What's in my makeup bag - March 2015.

I've not done one of these posts since August last year and I thought I'd just do a quick update. (Link to previous post) I'm still using the same makeup bag (Cath Kidston) but some of my makeup items have changed. 

Let's jump right in to it! 

1. Nivea Pearl Beauty roll on deodorant. This was in my previous post however this is actually a new tin as I use this daily. Again, I repurchased this for £1.00 from Lidl which is where I tend to get my toiletries from nowadays! 

2. Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr Foundation in Light Porcelain. I've been swapping between two foundations recently as my skin cannot decide whether it wants to be dry, oily or a bit of both. This is a perfect colour match for my skin and although my face does get greasy after about 6 hours, it is still a very good foundation. I actually picked this up from B&M bargains for about £2.00! 

3. MUA kohl eyeliner in jet black. I finally replaced my eyeliner a couple of months ago!! This is just your standard black eyeliner. This lid actually has a sharpener built in which is SO handy. Not particularly long lasting, but then again no eyeliner is on me! It's a very creamy eyeliner so is great for smudging. This was only £1.00 from Superdrug, so I'm pleased! 

4. I Heart Makeup Lip Lava in Forgiven. Oh my god I LOVE THESE THINGS. I've wanted these since they were released but only just got round to purchasing them. These are so pigmented, long lasting and such great quality for the price. This is such a handy sized tube, I keep this in my makeup bag all the time now. I purchased this off the MUR website for £2.99. 

5. Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I should really get a new one of these as my cat got hold of it...it now has tiny little teeth marks in it! I love this sponge, I was really against the whole beauty blender hype but now I would never go back. I have been switching between this and my duo fiber brush this month because I found that some days a brush just does not want to work on my skin. I'm pretty sure everyone knows what this does...I bought it from Superdrug for around the £6.00 mark. 

6. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in translucent. This has been a staple in my makeup bag for years. It's the powder that I keep going back to time and time again but it just works on my skin so well. I very rarely have to top my powder up when I'm using this, it really does keep me matte! This powder has been around for years, I remember using it when I was about 16 years old! You can purchase this from Rimmel stockists for around £4.00.

7. Essence Get Big Lashes Vol Curl Mascara. If you've read through my top mascara post, you'll know that this is my firm favourite. I picked this up a couple of months ago when my local Wilkinsons store started stocking Essence. Now I'm really picky over my mascaras...they have to make my lashes look false, full and pretty much never flake off. This mascara does all 3 and for the price, I think that's pretty friggen amazing. I picked this up from Wilkinsons for £2.30. 

8.  Essence all about matt! oil control makeup base. I've never been a huge fan of primers however as soon as I hit my 20's, my skin has gone a little bit crazy. I suffered with acne in my teenage years but lately I've been suffering with oily skin. It's weird, one day I will have really dry skin, the next will be oily. I picked this up from Wilkinsons and really didn't know what to expect, however I was quite impressed. I wouldn't say it makes my makeup any more matte than it normally would be but it definitely keeps in it place longer! I notice if I ever forget to put in on before my foundation. For some reason I can't find a link to this on Wilkinsons but I'm pretty sure it was only about £2.00. 

9. Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in dark brown. Good god I've had this for as long as I can remember...I've actually got a new one waiting to be used in my makeup stash and to be honest I think I'll swap this over pretty soon. I've used this eyebrow pencil right from the point of when I started filling my eyebrows in as I find it really easy to create definition with this. I do find, however, that when I use the brush it tends to actually wipe this product off? I don't know if it's because it's old but I do have to go back over with a powder. I picked this up from Superdrug for £2.99 but you can also get it from good Rimmel stockists. 

10. Makeup Revolution Foc & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit in medium/dark. Okay I know I'm not the only person that's head over heels in love with Makeup Revolution but seeeeriously this brand has me hooked. I love this mini palette, it's the perfect match for the eyebrow pencil I use but it just creates that little bit more definition which I need. It comes with 3 shades varying from light brown to dark brown. I have to say, I haven't actually used the wax as of yet because I find the powder has such good staying power in my eyebrows anyway. I picked this up from Superdrug for £2.50 but you can also pick it up directly from the Makeup Revolution website. 

11. Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Combination/Oily skin in Ivory 110. This foundation is one that I just keep coming back to. I previously used the Normal/Dry skin formula in my teens and found it was literally a perfect match for me. Now I've got more oily skin, I've opted for the combi/oily formula and I have to say I'm in love with this foundation again. I love the finish this leaves on my face, it's almost powdery? I know some people won't like that but I very rarely get oily skin from this foundation. The only time I do is if I put too much primer/powder on with it. This foundation has serious staying power on my skin, I can wear it for a good 14+ hours without it budging (yes, I really wear my makeup for that long!). Needless to say, I will repurchase this foundation time and time again for as long as it's made. I picked this up from Superdrug for £12.45 but you can also get it from Boots for the same price. 

