal Big Shot (right) and as you can see, there is a very distinctive curve in the wand, with the plastic bristles ranging in size and sit in a fan shape. The length of the wands is the smallest of the three mascaras, which is useful as the curve in the wand helps to assentuate the lashes in line with their natural shape through the different sized bristles. This won’t be a mascara for everyone however, as some people don’t like plastic bristles; but for me personally, I tend to find that plastic wanded mascaras work much better for me the majority of the time. With each side of the wand being a different size and shape, there is a way to reach every single lash, including the usually fiddly inner and outer corners as well as the forever difficult bottom lashes. 

Overall, I found that I was pleasantly surprised by how pleased I was with the effect that this mascara gave my lashes. I had read some rave reviews of this mascara, but I’m someone who holds out their true judgement until I’ve tried it out. I’ve already mentioned that the packaging is beautiful to look at, but the wand is a very unusual shape, I’ve never seen another mascara like it. What I loved was the smaller side of the wand worked perfectly on the lower lashes, I’m terrible for smudging my lower mascara but with this wand they were lengthened with minimal smudging and one simple coat. The thicker side of the wand works well on the upper lashes, too. I found that this is an excellent lengthening and curling mascara, the fan shaped brush lives up to its appeal as each lash stands out as an individual. It’s not a particularly volumising mascara, although that could be as this was the first time I had used this mascara; the formula was very wet as it was so new, but it felt light on the lashes once applied. I’m in love with this mascara, but I have naturally thick and long lashes; if you don’t, this mascara is unlikely to work for you, unfortunately. The photo above is of my eye after application; I was impressed that the mascara lasted for roughly nine hours wear with no smudging or flaking. This mascara is an 8.5/10 for me!

2018 Favourites // Beauty

Hello again guys; I’m aware that I’m super behind with this post as it’s now mid January (already!) but in my defence, I do have a full time job and sometimes it’s good to just chill out and not constantly force yourself to write, write, write. I’ve already posted about my favourite books of 2017 and honestly, my other love in life is beauty products and I used a lot of those in 2017 so it made sense to start a post purely about what I loved so much I’ll definitely be repurchasing and reusing for 2018. Honestly, I cannot believe how quickly the month of January is flying by, without me even realising, oops. So far, 2018 has been treating me rather well and that’s always a good thing. I’m actually loving to simply live my life and not stress anymore about making this blog ‘successful’; I’ve remembered why I started blogging. I wanted a hobby and so for 2018 I’m going to blog because I enjoy it; not because I want to pressure myself. It feels great to be at a place in my life where I feel content enough to share my life and not worry about views and numbers; instead I’m focusing on the creative side of blogging and so I’m planning to improve my content over the next year. Please let me know in the comments if you like this kind of post as it’s always good to know! :)

BRUSHES

In all honesty, I’m not very experimental when it comes to choice of brushes. For the past couple of years I’ve only used the Real Techniques brand for brushes and I genuinely do love them. One of the reasons why I like them so much is that I love that you can buy multiple different brush types in sets for good prices. I currently own the Core Collection, Your Picks Berlin and Enhanced Eye sets and each set was under £25 for 4 or 5 brushes in the set. I decided to invest in the sets because it’s cheaper than buying the brushes individually, plus you get a variety of different brushes that can do different things. I’ve had some of these brushes over over a year and they still work perfectly with no shedding, so I don’t regret the investment and I’ll definitely get more brushes from the range over time.

LIP PRODUCTS

In 2017 I discovered the power of liquid lipsticks; I love that they dry matte and stay put for so long, plus it also means that my poor boyfriend doesn’t have lipstick smudged all over his cheeks like he has had in the past, haha. At the beginning of 2017 I would’ve sworn by any liquid lipstick from NYX, but towards the end of the year I became obsessed with the Rimmel versions. My favourite shades are London from the Soft Matte Lip Cream range by NYX and Moca, Fire Starter from the Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lip range. London is by far my favourite ever nude lip shade, but I prefer the formula of the Rimmel versions as they feel thicker and less drying on the lips. Both priced at £6, these lipsticks are amazingly purse friendly and I’m sure I’ll be purchasing many more shades to experiment with over the coming year.

FACE PRODUCTS

A fairly recent discovery for me is the L’Oréal Paris 24hr Infallible Foundation in the shade Porcelain. Honestly, I don’t know how many years I’ve been searching for a foundation that feels light on the skin, has good coverage and most importantly, matches my ghostly skin tone. Priced at £10.99, it’s not the cheapest foundation on the market but it does a fantastic job for a reasonable price. It’s likely to sit in my make up bag for a seriously long time. Likewise, I’ve recently discovered an excellent concealer, again by L’Oréal Paris, it’s the True Match Concealer in the shade Rose Ivory. The reason why I like it so much is that the range allows you to choose not only by your flat skin tone, it also allows you to choose whether you have cool or warm toned skin. For £7.99, it is rather pricey but it lasts a long time and it has a really easy to use applicator that works seamlessly to cover even the nastiest of nasty dark under eye circles.

