Empties #13

I seem to have managed to use a different font in the above photo to the last few empties photos... odd...  Anyway, here we are again - 5 items plus a wee sample included too.

Christmas is so soon now, it's scary!  I'm dreading it this year though as it's the first (and hopefully last!) Christmas I'll have spent working full time in retail.  Retail + Christmas = Hell.  Sadly I will be working Boxing Day, I'm so gutted, however I've managed to avoid it for the past few years so it's probably my turn anyway!

St Ives Apricot Scrub

Thoughts: I've literally had this for years so I finally decided to get rid of it.  I've had heard some things said about the particles being too rough for your skin and also Caroline Hirons saying never to use a scrub on your face anyway, use an exfoliating toner instead!  Good riddance!

Cruelty-free?: Unknown, doubtfully.

Repurchase?: No.

Lush Eau Roma Toner Water

Thoughts: I love this stuff, it's so refreshing and because it doesn't contain any alcohol or chemicals it doesn't dry out my skin or make it feel tight.  I use it after an exfoliating toner (REN Clarifying Lotion) to rehydrate my face.  This is my 3rd bottle of Lush's toner water and I've already bought myself a big bottle of Breath of Fresh Air.  £3.95/100g here. Vegan.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes.

Neal's Yard Remedies White Tea Enriching Facial Mask

Thoughts: I got this free sample when I bought NYR eye make up remover a few months ago.  I managed to get two uses of of the tiny wee tube which is pretty good, however it really didn't 'wow' me at all.  £25.75/50g here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: No.

ELF Translucent Matte Powder

Thoughts:  I've been trying to finish this for ages actually!  I decided that as it's nearly finished I would use it until the end of the week and then get rid of it.  It was an okay powder but not very translucent - it definitely had some colour to it which is unfortunate.  £3.73 here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: No.

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Dry Shampoo

Thoughts:  I received this as a PR sample along with some other items from the Luxurious Volume collection.  It worked okay but definitely not as good as Batiste and it had a quite a strong aerosol smell to it.  It was as if there wasn't enough powder coming out the the spray as I had to use quite a lot to see any effect.  I don't even know how much this is because I can't find it on the Boots or Superdrug websites...

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: No.

Dove Beauty Care Body Wash Cream Oil

Thoughts:  I've been trying to use up my large collection of non-CF shower gels and moisturisers that I've collected over the years and I've definitely made a good dent in it!  This came in a set of two where the other one was Silk Glow and it was lovely however this one was nowhere near as nice.

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

<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

1920s Themed Murder Mystery

On Saturday night I went to one of my close friends Emma's Hen Do, there was also a day part to it but unfortunately I was working so I just met everyone else later on.  The evening section was a Murder Mystery set in the 1920s so we all hard to dress up accordingly.  There were 4 actors, a 3 course meal and lots of audience interaction, so all in all it was a good night!  I finished work just after 4 so I had plenty of time to get ready - I planned to go all out with the dressing up!  I thought I would share with you my clothes and make up from the night:

Make Up

Eyes Lightest shade from Sleek Storm palette all over lid up to brows, Urban Decay Gunmetal in the crease and Creep in the very outer crease.  On lower lash line Creep, Gunmetal then Sleek shade going from outside to inner corner.  Black eyeliner on waterline & black mascara on upper & lower lashes.

Brows Liz Earle Brow Pencil in Dark

Base  Illamasqua Skin Base in Shade 02 & Bourjois Healthy Mix in Shade 51

Concealer MUA Pro Conceal & Brighten Kit

Powder ELF Translucent Setting Powder

Cheeks Nars Lovejoy Blusher

Lips Topshop Inhibition

Costume

Flapper Dress Fancy Dress website from years ago 

Beads Found in an old jewellery box!

Coat Vero Moda

Hat Dickens & Jones

Shoes Next

~

I actually had heated rollers in for a good hour would you believe - my hair hates me!!  Luckily I didn't have to buy anything for this as I already owned everything!  I hope you enjoyed this more lifestyle themed post, I wish I had a better photo of my make up.  I am going to be having a blog sale within the next week, just swithering whether to put it up before or after IMATS, hmm, we shall see!

<3

What's In My [Kit] Bag?

As promised here is a breakdown of what is in my makeup kit bag for college at the moment.  You will notice there is a lot of Bobbi Brown in it which is because that is what they made us buy for our starter kit - don't even get me started, I think it is ridiculous and horrendously overpriced, especially for practicing on each other!!!  I would not buy Bobbi Brown ever again, it was only because we were basically forced to... This pile of shit skinned me £350 *deep breaths*

Anyway, enough moaning and onto the kit!  To make things easier I have put (CF) beside items which are cruelty free as there are a lot in here which aren't.

I got the bag from eBay for about £17 but I kind of wish that I just splashed out for the £30 Charles Fox one as I feel like this won't really last and the strap is actually sewed on squint...  Joys of eBay!

