Valentine's Day makeup

If you read my daily makeup routine, you will know that I keep things fairly simple and natural. On special occasions, I still like to look natural, however I do put a little more effort into my makeup!

 

The face makeup I am going to wear is fairly similar to my everyday makeup. I am still trying my new Liz Earle Signature foundation which I am planning to wear, as I'm hoping it will last well. Instead of wearing my Rimmel Stay Matte powder, I like to wear my Hourglass Ambient powder for special occasions, as it is gorgeous and leaves my skin looking radiant. I am also planning on wearing a little bit of Nars Deep Throat blush to add a natural glow to my cheeks. The rest of my face makeup is the same as my daily makeup, as I like to keep it fairly easy.

 

I am definitely going to use my Naked 3 palette for my eye shadow! The colours are gorgeous and all pink tones, so quite appropriate for Valentine's Day. To complete my eyes I am going to use my Eyeko Skinny liner and L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara, which I use daily.

 

Mac Charcoal Brown is what I have been using on my eyebrows recently. I am tempted to try the Anastasia Dipbrow because the Mac powder isn't a perfect match in colour. I love using my Maybelline Browdrama on my eyebrows, as it adds some extra definition and also sets them in place.

 

You have probably seen lots of reviews on the new Rimmel Matte Balms. I have the shade Sultry and love it! It's relatively moisturising and I wont have to worry about reapplying it through the evening, as it lasts fairly long.

 

Let me know if you use any of these products on Valentine's Day. I hope you all have a lovely day!



 

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

My daily makeup

I love reading everyday makeup posts, as I find it nice to see which products people rely on daily. I don't wear exactly the same makeup every single day. My foundation may change depending on how my skin is, or my lip colour may change, however these products are what I have been using a lot lately.

 

My skin can be quite oily, so I find a primer really helps. I stopped using one for a while, however I tried this Maybelline Baby Skin one and have been using it daily!

 

I then follow with my new Liz Earle Signature foundation. I haven't had this for very long at all, so am still testing it out. I will write a full review once I have been using it for longer.

 

My concealers may come as no surprise to you! I use the Seventeen Paint underneath my eyes and Collection Lasting Perfection on any redness or blemishes. I love these two concealers and know I can rely on them everyday.

 

I use my Rimmel Stay Matte powder, which I concentrate on my t-zone and then dust a little on my cheeks. This does a brilliant job at controlling my oily nose, but without making my skin look dull.

 

Lastly for face is highlighter and bronzer. I haven't been wearing blush on a daily basis, as I find the shades from my Dior Nude bronzer add enough colour into my skin. The Soap and Glory Glow All Out is a new product to me which you may have seen in my Products I'm trying: February post.

 

On a daily basis, I don't tend to wear eye shadow. I like wearing a thin line of eyeliner and some mascara. The Eyeko Skinny eyeliner is new to be and I am really enjoying testing this out. I find it so easy to control the line and make it nice and neat. For mascara I have been loving my L'Oreal Miss Manga.

 

I love having defined eyebrows, however on a daily basis I don't always have time to be filling them in. I find the Maybelline Browdrama a fantastic product. It actually leaves my eyebrows looking filled in and defined.

 

Finally for lips, I have been wearing my Maybelline Baby Lips. I get quite dry lips, so tinted lip balms are perfect for me and I have been loving this one!

 

Those are all the products I use on a daily basis. Let me know your everyday makeup products!



 

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Crown makeup brushes

I bought the Crown HD set a while ago and absolutely fell in love with it. It comes with 6 brushes (the powder brush is not photographed above) which are all absolutely incredible to use.

 

I received some other Crown brushes last week and I really wanted to show them to you because I think Crown may now be my favourite brush brand!

 



I received a range of brushes which I have been enjoying using. 

 

I have been using the Duo Face brush* for bronzer and it has been incredible! I haven't used a duo-fibre brush for bronzer before. This distributes the powder so well, whilst also blending it in. As it is duo-fibre, it also doesn't pack too much product onto my face at once, which is brilliant as I am quite pale so have to be light handed with bronzer! It is extremely soft, fluffy and light on the skin.