In terms of eyebrow products, my holy grail products are the L’Oréal Paris Artist Xpert in the shade Cool Blond and the Benefit Ready, Set Brow! Which I use every single day. The eyebrow pencil is super easy to use and reasonably priced at £6.99. I love it because it thickens and defines my brows whilst keeping them looking natural; I don’t like to look super groomed. The cool tone of the product works well for me as my natural eyebrow colour is a dark blonde and once the brows are brushed through I’m always ready for the day ahead. I do like to set my brows in place because I like them to stay in position throughout the day. The Benefit product does cost £20 which does seem extortionate for a clear brow gel but honestly it’s the best one that I’ve tried, it stays put for at least 12 hours and so my brows look naturally perfect, rather than overdone. My other face love is the MakeUp Revolution Vivid Baked Highlight in the shade Ever Glow Lights which is absolute steal for £3; it gives a lovely glow with just a small sweep of product and I’ve genuinely hit pan... Time for a new one, I think!

EYE PRODUCTS

My stand out eyeshadow palette of the year has got to be the Sleek MakeUp iDivine Palette in the shade All Night Long. For the £8.99 you get a decently sized palette with a large mirror and twelve different shades with a good mixture of matte and shimmer shades. The shades are so, so pigmented and last really well on the eyelids. Since discovering this palette I’ve had so many compliments on the eye looks I’ve been creating and I love how versatile this palette is. There are some stunning copper and bronze shimmers that make up the perfect smoky but subtle blend of shadows. In terms of mascaras, I have three that I constantly reach for. Firstly, the Maybelline The Rocket Volum’ Express in Very Black has been a favourite of mine for the majority of 2017. I find that plastic bristles work really well to enlongate, volumise and fan out the individual lashes to create a false lash effect whilst using my natural lashes. For £7.99, this mascara is both affordable and can be used for a day time or night time eye look as I used it everyday for quite a few months for a variety of situations and I was always satisfied with it. I actually purchased it at least three times during 2017, which is the sign of a winner.

There are two other mascaras that I’ve truly loved during 2017. The Maybelline Colossal Big Shot mascara is absolutely amazing and a case in point that sometimes what you wouldn’t usually like can be a great discovery. The brush does have wavy fibre bristles, which is something that I wouldn’t usually go for. That said, I love how this mascara does everything; it curls, it volumises and it lengthens all for the price of £7.99 although admittedly I do tend to apply three coats to reach the desired false lash effect. The final mascara that I loved last year was the L’Oréal Paris Miss Baby Roll which has the most bizarrely shaped plastic bristled brush I’ve ever seen and yet it is honestly my favourite mascara of all time, for now. I’ve never found another mascara with a similar brush style, yet it creates the most incredible volume and curl with only one coat. If I want to make super dramatic, individually fanned lashes then a second coat takes the look from day to night and I’m obsessed, I cannot rave about this mascara enough, particularly as it’s so affordable.

PERFUME

I have a massive collection of perfumes, but over the last year my favourites were actually gifts. The Britney Spears Maui Fantasy was given to me by my Nana and I’ve been wearing it regularly since April; it comes in a beautiful blue bottle with floral decoration and smells so tropical, it’s very unusual. It feels light on the skin and reminds me a lot of long summer days and holidays with the lovely notes of orange blossom, coconut and hibiscus amongst many others. The second perfume that I’ve loved was a gift from my boyfriend, the Vera Wang Princess of Hearts is a beautiful scent with a gorgeous pink heart shaped bottle with little pink hearts all over it. It’s a lovely feminine scent, with notes of watermelon, lily of the valley and jasmine. I love this so much, I wore it more or less every day during spring and summer and because it was a gift it makes it even more enjoyable to wear. 

Festive Playlist!

Hello again guys; it’s the fifteenth day of Blogmas and I’m definitely struggling a little with the whole blogging every day idea. I’m one of those bloggers that’s genuinely so bloody disorganised, I never schedule posts and I rarely plan posts in advance so I’m literally writing a post a day and posting it on the same day, oops. This month I posted a stereotypical version of my monthly playlists, but I decided to wait until I had started to feel the Christmas spirit before posting a more festive version. Today, is the day for the festive version of a monthly playlist at last, as over the past week I’ve started listening to Christmas songs. I like a mixture of the older Christmas songs and the newer ones, for example the covers of traditional songs from Christmas adverts over the past few years and  Disney’s Frozen alongside the legendary Band Aid and The Pogues. I’m one of those people that enjoys Christmas but I have to feel it getting slowly closer before joining in with any festivities, haha. Are there any songs on this list that you love? Or have I missed off your favourite? Let me know in the comments! :)

1. The First Noel - Annie Lennox

2. Last Christmas - Wham!

3. Stay Another Day - East 17

4. All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

5. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) - The Darkness

6. Your Song - Ellie Goulding

7. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant - Annie Lennox

8. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl

9. Let It Go - Idina Menzel

10. Somewhere Only We Know - Lily Allen

11. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard

12. Stop The Calvary - Jona Lewie 

13. The Power of Love - Gabrielle Aplin

14. Let It Go - Demi Lovato

15. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin’ Stevens

MakeUp Review: Maybelline the Colossal Big Shot Mascara

Hello again; it feels like blogmas is taking over my life this December, haha. I really need to get myself more organised, I spent the majority of my days either writing non-stop to get posts ready in time for upload in the evening or taking photographs last minute, oops. Definitely need to step up my game, but I feel like despite this, I'm not doing a bad job of getting a post out each day. This post is another make up review, one that I'm really excited for as I genuinely love reading and writing posts like this; before I buy a product, I always read or watch reviews because I hate wasting money. I've always been a fan of Maybelline mascaras in general, so after seeing some good reviews of the Colossal Big Shot it was time to buy it and see how it worked for me. Priced at £7.99, I had high hopes that I would love this mascara as it is always useful to find another amazing drugstore mascara for a decent price, but that said, Maybelline mascaras generally average at a reasonable amount. I love pocket friendly make up products every day of the week.