12. Superdrug Compact Puff. These come in a pack of 3 and I've always used these to apply my powder. I have never found a technique as of yet that's more effective in applying my powder. Again, these were from Superdrug for £1.89 but you can pick them up from almost anywhere that stocks makeup sponges/tools. 

13. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in shade Fair. Who in the beauty universe doesn't like the concealer? I'm going to admit, I've literally only started using it this month and it's safe to say I'm yet another person that loves it. It really does live up to the hype, however I find it a little too thick to use under my eyes as it can feel quite heavy if not blended out enough. I get extremely high coverage off this concealer and yes, it has incredible staying power. I picked this up from Boots for around £4.00 however you can also pick it up from Collection stockists such as Superdrug. 

14. Primark hair bobble. A statement in my makeup bag, alongside bobby pins. I'm forever searching for something to tie my hair up with as it really irritates me sometimes! I picked up a huge pack of these for £1.00. 

15. Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner in Black 1. This is another product I keep coming back to time and time again, I even have a stash of these waiting to be used! I don't use as much liquid eyeliner any more as I tend to opt for a toned down look however this is one that I find works the best for me. Some people say this burns their skin but I have never found it to have done that on mine. It lasts all day on my skin until I take my makeup off. I picked this up for around £2.00 from Superdrug. 

16. Primark compact mirror. I've had this in my makeup bag for a while now, I find it really helpful to keep in there in case I have any issues with my contact lenses or if I need to have a quick look at something. Considering this was only £1.00, this has lasted so well! It seems pretty robust and doesn't seem like it's going to break any time soon. 

17. Boots Precision Grip Straight Tweezers. I actually keep two pairs of tweezers in my makeup bag purely for the fact I always lose one. I love the feel of these, they have a slightly rubberised texture to the grip so they're really easy to hold. Also, I find the straight edge helpful when taming my brows! I picked these up from Boots for £3.80. The second pair I keep in my makeup bag are from Superdrug for £1.80. 

18. Superdrug Eyebrow brush and comb. I only recently purchased this as the brush on the end of my eyebrow pencil has gotten a bit grubby. It's a basic eyebrow comb, but it does the job. I picked this up for £1.99. 

19. Wilko Premium Stippler Found Brush. I actually really like Wilkinsons when it comes to makeup accessories because even though they're quite cheap in price, the quality doesn't lack. I've used this brush so many times and washed it out time and time again, I'm yet to see one bristle fall out. Seriously, this has to be the only brush I've had where the bristles haven't fallen out! I didn't want to spend a lot on a duo fiber brush as I wasn't sure if I'd like one or not but I was pleasantly surprised. I purchased this for £4.00. 

My god, this makes me realise just how much I carry around with me, no wonder I get backache so often! I hope this has been an interesting post to read! 

♥

Makeup Revolution collection.

First of all, let me apologise for the absence from this blog lately. I've had so much going on, I've left my job, I've been quite poorly, I've been doing Insanity and to be honest, my heart just hasn't been in blogging lately. However, I'm back! I'm back with a positive attitude.

So without further ado, let's actually get on with this post! Today I'm going to be showing you my Makeup Revolution collection. It's a small collection but I felt it was worthy of posting, and  I felt as MUR is firmly earning it's name in beauty, it's time to add my two pence. 

On the top row we have the Focus & Fix eyebrow palette, Conceal and Cover palette and the much sought after (well...not this one!) I Heart Makeup Death By Chocolate palette. 

On the bottom row we have the Flawless 32 eyeshadow palette, Iconic 1 eyeshadow pallette, as well as Iconic 2 and Iconic 3

I didn't actually take a single photo of the eyebrow palette as it's literally a standard trio of eyeshadow shades with a wax. I normally use the colour above the wax as I find this suits my skin tone the most, it lasts all day and yeh, it's a basic eyebrow palette!

Let's have a look at the Conceal and Cover palette. I purchased this for £6 and I bought this thinking that yes, I'll use every shade and I'll love it and be converted to this. Sadly, this wasn't the case. I've only used 2, maximum 3 shades out of this palette because the staying power just isn't that great and the further down the palette, the more orange the tones get. Now I actually swatched these in the shop to see what the payoff was like and what the colours were like and I thought they were a good match. Maybe I just have a dud? I don't know. I'm more than likely going to pass this on to someone who has darker skin than me, but if you're someone with multi toned skin then this would be perfect for you. 

 The I Heart Makeup Death by Chocolate palette is the newest in my collection and I LOVE it. I've worn shades from this palette every single day since I bought it. I'm pretty sure this was £7.99? I wanted the white palette for so long and I've not been able to find it anywhere and it has been out of stock on the website for as long as I've been checking so I finally bit the bullet and bought the Death by Chocolate palette. Firstly, I love the packaging and I know this is one of the things that has caused a divide in the beauty world, some love it, some hate it. Personally, I love it. It makes the palette chunky, something that I really like. And a bonus with this palette is that is has a full size mirror in the lid which is actually very handy. When I opened this, I don't know if it's psychological but I actually thought it smelt quite...cocoa power...y? Please tell me I'm not going insane and other people have smelt it too? Either way, this palette has a gorgeous mixture of mattes and shimmers which are super wearable, the colour payoff as expected is absolutely amazing and the longevity again, as expected, is extremely good. I'm still on the lookout for the white palette but seriously don't over look this one, you'll be surprised. 

The Flawless palette is one of the largest palettes I have and for the money (£8) I thought the quality of these eyeshadows wasn't going to be so great. My god, wasn't I wrong! I love this palette, it's got such a large mixture of colours and again, it's between mattes and shimmers. I've created so many looks with this palette, it's a firm favourite right now. Colour payoff is to be expected, quite pigmented and long lasting. However, I find these shadows work best with an ever so slightly damp brush to really get that shimmer to show. The packaging is the standard MUR black, slimline palette with the full size mirror, which I really love. I'm surprised that such a budget brand has this type of packaging to be honest but I'm pretty sure it's not just me that likes it. The shades in this palette are such a warm tone, apart from the few at the top which I use as either a base colour or a transition shade. I especially love the second to last row, the colours make my eyes look so green when I use them. I'm pretty sure there's another palette called Eyes like Angels (or something along those lines) but I wasn't too keen on those colours but again, I'm not going to overlook it as I may change my mind in the future. 

 Ahhh, the Iconic palettes. These were the palettes which have lead to my obsession with MUR, as I found out they were a very very good dupe for the UD Naked palettes (which I refuse to part with my money for!). I'd never heard of the company before so after doing a little bit more investigating, I've grown to love them. Even though the packaging on these are a little different to the newer palettes, I still don't feel let down. I purchased these at £4 each which in my eyes, is SO cheap! These palettes are absolutely amazing payoff, again with most of the MUR palettes these are a mixture of shimmers and mattes but in the most gorgeous warm tones. These have taken a bit of a back seat in my collection as it's expanded but after looking at them this morning, I definitely need to start using them again. 

If you're one of these people like me who become addicted to Youtube, watching people buying all these new MUR palettes and raving about them, as soon as you get one you will understand why. I'm not sure just how long Makeup Revolution has been around for but their products are a firm favourite of mine and thousands of others. I don't know how they release so many new palettes so frequently (I've even heard that it's possibly MUA repackaged...I don't believe that!) but this company have certainly taken the beauty industry by storm and for good reason too. I'm slowly going over to the I Heart Makeup range too with their lip lavas (omggg!) but I thought I'd give you an insight in to my collection that I have at the moment. 

Have you tried anything from Makeup Revolution or from the I Heart Makeup range? If so, what are your opinions? 

♥

Top 3: Mascaras.

The last few months have been a huge change for me regarding my makeup. I've been more adventurous with both applying and purchasing makeup I necessarily wouldn't have done beforehand. One thing I'm quite...anal (shush!) about is my mascara. I like big, thick, dramatic lashes. My natural lashes are quite dark, long and thick anyway but I like serious lashes! The only downside is the price of most of the mascaras I like is normally over £10 and I'm sorry but I'm just not okay with spending that amount on a mascara. This is why I shop around and try out mascaras people normally would pass their eyes over. 

My top 3 mascaras price range is from £2.30 to £7.99, but each of these have topped it as my favourite because they all do the same thing, which is making my lashes thick, long and dramatic. 

The first mascara is Essence Get Big Lashes volume curl mascara.

Essence has taken the beauty world by storm and for quite a good reason too. I've tried a couple of their products and have been seriously impressed with them. This mascara is a good, thick formula and even though I've been using it for a couple of weeks, it doesn't seem like it's dried out at all which is a good thing because 99% of mascaras I've owned in the past have dried out in a couple of weeks! The tube itself is quite large, so it's easily to hold whilst you're applying the product. The brush itself is a classic bristle brush, but it's quite large which means it can cover more lashes in one swipe. It's also curved, which obviously means (or is supposed to...) it changes the shape of your lashes. And yes, this mascara costs £2.30. An absolute BARGAIN. This, for me, has taken over a firm favourite of mine because it does exactly the same as the more expensive mascara I will mention in this post. It makes my lashes long and thick in one swipe and is easily buildable for more dramatic lashes. I love the formula of this mascara, I love the brush, it doesn't flake off on my face and doesn't clump easily either. Did I mention it was only £2.30? This mascara retails at Wilkinsons both in store and online. 

The next mascara is Rimmel Extra Super Lash.

This was one I had been using for years as it was the cheapest I could find. Again, this mascara has a curved brush but I didn't actually realise you could get just a straight brush in this mascara too. To me, this has quite a wet formula so you have to be careful when you're applying it because if you blink it'll go everywhere! I found this was better after the first week or so of use as it had dried out a little. You definitely have to build layers with this if you want thick lashes but it definitely gives you long lashes in one swipe. The tube itself is quite thin so it doesn't feel like you get a lot of product but my last tube lasted me quite a while. I'm not sure I'd repurchase this mascara now I've found better ones, but it was one I had repurchased time and time again, normally for around £4.99. It's widely available with Rimmel retailers and online too. 

The last and possibly the most popular mascara, Maybelline "The Falsies" mascara.

This mascara is just amazing. I've used this on and off for YEARS and something just keeps bringing me back to it. This mascara gives you thick, dramatic lashes in one swipe but again is easily buildable for even more out-there lashes. The brush is almost flat and curved, it's really odd but it gets lashes I didn't even know I had. I found this mascara would crumble quite easily which was rather annoying as I'd end up with black flecks on my face throughout the day. The only problem I have is that it dries out REALLY quickly, its fine for about the first couple of weeks then it goes dry and crumbly. I love the brush on this mascara, I have tried the "flared" version of this and wasn't so keen as they seemed to have changed the shape of the brush and found it a little more difficult to reach my corner lashes. Honestly, this would be my staple if it wasn't so expensive too! It retails for around £8 in almost every drugstore, so it's easily available. 

So, there we have it, my top 3 mascaras. Which mascaras are your favourites?

♥

Braun Silk-Epil 3 Epilator.

I've wanted to try an epilator for SO long but never ever had the guts to purchase one. Until today. Before you all think I've gone mad, I actually love the sensation of plucking hairs out so maybe I'll like this?...

I have very sensitive skin when it comes to shaving, I almost always end up with razor burn/bumps regardless of if I use shaving foam or any other preventative measure. I also usually end up cutting myself whenever I shave an awkward area. My leg hair grows at an amazing rate, I could shave in the morning and then by night I can feel a tiny bit of stubble. I've tried waxing before and it made my skin twice as worse and basically, did absolutely nothing for me. My sister (yet again...) has been using an epilator for years and has only ever said good things about using one. I finally decided to take the plunge and bought one today when I noticed it on offer in Argos. 

I had no clue what to look for so I went for a really basic epilator, nothing fancy and nothing expensive. This cost me £29.99 so it's hardly breaking the bank but at the same time a lot of money to spend on something I potentially wouldn't like. (This, and a bag of disposable razors cost around 80p!). I purchased the Braun Silk Epil 3 epilator, I've used Braun products before so have good faith in this one too. 

The reverse of the box gives you brief information about the product you've just purchased. It tells you that there is "20 tweezer technology, SmartLight and massaging rollers". It also shows little pictures of what it's describing. This also claims to remove hairs as short as 0.5mm which is appealing to me as my hairs grow at different lengths!

First impressions, it looks quite small and intimidating seeing these multiple tweezers on a rotating "platform". Honestly, appearance doesn't really matter to me as long as it does what it says it does. Unboxing the product was really easy and everything was packed neatly into the box. The epilator itself feels quite sturdy but light at the same time and fits nicely in your hand which I really like because I've got quite small hands. 

 One thing I have noticed is that on the website it states that this comes with a storage pouch, which it does not. I've read a couple of reviews saying that they don't have them either which to me isn't the end of the world as I'm sure I've got a little bag lying around somewhere. 

The product itself comes with a charging cord (which has a shaving mirror plug on just to pre-warn!) which plugs into the base of the epliator. It doesn't feel like it's going to fall out as soon as you move it as it really clicks in the base. The SmartLight is actually an LED light built in to the power switch on the front of the epilator. I actually really like this idea as I'm forever missing patches of hairs whilst shaving, so this allows me to see where I've been or where I need to go over again. There are two speeds on this model, however I've only tried the slowest speed but I will more than likely go for the faster one once I'm a bit more confident using it.

Okay so let's get on to what you all want to know - does it actually hurt? Honest answer, for me, it doesn't. I absolutely love the feeling of plucking hair out (I'm always sat picking my eyelashes out...) so this doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's a bit of a shock at first as you've got a little roller with tweezers on plucking at your skin but as soon as you start gliding this over your skin, the pain is minimal. It's nothing unbearable however if you're not good with waxing then I wouldn't recommend this product for you. The guard on the top actually helps lift the hairs up as well as massaging the skin, I have tried it without the guard and it's safe to say yes I will be keeping it on!

I've even been "saving" my leg hairs just so I can test one of these out and I'm so glad I have done as I've had REALLY good results. Here's a lovely photo of my hairy legs and a photo of the same area after going over it once. Don't judge me, I've been poorly and shaving my legs is the least of my worries!

I'm so impressed with this, it took little effort to get such a good result. The pain for me was next to nothing but as I said before, it's nothing unbearable. My skin is a little red in the last photo but not sore at all. I have next to no marks on my leg less than an hour later, I moisturised using Soap & Glory Righteous Butter to give my legs a bit of TLC as I always do after shaving/hair removal. 

This is the hair that collected in the base from that section. Yummmyyy. As you can see, it's worked absolutely amazing at removing my hair. 

All in all, I'm really happy I tried this product out. I was so nervous at first because of the noise it made when I switched it on, but honestly it's worth it's money. I'm going to keep a track of how many days it is until my hair starts growing back and repeating to see how long it is until my hair grows back again to see if it will stunt hair growth/increase the amount of time between hair removal. 

If you're looking for a way to remove hair and have wondered what it's like using one of these, try it out. You'll be surprised at how little this actually hurts! P.S I apologise for the hairy leg photos but it's all in the name of beauty. 

EDIT: The next morning I decided to epilate my armpits as I always seem to have stubbly, unattractive pits. Needless to say it was absolutely excruciating at first but the pain soon goes away and the results are fantastic. I'd definitely do it again but maybe I'll numb the area first haha!

♥

Top 3: lip balms

In true blogging style, I'm going to start doing these "top" posts e.g top 3 foundations , blah blah. You know what I mean. All products will be linked to a website where they are available from (mostly Boots...) and all will have prices. I hope these posts are helpful to some as I love reading posts like these on other blogs. 

I'm going to start off with my Top 3 with lip balms. I'm only slightly obsessed with lip care, lipsticks, anything you can buy for lips, I want it! There's nothing better than the feeling of nourished lips after using a good lip balm. And in the last couple of years I've spent my fair share of money on lip balms...

1. Let's start this off with Palmer's Cocoa Butter lip balm. Iv'e used this for so many years, literally about 5 years! I'm a huge fan of Palmer's, their products really do wonders for my skin. The smell is delicious, I literally want to eat it! It's the classic Palmer's cocoa butter scent, which lasts quite long on the lips. The formulation is lovely, smooth and goes on the lips really easily without feeling too heavy and greasy. These last me AGES, and even some have been through the washing machine and survived as the packaging is really robust...it retails for £1.89 in Boots but is widely available at different prices.

2. One of my newest addictions is down to my sister (as are many of them!). This was a gift from her trip to Florida, which I am so happy to have received. It's absolutely delicious! It's Cake Batter Chapstick. I'm not sure if this is available in the UK as I said, it was originally from Florida. Like all Chapsticks, the packaging is really simple and the product lasts quite a long time. This specific one smells to me like really strong vanilla. If you're not a fan of strong scents, this might not be the right one for you. I've loved Chapstick for years because they're really good value for money and they actually work. They're not greasy, they last a while on the lips and are in really cute packaging. I love any sort of Chapstick, not just this specific one. And it smells so good I just want to eat it. 

3. No one can resist a pot of Vaseline. I'm sorry but I genuinely don't think I've ever been without a tin of this lying about somewhere! I use it for so many things, not just a lip balm. It's been a life saver for my hairline when I'm dying my hair, it's made my skin less dry when I've used it and of course, it's really good as a lip balm. It's quite greasy but I find if you don't use a huge thick layer, it's actually really nice and super moisturising as to be expected. It's widely available and is also available in different types i.e aloe vera, rosy lips. I'll be buying this for years to come as it's just so versatile. It ranges in prices, I think even as little as £1. 

So there we have it, 3 really well priced products and certainly ones that work. I've always got some form of lip balm on the go and I've got a couple floating around in my handbag waiting to be used/are half used. Some might say I have a slight addiction, I just shrug it off. I tend not to admit to things haha! I could have put more in this post such as the Balmi lip balms, but they just don't cut it as much as these three do. 

♥