ELF HD Blusher in Diva | Review + Swatches.

ELF have always been one of my favourite brands for cheap and cheerful make up products. I also like that they have their bargain products, and there is also the studio range which is slightly more pricey (but still very decent) and a bit better quality so there is a huge range of products to choose from.

In my last haul I bought one of their HD Blushers from the studio range and costs only £3.75, told you the prices were still very decent! The shade I bought is called Diva. This was the shade I chose as most of the others were sold out, but it's still a gorgeous colour. On the website the only one that is still in stock is Encore, this shows how popular these blushers are.

On to the actual product! It comes in a cute little 10ml plastic bottle with a pump dispenser. This blusher is so pigmentent it's insane, a little goes a long long way! You have to be really careful when dispensing it as you only need the tiniest amount. I tend to use my finger to apply it but a stippling brush would work well too.
I love this blusher because I have dry skin and it doesn't pick up on my dry patches as much as most powder blushers do.

It's Glow Time! Get Bronzed by 17 | Quick Review + Swatches

Something a little different today, this is a 'Get The Look' set from 17 that I won in a tombola. Strange I know, lucky too as it was the reason I wanted to play it in the first place! So happy I won it.

What does this set contain I hear you ask?! Well it contains 3 items, a lipgloss in the shade In The Nude, an eyeshadow in Statuesque and a cream bronzer/blusher. The reason I wanted this so badly is that it was coming into summer and I wanted to get a bit of a healthy glow going. That being said, I am very pale so it has to be subtle. I don't intend to get any colour over the summer, but a bit of a glow would be nice!

ELF Contouring Blusher + Bronzer Duo in St. Lucia | Review + Swatches.

Over a month ago I picked up some more bargains from ELFs online store, they were having up to 50% off and I think the delivery may have been free also. They're always having amazing sales!
I picked up a few things, one of these was the St. Lucia blusher and bronzer duo (£3.75), I'd read that it's a dupe for the NARS Laguna and Orgasm duo. This wasn't the reason I went for it though, I just think the colours are pretty. I'm easily pleased. If you were looking for this to be a dupe then you'd be out of luck. This bronzer isn't matte and the blusher is too light and too pink when blended.

The packaging however is reminiscent of the NARS packaging, slightly rounded and rubberised casing (not quite as rubbery though, so doesn't get so mucky). It's quite large, but not so large you wouldn't be able to carry it around and you can't really complain though as it's housing two products!
I'm not sure but I had a look on the website again and I can only find this duo in the cream version now.

Real Techniques Brushes Core Collection | Review.

What a glorious day we're having! I hope it's been nice and sunny for everyone?
It's time for another review that I've been meaning to do for weeks and weeks! Terrible I know, but I'm just way behind on everything at the moment.

This review is about the Real Techniques Core Collection of brushes. They are by Samantha Chapman of Pixiwoo. This set cost me £21.99 from Boots and had been on my wishlist for a good two or three months before I caved! The main reason I wanted this set was because of the Buffing Brush and as far as I'm aware it can't be bought separately. I'd read so many rave reviews about this brush and I was looking for a new foundation brush so I set my heart on this one.

L-R Contour, Pointed Foundation, Detailer, Buffing.

The other brushes included in this set are the Contour brush, Pointed  Foundation brush and Detailer brush. You also get a little case that turns into a stand. I think it's handy but isn't very sturdy feeling.
I really like using the Contour brush with my Sleek Face Form contouring powder, they work so well together! The Detailer brush is great for using with concealer, especially around my nose and on blemishes. I'm still trying to find something to use the Pointed Foundation brush for as it's too small for foundation. I also find that the Buffing brush is the only thing I need for my foundation application. It's brilliant, slightly smaller than any foundation brush I've used before but you get used to it after a couple of uses.

The Good.

4 brushes + case for £22.
Great quality.
Buffing brush + Contour brush are fantastic.
Easy to clean.
Soft bristles.
No shedding.

The Bad.

Case feels flimsy.
Can't buy brushes separately.

I would probably buy this set again, but to be completely honest if I could have bought the Buffing brush on it's own I would have. They are great quality, but I don't have a use for the Foundation brush as it's an odd size.
Do you have this set, or any others like this?