The packaging is one that stands out in a crowd, shiny and gold alongside contrasting purple typography and a matching purple stripe along the lid. Staying true to the theme of the name 'big' is written larger than the other words which definitely draws your attention in. I do really like the design of the packaging, it's one that stands out even in a make up bag or storage even amongst other products. I took photographs that showed the mascara mixed in with other beauty related products to show how it looks in comparison, as well as demonstrate how it stands out due to the contrasting colour scheme used by the brand. Although the packaging is plastic, it feels hard wearing and it doesn't feel cheap, which is good as I'm always worried that make up is going to brake and spill all over the stuff in my bag (not something that I ever want to happen to me).

The wand is one that I generally like; on the whole I prefer to apply mascara with a large applicator, this is medium sized, with fiber bristles that are incredibly flexible. For me personally, I don't usually like fiber bristled wands because I'm a messy mascara applier and I find the fibers put little blobs of mascara all over my face, oops. However, this wand is a reasonable enough size that the fibers didn't do that as long as I was a little more careful (basically I had to apply the mascara slowly, not in a rush). It's a light wand, so that if you need to apply multiple coats it isn't too difficult and the formula is a fairly dry one, so the lashes don't stick together.

I love this mascara far more than I expected to, as on the whole I generally don't work well with fiber bristles wands, but this mascara definitely bucks that trend for me. The mascara applies evenly and nicely, with no excess mascara blobs anywhere on my face, plus the colour is a nice true dark toned black which is something that I love in any mascara. I know that I've mentioned on the blog before how much I love to have long, spidery lashes that pop and this mascara achieves that look for me with ease. The only downside that I can think of is that it takes about 3 coats before I'm satisfied so I'll definitely need to repurchase this mascara at some point because it won't last forever. I'm converted into trying out other fiber based mascaras now and that is saying something; even my boyfriend commented on my eyelashes, so it must be a winner as he never usually notices haha! My lashes look so volumised, lengthened and separated with only a hint of clumpiness. Honestly, I don't feel like I'll ever stop raving about this mascara, I love, love LOVE it.

December Beauty Haul

Hello again guys; I literally can’t believe how much of a struggle it is to somehow prepare for blogmas; I feel like an absolute mess in that I’ve never been the kind of blogger to organise my life enough to schedule or plan posts in advance so this is definitely a challenge for me. Although that said, I’m still not scheduling posts, definitely feeling like I need to though. This month I’ve been quite naughty and treated myself to some make up bits and pieces that I’ve been eyeing up for a while. I’ve been on the hunt for a decent concealer that’s pale enough for my ghostly skin and I’ve invested in the L’Oréal Paris True Match Concealer in the shade Ivory Rose which is the lightest shade with a blue toned match. Perfect for me and relatively purse friendly at £7.99. Another product that I’ve had my eyes on for a while is the Balmain x L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lipstick in the shade Domination which is a gorgeous ruby red shade and honestly, the packaging alone makes the slightly pricey £12.99 worth it. Plus, it smells divine! I also decided to bite the bullet and purchase the L’Oréal Paris Brow Artist Pomade in the shade Dark Blonde and the rose gold packaging is lovely, as is the included brow applicator, but for £9.99 it was definitely one of the more expensive purchases included in this little beauty haul.

I’m a bit of a mascara addict, not even exaggerating ahaha. It’s definitely the one beauty product that I would take on a desert island... For an everyday make up look I always need to have mascara on, it’s a must for me. I’ve repurchased the L’Oréal Paris Miss Baby Roll as it’s an absolutely amazing mascara, particularly for curling and volumising with a reasonable price of £7.99. I’ve always been a fan of Maybelline mascaras, so I decided to experiment with the Colossal Big Shot and Lash Sensational Limited Edition Rose Gold. They’re £7.99 and £8.99, both of them are well priced for good drugstore mascaras and come in lovely packaging, particularly the limited version, I’m excited to try them out, the brushes are very different to one another, so it’s likely to be interesting even so. The final item in this haul is the L’Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic mascara, which is more of an investment piece due to the slightly more expensive price point of £11.99, but that said the packaging is stunning and the brush looks extremely easy to use on any lash type, so I have very high expectations for this mascara after reading some rave reviews. Let me know in the comments if you have or want any of these products, I’d love to know your opinions! :)

MOTD: Autumnal Berry Lips

Hello again guys; it’s been months since I did a proper Make Up of the Day post on my blog, so I decided that it was time to do another! Somehow over the past few weeks, England has gotten extremely cold so I’m definitely feeling more autumn and winter beauty looks at the moment. Recently I’ve been a bit more minimal with my everyday make up routine, but I today I decided to go all out and do a full face. Starting primer, I used the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser (£7.99)  all over my face before beginning to apply concealer. I applied the Rimmel Wake Me Up (£6.49) in the shade ivory using a Real Techniques beauty blender around the eyes, nose and any blemishes. Overall, it covers all blemishes and dark circles well, but it is definitely too dark and yellow toned for me, as I’m more pink toned and pale so I wish they would make a porcelain shade too. 