 

The Mini Blender* is duo-fibre and the same shape as the duo face brush, just a mini one! I find it to be a little more dense which I like, as I have been using it for highlighter. It's very good at patting the highlighter onto my cheekbones and blending it out.



 

The Deluxe Foundation brush* is the first double ended brush I own. I have actually been using the concealer brush daily which is unlike me, as I always use my fingers for concealer! The foundation brush is lovely, soft and smooth's foundation on without leaving any lines. I then use the concealer end to pat concealer under my eyes and blend it onto any blemishes.

 

 

My Blending Fluffy * looks fairly similar to a Mac 217, however I find this a lot more dense and less fluffy. This makes it very good at packing eye shadow onto the eyelids, which is what I have been using it for. The shape is perfect for using all over the eyelid and it feels nice and gentle.

 

The Deluxe Crease brush* may be my favourite eye shadow brush! It is so soft and fluffy which I have found perfect for blending eye shadow. I like my eye shadow to be very blended, so need a very soft, light brush to do this. Otherwise if I am blending for a while, my eyelid can become sore if the brush is too hard. This is the perfect blending brush and is the perfect size to fit in the crease.

 

I haven't used the Angle Liner brush* yet, as I already own quite a few. I may start using this for applying powder to my eyebrows, as the brush I currently use is quite fat, so I can't create a defined line. This is very soft for a liner brush, so I am excited to try it!

 

I would love to know your favourite brushes and if you have any Crown brushes you would recommend.

 

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Makeup brushes: Foundation

I think it's really important to own good quality makeup brushes, as I find it makes a difference to how well my makeup applies and lasts. The other day I showed you my powder brushes and today I am going to show you my foundation brushes.

Foundation brushes are my favourite to buy and I love trying different types!

Starting with flat foundation brushes, I have these five to tell you about.

The two on the left are basically the same! The Bobbi Brown Foundation Brush and Benefit Foundation Brush are what I would call 'traditional' foundation brushes. They apply foundation in a sweeping motion, which isn't my favourite, however with certain foundation types they work best.

The NO7 Foundation Brush is a lot thicker than the other two. It's quite fat which I really like, as it allows me to buff the foundation in better. It also gets foundation on a little quicker because it's that slight bit bigger.

My Crown Deluxe Foundation Brush is the newest edition to my foundation brushes! It's duo ended as the other end is a concealer brush. Tomorrow I am writing a full post on my Crown brushes, so pop back tomorrow if you would like to know more about this brush!

The final brush in the photo is my Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush from their Core Collection. I personally find this too small for foundation, so instead I sometimes use it to pat concealer around my nose. I don't feel the need to use a brush for concealer very often, so this one doesn't get used a lot.

My MAC 187 is a brush I used to love for foundation, however I don't tend to use it as much lately. I used to use it regularly with my MAC studio sculpt foundation as I found they worked very well together. I don't use that foundation anymore though, and haven't found another foundation this works as well with.

 

A while ago I posted about my Zoeva brushes. The buffer brush is one I don't use very often now. I used it more when I first bought it, however I have discovered that I prefer a rounder top rather than a flat top! I also have a petite Zoeva brush. If I use this, I don't tend to use it for foundation. I do find it buffs it in nicely though and because it's small, it applies foundation nicely around the nose.

 

One of my most regularly used brushes is my foundation brush from the Crown HD Set. This is small, so takes a little longer for application but I find it leaves a very nice, flawless finish. I tend to use this with my Laura Mercier Silk Crème foundation, as I find the consistency works nicely with this brush. 

 

Other brushes I use very frequently are definitely the Real Technique Buffing Brush and the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush (not photographed). I find these work great with lots of different foundation textures and I have used the buffing brush for liquid and compact foundations.

I also have the Real Techniques Stippling Brush (not photographed) which I like for thinner, liquid foundations. I rarely use this for foundation though, as I find it works nicely with cream blushes. The design of the brush means it distributes the blusher a perfect amount and in the place you want it!

 

I would love to know your favourite foundation brushes.

