Collection Extreme 24HR Felt Tip Liner | Swatch + Review.

Collection (or Collection 2000) are a brand that I have always used but only owned one product of theirs at a time, usually their cult product Lasting Perfection concealer or their pressed powder. So I thought it was about time I checked them out properly. A month or so ago there was an offer on in Boots where if you spent over £5 on Collection make-up you could get one of their Extreme 24HR felt tip eyeliners for free (usually £2.99). So I bought a lipstick and a nail polish, I decided on the teal liner as I love anything teal and I didn't have anything like it at home.

My past foray into felt tip liners has been a bit of a bust, the one I got from Elf was rubbish and dried out. The nib also splayed and fell apart. So I must say I was wary at first, but after a few uses it's still not dried out or shown any signs of falling apart. Probably something to do with the very secure lid (if you remember to click it shut properly!).

You can achieve many different lines with this pen, it is very easy to use and is very versatile. Normally I'm pretty crap at applying any kind of eyeliner but this stuff is great! It makes it so easy for doing a cat eye liner, or anything else you might want to try. I must say I'm in love, I even went and bought the black one for both myself and the giveaway!

Benefit Passport to Posh | FOTD.

I was very excited to attend the Benefit event at my local Debenhams last week. The £10 ticket was redeemable so I picked up this handy little set called Passport to Posh for half price at £12.50 (there was also 10% off at the time)! It's also exclusive to Debenhams, full retail price is £25.

It comes with instructions on how to do your eye make-up which is great if you're a beginner, and I am when it comes to eye make up especially! I'm also looking forward to playing around with it a bit and seeing what other looks I can create.

I just did my eyebrows as well, I feel they could go thinner, a bit scared to pluck them more though!

The Wednesday Waffle - Week 1 | Amy Poehler + Benefit Event.

I felt like doing a catch up sort of post, so here we are. I decided to give it a fun title, so seeing as it's Wednesday and I tend to ramble (or waffle) on in posts like this The Wednesday Waffle it shall be! I would go ahead and commit to saying that I'll do this every Wednesday, but who am I kidding?! I'll try though. I also wanted to pay homage to Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation, possibly my favourite female character in a comedy series ever (she loves waffles)! Amy Poehler who plays Leslie is also one of the most inspiration people I've ever come across, just watch one of her Ask Amy videos and you'll see what I mean...

Pretty sound advice.

What have I been up to this week? Surprisingly, a lot actually. Usually I'm pretty boring and don't do a lot other than work, but this week I've been out and about.

Last Wednesday I went out dancing with my friend Megan, even though I had work at 8am on Thursday! It was great fun though, we had a laugh dancing to Gangnam Style and our favourite Nicki Minaj (we love to rap to Super Bass more than we should).

Thursday was work until 3, then to The Nether for a catch up with Kirsty and her friends. We ate the largest slices of cake ever, think Bruce Bogtrotter in Matilda! I then went home to get changed as I was heading to Nandos for tea with some friends from school. We had a lovely time, it was nice to catch up with them.
We finished up at about half 9, it was then time to get changed again and head up to meet Jess at her flat. We had a few drinks with her friend Katie and then headed to the Union for the Harry Potter themed night. I wish I knew we were going so I could be more prepared, but I had a top with skulls on and was dressed mostly in black (no surprises there) so I said I was a Death Eater. There were some fantastic costumes, such as a Golden Snitch, Fred and George, some owls, a few house elves and Snape. I wish I had some photos!

Friday was more relaxed even though I had work for about 7 hours.

It was my work night out on Saturday, I bought a new dress from Primark. It's lovely, very simple but suits me well and is easy to dress up with accessories. It's a grey capped sleeve midi dress, I'll maybe do and OOTD with it at some point because it's perfect for winter as it's pretty cosy and great for layering!
We went out for a meal then had a few drinks and some of us headed out to Kage nightclub for a bit of dancing and some more drinking! They play some ace music there, such as Slipknot, Pearl Jam, Disturbed, Metallica, System of a Down, and loads more.

Sunday was my day off, thankfully! Another lazy day, went up to visit my mum who cooked me tea and we sat and watched An Idiot Abroad and Americas Next Top Model. I had a great time there too, it's always nice to see her.