I prefer to do my brows next, using the L’Oréal Paris Brow Artist Xpert (£7.99) in the shade Cool Blond. It is one of the products in my make up bag that I literally use every time I apply make up; it gives a very natural effect to filling the sparse parts of my brows (oops to the occasional overpluck by mistake) and matches my natural eyebrow shade perfectly. I then use the spooly end to brush out the excess product and frame the brows with concealer. My holy grail brow product is the Benefit Ready, Set, Brow! Which for £20 is definitely one of the more expensive items in my make up bag, but I love that the clear gel glides over my brow and sets them in place all day without the need for reapplication. I like my brows to be natural but tame and this really helps me to achieve that look.

I didn’t want to use foundation as I wanted something lighter on my skin; the Bourjois Paris 123 Perfect CC Cream (£9.99) is a great alternative to foundation as it does cover all skin sins whilst allowing your skin to breathe. Sadly, it is a little too dark for me at the moment (the autumn and winter months literally drain all of the colour from my face haha) but I use the shade ivory and as it is pink toned, it does work into my natural skin tone well once it’s blended out a bit using a beauty blender. For Contour, I used the bronze shade from the trusty Rimmel Kate Moss Sculpting Palette #002 (£6.99) and a Real Techniques brush across my cheekbones and across the temples of my forehead. It’s more of a bronzer, but as my skin is so pale, that does work better for me anyway, before applying the blush from the same palette with a different Real Techniques brush across the apples of my cheeks to add a natural flush. 

For my eyes, I wanted to create a glowy, sparkly bronze look that swept across the whole of my eyelid. I’m definitely getting in the mood for festive make up and recently I’ve been loving the Sleek Make Up iDivine Eyeshadow Palette - All Night Long. For £8.99 you definitely get your money’s worth as it contains twelve different shadows and the packaging includes a large mirror which is great for travelling. There’s a mix of vibrant shimmers and neutral matte shades which are excellent to use as a base. I started off by using a Real Techniques brush and a neutral light brown all across my eyelid as a good base for the shimmer shadows that I planned to use. I then applied a coppery bronze shade across the outer corners of my eyes before adding a gold shimmer across my inner corners. Once that was done I then blended out any harsh edges using a clean brush and added some of the MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter across my browbones, cheekbones and cupid’s bow in the shade Pink Shimmer. The highlight is so pretty and stands out nicely against the rest of the skin but I could’ve built the highlight up a little more to make it blinding; that’s something I’ll definitely do come Christmas time. It’s also super affordable at £3, it’s such good value for money and lasts for a long time too.

I decided against applying eyeliner as I’m not the best at it; I hate it when I have a perfect base then mess it all up when mismatched eyeliner so it wasn’t an eyeliner day. In fact, the eyeshadow was fairly bold and shimmery so eyeliner wasn’t really necessary anyway. However, one thing that I love is volumised, bold, spidery lashes and to create that without using false eyelashes I use two mascaras. I start off by using the Maybelline Volum’ Rocket Express from the roots of my lashes to the tips and it really volumises and lengthens the lashes well. It’s my favourite drugstore mascara and really worth the £7.99 that it costs. To complete my eyes, I used the L’Oréal Paris Miss Baby Roll mascara to make my lashes more thick and curly; it’s actually the same price point, £7.99 and is equally amazing, although I find it works best on top of another mascara, rather than on its own (excessive, I know ahaha) overall, I love the effect that these mascaras give my lashes without the need to apply false lashes, which is amazing. It’s much easier to use your natural lashes and mascara.

Lastly, I applied the Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick in the shade Plum This Show all over my lips; it does take two or three coats to become full opaque, but that’s not a massive surprise for such a dark lip. Priced at £5.99 it’s great value as it is affordable and the formula of the lipstick is actually really nice, it’s not drying on the lips which is a nice touch. I wanted a berry lip as I feel like the darker toned lip suits the change in the weather; I always associate darker lip colours with winter and the festive season. I’m really happy with how this look turned out and I’ll definitely be recreating it for nights out with friends over the coming months. Let me know in the comments if there’s any make up looks that you’re loving for autumn and winter as I’d love to hear; until next time :)

New In: Make Up

Hello guys; it feels like it’s been ages since I did a beauty related post, although that’s also likely to be because I haven’t bought too many beauty items recently. However, I’m a bit of a nosy person myself and so I love seeing what other people have bought so I thought I’d share my purchases with you, too. There’s not many items, but that is realistic for someone like me, who lives on a budget month in, month out. As it’s getting colder, I decided to refresh my make up collection a little to reflect the season; basically, I wanted some red, plum and nude in there somewhere as the festive season is almost upon us and it’s always good to experiment!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - Ivory

This is actually fast becoming an everyday make up staple for me; good value for money priced as £7.99, as a little product does go a long way too. The packaging isn’t ugly, but definitely isn’t my favourite either, but the concealer is a good consistency and covers up any spots, blemishes or dark circles really well and it lasts a good 12+ hours, which is a bonus as I’m not a fan of reapplying throughout the working day. The only thing that bothers me about this product is that even ivory (which is the lightest shade) is slightly too dark for my skin tone, which is a shame as I would definitely repurchase this concealer if they made a porcelain version.

