Make Up Haul

Recently I've been a little make up happy with all the April offers in all the drug stores.
3 for 2 and buy one, get one free does not help my small obsession, but hey!

I am loving Bourjois recently, I think their range of products just keeps getting better and better. I am refusing to stick with certain brands and branching into different areas. Its hard when you buy drug store brands as sometimes one brand does anything you want. What I'm trying to say is I need to buy less Maybelline, it is one of my favourite brands but I need to look out of the Maybelline box.

On Saturday I went out shopping with my daughter and I came home with a nice little collection of products. I needed nothing but I WANTED a lot. I tried to keep to a limit that my partner wouldn't take a heart attack when the bank statement came in.


Concealers:

I have a slight obsession with concealers at present, I seem to believe you can never have enough. Hence why I just bought three.

Maybelline - Fit me Shade 10. (Yellow Tone)
Bourjois - Radiance Reveal Shade 2 Beige ( Pink Tone) 
Revlon- Colour Stay Shade 1 Fair. ( White Tone.) 



I find its easier to make your own concealer match if you can blend and mess around with a variety of brand, that why you can find what works for you. Be inventive and find what works for you.


Foundations:

I had gotten myself down to two foundations, go me! That is a rather good achievement. All I had left was my Pro Long Wear by MAC and MUA Skin Define Matte Perfect. My work foundation and Evening foundation. I needed something new and these two little beauts where on my list.


Revlon - Colour Stay Natural Beige 220.
Maybelline - Dream Matte Mousse Sand 30.

Now I will admit I did think I had lifted a slightly darker shade in the Revlon and a lighter one in the mousse. I hadn't. It's ok though I make both work for me.

The Revlon one is now my day day colour and I build colour with my lousy contouring skills. The Maybelline one is perfect for Evening and if I need it toned down I just a light L'Oréal True Match powder. It sounds silly but it works.

Bronzing Powder:

Bourjois - Délice De Poudre Shade 52

These looks like a chocolate bar and I have watched for years people using it on YouTube and I finally got one in a shade I liked. It smells soooo freaking good. In my opinion it does have a slight orange tone, so I suggest not having a heavy hand when applying it.


Eye Shadow -

Bourjois - Smoky Stories Shade 02 Over Rose. 

Oh my word this is just so pretty. I'm not one for eye shadow quads, as I think you get more for your money buy investing in a high end palette but this little quad has totally changed my mind. These colour are so pigmented and almost creamy. They blend perfectly and last. This is one to buy.

Setting Powder - 

Bourjois - Poudre de Riz de Java

Now this little powder smells like HEAVEN and is a super fine milled powder that feels like silk on the skin. I will never set my make up with it, as there's a sparkle through, but it makes a beautiful light highlighter.

Lipstick - 

Bourjois - Rouge Edition Souffle de Velvet Shade 5  Fushiamallow 

I love the texture of this product, its like a mousse. Its so soft and the colour screams summer. I would say this is a buildable lipstick. Something you need to put on carefully. I find it hard to slap it on and go. The little doe foot applicator is fantastic to help you layer the colour up. It goes matte and stays matte whilst keeping your lips hydrated. I find this to be quite an awesome little lipstick. It has a survived a coffee date with my mum without reapplication. Love this.

Mascara -

Maybelline - Lash Sensational Shade Intense Black.

This was on offer and I've wanted to try it for a while. I was sort of put off because I really do not like the Falsies Mascara and I think I was scared it was going to be the same. Its not and I have been loving it. Its good all rounder mascara for night and day. I bought Intense Black because I have very dark eyes and I want a really black mascara to help my eyes to pop.

Glossybox - April Edition.

Well, after the success of the Glossybox Starter Box I received at the start of the month I thought I'd share my April Glossybox. I waited very patiently on this box arriving, which was a little later than I expected, but nonetheless it arrived. I cannot hold my water when it comes to waiting for beauty boxes to arrive, I had to YouTube what other people had received. I was overjoyed to see the selection of products. When my box did arrive I was a little underwhelmed by what I had personally received. In one respect it has taught me a valuable lesson, to wait and see what I got first before looking at what others had received.

Lets have a look at what came:

Studio 10 Brow Lift Perfecting Liner.

The pigmentation is good in this brow pencil and that's where my love for this product stops. It crumbs under pressure, and  I find it needs some pressure to get the pencil to show up on my brows. I do not like the consistency and just feel its not for me at all. The packaging and the over all look of the product is pretty but, I personally, would not spend £22 on this product.

Bandi Hydro Care Intensive Moisturising Cream 30ml (Limited Edition.)

When I seen this product in the box and realised it wasn't the whitening toothpaste everyone else seemed to have received I was very disappointed. In saying that, I really like this cream and I've started using it. I love the feel of this product, it has a non-greasy formula which I love and it seems like my skin is drinking it in once it is applied. I do use it as a night cream and my skin does feel hydrated in the morning. It has Hyaluronic acid, Vitamins A, E and D which is always a plus. This means this product is packed with protection, regenerating properties and full hydration. Full Sized Product is £9.70 which is a reasonable amount to pay for a good moisturiser. A product worth looking into at a later date.

Next Make Me Beautiful Lipstick in Summer Coral.

I knew Next did perfume and body lotions, I did not know they had branched into cosmetics. I was wonderfully surprised by this lipstick as it Matte. I love matte lipsticks, especially if they have staying power. This Lipstick most certainly does. I was worried when I saw the word coral written on the box, as most coral colours do not suit me at all. This to me is not a coral colour more of a darker dusky pink. (See swatch below and judge for yourself.) I wore this all day Friday and got a good 5 hours out of it before I had to touch it up slightly after coffee. I definitely recommend looking into these lipsticks and see for yourself.

The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Facial Oil 7ml.

Well now, Body Shop you really have outdone yourselves. This is a little pot of Amber gold. I have a disillusion shall we say when it comes to Facial oils and serums. I always think they're going to be too rich and greasy for my Combination skin and therefore give me a horrid breakout but 9 out 10 times they don't. Recently I've started trying a lot more oils as I am turning 30 and my skin is starting to turn a little dry its time to start putting the moisture back. This oil is amazing and so very absorbent. I found it particularly good on my neck and décolletage. These areas need to be looked after more as I have started to age. You also received £10 off when you spend £25 in store with the box so I'm going to use mine and invest in this oil.



 Leighton Denny Miracle Mist 75 mls. Full Sized.

This is a rapid drying spray mist. I have used it and it pretty much does what it says on the tin. I've been an OPI Rapid Drops girl for years. Change is good though. I will use this product and at £11 I could possibly repurchase. (I feel there's very little else I can say about this product. lol)

Cohorted The Black Edition Beauty Box - April Box.

When looking for a beauty subscription box, I always look for value. I want to know I am getting the best I can get for my money. After a few months of hunting about I signed up for Glossybox and Birchbox again after a 2 year break.

Whilst in the process of researching other boxes I came across Cohorted on YouTube. Imagine my excitement when I watched reams of videos on a beauty box that promises 5 or more high end products for only £35 a month. Now I don't know about you but I didn't think twice, I jumped on the band wagon and waited in serious anticipation for my box to be delivered.

First thing to go wrong was that I paid my initial £35 on the 28th (ish) of march for the April box and on the 1st of April they took another £35 for the May box. Luckily I didn't need the money but I was a bit annoyed at this. I'd rather get my first box and see how I liked it before I forked out another £35 for another box, but hey ho what can you do.

Right, yes I was waiting on the box to arrive, and it did first thing on Monday morning. I was on my way to work but that wasn't going to stop me. In the car and pulling it open ( I wasn't driving!) and the packaging is very sleek and pretty, a bit disappointed there was no ribbon on this box. I like ribbons, so pretty. I lifted the lid and was met with a beautiful glossy and extremely well laid out magazine explaining the products and costs.




We all got a sneak preview into the box on twitter, so I knew I would be receiving the Mac Patent Lip Pencil (Its very like a chubby stick style). I was extremely happy with the shade I received and the product itself smells amazing, glides on smoothly, looks patent and pretty.

After that I'm not so overly happy.









In the box:

 Mac Patent Lip Pencil in Kittenish £17.50.

Gold Elements Nail Care Kit: Hand cream 120 ml, Cuticle Oil 20 ml, Buffing nail block and Nail File £29.49.

 Body Shop White Musk Libertine EDT 60 ml £24.00.

Miss Patisserie Cupcake Bath Melt in Milk & Honey £3.99.

MDM Flow Lipstick in Panther £18.00.

The products are all well made and lovely but just not the wow factor I was looking for when I had researched these boxes. An extremely annoying point I must make is that Cohorted do not have a beauty profile on their website. This means you never know if the correct shade is coming and I was lucky with the Mac Patent Pencil but I wasn't with the MDM Flow lipstick. I have berry red lips and this pinky shade just instantly wipes the colour out of my face. (My mum is extremely happy as she's getting this lipstick.)

The Gold Elements Nail Care Kit is pretty fab but why send a nail kit if your not going to send a nail polish to use after. The packaging is a little on the cheap looking side but the cuticle oil is very good.














My boyfriend was quite happy at the Body Shop perfume I received, as I wore it all the time when we started dating. For nostalgia alone I love this product but it never really classed Body Shop as high end, its always been in my day to day price range. I got this box to get things that weren't always going to be in beauty budget. As a momma of three kids, my beauty budget sometimes gets redirected to other things.









As for the Bath Melt Cupcake, I have no opinion on it until I use it. I've always been a Lushie but I like finding new brands for bath time relaxing. I'll just have to use it and update you soon.

April Product Trial - Mini

Hi everyone,

Today I thought I'd share the skincare and one solitary hair care product that I am just finishing. 

These are products that came with my February and March Birchboxes, March's Starter Glossybox and one was a free sample I picked up along the way.

My Minis are:

No4 - Lumiere d'hiver Super Comb Prep & Protect Spray. ( Birchbox)

Delacrom - Acquaconfront Cream. (Birchbox)

Monuspa - Rosewood Reviving Mist (Glossybox)

Crea-m - The Older The Smarter Anti-Ageing Serum (Birchbox)

Dermalogica - Multivitamin Power Firm (Picked up along the way.)

I kept seeing people doing empties challenges on Instagram and YouTube. It hit me that I had so many trial sized products gathering up that I was about time I started to actually use them instead of handing them out to friends and family. 

I decided to gather up the products that would benefit me the most and only use those products till they were done. I've been very pleasantly surprised by these products and the effects they have had on my hair and skin.

No4:  Lumiere d'hiver Super Comb Prep & Protect Spray from Birchbox.

I have quite greasy hair and the thought of putting anything conditioning into my hair scares me as I have a fear my hair will turn into a greasy ball. When picking through my products I came across this mini prep and protect spray and I'm so very happy I did. This is a little bottle of hair genius. It conditions lightly, protects my hair whilst blowing drying and gave my hair a glossy and healthy feel. Normally I would rather shy away from this sort of product but it has truly down wonders for my hair. My little trial size is almost finished, so I decided to head onto the Birchbox website and check out how much the full size product was. For the full sized bottle of this product was £20.00, now to me that was just a bit on the expensive side. That is just a personal thought and as much as I loved the product I will not pay that amount of money for a prep spray. Which is a bit of bummer because I really enjoyed it. 

Delacrom - Acquaconfront Cream for Birchbox.

I have really enjoyed this cream although I'm not entirely sure if its actually is a face cream. There is no clear information from Birchbox and I haven't been able to find this product anywhere else. It states on the packaging and on the Birchbox website that this product has Aloe Vera in it. This gives the product a beautifully fresh scent and the cream itself is quite thick, which has given me the impression that it can be used on the face. Well anyway I have been using it on my face and I love the feel of it on the skin, especially putting on at night an waking up the following day with fully hydrated and soft skin. For the 50 ml bottle of this luxurious cream is £34.00, again a little steep for my liking but a very good cream nonetheless. (Considering buying this product.)




Monuspa - Rosewood Reviving Mist from Glossybox.


Firstly I must say the smell of this product is unreal. Its just so fresh and revitalising. I love using this product first thing in the morning after I have used my cleanser and I don't want my skin drying before I put my moisturiser on. I feel like its a quick pick me up. I received the Monuspa Mist in the Glossybox Starter kit, it was a 50 ml luxury sample. I do feel this was a luxury sample and a luxurious product. Not often do beauty boxes catch me by surprise but this has. For the full sized product, which is 100 ml from Glossybox its only £11.95 and something I will definitely be repurchasing. I would highly recommend this product to anyone in the market for a refreshing toning mist. We can get stuck into buying the same products over and over. Don't be a creature of habit and try this.

Crea-m - The Older, The Smarter Anti-Ageing Serum From Birchbox.

This is the foundation of youth. Yes, it is. Wow is all i can say, especially as I was going to give this product to my mum. Luckily for ME I decided to keep it and add to my April empties challenge. I LOVE THIS TUBE OF YOUTH. 

To use the serum effectively, it says to use before your moisturiser. Which I now do, twice a day. I only ever need three drops all over the face, it is fast absorbing and I noticed a change to my skin within a week. In fact I did try seeing how my skin would look when I didn't use it for a day or two, and i truly noticed a difference. I no longer felt like my skin was softer, firmer or as hydrated. This serum also works on two levels, above and below the skin. Repairing skin cells, deeply nourishing, protecting from pollution and free radicals. As for price this is the most expensive for the size, for 30 mls you will have to pay £33.90. Which I don't know about you, that is a bit of a sting. I get that serums are expensive but ouch! I truly, truly love this product and what it does but I cannot justify that price for such a little amount of product. (I would take all the free samples I can get of it though.)

Dermalogica - Multivitamin Power Firm (Picked up along the way, pretty sure this was my mum's sample ha!)

Now I'm pretty sure this is my least favourite product in this trial, also my least favourite eye product. This is a sample I've had for ages and never really looked near. Aprils empties had arrived so I threw it in my use up box. The reason I don't like this product is purely the consistency of the product itself. It just feels overly oily and almost slimy. I just do not like how the product feels once applied, also I have found there to be no change to my eye area. I feel that this is a highly expensive product, that just does not deliver on the promises it makes. Which is highly disappointing as Dermalogica's Intensive Eye Repair cream does deliver, feels amazing and has effective results after use. The full sized product is 22 ml and is a staggering £61.10. I will not be purchasing this product. I will continue to hunt for an eye cream though. Why is it so hard to find a damn good eye cream?

How do you put on yours?

When it comes to make up, you and I both know it really doesn't matter how good or expensive your products are if your going to slap it on with your hands. I believe in make up brushes but I also believe you don't have to spend great amount of money to have good brushes either.

I have purchased a few brushes in my time ( and the other 100!) and I've compiled a list of  what I liked and what I didn't like about certain brands. From' Cheap as chips' to 'Oh did I just paid that much money for a brush.'

Firstly a note of Brush Cleansing:

Make up brushes are like a pet, you gotta love them, look after them and clean them regularly. Once you've done that you have to remember to feed them a cleansing anti-bacterial spray daily. Yes folks I did just go there.


Now that's out of the way. Lets get down to business.

I love having a good and rather large collection of face brushes.

My favourite so far has to be the Real Techniques Buffing face brush (the orange stem brush). I find this brush just blends out foundation beautifully, I always feel flawless afterwards. I also find that Real Techniques are a worthy investment, I've had mines nearly 6 years and with careful cleaning I've only ever had to replace one brush (I lost it). I actually bought this in the Base collection for £20.99 which gave me 4 brushes for the price. You get the Contour Brush, Pointed Foundation brush, detailer brush and, My Fav, the Buffing Brush.

I always love a bargain so a while back I found the Lottie London Brush Set was down in price so I bought them to try. I received a large powder brush, flat foundation brush, large eye shadow brush, a eye shadow shader brush and angled brow/liner brush. I like the density of these brushes, they're not overly soft and they wash well. the only problem I did have is that on the shader brush, the metal bit that binds the bristles detached from the wooden stalk. A bit of super glue rectified that. I've heard down the grape vine that this was not a one off but it has not deterred me from buy Lottie London Brushes again. This set retails for £20.00.

I would like to make a special note at this point, I really really do not like flat foundation brushes, I personally find them a worthless purchase and I know people will disagree and I respect your choice to love them, I just don't.

I do have a lot of love for the 224 Tapered Blending Brush by Mac. This brush can just do everything. From highlighter to blush to actual eye shadow, its just a brilliant brush. My mum actually bought my brush and decided she didn't like it and gave it to me. I've been in love ever since. this brush is a little pricey at £23.00 ( I'd rather get a few brushes for this price but it is worth the price tag.)