Monday I worked all day and went to a Benefit make-up event at Debenhams in the evening. Something I'd never done before, so it was a bit daunting but exciting. I went with my friend Jess. There was a make-up artist there who was showing us how to use Benefit products to create a look for the holiday season. This was very interesting and I think I learned a few new tips and tricks. There was wine and nibbles which was a nice touch. We were then able to browse the products and there were lots of people to help out, I think everyone that works at the counter was there. The cost of the ticket (£10) was redeemable on the night, so I picked up a nifty little eye set for only £12.50 as the 10% Debenhams sale was still applicable too. It was originally £25, so it was essentially half price!
We also were given a goodie bag which included a sample size Posie tint, a mini They're Real mascara and a full size Dandelion lipgloss worth £13.50 on it's own! 
I'll post some photos now.

Christmas Treat - Chanel Lipstick.

Every Christmas I like to buy myself a wee present, last year it was a pair of Jeffrey Campbell Litas (not such a wee present, I know) and this year it is a Chanel lipstick. I've been eyeing it up for a good few weeks. With a price tag of £25 I feel that I could only justify buying it as a gift to myself at this time of year. I also got 10% off in Debenhams, so it was £22.50.

I absolutely love the colour, and it's matte! It's from the Eclats Du Soir collection, and it's called Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in L'Impatient. The colour is a deep berry shade, which does look a bit daunting in the bullet but it's gorgeous on. I would say it's the perfect colour for winter! If you're unsure about the colour it's best to swatch it first. I was surprised when I swatched it, but I still loved it!

You can wear it on it's own or with a lip liner, I prefer to use a lip liner and fill in my lips first. This helps show off the colour as I feel that it's not as pigmented as it should be. You will see in the photographs and swatches what I mean. If you don't want an opaque lip it works well just patted on lightly as well.  Like I said it is pretty versatile and you can wear it a few different ways.

Beauty Blogger Tag.

I feel like doing something a little different so it's time to answer some questions!

Why did you start blogging and how long have you been blogging for?  
Well I've had this blog for about 3 years and I was originally sporadically posting my photography here, but I neglected it for a couple of years but I'd say I'm back for good this time! I still occasionally like to post my photos here as it's one of my main passions. I enjoy having something structured to do as I'm pretty lazy most of the time so I find it motivating to have something to write about.

Whose blog did you fall in love with first?  
The first beauty blog I followed was Beauty and Baggage. Seonaids blog is fantastic, so many interesting, honest reviews that I find really helpful. Along with beautiful make-up looks, photos and fantastic style. Ok, I think I'm finished gushing now!
On YouTube it was Grav3yardgirl or Bunny Meyer, she's just so inspirational in so many ways. I guarantee she'll make you laugh and she makes me feel better no matter what mood I'm in. 

What was the first blogosphere hyped about product you bought and was it worth the hype?
It was probably the Naked palette, although it was a gift from my boyfriend I did ask for it. I think it's totally worth it! See my post here.

What are your favourite five things about blogging and being a beauty blogger? 
1 - Being able to review things and helping other people find things that work for them, for example I have very pale skin and I like to share when I find a foundation that actually matches! It works both ways too obviously.
2 - It's nice to find people who are passionate about similar things.
3 - I love going out and buying new things to write about, that's an obvious one I think. It does make it easier to justify buying things! 
4 - It gives me something to do other than waste my time perusing the internet randomly. I feel very productive when I'm blogging.
5 - Speaking to new people and as cheesy as it may sound, making new friends. :)

What have you learnt from being a beauty blogger? 
So many things, even just in these past few months! I used to just watch YouTube videos about make up and things. I then found the blogs of the YouTubers. I've learned lots of tips and techniques for applying my make-up properly, I'm getting much better at applying eyeshadow. I've also learned to swatch things a lot more before buying. I usually swatch things a couple of times before I commit to buying now, I like to think about it and know I'm sure. Saves a lot of money not impulse buying all the time. Another thing is that just because something it hyped up or expensive it doesn't mean it's the right thing for you specifically. There's probably a lot more things.