Maybelline The Rocket Volum’ Express Mascara - Waterproof

To anyone who read my blog regularly, you will know how much I love this mascara, although this is the first time that I’ve tried the waterproof version. One of the reasons why I love this mascara so much is that for £7.99, it’s not only cheap but it also does wat it sets out to; whenever I use this mascara on my eyelashes they looks super volumised and separated which is the kind of effect I want to achieve with any mascara. The waterproof version does dry faster than the regular version so it’s harder to add multiple coats without creating clumpiness, which is annoying but the waterproof version is much better for the colder weather as once it’s on, it doesn’t come off! The only difference in the packaging is that the text is a light blue to the dark blue bottle which looks lovely; Maybelline always have lovely packaging for mascaras.

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lipstickk - Plum This Show, Moca, Fire Starter

In all honesty, I have become an absolute addict to liquid lipsticks over the past year; I love how once they’re applied they rarely come off. On the whole, I do tend to gravitate towards nude shades as I like to look fairly natural when I wear a full face of make up, which is why I chose to purchase Moca after seeing various YouTube videos raving about it. It’s definitely the shade that I’ll be using the most often as it’s so versatile; it can be worn for any occasion. Each lipstick is £5.99, so fairly affordable for the pockets too. Moca needs only one coat to fully cover the lips, but unfortunately Plum This Way needs two or three coat as it’s a little more patchy on application. However, the formula is the same, so I’m assuming that’s because of the colour being more intense; often dark berry toned lipsticks need a second coat or so to make the product fully cover the lips so I wasn’t surprised by that. Whereas Fire Starter is a bright red, but a blue toned red so it suits my pale, pink toned skin well. Unlike Plum This Way, Fire Starter doesn’t need multiple coast as it’s opaque from the first coat so overall you use less product, which is a bonus. All of three lipsticks have the same formula and it feels nice and light on the lips; it does dry out the lips a little, but nothing unexpected or unmanageable. Just wear some lip balm before application to minimise the dryness. These are really lovely quality, in terms of both the packaging and the formula; they’re great value for money and definitely going to be in my make up bag for the rest of this season.

Sleek iDivine Eyeshadow Palette - All Night Long

Sleek as a make up brand are one that I’ve had varying degrees of success with; the products are always excellent quality, but as I’m so pale, occasionally there isn’t a shade pale enough for me. However, they’re always amazingly affordable, for example this eyeshadow palette is priced at £8.99 and comes with twelve different shades, including neutral tones, mattes, shimmers and berry/bronze tones. It’s perfect for this season as it’s range of shades are definitely aimed at more bold, experimental looks and I can’t wait to play with these colours more over the next couple of months. They’re blendable and buildable, although I’m not a fan of the brush that comes in the palette, unfortunately, but that’s such a small detail it’s not a problem. Definitely going to be trying out some smoky eye looks with the bronze shades using some different sized brushes to create a smudged, messy but flawless look.

Snippets of Life: August Favourites

Hello again; its now late August which means that another month has gone by so quickly! I actually can't believe that its almost autumn and therefore this year is rapidly coming to an end. This month has been quite a long one, mostly because I haven't had much time off so it has felt like work, work, work a lot of the time. I'm actually super excited for the autumn months as its my favourite season, but at the same time I'll be sad to say goodbye to long summer evenings. As always, my go to make up brushes are those by  the Real Techniques brand and I've been using them on a day to day basis. I own several different styles by the brand, including the Core Collection, Your Picks Berlin Limited Edition and the Enhanced Eye Set amongst some that I've bought individually for specific use, such as the stippling brush. They are fairly expensive brushes, but I would say that they last a long time, which makes the price worth it. I rarely use any other brush since I bought these brushes so they're a definite favourite for me. Another product that I love more or less every month is the MakeUp Revolution Fortune Favours The Brave eyeshadow palette. It's literally a bloggers dream as not only does it look amazingly beautiful in photographs as well as in person, I've honestly never seen a palette with shades like this one. There are so many different shades that the price tag of £9.99 is worth it, as a high end version would be well over twice the price. I'd even go as far as to say this is my favourite palette of all time.

In the perfume side of the beauty world, I've been loving three perfumes more than any other the moment. All of them were gifted to me by my boyfriend and as much as I love each one, my favourite by far has to be the Princess of Hearts by Vera Wang due its beautiful notes of watermelon, jasmine and strawberries. It makes me feel super feminine and the bottle itself its very pretty with the pink hearts and crown detailing. I'm a fan of Vera Wang perfumes in general (I have at least seven in my collection) so I'm sure that it will come as no surprise that I was incredibly excited to receive the hard to find Princess Revolution and I suddenly realised that I've been wearing this scent quite often recently. I feel confident and also slightly rebellious whenever I wear this, its a sensual mix of cherry, blood orange and watermelon. The bottle is like a punkier version when compared to the other Princess scents but it is definitely a great summer scent.

I've been loving girly, fruity and floral scents this month; the Fantasy In Bloom perfume is no exception to that. The bottle itself is very cute with the Cherry Blossom patterned detailing again the soft pink background and golden stopper. As you would expect, it smells hugely of cherry blossom, berries and jasmine. I've been wearing this a lot to feel fresh and ready for the day; I'm definitely the kind of person that matches a scent to their mood. All three perfumes are under £20 and so an absolute bargain for the size of the bottles. The 'Obliviate' notebook was a bit of a surprise gift; Piotr bought it in Waterstones for me whilst we were celebrating his birthday and so it seems extra special now. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and have been since I was a child so naturally I love the Fantastic Beasts spin off; priced at £7.99, it wasn't unreasonable but it is fairly expensive for the size of the notebook, but that said the quality and attention to detail is amazing and I know that I'll treasure this notebook.