One last thing, Cosmopolitan are taking nominations for their 2013 Blog Awards. If you think I deserve it I would be eternally grateful if you would recommend me in the Best New Beauty award!? It only takes a minute! 

Topshop Crescent Moon Highlighter | Review + Swatch.

This is a product I've seen reviewed a few times and I instantly fell in love with it, it's the Crescent Moon highlighter from Topshop (£10). I've been getting really into highlighting recently and I've been searching for the perfect one. I think I may have found it!

I'll start off with the packaging as that seems the logical place to begin. Topshops entire make-up range is packaged beautifully, it's something a bit different when it comes to high street make-up. It stands out from the rest of my make-up collection, in a good way! I love the hand drawn quality of the designs and I like the simple colour palette - usually black and white. This highlighter is my first purchase from this make-up range, I've had my eye on a few lipsticks for a while but I cannot justify it as I already have so many!
This compact is white with little stars on it, which I think is adorable. The only downside is that it doesn't have a mirror in it, that doesn't bother me too much but I think it may bother some folk. It is sturdy and appealing to the eye, I guess those are the two main criteria for packaging.

FamousX Eyeshadow Palette - The Leopard | Review + Swatches.

Hello! Sorry for the absence, it's been a busy couple of weeks and I've not managed to write as much as I would normally like to, even with 5 days holiday from work!

This purchase was a spur of the moment kind of buy. I was reading one of Tattooed Tealady's Beauty on a Budget posts - here. One of the palettes stood out to me the most, the Leopard eyeshadow palette by FamousX. I decided I had to have it! At that point in time I was having a slight eyeshadow obsession phase. I saw that it was half price on their website, down from £8.99 to £4.49. I couldn't believe it, such amazing value! It was great value to begin with, but 16 shadows for £4.49, who could resist?! It's back up to full price now, but I assure you, it's worth it.

Surprisingly (for the price), the pigmentation and colour range it outstanding. It truly is, you'll see what I mean from the photos. There is a wide range of shades including burgundy, deep blue, green and a good variance of browns. It was the more unusual shades that got my attention, they are great for creating smokey eye looks that are something a bit different. I tend to go for very neutral colours like browns and greys, but this palette makes me want to try others! There are shimmery shadows as well as a few matte. You really have everything you need from dark crease shades to beautiful highlighting ones.
Be prepared for a lot of photos!

Look at those beautiful colours!

Maybelline - The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara | Review.

Good morning! How is everyone today? I hope your week is off to a great start! I'm enjoying mine so far, I have 5 days holiday off work. Really needing it, I just worked 7 days straight and it felt like the longest week ever.
This week I will be spending time relaxing, catching up with people and a bit of cleaning too! Blogging as well, can't forget that! :)

Here's another purchase from a couple of weeks ago. It's always nice to test out products a few times before doing a review, I find. This product is the newest mascara from Maybelline, it's got a long name, as usual! here goes...The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara. I must say I avoided it for quite some time, I wasn't fond of the packaging and I thought I wouldn't like it. I like the colour combination, but just not for a mascara. That might just be me, I'm not sure. However, after seeing some wonderful reviews of it I couldn't resist for long!

It was compared to They're Real! by Benefit, and that's honestly what swung it for me. Plus the fact it was on offer for £5.99 in Superdrug at the time (I'm unsure what the normal price is, £8.99 maybe). I hate spending an obscene amount of money on mascara (for example £18.50 on They're Real!). I have a sample of said Benefit mascara and I love it, as most people do, and I fully intended to get a full sized one when my sample runs out but now I feel I don't need to. That's how well the Maybelline Rocket performs, the plastic/rubber bristles separate lashes wonderfully and add a lot of length as well as volume. The black is very black too. At first I found the feel of the wand a little weird on my lashes as the bristles are short, you get used to this very quickly.
I've seen some absolutely horrible reviews on the Maybelline website, mainly complaining about clumping and the brush. I must say I disagree with both of these things. I have no problem with clumping, and while the brush is a little odd it does get easier to use after two or three uses! The only thing I have a problem with is removal, it seems like a waterproof mascara even though it isn't. This wouldn't be a problem for most people but I'm not really a fan of waterproof anything as I like to be able to remove it easily. Especially mascara. So I probably need a better make up remover, but I'm waiting for Bioderma to come to the UK. Hopefully it will be soon!

