MUA Pro-Base Conceal & Brighten

I've been using this for a good few months now and I've actually really been enjoying it!  I bought it on a whim when my last concealer was running out and as it was not CF I couldn't repurchase.  It was only £3.50 from Superdrug so I figured if it was rubbish it wouldn't matter too much.  The shade I purchased is Porcelain.

It doesn't actually specify what each one is used for but I use the left hand side one for under my eyes; the middle one for any blemishes or redness; and the right hand side one I steer well clear of!  The LHS one is great as it has a peachy tone which helps cover dark circles, it's almost exactly the same colour and consistency of Mac NW20 Studio Finish Concealer which is what I was using before.  The middle one is pretty much the same colour as my skin which is incredibly lucky!  Onto the last one... apparently this is a highlighter?!  You can see the glittery pieces reflecting in the photo but it's just so dark, why would you use a highlighter darker than your skin tone, doesn't that defeat the purpose haha?  The only way I've been able to use it is as a cream blush but even then I'm not keen on it.  However when it's £3.50 for a huge 11g of product I am quite happy to sacrifice one third!

I find that it seems to last quite well and doesn't crease under my eyes which is somewhat miraculous!  I set it with Benefit Powderflage (not CF and discontinued I believe?) and for the rest of my face I just use whatever powder I'm using - currently ELF Translucent Matte Powder.

I am still on the look out for another concealer as the the ingredients in this aren't great - contains parabens.  However if I am stuck it's something I know works for me and I can fall back on it.

Any cruelty free concealer recommendations?

<3

Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Evening Makeup

Here is a little video of me doing a night out make up look :)

<3

My Everyday Makeup!

I made this video for my youtube channel but it's also quite appropriate for on here too as I haven't done a post like this before.

Products used:
Soap & Glory Glow Job
No7 Luminate Radiance Serum (not CF)
MUA Pro Conceal & Brighten Kit in Porcelain
Bourjois Volume Glamour Mascara
Liz Earle Brow Pencil in Dark
Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher
ELF Translucent Mattifying Powder

<3

EOTD: Christmas Day

I got a bit carried away doing my makeup for Christmas Day seeing as the only time I left the house was to pick up my grandparents, and it was only them coming round!  I wasn't even going to blog this makeup but then my mum complimented it so I thought, oh why not!  However because I waited until later on, (and because I didn't use a primer as I didn't really need it to last...) it has gone all creasy, soz :(  I might redo it later on and change the photos to better ones!

On my eyes I used NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk and then what I like to call my 'earthy palette', which you can see in full here.  I used the Too Faced duo in Lucky Charm (the green one...), and then the lightest Avon shadow, which is the tiny one above the duo as a highlight.  Then I just lined my eyes with black gel liner and added mascara to top and bottom lashes.  On my brows I have Une Brow Pencil in B04.

On my cheeks I have MUA blush in Shade 6, and on my lips is my new Illamasqua Lipgloss in Boost which I love.  I will definitely do a separate post on that alone at some point - it's so pretty!  I only put this on towards the end of the day out of sheer curiosity!

Base

Eyeshadows

Blusher

<3

EOTN: Callanetics Christmas Dinner

On Friday I make a cheeky wee purchase in the House of Fraser brand event, I picked it up at work on Saturday and wore it out that night!  This is the Nars Duo you might have seen in my Christmas Wishlist - Kuala Lumpur.  I was going out for dinner with girls from my callanetics class just to local restaurant, it was so good.  My friend Jenny didn't like any of the starters so I had hers; I had tomato, onion and mozzarella bruscetta, then her goat's cheese and caramelised onion bruscetta - oh god it was so tasty, and I don't usually like goat's cheese!  Then for my main course I had seabass with a herby breadcrumb topping served with baby potatoes and salad, and for dessert I had vanilla cheesecake with chocolate sauce and strawberries, mmmm!!!  This was all (well 3 courses...) for only £19.95, what a bargain!

Okay I think I have rambled about food for long enough... Here is the look I created with the Nars Duo.  I did not wear anything on my lips as I find it pretty pointless when going for a meal!

For the eyes I used NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk, then Nars duo e/s in Kuala Lumpur and also the paler colour from the Nars Hungry Hearts duo as a brow highlight.  I lined my eyes with Mac Blacktrack Fluidline, Benefit They're Real mascara (both not cruelty free) on my lashes and filled in my eyebrows with Une Brow Pencil in B04.  On my cheeks I have MUA Blush in Shade 6 and this Physician's Formula Highlighter.

Eyeshadow

Blusher

Brow Highlight

<3

Collection: Lipsticks & Storage

I wasn't happy with my lipstick storage which was basically them all just shoved in a box in a drawer and not very easy to reach for!  However I got a beautiful mirrored jewellery box for my birthday but as I have loads of jewellery boxes already, I decided to use it for my lipsticks!

This is where it sits usually as I keep all my makeup in my bathroom (weird? normal?), but for ease of taking clear photos I moved it to my hall!

In the top I have my purples.  Sadly I only have 3 - plenty of room for more!!  Also because there is space, my Lipcote is in here as well.

In the middle drawer are my pinks.

And in the last drawer are my orange/reds.

So that is my lipstick collection!  Pretty small but growing, I've only recently got into lipsticks and even then I only wear them on nights out/special occasions!  I am going to do a 'most used lip products' post too as I keep those in a separate, more accessible place.

Out of these, the following are not cruelty free: Avon, Lipcote (unknown), MAC and Revlon.

 <3

Haul | Wins and Freebies!

Although I am totally broke at the moment I have been lucky enough to receive various items for free!  The first was a twitter competition run by Beauty Without The Beasts which is a cruelty free beauty website ran by two sisters - I will be doing a full post on the website in the near future!  It was more of a giveaway really, you just had to say your best fitness tip and I said how I find going to classes or exercising with friends motivates me so much more then just being left to my own devices!

So for this I got a huge bottle of Baylis & Harding Mandarin & Grapefruit Showergel, a loofah thingy (it's got a suction cup on it - so handy!) and a set of cupcake bath fizzers from Marks & Spencers, so cute!

Then I won Jen's (from The Big Burd) giveaway, there was so much stuff, it arrived in a huge box!

It included gold nail wraps, MUA Heaven & Earth Palette, earrings, face masks, sleep rollers and a MUA lipstick (not pictured as it has already wandered off somewhere...)!

I love the earrings!!  I'm going to put the Heaven & Earth Palette in my kit cos I already have Naked 1 & 2, so that is really handy as we're doing basic and bridal at the moment.  I haven't tried anything else yet but you can expect reviews of the various items when I do.

Finally, I was having a wee moan on twitter (that's what it's there for!) about how I am really into like bath and shower products recently and there's so many I want to try but I can't afford any...  Then the Beauty Without The Beasts girls came to my rescue and offered to send me some bits to keep me going, aren't they lovely!?  I felt like the world's biggest scrounger but oh well!!!

I got Naked Spoil Me bath foam and Montagne Jeunesse Body Wash sachet in Orange.

So excited to try out all these things, I've been so lucky :)

<3

EOTN: Matching Coral

I went out for a 21st last Thursday and I was wearing orange shorts so I decided to tie in my make up (for a change - I tend not to match make up and clothes!) with this theme.

I used a primer then MUA in shade 16 all over my lid up to my eyebrow, then in the crease I used a few orange shades the Coastal Scents 88 palette (not CF), some are hardly pigmented so I just played around until I got the colour I wanted.  After this I applied a thin line of liquid eyeliner to my upper lash line and used a brown eyeshadow on my lower lash line for some definition.  Lastly, I curled my lashes and used my Bourjois Fast & Perfect mascara - I already had a layer on from being at work that day which is why it looks more spidery than normal!

For my lips I realised that my Lip Butter in Tutti Fruitti would be perfect!  It's such a nice soft orange colour which went really well.  I love this Lip Butter but so many people have done reviews and things on it so I will give it miss.  However if you do want me to do one I will be happy to, I just don't want to bore you all!

And here is a photo of my face... before doing my hair obviously, not that it looked much better to honest haha I'm so bad at doing hair!  I would show you my outfit but all the photos of me from the night are actually hideous!!!

 <3

Pre-Payday Shopping Trip!

I had the day off today and didn't really want to sit in the house all day so I ventured out to another town with a shopping centre 15 minutes away for a bit of a change.

I wanted to go to Wilkinsons because they usually have nice stationary but I was quite disappointed with their range today, I just ended up getting a recycled nu: notebook for £1.10.  But then I realised there was a b&m shop across the other side from the shopping centre so I decided to have a look in there.  It's so huge! I've never been in one before, it reminded me of the big shops in America!  So I found a couple of really cute notebooks for 99p each, one has cupcakes on it and the other has apples!  I also picked up one of those money tins which you need a tin opener to get into to stop you from taking money out if every time you're skint, this was 89p.

Make up wise I went into Superdrug as they have a 3 for 2 on, so tempting, wish I could shop there more often -.-  Anyway I got Barry M nail varnish in Silvery Lilac, Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti, Revlon Just Bitten stain in Frenzy and MUA eyeshadow in shade 16.

<3

Day 7. One Favorite Of Each: lipstick, lipgloss, eyeshadow, mascara, eyeliner, blush, contour

Lipstick: Avon Ultra Colour Rich Mega Impact Lipstick in Fuchsia Fun

L - MUA Shade 12, R - Avon Fuchsia Fun

I really found choosing a favourite lipstick difficult!  I don't wear lipstick on a daily basis only on special occasions and I have quite a lot so I change it often.  I have chosen Fuchsia Fun by Avon as I think I've used this quite a lot, it's so sparkly too and I love a bit of sparkle!  Because Avon are not cruelty free I have also found this alternative by MUA in Shade 12 by Superdrug who are BUAV approved.  In 'real life' The MUA one is more corally but they are quite interchangeable, both have nice sparkles!

Lipgloss: Bourjois Gloss Effet 3D in 48 Rose Romantic

Again, like lipsticks I found it hard to choose a lipgloss 'cause I don't really wear them.  My favourite lipglosses are these Bourjois Gloss Effet 3D and I have them in 3 shades.  I have chosen Rose Romantic out of these as my favourite as it is the most versatile and because of the gorgeous gold shimmer in it, it can make any lipstick more interesting.