The final part of my monthly favourites is beauty related; since the weather has been fairly humid I've been wearing less make up overall other than mascara. One of my all time favourite mascaras is the Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express and I've used it so much recently that I've actually repurchased it. Priced at £7.99 I would definitely recommend trying out this mascara; it has a plastic wand with bristles in varying sizes. I've found that makes the longest, most volumised and spidery lashes and honestly it definitely beats some of the more expensive mascaras that I've tried for a more affordable price tag. The other mascara that I've been loving is the L'Oréal Paris Miss Baby Roll which is also priced at £7.99; it's a more dry formulated mascara which makes it harder to work with, but it produces the curliest and most volumised lashes. I've been so impressed with it but I feel like it's more of a going out mascara than an everyday mascara.

I've been obsessed with having thick, natural looking tamed brows this summer and I've found two products that I absolutely love to use to achieve using this effect. The first product is the L'Oréal Paris Xpert Brow Artist in the shade Cool Blonde. It's the perfect shade for me as it is more like a taupe/dark blonde as my brows are quite dark for my pale hair skin. It has a double sided applicator, one for thickening the brows and the other for blending through. Priced at £6.99 it is an affordable addition to a make up bag and I'm really pleased with the results. After using it I then set my brows in place with Benefit's Ready, Set, Brow! Although this is more of a high end piece priced at £20, I'd argue that this is worth the money as it literally sets the brows neatly in place all day long and doesn't clump and gives a natural hold because it's a clear gel. The last favourite is the L'Oréal Paris Infallible 24hr Foundation which is simply the perfect pale shade for my skin and actually blends well into my skin. It has excellent coverage and doesn't feel heavy, or look cakey at all. It's fairly expensive for the drugstore, priced at £10.99 but a good foundation is worth every penny. It's so easy to apply and makes me so confident whenever I use it that it has quickly become my favourite foundation. What have you been loving this month? Let me know in the comments! :)

My Foundation Collection

Hello again; over the past few months I've spoken about my mascara collection, perfume collection and now I felt like it was a good time to show you all my foundation collection. My skin tone is very pale, with a lot of pinky undertones and so I'm often struggling to find a foundation that suits my skin as I've found that the majority of pale foundations are yellow toned, which I'm aware does suit some people and this is why I have so many different foundations. As I spend more or less every month on a budget, all of my foundations are drugstore foundations and for me that's absolutely fine; the higher the price doesn't necessarily mean that the quality of the product is higher after all. Generally, year round I'm always the absolute palest shade of foundation that you can possibly buy but it can be hard to find a foundation for everyday; a lot of the foundations that I have are full coverage as I tend to go foundation free unless it's for an important event.

 

To make it a little easier to see what foundations I own, I've put them into catagories through their brands. The two foundations shown in the first photograph are the L'Oréal Paris Infallible 24hr Foundation and the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Total Cover Foundation. The 24hr hour version is priced at £10.99 and is my favourite foundation by far out of my collection. It's in the shade Porcelain and it has a lovely pinky tone to it so it's an excellent match for my skin tone. It's easy to apply with its pumped lid squeezed onto a blending sponge and it does provide excellent coverage without looking cakey. It's fairly pricey for a drugstore foundation but I've found it to be worth every penny. In contrast, the Total Cover version is one of my least favourite foundations in my collection. Priced at £9.99, it's cheaper than the 24hr version but still fairly expensive when compared to some of the other foundations available in the drugstore. I've found this foundation to be incredibly oily, it's also in the shade Porcelain and is the same pinky tone so in theory I should love it. The main issue is that my skin is very dry so the oily texture of this foundation seems to simply slide off of my skin, even when used over a primer. However, the other issue is that the squeezy tube style packaging makes it difficult to apply lightly as it's very easy to use far too much. What I do like about this foundation is that it's probably the most full coverage foundation I've ever used and it eliminates literally every flaw but it doesn't last as well as I'd like, sliding off and becoming cakey extremely quickly.

 

The next brand focus is Maybelline and I own countless base products by them; my absolute favourite product is the Matte Maker pressed powder and I use it complete my base every single time. Since I found this powder I've never needed to discover another and for the pocket friendly price of £3.99 it's one that I feel like I'll be using forever; it's the perfect pale (ghostly) ivory shade for me too! I feel like everyone remembers the Dream Matte Mousse foundation as that was literally my first ever step into the make up world in my teenage years. It's such a low coverage, cakey and slimy foundation that for £7.99 it's actually a bit of a joke, plus the ivory shade is literally orange on me, but as I found it I thought I'd include it in this post. Actually, I've found that all of the foundations that I own by Maybelline are very orange on my skin considering they're all in the palest shade which is ivory. The Dream Satin Liquid is a reasonably priced product at £7.99 and is a foundation that I really wish I could love; the pump style lid is super easily to apply and it's medium coverage, however the word liquid is the best way to describe it as it's very runny and comes through quite streaky on the skin, which is a massive shame as it's so affordable.