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Makeup brushes: Powder

This post is going to show you the brushes I use for various powder products, including powder, bronzer, blushes and highlighters. I am planning to write a foundation brushes and eye brushes post to follow this one, so please let me know if that would interest you!

The Zoeva Powder Brush is what I would call a traditional shaped powder brush. It's big, fluffy and round. I find this buffs powder in nicely but sometimes I think it's too dense and can move product underneath.

My Bobbi Brown Powder Brush is definitely my favourite for applying powder. The shape is tapered which I love as I find it dusts powder on my face without leaving it looking heavy or cakey. The only negative about this brush is that it sheds a little bit when I use it.

Finally is my little Bobbi Brown Setting Brush. I use this daily for applying powder under my eyes and a little bit around my nose. The shape is perfect for underneath my eyes and it's so soft and delicate.

Moving onto blusher brushes!

The Crown Blush Brush is my favourite for applying blushers, especially cream ones. I find it doesn't soak up any product, so gets it all onto my cheeks and then blends it nicely. It's incredibly soft and one of my favourite brushes to use.

One of my other favourites is the Mac 168, which is an angled blusher brush. I like that this is cream as I find it easier to judge how much blusher I have put on the brush! This is a lovely shape for sweeping the blush from the apples on my cheeks, up towards my temples slightly.

My other favourite brush is the No7 Blush Brush. This is the perfect shape and size for applying blush onto the apples of my cheeks. It isn't as dense or soft as the others, but it blends the product very well and leaves it looking quite subtle. I don't find it ideal if you want to pack a lot of colour on, however for a natural dusting of powder, it does the job nicely.

My favourite brush for applying bronzer is the Real Techniques Blush Brush. I personally find this too big for blush, as I only apply a small amount of blush onto the apples of my cheeks. This is brilliant for bronzer though. I sweep this along my cheeks, onto my forehead and dust it across my nose. This is tapered, so I find it blends the product as I am applying it.

My final brush is the Real Techniques Contour Brush. I like using this to apply highlight onto my cheekbones. I would say this is the same shape and softness as the blush brush, just a mini one! I find this applies highlighter nicely as it blends the product as I apply it.

I am easily convinced into trying new brushes, so let me know if you have any that you would recommend!

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Valentine's Day gift ideas

This post is going to be things that us girlies may like to receive for Valentine's Day. You could start dropping hints and I may ask my boyfriend to read my blog and hope he stumbles across this post.

Perfumes are lovely gifts to receive, especially as they can come in some lovely gift sets. I am such a perfume lover and would own loads if I could afford them! My favourites at the moment are Hugo Boss Jour and Ellie Saab.

I think vouchers are nice, especially spa vouchers. For Christmas I received a voucher for my local spa which I love going to. This would be such a cute and romantic gift and a voucher is nice as you can then choose which treatment you spend it on.

Jewellery is a very lovely gift and possibly quite a safe option if the guy knows what type of jewellery you like. My boyfriend hates jewellery, so I'm not expecting any of that unfortunately! I think dainty, cute little pieces are perfect. I recently reviewed a heart bracelet from LVNDR which would be a gorgeous gift. LVNDR have some adorable pieces, so I would highly recommend having a look on the website.

Makeup can also be a lovely present to get. This is something you may have to hint at, as some guys wouldn't know where to start with buying it! I've recently been loving the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette and that would be amazing to unwrap on Valentine's Day! The shades are pinky tones, so quite girly and romantic.

Slightly more traditional gifts may include going out for a meal, receiving flowers or chocolates. I love receiving flowers, as they are so pretty and nice to put up in my bedroom. My boyfriend is taking me out for a meal on Valentine's Day, so I am excited for that! I'm hoping I receive some chocolate as well because I love chocolate a ridiculous amount!

Look Fantastic currently have some fantastic offers on their products, including 20% off selected Valentine's day gifts here!

I hope you have liked this post and it has given you some ideas to hint about! I would love to know what you would like to receive for Valentine's Day, so let me know below.



Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Products I'm trying: February

I thought I would start a little series where at the start of every month, I show you the products that are new to me and I'm going to be trying out. Then at the end of the month, I can tell you how I got on with them all!

 

This month I have a range of products that I am going to be trying, so here they are.

 

 

Starting with skincare, I recently bought the Philosophy Purity cleanser from a blog sale. This is something I have wanted to try for ages now, so I am very excited to start using this in February.

 

My only other new skincare item is the Clarins Exfoliator Brightening toner. I have read some great reviews on this and I will let you know what I think once I have been using it a while.

 

The other day in Boots I bought a couple of makeup items that I haven't tried before. I bought the Maybelline Baby Skin primer, Soap and Glory Glow all Out and Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Sultry, all of which I have read brilliant reviews on.

 

In Superdrug, I picked up the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge. I have never used a sponge to apply makeup before, so I am looking forward to trying this. I would love to know if you have any tips on using sponges!
 

 

My final two products are from blog sales. I bought the Barry M nail paint in Silvery Lilac. This looks gorgeous in the bottle, so I'm hoping it looks just as pretty on my nails! My final purchase is the Eyeko skinny eyeliner. I am starting to wear eyeliner on a daily basis again, so I'm hoping this will be nice and easy to use.

 

At the end of February, once I have been using these products for a month, I will update you on how I have been getting on with them!

 

I hope you like the idea of this little series. Please let me know in the comments below!

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

January Favourites

Here is my first monthly favourites of 2014! I have been excited to put this up, as I have a few new products that I haven't mentioned before. Let me know if you would like individual reviews on any of these products. I have a couple planned already!

 

 

 

 

I would love to know your favourite products from January. I hope you have all had a nice start to the new year.

 

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette

I'm sure you have all heard and seen lots of the Naked 3 palette recently. It's the newest Naked palette release by Urban Decay and it's beautiful!

 

I own the first two palettes and wouldn't have thought I'd need a third one, however this one is so pretty! The eye-shadow colours are all pinky tones and the packaging itself is a gorgeous rose gold colour. I much prefer the metal packaging compared to the velvet packaging of the first palette. I love these palettes as they are so clean, simple and the mirror is lovely and big.

 



I love the colours in this palette. I don't wear eye-shadow every day so when I do, I like the colours to be easy to wear and all work well together.

 

The paler colours in this palette, on the left, would be beautiful to use as inner corner and lid colours. The darker colours, on the right, would be lovely in the outer corner and crease. I think I would use the middle colours either for the outer corner if I'm doing a subtle look and don't want to go too dark, or as an all over colour if I want something a little more dramatic!

 

I'd love to know your favourite colours to wear from this palette! I am planning on filming a video soon, showing you my favourites shades and looks to create using this.

 

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Dirty Looks hair extensions

My hair is shoulder length and I love having shorter hair, however sometimes it's nice to have long hair that I can style more. When I was younger I owned some hair extensions but I got rid of them when I had ombre hair, as they didn't match anymore!

A couple of weeks ago Dirty Looks sent me some extensions to review and I was so excited to try them. I chose the HK full head hair extensions* in 16"-18". My hair is extremely thick and in the past I have struggled to find extensions that are thick enough to blend in. These ones are lovely and thick though, plus they come with a quad weft which is amazing. Without the quad weft, they definitely would not be thick enough for my hair!

They are made with Remy human hair, so can be styled just as you would style your normal hair. I like making them wavy as I find they blend in slightly better.

 

Dirty Looks were great at choosing the right colour for me. I sent a couple of photos of myself in natural daylight and they quickly responded matching me to the shade Espresso.

Once you break the seal on the packaging of hair extensions, you cannot return them. I think it is brilliant that these ones come with a separate little pouch with one extension in, which you can take out and check the colour/length, without having to break the seal. I took this into my dad to check the colour matched my hair and he couldn't believe how perfect the match was!

The hair extensions come in two little nets to keep them all together and protected. They also come with three spare clips which I am very impressed with!

I am extremely pleased with these hair extensions as they are lovely and thick, the colour is perfect and they blend in nicely.

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube