Winter Lips

Hi and welcome back to yet another post! :)

This week I thought I would do a nice little seasonal post and as the nights have gotten darker so has my lip colour. I thought it would be nice to show you my 'darker' side to lipsticks and possibly give you a reason to go shopping (sorry wallet!!).

My lip colours of choice this Autumn/Winter have been...

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-ist - This stuff is amazing! One application lasts hours and a little goes a long way too. As it's a long lasting wear product it does tend to dry out your lips a little but for hours of colour I don't mind. I have several of these but this is the most perfect shade for winter!

Avon Lipstick in Ravishing Rose - I originally bought this for my wedding a few years ago but it was much darker than I imagined. The colour is a beautiful deep pink/red that lasts for hours. My only issue with this product is that it does dry out the lips a little and can become patchy after a few hours of wear but for the price tag it's definitely worth it!

Mac Lipstick in Syrup (Lustre) - I love this shade from Mac, it's a slightly more pink choice in Winter but as it's a Lustre finish it stays put really well and gives me a pop of 'girliness' in the cooler months.

Gosh Lipstick in Plum (Matt) - This is quite a darker shade for me and a very daring colour to wear. This has been marked as a dupe for Mac's Rebel so if you're thinking of trying that but not the price tag this is a good one to go for. I love the shade of this and as it's matt finish it lasts really well on the lips. I have worn this a few times and honestly felt more confident than I ever have! This lipstick either has wonder powers or is really that gorgeous - either way a win for me!!

Rimmel Kate Lipstick in 01 - This is from Kate Moss' new lipstick range by Rimmel. I picked this shade as it looked like the most gorgeous pink/nude. I love having dark eye make up this time of year so a nude with that just looks perfect! This was a little paler than I expected but equally gorgeous too!

Dior Addict Extreme Lipstick in Cherie Bow - This one I use with special occasions in the Winter as it gives a gorgeous glossy lip colour that is classic and timeless. It makes me feel ready for a party and stays put for a while too! This one I will always have in my collection - it's just a holy grail lip colour for me.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Walkyrie - This was in my Cohorted September beauty box but oh my was it a treat! This gorgeous browny/red shade is perfect for Autumn and I have been using this 70% of the time this year! I love the fact that it lasts hours, is so easy to apply and doesn't dry out the lips too!

Mac Lipstick in Modesty (Cremesheen) - This is a solid favourite by all and yes yet again it's stays in my favourites too. This is a brown/nude shade and is gorgeous on every skin tone. I love this as an everyday colour all year round.

I'm sure as the months go on these will change a little and perhaps some darker shades my creep in but for now - these are my absolute favourites!

What lip colours have you been using this month? Any you would recommend? :)

Thanks for reading!
Jess x

What's in my Makeup Bag?

Hi and welcome back my lovelies! :)

This week I thought a nice blog post about what is currently in my makeup bag as I've got this lovely new makeup bag case for my birthday last month. 

First of all the bag itself is the gorgeous, Hannah Maggs Makeup Bag in 'The Benevolent'! This is one of the new designs Hannah has brought out and I must say it's gorgeous! I will have a nice blog post about these soon to go in more detail. 

My brushes in my bag are:
Real Techniques Expert Face Brush - This one is great for foundation and buffing in any concealer.
Models Own Powder Brush - Just a standard powder brush.
Real Techniques Blush Brush - My go to blush brush.
Real Techniques Shading Brush - Finally this is a nice eyeshadow brush.

Now onto the makeup, primers and sprays that I use...
Maybelline Babyskin Primer - Great to create a nice even base on your skin before foundation.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in 51 - This shade is a touch too dark for me but I LOVE the formula of this! It just glides on and is a nice medium coverage too.
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair - A beauty blogger favourite. This concealer is just amazing! It's better than a lot of the high-end concealers and is a fraction of the price at £4.49!
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - This is a firm favourite too. Nice and simple powder and again budget friendly at £3.99.

Mary-Lou Manizer - The Luminizer - This is one of my new products (shown in my latest haul also) but it's amazing!! It's a gorgeous golden highlighter and it just transforms my makeup.

Bourjois Blusher in 34 Golden Rose - This is another new product and I can't quite make my mind up on how I feel about it, so at the moment it's in my case to try out. Watch this space! :)
Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze Palette - I bought these on a whim as I thought the shades looked gorgeous and again it was a bargain! Soon after trying it and loving it, it seemed that other bloggers had also loved it and now it's hard to find them in the stores! I love it! It's just a lovely little set to use day to day and it's travel friendly too.
Primark Shape and Shade Brow Pencil in Dark Brown - I use this to fill my eyebrows but I think Primark have renamed it all and they have a new name for this range now. I just love it. It does the trick but I'm sure there are better brow products out there. I'm going to use this one up and then go shopping and venture out for a new one!

No7 Amazing Eyes Eyeliner in Black - Again this is another firm favourite. For some reason I'm loving pencil eyeliner again instead of gel or pen eyeliners. This one is always my favourite to go to. It's soft so is gentle on the eyes and I love that it has a little buffer on the other end to help blend it for a softer look.
Maybelline Lash Sensational - I'm in love with this mascara. You will have probably seen that I've posted about this a few times already, but it truly is that good! It makes my lashes look fuller, longer and nicely natural too.
Bourjois Shine Lipstick in 26 - This lipstick is gorgeous for an everyday look and as I'm trying to move away from using Mac everyday as it can get pricey I've moved to this gorgeous little lipstick.
Mac Lustre Lipstick in Lovelorn - This is when I feel like a little more of a pick me up or dressing up my makeup a little. Lovelorn is gorgeous, it's a warm pinky shade that lasts well on the lips. Again one of my favourite from Mac.
Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray - Finally if I'm having a heavy day or I'm really chuffed with my makeup and I would like it to stay that way I use this stuff. This stuff is great and just seals in your look so it doesnt budge. I would buy this over and over again now I've tried it - it's just a fab little product!

So here is a little look-see of what I have in my makeup bag. If you've noticed my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder is missing (you clever lot!), it's because it crumbled all over the floor just before this picture (ha!).

I hope you enjoyed my post this week. I love seeing what you guys use everyday and also what products you would recommend - if you have any suggestions please comment below. I would love to have an excuse to buy some more makeup! :)

Jess xox

My Current Everyday Spring Makeup Routine

Hello again and welcome back to my blog!

This week I'm showing you my current makeup routine for Spring.

Now some of these products are well loved and so look a little tatty and may not even be sold anymore but this is an honest post on my everyday products for Spring and so here we go...

First I start with my eye makeup. I know this may seem odd but I hate any fallout from my eye shadow going on my face and so to avoid that I do my eyes first. I'm currently using the Collection Eye Uncovered Pallet in Nude Bronze and am loving it. I use the lightest shade in the corners of my eyes to make them look wide awake and then the gold/bronze shade for the rest of my lid. To finish I add a little eyeliner across my lashline using the No7 Stay Perfect Eyeliner. This eyeliner I've used for years and it's so soft and longlasting that I haven't needed to try anything else.

Next I apply my foundation; I'm currently using Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in Shade 51. I love, love, love this foundation. It's a great formula and just glides over my skin giving me a nice medium coverage - not too heavy and not too light either. My only issue is that the lightest shade (51), is a little too dark for me still and so am hoping they will bring out another light shade for me to try one day. I apply this foundation with my real techniques buffing brush and also apply my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer on any blemishes and blend that in also. To set this base I use my beloved Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent.

I then fill my eyebrows with an Eyebrow pencil from Primark. Now I have no idea what this is called as the text has rubbed off and since trying to buy another they've stopped selling it. They look like they have another version which may be similar but I have yet to try it. The pencil I have though is great, I use shade dark brown and lightly fill my brows then use the brush at the end to blend a little so it appears more natural.

I will then add a little blush, I'm currently using my Bourjois Blush in 16 Rose Coup De Foudre. This blusher is lovely but as I love a slightly heavier blush than most I would say needs to be applied 'heavily' compared to some other blushers. I love the natural pink/peach glow that this gives you.

The finished look is this...

 

 




 

Thanks for reading! Stay happy! Jess xox

My Foundations Collection

Hello again and welcome back to my blog!

This week I have done something a little different and created a post dedicated to my foundation collection.

Now I used to be the sort of lady who stuck to one foundation and used it year round and year after year but after starting my blog last year I have encouraged myself to be a little more adventurous and try some new products on the market to see how they weighed up.

My collection currently contains:

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation - This is a fairly new foundation to my collection. Now I love the finish it gives, its quite high coverage but it doesnt tend to last well on my skin during the Winter months (when my skin overcompensates and tends to get much oilier). This one I will be using again in the Spring time :)

Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation - This is very similar to the Lasting Finish from Rimmel. I would say that this offers slightly less coverage, but again it doesn't go well on my skin in the cooler months. For me, another one for Spring/Summer.

Maxfactor Lasting Performance - My favourite all year round foundation. It copes with my oily patches as well as the dryer patches on my face really well. This has been my go to foundation for years now.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation - This one is lovely! I love it's scent and the finish it gives isn't too heavy, nor too light. It glides on really well and all in all it's a good all year round foundation.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - I love the scent of this foundation also, it has a hint of orange in it and a slight shimmer which makes it perfect for Summer when you want a more dewy and sun kissed look.

I hope you enjoyed my blog post for this week. If you have any ideas on what you would like me to review or share next please feel free to let me know in the comments below :)

Jess xox

April Haul with Reviews

Hello again and welcome back to my blog!

This month I have left it a little later to post my haul so I can trial run all products for a little longer before giving you my thoughts and reviews.

This month I got a few new goodies and a couple of old favourites, lets get started!

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Shade Translucent
This is a repurchase for me, as I just love it. It's so cheap yet perfect to help set my makeup. As I have an oily t-zone I always carry this around with me, just to help me touch up any oily patches throughout the day. This is a great little powder and just does what it says on the erm.. tin? :-)

Maybelline Superstay Better Skin Foundation
This was a brave new purchase for me as at the beginning of the year I tried two new foundations and neither worked well for me. I was nervous that this would be the same but after hearing good things I thought I would give it a go, plus being a highstreet brand the price was reasonable (£8.99). This foundation claims to be a lot of things, it claims to improve your skin as well as offer great coverage and longwear use. It also has SPF 20 in it, which for me is an extra bonus as I really wanted a foundation that would help protect my skin from the sun.

Now first is first, does it improve your skin? Well I have used it almost a month now and I haven't seen any improvement to my skin, but honestly I find it hard to believe that any makeup is good for your skin and it isn't the reason I purchased it.

Does it offer great coverage? Yes! It's fabulous at covering any redness and dark circles.

And most importantly does it stay put? Yes, it does! This is the most important for me as due to my oily areas. Most foundations move about on me, but this stays all day without the need of touching up!

All in all, I love it and I think this is now the foundation I will be using the most. In the Summer I may switch to my Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation or mix the two together - this will help make it a little lighter and breathable for those hot Summer days.

Sienna X Gradual Glowing Self Tan
I'm always nervous about self tanning products as I seem to mess them up and get streaks and/or get darker elbows and knees. Sienna X's Tanning range promises no streaks and an idiot free way to tan. I used this for about 2 weeks straight and not once did I get any streaks. I did at one point get darker elbows but that was my doing as I forgot to moisturise before applying the tan. It's a lovely scent too as it smells like sunscreen and reminds me of the holidays. The tan it provides is a gorgeous and a natural finish; not a nasty orange that a lot of the self tanning products give you. The only downside to this product is the price, it's £15.95 per bottle, but I can see as long as I use this for special occasions to take away to edge of my naturally pale skin this should last me some time. I will repurchase this, but I hope it will be a while until I need to!

Maybelline Falsies Volume Express Mascara
This is another repurchase for me as I love, love, love this mascara! It's so reasonable and it makes my eyelashes so much longer and fuller. If I had to pick one item to take with me when I'm away, this would be it! For £7.99 give it a try, you won't regret it!

Barry M Lipgloss in Shade No 2
This is the first Barry M lipgloss I've purchased but I must say it's lovely. It's non sticky formula is perfect and they all have scents which was a nice surprise. This one smells of chocolate (does it get any better?!) - I was in heaven!! The Shade No 2 is a light brown/pink nude that is perfect for everyday wear. As Summer is approaching I wanted a lipgloss that was minimal to match my minimal makeup - this is perfect. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other shades out soon (as well as their scents!!).

Gillette Venue Olay Refillable Razor & Razor Pack
I love this razor, there is no more need for shaving cream as the Olay Gel does this for you, plus it smells divine (think coco butter). I would say this is great value for money as a razor alone, but the refillables are quite pricey and unfortunately don't last long. I'm almost needing to replace mine after only using it 3 weeks. Still, its lovely to use, does its job as it offers a nice close shave and smells amazing. I will be buying this again, I don't see myself going back to ever using shaving cream and a standard razor now! :-)

What did you guys get this month?

Thanks again for reading!
Jess xox