The last two products in the image above are creams, which is why I'm going to compare them together. The first is the Maybelline Dream Fresh 8-in-1 BB Cream which at £7.99 is both extremely affordable but also great for everyday makeup; in the shade Light it's a little dark for my skin tone, but again I feel like that's the slight orange/yellow tone of the product. The texture is ok, it's not oily but it's quite runny so it's easy to use too much product because of the squeezy tube design of the packaging. The second is the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream which is fairly expensively priced at £9.99 for a drugstore product, but it's my absolute go to for everyday make up looks; it has excellent coverage but doesn't look or feel heavy on the skin and the shade ivory is a great colour match for pale skin with pink tones in it. The squeezy tube packaging still isn't my favourite, but it's thinned out nip style end does limit the amount of product that squeezes out so I rarely use too much with this. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone with pale skin that's looking for an alternative to foundation.

 

The final part of my foundation collection is from the brand Rimmel. I own so many foundations by that brand because it was the first brand that I found had great shades for pale skin. I purchased the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation because I love the concealer from the same range, but unfortunately the shade True Ivory is definitely too dark for me, which is so annoying as it's great coverage and doesn't feel sticky or cakey on the skin at all. It's definitely more of a yellow or orange toned foundation but I do like the pump lid design of the packaging. If I'd bought the correct shade I'd like it much more I think as it's good value for money at £8.99. My favourite out of the foundations by Rimmel is the Lasting Finish 25hr Wear foundation; I actually own three of them, two of them are the full coverage version (with a red lid) in the shades Light Porcelain and Ivory and the other one is the medium coverage version (with a white lid) in the shade Nude. Priced at £7.99, it's such an affordable choice for anyone who shops on a budget. The only one that truly fits my skin tone is the Light Porcelain but all of them are nicely pink toned, but two of the shades are too dark, the Nude in particular is far too dark for me, there's the most obvious line against my neck, regardless of how much I blend. All of them have a pump lid, which as you'll have guessed by now is my favourite style of packaging and both of the coverages have a great consistency but overall I do prefer the full coverage but that also may be because of the matching shade to my actual skin tone. 

Lastly, I own two BB Creams and both of them are the 9-in-1 Skin Perfecting Matte BB Cream in the shades Very Light and Light. They're essentially the same product in two different shades; both of them work well but ultimately the Very Light version suits my natural skin tone better, but the Light shade is still a reasonably pale shade. Priced at £6.99, it's a super affordable choice in terms of creams and foundations, but what I would say is once again, the squeezy tube design of the packaging does make it difficult to limit how much product that come out. It feels like I'm forever using far too much without meaning to, which is annoying at times. Overall, all of these brands and foundations are great, but it's dependant one what you want to use them for; for me personally I like to have a very pale foundation that will cover my skin all day without needing to reapply it, which is why I prefer the L'Oréal Paris Infallible 24hr and the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream as they both manage to do both of those things well and no one wants to look like an Oompa Loompa after all! Until next time :)

MOTD: Smoky Eyes feat. Nude Lips

Hello again, sorry for the delay in posting this as this was actually a post that I meant to upload during my holiday in Poland but somehow it never really happened, oops. I actually have been wearing less make up recently, but when I really want to make an effort and look nice I do wear quite a bit. During the time spent in Poland with Piotr and his family, I wanted to look and feel nice so make up definitely made my skin look a lot nicer. I don't suffer with very spotty skin but it's not a flat colours, there's a lot of dry red patches which I like to colour correct whenever I want to look and feel flawless. None of the images below have been edited, so to show the power of the make up worn. To start I use the Maybelline Baby Skin Primer to prep the skin for the make up. Priced at £7.99, it's not only good value it makes my skin look poreless and smooth. After, I use the Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer in the shade ivory, which priced at £2.99 is very cheap but it's concealing power is fairly basic. I use this concealer as a base on top of the primer around my eyes and nose to set on top of the primer and preps for the bb cream I put on next.

My preferred base is the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC cream in the shade ivory which I love. It feels super light coverage wise, and does an excellent job of covering my uneven skin tone. I literally pour some into my palms and rub it on top of my skin with clean hands. The next step I take is using the Maybelline Age Rewind Eye Concealer in shade light (which is £7.99) I press the concealer into each of my under eye bags in a triangle shape and press into my nose and brow bone, as well as any spots. I use the Real Techniques concealer brush to blend it into my skin before using a RT expert face brush to set my full base with the Maybelline Matte Maker Mattifying Power in shade ivory all over my skin. It's my favourite powder and reasonably priced at £3.99 too. The next step I take is to contour my face using the Kate Moss for Rimmel Sculpting Palette in shade #002. (Priced at £6.99) I start by using the bronzing powder using a RT setting brush to place some colour under my cheekbones, along my jawline and across my forehead. I use a small brush as where I'm so pale I try not to over contour my face. Next, I use the blush from the same palette and another RT setting brush to gently brush it along the apples of my cheeks. Then, I blend in using an RT powder brush so that it looks more natural on the skin. The next step I take is to use the Sleek MakeUp Brow Kit in the shade light, using the powder to fill in my brows (with one of the brushes provided in the kit, which is £8.49) which are naturally quite thick and dark. 

 

 

 

 

I then use the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche La Palette Rose 2 to blend a natural pink matte shade into my crease before a shimmery pink toned eyeshadow over my lids as my skin is pink toned, so the pink complement the look well. The palette is £14.99 for 10 different shades, so extremely good value for money as they're super pigmented. Next, I use an MUA highlighter in the shade iridescent gold swept on my brow bone and on the tops of my cheeks, my Cupid's bow and along the bridge of my nose, using a RT setting brush. For £3, it's highlight is super blinding and packs in a lot of glitter onto my face. I do blend it in using a RT powder brush to make the glow look far more natural. I then go back in with the Sleek Brow Kit to fix my brows with the wax using a brush provided in the kit. This means the brows won't move and will look flawless throughout the day. I then use the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in the shade London (priced at £5.50) and put it onto my lips. It's such a gorgeous nude shade and makes the whole base of my face look much more natural and I adore this lip product so much, it glides on my lips.