In The Pockets...

1. Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15 in Golden 6 
2. Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich Foundation SPF 15 in Warm Sand 2.5 
3. Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich Foundation SPF 15 in Porcelain 0
4. Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturizer in Medium

1. Bobbi Brown Lip Color Sandwash Pink 22
2. Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lip Gloss in Black Ruby 8
3. Bobbi Brown Lip Liner in Ballet Pink

1. Benefit They're Real Mascara
2. YSL Touché Eclat
3. ELF Eyelid Primer
4. Surgical Spirit in a recycled Lush bottle!
5. Victoria Jackson Show Off Lip Compact

On The Inside...

I've got a few smaller bags inside to keep everything nice and neat, then bigger things just float about loose in the bag.

1. Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Even Finish Compact Foundation in Beige 3 
2. Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Even Finish Compact Foundation in Warm Ivory 1
3. Bobbi Brown Bronzer/Blush Duo - Bahama Brown & Pink Peony
4. Coastal Scents 10 Blusher Palette (CF but their brushes aren't)
5. Kryolan Loose Setting Powder (CF)

In this bag I have my powder puff (I use this when resting my hand on people's skin when doing eyeliner to stop me smudging their base), mascara spoolies (I clearly need some more haha!), spatulas, pointy cottonbuds and a pencil sharpener.

In the other bag I have makeup wipes (CF), lip balm (CF), eye makeup remover (CF), cleanser (CF), toner (CF - it's Lush!), eye cream, moisturiser and hand sanitiser. 

I've not labelled these are there's just so many!!  Most of them are just my own which I've got in sets at Christmas and never use...  If there's one in particular you're wondering about just let me know in the comments and I can tell you what it is! 

1. The Body Shop Shimmer Waves (CF)
2. Bobbi Brown Blush in Slopes 17
3. Kryolan Classic Lip Mini Palette (CF)
4. Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Powder Pink 6

Lastly I have Kryolan Dermacolor Mini Palette in Fair (CF) which I used to do a tattoo cover-up in this post, and a very cheap and cheerful MUA light pressed powder (CF).

So there you go!  I think I will also do a post on sanitising products as that is a very important part of being a makeup artist and also helpful for your own items, especially if you are prone to breakouts.

<3

Empties #4

I usually do 5 empty products but as I have two minis in this one so I decided to do 6 instead.  I actually love doing these posts, it really makes me get a move on and use up those things that have been lying around for ages!

Asda Firm Hold Hairspray

Thoughts: I really liked the smell of this, so good!  I'm not really sure how good the hold was though to be honest - my hair stylist auntie seemed disgusted by it ha! 

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

Well Silvikrin Maximum Hold Hairspray

Thoughts: It was fine, pretty good hold - as you would expect with maximum! 

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

Avon U by Ungara Shower Gel

Thoughts: I bought this in the cheap section of the Hello Tomorrow book when I was a rep because I wanted the perfume but was too cheap to buy it!  It did smell quite nice but there was one time I used it when it literally smelled like bleach and I was quite worried!  I think it's just because the scent is so chemically and artificial.   

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

Dove Intensive Care Repairing Shampoo

Thoughts: I actually used this for cleaning my makeup brushes!  It came out in sort of globules which was rather gross but it was fine for doing my brushes. 

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

E.L.F. Eyebrow Kit in Light

Thoughts: I liked this for the most part but in the end I just got fed up with using the separate brush to apply it.  Sometimes it would go on a bit thick as well and didn't cover my baldy patch (chicken pox...) sufficiently!  It is pretty dark considering it is called Light, however they do one called Ash which would be good for blondes.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: I probably would eventually, just not straight away.

Avon Glimmersticks Brow Definer in Dark Brown

Thoughts: I bought this years ago and god knows why I picked dark brown because it was far too dark for me!  However, my eyebrows have got gradually darker and darker so now it worked really well on me.  It is nice and soft which I prefer.

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: I definitely would if it was cruelty free! Boooo Avon!

Only one of these products were cruelty free, how bad is that??  On the other hand I am glad to be getting rid of all my bad company's items :)

<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

Hallowe'en 2012: 20s Flapper Girl

This is a very late Hallowe'en post just to show you what I wore!  I went out on the actual day which was last Wednesday, and we went to a club in Glasgow city centre.

I already had the costume as I wore it the last time I went out, which was 3 years ago when I was in 1st year at uni!  Unfortunately that time apparently I swapped my head band for a red indian one (no idea...) so I was going to make one but I just ran out of time!

I was also late as usual so I don't have any full length photos sadly but here is one of my make up and a couple from in the club!

I was going to try and finger wave my hair but there were so many things which could go wrong as I hadn't tried it!  However Rebekah (The Black Swan above!) very kindly offered to let me borrow her waving tongs which give the same sort of effect but with minimal effort!

I wore Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in Shade 2 then on my eyes an old ELF brown cream eyeliner (which I binned after as it was soo dried out!) and a matte black shadow on the top and blended out.  I tried to make my eyebrows thinner as 20s girls tended to have quite thin, curved brows.  On my lips I wore Avon Ultra Colour Rich 24k Gold in Golden Wine (not CF) but only applied to the centre of the lips to make them look very round.  I also used Laguna to add some colour to the back of the cheeks.

This make up is not particularly flattering as you can see in the photos but I think (hope) it reflects the 20s era quite accurately :)

What did you dress up as?

<3

Eight Most Worn Things Tag

I am very much into my tag posts recently!  Here is another one :)

Lipstick/Lipgloss

I guess this is technically neither lipstick or lipgloss...  However it is my most worn lip product so I reckon it still counts!  This is ELF Mineral Moisturising Lip Tint SPF 8 in Berry.  You can see a full review for it here.  I tend to have this in my bag and it's easy to just slap on without worrying about it too much because the colour is quite subtle.  I also bought this in Pink Pop which I haven't actually tried yet but a post involving that will be coming up soon!

Earrings

My ex bought me these earrings as a present from his holiday I think it was?  They are just so pretty and perfect for everyday, adds a subtle bit of sparkle!

Top

I would probably say this Primark blouse is my most worn top!  It's so versatile and goes with basically everything, especially because of the colour!  It cost £10 and it washes up great, I got a size 6 as it is really big made and I didn't want it too loose.  I have also bought this in orange (of course) but it's definitely not as easy to match up with things.

Nail Polish

Glittery pink one in the centre

My camera can't cope with the glitter and holos :(

This category was ridiculously hard!  It's not even accurate because I own so many nail varnishes it takes a while for me to go back to a specific one.  I usually want one wear one I've just bought!  However, I've worn this twice on my toes and once on my fingers so I am choosing Prize by Nubar!  It is a stunning scattered holo pink.  Prize is from the Prisms collection and I would really like another one from the set.  To see swatches of all the polishes from the Prisms collection, and better photos then I have, click here as I have found a great post on them from VampyVarnish.  I got this from amazon a couple of years ago.

Shoes

This one is so boring!  These are just a pair of very plain black pumps with bows from Primark!  They are so comfy and go with everything so I wear them constantly.  I think they were about £8, maybe slightly less?

Hair Product

I'm such a fail, I literally never put anything on my hair other than shampoo and conditioner!  Very occasionally hairspray or heat protector but the majority of the time I let it dry naturally and don't style it... Does my hairbrush count?!

Perfume

I do actually have post on my favourite perfume and the difficulties I had tracking it down which you can find here, but for this post I have chosen White Musk as it is cruelty free and easy to get your hands on!  I am on the look out for some new perfumes, this is the only cruelty free one I own and when all my others run out I will be scunnered!  This is my second bottle - I wish they did 50 or 100ml bottles - and because it's eau de parfum it's lasted me quite a long time.

Handbag

This is the bag I am currently using, if you want to see what's in it then click here.  I do use my old bag for college now though as I need to take folders in but as I'm not in all that much I stick with this one most of the time.

<3

How Much Is My [everyday] Face?

I've been seeing a lot of these posts going around and I'm really curious as to how much mine is!  When it comes to my everyday make up I am very basic!  Mainly because I am so lazy and by no means am I a morning person so if there is a way for me to get an extra few minutes in bed I will find it!

Please note that the majority of these products are not cruelty free as I am just trying to use them up, as usual I will mention each item specifically.

I will mention each one in the order I apply them:

Origins VitaZing Moisturiser - £27.00 (not CF)
Mac Studio Finish Concealer - £14.50 (not CF)
ELF Eyebrow Kit - £3.75
Benefit They're Real mascara - £18.50
Covergirl Instant Cheekbones blusher - $5.29 (£3.33) (not CF)
Mac Blot Powder Pressed (although not anymore as it smashed and is now in a wee pot loose!) - £20.00 (not CF)

Total = £87.08

I am actually quite surprised at this!  However, A LOT of the prices have gone up, for example when I first bought VitaZing it was £25.  Also I got my staff discount on the Origins, Mac and Benefit items which is always a bonus.

If you've done one of these I'd love if you left me a link, they're so interesting to read :)

<3

FOTD: BBQ & College Practice

This is the make up I wore to a family BBQ on Sunday - it rained obviously - and I also wanted to do a  trial run for the make up I would wear to college the next day.

I actually ended up forgetting to put on eyeliner the next morning, also my mum had told me that I was too pale so I darkened my foundation slightly but those were the only differences in make up!  Oh and excuse my hair in the photos, I'd clipped it up to do my face haha!