Eyeshadow: Sin by Urban Decay

Top right eyeshadow is Sin, underneath is YDK.

I had my first experience of Sin in the Ammo palette and I fell in love with it.  It's a lovely shimmery shell pink colour which can be used in so many way - wash over the eye, as a brow highlight (with a gentle hand!), as a base colour then add definition in crease and outer corner.  It is also really pretty as a face highlight.  Unfortunately the eyeshadow pictured is no more, tragic!  I really want to get another one as although it is in the Ammo and Naked palette, I don't want to use these ones too much!

Mascara: Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect

I have mentioned this a few times before so yeahh... It's good!  See Day 1 for info on it.

Eyeliner: Avon SuperShock in Blackberry

On the left in both photos.

I got this at the end of January just before I found out about Avon testing on animals - grrrr!  So this was on my last Avon purchases!  I did a mini haul/review here talking about the other colour pictured and another item I got if you are interested.  The eyeliner is a deep, warm brown but it has got purple glitter specks which are subtle but really pretty and unusual.  It is also very long lasting and it does not move once you've put it on!

Blusher: Any berry colour!

I just love purpley/berry blushers and the one I have used the most is Berry Merry by E.L.F.  Sorry the photo is quite blurry, it's from a while ago and I only seem to have one!  It can also be seen in the wee palette above which is more recent - but I thought it would be better to show a photo of it before I hit pan.

Bronzer (instead of contour):  Nars Laguna

On the right, also in palette are Orgasm and Albatross.

I don't use bronzer very often, only really if I am going on a night out, and I only tend to apply it to the back of my cheekbones.  I like this one as it isn't muddy looking, and also isn't orange - which is good!  It does have some gold shimmer in it which some people might not like but it's not overwhelming.

<3

MUA Nail Varnish in Shade 23

So here is the nail varnish I mentioned in my recent haul post.  I am very impressed with it I have to say, the colour is really nice and it was almost opaque in one coat.  Please note my ring finger nail went a bit wrong, I applied a shimmery top coat, then Seche Vite, but I didn't leave it long enough to dry and then I rubbed it...

Unfortunately I can't comment on how long-lasting the nail varnish is because my nails don't take it very well and they always chip within about 2/3 days, no matter what brand or what top coat I use.  It's very irritating!

Overall I would definitely recommend this, especially as it's £1!!!  I've never tried any of the other ones but I've found that cream ones tend to have better coverage than pearls or shimmers so I did consciously avoid them.  It would be interesting to try them.  But as Superdrug are still on my Naughty List I won't be able to try any more for the time being!

<3

Things I bought today even though I have no money and really shouldn’t have:

Today was payday, yippeeee!!  So I decided to treat myself with a wee shopping trip because I have literally not bought any clothes other than wedding pieces for a looong time, last thing I bought was one top for a night out at the end of January, and before then… who knows!
Unfortunately even though I got paid I am still broke so it was Primark for me!  I got a few bits so here they are :)

 I found this shirt just lying in a random stand (as you do in Primark!) and loved it, especially the back.  It is quite long on me, I’m only 5’4 so not a big fan of long things but never mind, I can see past it!  Luckily the size I found fitted me fine, it was a 6 and I’d usually take an 8 but it was quite big and baggy. Cost £10.

 One can never have too many white shirts! Cost £10.

 This little aztec print mini skirt caught my eye once I thought I’d finished clothes shopping of course!  I haven’t tried it on properly (I shimmied on over my jeans, all myself, what an embarrassment!) so it might end up going back if it doesn’t fit - hope it does though, love the colours!  Cost £4.

 Lastly I got this pair of bright orange shorts.  If you know me well in person you will probably know that I’ve been quite obsessed with the colour orange recently…  So I obviously couldn’t resist these!  They also had a navy pair and I was torn between them until my friend reminded me that I already have a pair of navy shorts, so I went for orange.  The material has a sheen to it which you can see reflected the flash in the photo.  Cost £10.

I also went to Superdrug because I really wanted to look at MUA and GOSH stuff, and I had some points to spend on my beauty card so I figured it wouldn’t be too bad going, even though I am still pretty much boycotting them (excuses, excuses!).  I got MUA blusher in shade 6 because obsessed with berry blush - I have about 3 on the go at the moment!  It is really lovely and smooth, very finely milled considering it costs a pound, A POUND!!!!  Then I saw the MUA nail varnish in a khaki green colour and I don’t have any colours like that, and for a pound again, you can’t really go wrong.  Finally I was having a look in clearance section and came across this eyeliner in Bananas (love it!) by GOSH for £2 so I got that thinking it might be a nice waterline colour for when white is just too white.  It came to £4 and I could use £3 of my points so I think that wee selection isn’t too bad for £1!  Also, you still get points… when you spend your points… mind blown!  Damn you Superdrug, I wish I wasn’t boycotting you!
Okay I am done… Well done if you made it through that, or at least looked at the pictures ;)

<3