Have you changed anything since being a beauty blogger?
I've changed the way I apply make-up as I mentioned before. It does take me longer to get ready if I'm putting make-up on though! I take better care of my skin, I only used to mosturise when I really had to. I do spend more money on beauty products now, but I'm not really buying clothes any more so it's alright I suppose.

What advice would you give to a beauty blogger just starting out?  
Well I'm still starting out, so I'll just talk about what I'm doing at the moment. Write about what you like, what you know and what interests you. Chances are there will be other people out there with similar opinions and beauty likes. Don't worry if you don't have many followers, it doesn't mean you have a bad blog or that no-one is reading it. As long as you're enjoying what you're writing, that's what matters! Also, you don't have to go out any buy loads of new things, you could start by writing about your Holy Grail products and things you've maybe overlooked in your collection. Reply to all comments you get, be friendly and comment on other peoples blogs too!

Name your top five brands!
Rimmel, MAC, Elf, MUA and Collection 2000 probably. Bit of a weird mixture, but I have a wide variety of brands, they're the ones I have most products from I'd say.

Recommend your top five favourite beauty products!
1 - A classic red lipstick - my favourites are Really Red by Revlon, 111 by Kate Moss Rimmel and Russian Red by MAC.
2 - Naked palette, really does live up to the hype if you like a nude or smoky eye.
3 - MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation in NC 15 - best foundation I've used so far.
4 - Any Aussie hair product, be it shampoo, conditioner or styling products. They are all fantastic and smell so yummy.
5 - Batiste dry shampoo in the scent Boho - if they ever stop making this I'll actually cry. It smells amazing and works wonders on my hair.

Yup, so that's it. I tag everyone because you should all do this, it's interesting and I want to see your answers! Comment if you're going to do it or if you already have :)

X

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation | Review.

Recently I've been really enjoying Rimmel products, as you may have noticed! This time I'm reviewing their Match Perfection liquid foundation.
I'm always on the look out for a drugstore foundation that matches my pale skin tone, until now I hadn't found one. I'd say this is the closest match I've found, and for only £6.99! I bought shade 10 - Light Porcelain.

"Introducing a whole new Match Perfection, a makeup match like you’ve never seen before. Traceless coverage with Advanced Smart-Tone Technology reveals a perfectly flawless you, no matter what the light.
From the bathroom, to work, to the pub, your natural colour never changes.
Completely conceals imperfections with no foundation line, no makeup mask. Enhanced with Sapphire Radiance for an illuminating glow that never falls flat.
Natural, flawless coverage with a fresh finish.  Lasts all day."

Rimmel Website.

I would say this is a medium coverage foundation, and it's somewhere between matte and dewy. Which is a change for me, but I like it. It does cling to my dry areas, but most foundations do. Although it's not cakey or anything which is great, it looks very natural. I do like a medium coverage base as I don't like heavy make up and my skin isn't too bad.

Please excuse my sleepy faces that will follow...

Shade 10

Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick Reviews.

I'm very excited to say that I've bought another two lipsticks from the Kate Moss Rimmel matte collection! The first one I bought is mentioned in my Favourite Matte Lipsticks post (shade 111). I originally wanted shade 107 when I was looking at them the first time but it was sold out. I then found out my mum had it and she let me try it out. I fell even deeper in love with it. When I noticed Superdrug had restocked it I couldn't help myself. I also wanted to try a pinky/nude shade so I also picked up 101. Such a bargain at £5.49 each!

Elf Lip Stain and Gloss | Review

A while back I ordered a bunch of stuff from e.l.f as they had sale around Halloween time. One of my favourite products from this haul is the lip stain in the shade Red Carpet. First thing, I absolutely love this shade, I think it's beautiful. It's a very blue toned red which I think it really suits my skin tone, and many others too I suspect! I also got this on sale for £2.25, so it's a total bargain. Normal price is £3.75.

The main reason I love this so much is because it is so opaque and matte. It's texture is thick and sticky like a gloss but it dries within about a minute. You can then choose to leave it as is or put the gloss on top of it (you get a clear gloss on the other end). It's lovely either way, but my personal preference is to leave it matte.

You can see below how thick it is.

Wearing stain only.

With gloss on top.

This product is heavily pigmented and stays put really well. Mainly when the stain is worn alone. I had to be very careful when applying this as if you make a mistake it's really difficult to remove. That swatch on my arm was a nightmare to remove! That, to me, is a good thing though.
I like to wear stains as a base for lipsticks as it helps keep the colour for longer and this one is perfect if
you're like me and wear red a lot.
I wore this tonight to the cinema, it lasted pretty well. I ate a hot dog, and drank a lot of juice and it did come off in the centre of my lips. So it can't quite survive that, but I am an incredibly messy eater, so show me something that could survive me eating a hot dog and I'd be amazed! Any suggestions?!

The Good.

Beautiful colour and pigmentation.
Can be worn matte or glossy.
Can be used as base.
Decent price (£2.25 on sale).

The Bad.

Smells weird (I know I forgot to mention that).
Doesn't survive eating or drinking very well (could just be me though!)
The applicator for the gloss gets the stain on it and looks kind of gross.

What do you think, are you a fan of e.l.f? Do you wear lip stains?

X

I heart Autumn

SO, I love watching various tags on YouTube, and the one that has been going around lately is the I heart Fall/ Autumn tag. I really want to do it, so instead of video form I thought I'd do it in the form of a blog post!
I've not actually been tagged, but hey...

1. Favourite Fall lip product?

I love dark colours for Autumn - I also love to state the obvious. Had you noticed? My favourite dark lipstick is probably Hang-Up by MAC. Shoddy photo time!

Hang-up (creamsheen) by MAC.


2. Favourite Fall Nail Polish?



Because I work with food I'm not allowed to wear nail polish at work, so I hardly get the chance to wear it. Which is sad. I would probably go for a classic black or burgundy though. My favourite black is by Barry M. Which reminds me, I used to use my mums one, so I'll need to get my own!

3. Favourite Starbucks Fall Drink?



 I don't really drink Starbucks, if I'm going for coffee or hot chocolate (which is very rarely) I prefer Costa. I would like to try out this Pumpkin Spiced Latte everyone is going on about though.

4. Favorite Fall Candle?
 

Well, I very rarely buy scented candles, so I'll have to pass on this question. I hate cinnamon or spice flavoured/scented things. Cloves, EW. Those seem to be the usual candle scents for this time of year.

5. Favourite Fall Scarf or accessory?



 I need to get myself a snood or a circle scarf. Might get my mum to make me one! I love them though. Fingerless gloves too, those ones with the little mitten flap things.

6. Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn maze?


None really, only ever been on the haunted house ride things in the fairground. They're not all that scary, but I reckon the other two would be horrible!

7. Favourite Halloween movie?

Hmm, Hocus Pocus probably, predictable answer, I know. It's one of my favourite films ever though, not just at Halloween. I even went to Salem and Marblehead last year and saw some of the filming locations. Dream come true! I also love Beetlejuice and The Shining. 




8. Favourite candy to eat on Halloween?



 My mum had these hard candy things with little pumpkins on the wrapper a couple of years ago. They were orange and had orange sherbet in them. Other than that I don't know, Scream Eggs? 

9. What are you dressing up as for Halloween?!


 I hinted in my last post what I will be dressing up as. So you can guess from that, and there's another hint in this post too! I don't want to give it away just yet...

10. What is your Favorite thing about Fall?

Well, I just love the feel of it, it's very hard to describe. It's cooler and I can start layering and wearing black without people thinking I'm odd. I wear black all the time regardless. I love the smell in the air, I think it's the cold air and crunchy leaves or something. That's another thing, crunchy leaves, it's so satisfying to stand on a nice, big, crunchy leaf. Also, Halloween, my birthday, and the day after that Guy Fawkes night. FIREWORKS!!!

I tag everyone!

That's pretty much it. Keep an eye out for a Halloween post tomorrow. I hope my costume is successful! Have fun :) 

I'll leave you with a painting from one of my favourite artists, Gil Elvgren. It's very appropriate. 

Gil Elvgren

For more Halloween/random photos go to my personal Tumblr page.

X

Elf Haul

Hello! 

Last week I received an e-mail saying that elf were having a Spooktacular Halloween sale (which, unfortunately, is over now). It's always exciting when they have a sale because they are so affordable in the first place that it just makes it even more of a bargain. 

I've bought a few elf products in the past, such as their matte lip colour, eyebrow kit, concealer and highlighter, and a lipstick. I was pleasantly surprised by everything, except from the eyebrow kit which didn't really work for me. Anyway, on to this haul. The list of everything I bought is at the end (I took a screen shot when I was checking out), it includes the name of the products, the discounted prices and the shades where applicable. 

 

Revlon Really Red Matte Lipstick

Ello!

For the past couple of years I've been in love with red lipstick, and recently I've been trying to spend a little more on them. Trying to look at them as an investment as red lips are a classic look. As I've mentioned in past posts I don't spend that much on beauty products, mainly because I spend a lot of money on clothes and food! So it's about time I start looking for some (slightly) more expensive products.

I'm not saying that cheaper brands aren't good, I have had some pleasant surprises with MUA and elf lipsticks. Namely, Posh by elf and one of MUAs deeper reds (which has no name...). I also like some of Bodycares' own range, Poison is a fantastic deep berry colour, I'm sure they have a bright red as well. I will do a lipstick collection post in the future I'm sure.

So, on to the main point of this post. I ordered a Revlon matte lipstick last week from ebay. I was initially looking at the Smashbox Be Legendary range - Infrared Matte in particular after seeing it in the October Issue of Look magazine. But it costs £15.50. So I started looking for other matte lipsticks and I came across the Revlon one, so I went to ebay and managed to find it for £5 so I jumped on it. The lipstick arrived just in time for our flat-warming, so I wore it that night. I was eating and drinking all night, and it lasted! I would say I got around 6 hours wear out of it before it faded in the centre of my lips.

Avon mini-haul.

Here's another wee review for you. A couple of weeks ago I put in an order for some products from the Avon catalogue. I ordered a couple of lipsticks and a primer. One of the lipsticks was unfortunately unavailable, so I've only got the one at the moment. The one I do have is called Apricot Mystery, and it's an Ultra Colour Rich Limited Edition lipstick - £2.50, reduced from £7. I'm not usually one for coral or pink anything, but I think this is a really pretty colour. 

Colossal Smoky Eyes.

I'm so bad at writing, it's really no wonder I failed Higher English twice. An embarrassing admission, but hey! I've tried to start writing this a few times now, but I don't know what I'm trying to say exactly. Do you ever feel like you're talking about yourself too much? I use 'I', or other variants constantly and I'm getting sick of it, there I go again, and again!

What am I talking about today? Well, I recently bought the new Maybelline Volume Express Colossal  Smoky Eyes (bit of a mouthful, or eyeful hah) mascara and Master Smoky shadow pencil. They were on offer in Superdrug for £10 for the two, but the black liner was constantly sold out. I decided to try Boots as it was close by, I also figured they might have higher quantities of stock, and they did! Even better they had them on special for £10 for the two like Superdrug.

Sorry for the rubbish photo, I had to take it with my phone as my Mum was in Ireland (at the Game of Thrones convention!) and she borrowed my camera.
Anywhhaay, I've used them twice now. I love the mascara, it's the first mascara I've instantly fallen in love with. Though I must admit it's the first time I've spent more than £3 on mascara. I know, I know, I'm terrible. For some reason I didn't believe that there could be much difference between mascaras and that they all do the same job. Now I realise how silly that was, and I really want to try more! It was really easy to use, I love the brush and I feel that my lashes are really separated. They also do look bigger and more voluminous. No complaints there!
However I'm not too sure how I feel about the shadow pencil. It is a lovely liner and it feels slightly creamier than a normal liner, but when it came to using the smudger tool on the other end I had some trouble. Maybe I just don't have the right skills, but I couldn't get it to smudge as much as I had hoped. It was actually quite sore as I had to try so hard to smudge it. First world problems.
I do really like the idea, and I've been looking for a foam smudger for a while so this is perfect really. It's just going to take a bit of practice! 

Here's a couple of photos of me wearing the mascara and shadow pencil.