Wednesday Waffle Week 10 | Lana, Tumblr + Spending Ban.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Has is been a good week for you so far?

It's been snowing today, finally! It's actually laying and I love it. Sure, I won't love it at 8am tomorrow when I have to trudge through it on my way to work. No doubt it'll be ice by that point, I'll have my trusty Dr. Martens on though. I wore them today and it was a huge help.

This week I've been getting into Lana Del Rey, something I never thought would happen. I really didn't like her voice and thought she was a bit depressing. She is, but in a good way, if there is such a thing!
My favourite song is Summertime Sadness, it's been stuck in my head all week, that's when you know.
She's so beautiful, but I still prefer how she looks pre-surgery, it's so strange seeing the differences in her face. I'd love to recreate some of her make-up looks, they are really simple but absolutely gorgeous. I've seen a couple of cut-crease make up looks inspired by her style on here.

We've become regulars at the Tickety Boo's pub quiz, this week Kyles family came along, it was a lot of fun. This week we were second last, no wooden spoon for us! Instead it was Kyles brother and his girlfriend who came in last, despite getting a couple of really tough questions right! Everyone had a laugh though which was the main thing.

As usual you can have a peek into my brain and the things I tend to daydream about on my personal Tumblr.

At the moment I'm on a bit of a spending ban, I feel that I've been way too much money recently. Not even on anything in particular (maybe some make up, but not a lot!) and I have no idea where it's all going. I do have a few things lined up to review, so they'll be coming up over the next few days.
I'll probably be 'shopping my stash' more over the next few weeks though. I gots bills!

What are your plans for tomorrow? I'm not entirely sure what Kyle and I are doing, hopefully going to see Die Hard. He hinted that he may have booked tickets already, but I don't really know! It's also a colleagues birthday so we may head out for that. I've got work early on Friday though. Boo.

Speaking of films I went to see Flight this week. It's brilliant, I can't recommend it highly enough. Denzels performance is so compelling, and I can see why he's up for an Oscar for this role. It's produced and directed by Rober Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Cast Away, The Frighteners, Contact, Forrest Gump).  There have been lots of very harsh reviews about this film, and I don't agree with a single one. Sure, I am pretty easily pleased when it comes to films, but still. I enjoyed it, it was exciting, terrifying, and emotional all at the same time. I suck at doing plot summaries, so here's the IMDb page.

I also enjoyed the season premier of The Walking Dead, I'd been missing it so much! Do you watch it? 

And here's a photo of Sparky - just because he looks very handsome here. Did I mention we found out he's a boy? Oops. We're hoping he doesn't have a complex because of all the "Good girl" and "Aw, such a pretty little girl" comments!
He's so dusty in this photo, haha!

Poor broken whisker!

What have you all been up to this week? Is it snowing where you are?

I'm going to be going a giveaway when I reach 100 followers, so keep an eye out for that over the next few weeks or so! Excited :)

MUA Matte Perfect Foundation + Pro-Brow Kit | Review.

MUA is a brand that I rate very highly, they are affordable, readily available and darn good quality if you ask me! I don't tend to have any problems with them at all. 

Here's the thing though, they suck at foundation shades. Now I'm aware there's not many drugstore brands that cater for very pale girls or very dark girls so I know they're not the only ones. To label this foundation as Fair though is ridiculous! It's barely even light. It also claims to be matte, and that it controls shine, which it does not. The somewhat embarrassing photo further down demonstrates this. This was a few minutes after I applied it by the way, I thought I'd give it time to sink in but it didn't. Perhaps if I'd left it a few more minutes it would have been fine but who has that long to sit about waiting for their foundation to dry?! 

I can't complain too much as I did expect this to happen and it only cost £2, but I wanted to put this information out there so perhaps some other people won't waste a couple of quid. This foundation will be given a new home asap, I'm sure one of my friends might be able to use it. Megan, I'm looking at you!