Finally, I wanted to create a smoky eye but as I'm so pale, it made more sense to create a smoky eye using eyeliner. My preferred eyeliner is the L'Oreal Paris Super Slim Eyeliner in intense black and it's so easy to use, it's pen style nib flows along the lid and creates a lovely line. (It's the best I've used and only £6.99) It's blackness makes up for the light eyeshadow that creates a nice contrast to the nude lips. I used a black eyeliner pencil by MUA to fill in my waterline and pushed it a little underneath to add an extra smokiness for the bargain price of £1! Finally, I used the Maybelline Rocket Volum' Express mascara in very black which was £7.99 and it is an amazing mascara, it lengthens, separates and volumises my lashes so much and it really finished the whole look off nicely. This was my go to make up look throughout the holiday and I felt so feminine but fierce.

 

A Mini Haul #7

Hello again; sometimes it's nice to just window shop, which I have to admit I do fairly regularly. As I get older I'm definitely starting to make much more considered purchases. I used to literally buy whatever I saw if I had the money, whereas now I prefer to actually have a think and decide whether or not something is worth it first. I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to beauty products, I love them all whether that is make up, perfume or general skincare. I feel like I haven't indulged in any make up recently, or at least not during this month so obviously that was enough of an excuse to pop into Superdrug and have a look at what's available. Over the past couple of months I've been loving wearing mascara and different perfumes more than anything else, as you'll have seen fairly recently in my perfume collection post. In all honesty, my worst habit is probably having so many perfumes as I'm always dreaming of more and running out of space to display them. 

 

The Britney Spears perfumes are a definite love of mine, I love how the bottles are designed and the different scents are always too my taste for such reasonable prices, too. The one pictured, Rocker Femme Fantasy is a new find for me and I love the way it fits in so well with my other scents. It's actually not my favourite out of my collection but its also not my least favourite; it's definitely at a happy medium. For the price I paid of £8, from Poundland of all places I'm not complaining about it at all. I'd been tempted by the fragrance for some time, having seen it online but it was much cheaper in store, which was a pleasant surprise. Another amazing find from Poundland was a Sleek eyes-lips-face palette, for the price of £1. I didn't even check the colours (oops) I literally just snapped it up, which I don't regret but the shades are a little too dark for my super pale skin. For the price I have no regrets, but I'm deciding what to do with it as I know that I'll never use it as it doesn't suit me. However, for anyone with darker toned skin this palette would be such a fantastic addition to a make up bag!

 

Ever since I started watching sophdoesnails on YouTube I've definitely become a convert to the powers of contour and especially highlighter as before I was always afraid to use these kinds of products with my pale skin. Just a couple of weeks ago she posted a video on her channel that featured some of the highlighters from this range and so I was inspired to invest in some. They're by MUA and are honestly really good value for money at £3 each. I chose two iridescent shimmers in the shades Pink Shimmer and Pearlescent Sheen. I love how shimmery but subtle they are, for the price you can't really go wrong. They're pigmented and feel light on my skin, which is also good. The wave pattern they make in the pan is lovely too, very instagramable but the iridescent sheen doesn't translate well on camera, unfortunately. I was inspired to try out the pinky toned highlighter as I do have a similar skin tone to Sophie and I feel like it could work well as a blusher and highlighter in one, alongside sculpting the planes of my face. We'll see soon enough, which is exciting. So far it's looked lovely in tests and swatches. 

 

So, after going into Superdrug I decided to treat myself a little but mostly through buying the essentials; I really needed a new mascara. As always, I found so many different things that I wanted but I wasn't able to buy it all, so I did have a bit of a decision making crisis. I ended up buying two mascaras as they were on an offer of buy one, get a second for half price. Which is a bargain in itself, but also one of the mascaras was a on a sale price too, which helped with my decision making a lot! I bought two by Maybelline, one of my all time favourite make up brands. The Colossal Volum' Express (in 100% black) has always been a much loved mascara of mine, to the point that I can't remember why I ever stopped using it. It makes my eyelashes look super long, thick and luscious; the fiber brush works so well for me and I never have to curl my eyelashes or anything, one coat of this mascara and I'm good to go for any occasion. I would recommend this mascara to anyone, I love it.

 

The second mascara I bought I've never really noticed or used before but seemed to be a sister of the first mascara so I decided to try it out and take advantage of the offers available. The Rocket Volum' Express has a similar packaging shape but has an electric blue shade, which will be easy to find in a make up bag for top ups. Although it's a similar mascara, the brush is very different, made out of plastic and it seems really bulky in comparison. But I do actually love this one just as much as the first; it's a really clumpless, separating mascara that doesn't feel too heavy on the lashes. I've found that one coat is enough, without having to curl my lashes beforehand, which is great. I'd say that I prefer the Colossal Volum' Express simply because the wand is smaller so easier to manoeuvre but overall the effects of both are very similar and I've had a lot of complements about my lashes recently so that's always a nice confidence boost. The mascaras were £6.99 each but with the offer one of them was half of that price, so I'm very happy with both of them, especially for the price. I've used more expensive mascaras results not so good in the past.