Last Brush I want to mention is by far the biggest purchase I ever made for a brush. I purchased the Nars Kabuki Artisan Ita Brush, I brought it for £43.00. I was super excited to receive this brush. I had watched all the YouTube reviews on it, researched it on-line and read every blogger post about it. The day it arrived I was beyond excited and I had to use it straight away. I spent around a month using the brush daily and at the beginning I thought it was amazing but the more I used it the more the bristles fell out and I found it not picking up great amounts of product, or that the product would simple fall off the brush before getting to my face. I found this to be a great waste of my money and highly disappointing. It now sits looking pretty in my brush pot and I find myself very rarely picking it up to use. The bargain hunter in me is very disappointed in the waste of money but nothing ventured nothing gained.

Now Yesterday I did manage to pick up the Ultra Sculpt and Blend set from Make Up Revolution, I've been after these brushes a while, so when I saw them in physical form in a shop instead of on-line I grabbed them for £14.99.

In this set you get two facial contouring brushes, one eye shading brush and an expert blending sponge. These brushes are a beautiful rose gold and the blending sponge is a solid black colour. Out of the set I have used the blending sponge today and that's it. I was pleasantly surprised by it today but as I've only purchased them I cant give a full review today. When I've used them more of course I shall come back and update this section.

Brow Brows and More Brows.

Well this has been a long time coming and out of all the products to write about I decided that Brows would be my first. 

Here's my quick list:

Model CO - More Brows £13
Benefit - Gimme Brows £18.50
Soap & Glory - Brow Archery Pencil £8.00
Makeup Revolution - Ultra Aqua Brow Tint £3.00
Collection - Brow Palette £2.99

I'm going to start with Soap & Glory's Brow Archery Pencil. 

This is my go to product when time is not on my side. I have started getting HD Brows done and I am really impressed by this process and my Brow Technician is pretty awesome. I have been growing out my brows and I have some sparse areas so this product gives great and easy coverage in these areas. So if I'm late for work this product is quickly feathered through my brows and off I pop. I love the formula that makes this pencil great. Its creamy and just slightly waxy, which helps to hold the product on the skin through the brows.

Now for a drug store product its is a little pricey at £8.00 but there is always deals like 3 for 2 or Buy 2 get 1 half price. 

Next is Make Up Revolutions Ultra Aqua Brow:

Now I have to admit I only found out about this brand back in the summer, Yes I was very late to the party but nonetheless I was very surprised at how good the quality of some products compared for the price. Ultra Aqua Brow is a brilliant product for someone who wants long lasting brows and has a sharp slanted edged brow brush. This product lasts as you need a very small amount and applies quite easily but it does take a few goes to to get right. The formula is rich and super pigmented. its a fantastic product for a night out and a strong brow look. Smashbox offer a similar product and I've tried it to compare with Make Up Revolution. Honestly I found make up revolution to be a better product at a fraction of the price. 

Collection Eye Brow Palette:

Now this is a little surprise all wrapped up in a palette.You get three coloured powders, mini double ended brush and eye brow gel. I happened upon this little palette in work when it came onto a star buy for £2.99 and I just bought it on a whim (and because of the price, I'm a sucker for a bargain.) and I've used it a lot since then. I will admit the powders are a little on the chalky side but the pigmentation is fantastic. It covers well and sits evenly. Now the actual shine star in this palette is the clear brow gel, its just just perfect. The brush is a plastic/rubber definition style wand and it catches every hair individually and coats them in the gel. Once that Gel is on your brows aren't going to move and your product is still sitting neat at the end of the day. This Bargain palette is a must.

Now here's the interesting part, the battle of the Fibre Brow Gel's.

I have Benefit Gimme Brow and Model Co More Brow. This is a hard one for me mainly as these products are quite similar and it took me using them both for a while to come up with an honest view of both products.

I like these products for how quick and easy they are to apply. When applying the Model Co's More Brow its was two sweeps and my brows were sitting pretty. I found the More Brow to be a more pigmented product and you can see the fibres when pulling the wand. This product clung well to my brows and made my brows effortless. When testing the Gimme Brow product I was slightly disappointed as it it took a few sweeps of the wand to see the product on my brows and I found it didn't last as long as the More Brow product. Now I don't know if I got a bad batch but I wasn't that struck by it. In say all this I will keep using the product and see if my opinion changes.

Well there you have it my little thought on some pretty little brow products.

Check back in for my new post.

Gem x