• I first used Two Faced Primed and Poreless mainly on my forehead and under my eyes.
• Then for foundation I mixed Illamasqua Skinbase in shade 2 with a little bit of Bourjois Healthy Mix in shade 51, on Monday I used slightly more of the Bourjois one to darken it.
• Under my eyes I used Mac Studio Finish concealer in NW20 (not CF) and powdered over it with Benefit Powderflage.
• I filled in my eyebrows with Avon eyebrow pencil in Brown (not CF).
• On my cheeks I used No7 cream blush in Rose Silk then went over it lightly with the Covergirl (not CF) blush I'm trying to use up, and highlighted using Physicians Formula highlighter that I love.
• For my eyes I just lined the upper lashline with Mac Fluidline (not CF) in Blacktrack and applied Benefit They're Real mascara.
• Finally on my lips I wore ELF Moisturising Lip Tint in Berry.

<3

Collection: DIY Palettes #2

I decided to created my own mini palettes to condense my individual eyeshadow collection a little bit.  I was going to do them in the one post but it started to get a bit long so I am going to divide it up into 2 posts instead!  Here are my 3 palettes that I have so far:

In my last post I showed you the Unii Palette (the red one) and so the next ones to discuss are the small E.L.F. ones.  I actually have 3 of these but only 2 are filled at the moment!  These palettes are quite handy, they come with an insert to fit 4 standard size eyeshadows/blushes which E.L.F. sell individually on their website.  The palette and refills are £1.50 (well they were last time I checked, they are bumping up their prices something awful, argh!) which is quite a bargain!  In all honesty the refills are not the best, they are really gritty and I won't be buying anymore of these.  The palette however is great, you just need to pop out the insert and then using some double sided sticky tape, stick down the metal sheet which lies beneath the insert.  So then you can use however many products you want/can fit in it!  You can also decorate your palette as well if you want - I had little rhinestones on the corners but they fell off as I used to keep it in my make up bag!

So although they are quite small, for £1.50 they are really easy for putting together a few similar colours.  They are definitely not as durable as the Unii palette for travel, I had one eyeshadow smash on me in one, and that was with the insert in place!  But I think for the price they are fantastic!

In the left-hand side one I have got black and white themed eyeshadows.  They are by Too Faced (grey and black), Avon (the white and grey - not CF) and E.L.F. (the white one, see how gritty it is?!)

In the other one I have got some blushes.  The big one is Berry Merry by E.L.F. (love this blush!), beside it is Merlot by Arbonne, and the round one is another £1.50 E.L.F. one (again note the grittiness).

I am going to a post about my obsession with purple toned blusher at some point, I'd like to get my hands on NARS Sin first but it's just so damn expensive!

<3

EOTN: Makeshift Teal

Tonight my friends and I sang at friends and family night at a cancer unit.  We really enjoy singing as a group and have put together a choir totally just for fun!  We have been to a few different places now; we sang at that cancer unit and a care home around Christmas time last year, and we also sang at my friend Beckie's wedding (who is in the choir but obviously being the bride she didn't join in!).  Our general theme has been to wear black and then we all have different coloured folders for our song words which we match to our eyeshadow!  My folder is a dark teal sort of colour which is quite a tricky colour to find a matching eyeshadow for, so I just used blue and green and hoped for the best!

Photo from my phone, shows off the highlights better as they get washed out from the flash!

I actually hated this during the process but this happens most of the time for me lol!  I just persevered with it and ended up quite pleased with how it looked.  I used quite a lot of products so I will use bulletpoints below to try and make it clearer!

• UDPP all over the lid (no longer CF - grrrr).
• Covergirl 'green' all over the lid (not CF).
• I then pressed Barry M dazzle dust in 92 over the 'green' (which ends up blue anyway!)
• Then mixing Mildew and Oil Slick from the Urban Decay Ammo Palette (no longer CF) together on a tapered brush I applied this into my crease and blended it out.
• I then used the blue and green shadows from the E.L.F. Eye Transformer palette, blue around the inner corner and up then green under the brow bone, blending them together.
• I used the Covergirl 'green' under my lower lash line.
• Finally I applied black gel eyeliner along the upper lashline, and then mascara - Bourjois Fast & Perfect - on upper and lower eyelashes.

'Green' is second on the right - got this in Florida years ago

I used the two outer shadows here

The E.L.F. palette is fantastic, it is an almost-but-not-really dupe for the Naked Cosmetics Ivory stack.  These are perfect for highlighting the inner corner as they are subtley coloured.  From left to right they are green, gold, pink and blue.  You can also apply them over different colours such as black and it creates a really nice iridescent shimmer.

Oh and I had my music exam yesterday!!  It wasn't too bad,  it wasn't perfect and my nerves were definitely showing but we'll see in two weeks when I get my results!  I feel like I can finally relax for a bit now, phew!

<3