NARS Blushers - Deep Throat + Orgasm | Reviews + Swatches.

This review has been a long time coming because I bought these about 3 months ago. I'd heard and read a lot about the Nars Blusher shade Orgasm and I desperately wanted to try it. At the time I bought it I didn't have anything else like it, now I have Candid Coral by Elf and Rose Gold by Sleek. They're not exact dupes but are similar.
When I got Orgasm I also picked up Deep Throat, both costing £21 and available here. The names always make me chuckle, they're so naughty haha! It's a similar shade of pink but with a lot less shimmer, so I think it's a lot more subtle. I'd also say that it's a slightly lighter pink than Orgasm.

Deep Throat.

Maybelline EyeStudio Gel Liner | Review + Swatches.

Gel liner is something I've been wanting to try for quite some time. I tend to use liquid liners mostly, I like the crisp, sharp line it creates but I wanted something else for doing smoky eyes and softer lines. This liner is perfect for that, it's the EyeStudio Gel Liner by Maybelline (£4.99). I got it in Black Chrome, it's black with tiny flecks of glitter, it's so pretty.
I was a bit annoyed when I opened the box it came in because as you will see in the photo below the bristles of the brush are bent out of shape. Boo! I'm not sure I like the brush very much though, an angled brush would be much better.

Rimmel Apocalips | Luna, Nova + Apocaliptic.

Finally, they're here!

I was really excited for Rimmels Apocaliptic lip lacquers to launch (alliteration FTW!). Which is a first for me, I've never been excited for a beauty product to come out before. Look what blogging has done to me! Being a lover of all things to do with stars and the universe etc I'm loving the names of the shades as well.

I had a rough idea of the shades I wanted, although saying that I think I may want them all eventually (except the pale ones, you'll see why later). Boots are doing them for 3 for 2 at the moment which is exciting and I may have to go get the rest of them and take advantage of the deal. These are priced at £5.99 a piece, I'd say that's about average for a high street lip product. The three shades I picked up are Nova, Luna and Apocaliptic. I keep thinking I picked up Celestial, but I didn't so I obviously need to go get that one as well, and Big Bang...and Stellar (isn't stellar just a fantastic word?!). 

So what are these strange new lip products? Well as far as I can tell they are liquid lipstick. They are highly pigmented and pretty opaque, so that's a lipstick side of it I guess, but they have the consistency, shine and packaging of a gloss. Saying that, they aren't very sticky, they feel more creamy and not tacky. 

One thing I don't like about these are that they settle in my dry patches and the lines of my lips really noticeably. It's a shame because I like them, I'll just need to exfoliate my lips better or wait until summer.

Photo time! Warning - there's a lot of them!

L-R Luna, Nova, Apocaliptic.

Sleek Face Form | Review + Swatches.

Hello! How is everyone this week, enjoying the snow, or lack of? It's been pretty snowy here, but not as much as other places. Outside it's bitterly cold and I'm enjoying cuddling up with tea and biscuits, dreading the idea of going out. This is inevitable though as I'm heading up to Kyles' parents for tea very soon!

Last week I was in Superdrug having a wee nosy...really I was looking for Sleeks Face Contouring Kit but I couldn't find it. I'd seen the review of it on Thunder & Threads and I so wanted to give it a try! Highlighting and contouring are things I always skip when doing my make up as I tend to forget if I'm honest. I also didn't have anything to contour with, hence the reason I was seeking out the little duo. 

So I discovered that my Superdrug doesn't stock it....as far as I'm aware, but they do stock Face Form (£10), which is a palette  with 3 different sections (like their Blush by 3 palettes). It has the contour powder, a highlighter as well as a blush in Rose Gold. It's a really handy little palette to have, especially if you travel a lot - it even has a mirror in the lid. It's basically the Face Contour Kit (£6.49) and you get a blusher for £3.51 instead of £4.49. 

The palette comes in four different shades, Fair, Light, Medium and Dark. The two darker shades come with bronzers instead of blushers.

Contour.

Now I don't know a lot about contouring so please bear with me here! 

I really like it and I feel that it's easy to blend, which was a concern I had. Another concern I had was that it was going to be too dark for me. I bought the Light palette as they didn't have the Fair one in stock, I figured Light would work just as well but when I opened it and really thought about it it did look a bit dark. Not to worry though, I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it out! I find it blends beautifully and doesn't look silly on my pale skin. Phew! I will say I did use a very light hand when applying this as I was a little scared by it so once I get used to it I think it will look a bit better. I will do a FOTD post featuring this palette soon, promise. 

Swatches to follow.

Highlighter.

This is a lovely shimmery highlighter, I really enjoy wearing this. There is minimal fallout which is great. I have an Elf highlighter that is very similar to this but it goes everywhere and is a bit of a nightmare to control. So this is a much better alternative! The Sleek one is more subtle as well and has a more natural glow to it. It just depends on what your personal preference is.

Blusher.

Rose Gold is a blush I hadn't seen before. I don't tend to look at the blushers very often as I feel I have plenty to get through at the moment. This one is gorgeous though! I'm actually really glad this one is included in the palette. I'd say it's similar to Orgasm by Nars, the colour is almost the same, but it has more gold shimmer running through it. It's absolutely amazing, eeee! Can you tell I've had a lot of sugar today?!

L-R - Contour, Highligher, Rose Gold Blusher. (Probably didn't need to be labelled, haha).

Christmas Goodies | YSL Touche Eclat + Lancome Hypnose Drama.

My lovely, thoughtful boyfriend bought me some amazing gifts for Christmas! I realise I'm a bit late with this post, but I wanted to leave it a while and give the products (or most of them) a good try first.

The first thing I got was something I'd been lusting over for around a year, Touche Eclat by YSL (£25). I don't tend to use highlighters, but this one is amazing. The gold pen looks amazing, it's so luxurious! Clicking the button is so satisfying, haha. I tend to use it under my eyes, over foundation and concealer, this helps brighten them that little bit extra. I also use it on my cheekbones and cupids bow. It gives your skin a beautiful glow which looks really natural. I'm not a huge fan of really sparkly or shimmery highlighters so this is absolutely perfect for me. Kyle got me Shade 2 which is the lightest one I believe.
For more info and tips visit the website here.

NYE | OOTD+FOTD

I'm a wee bit late with this posting of this look. This was from New Years Eve, I didn't have big plans for during the day, just did a little bit of shopping in preparation for the little get together we were having at night. So I didn't get very dressed up for the daytime, and laziness and bad time keeping meant I didn't get changed for the evening!

There aren't really any photographs of my outfit as I simply couldn't get any that were remotely flattering. I really need to get my tripod from my mums, or rope Kyle into taking photos (hint hint).

I just went for a navy metallic liner. To do this I used the liner from my Famous palette with the dark blue shade from a Rimmel trio. This is a clear liner that you can use with eye shadow to turn into a liner, which I love! I've never found anything like it since, although saying that I've not looked hard! I tried to look for the palette online but to no avail.

Blusher - MUA Shade 2 

Lips - Elf Matte Lip colour in Natural.

Mascara - Lancome Hypnose Drama (post on this soon).

Foundation - Rimmel Match Perfection Shade 010.

Eyes - Rimmel 698 Modern Blues (I think!)

Festive FOTD.

Ello there! Did everyone have a lovely festive season? I know it's technically still happening with it being Hogmanay and all but yeah...
Does everyone have exciting plans for new year? We're having a few friends up to the flat, should be an enjoyable night.

Now, I know I missed last weeks Wednesday Waffle, but I think I should be forgiven seeing as it was boxing day and I had to work! Yes? Ok. :)
This weeks will be extra special. Promise.

This post is just to show you my Christmas FOTD, or what I had planned to do (these photos are from a test run I did the week before) but I was too tired to do a full face of make-up on the actual day. My eye make-up was done though!
Please, as usual, ignore my strange expressions...

Products used.

Foundation - Rimmel Lasting Perfection - Shade 010.
Highlighter - Britney Fantasy palette.
Blush - Nars - Orgasm.
Lips -  ELF matte lip pencil - Tea Rose + clear gloss (also ELF).
Eyes - Benefit Passport to Posh eyeshadows + Naked palette (Darkhorse + Sin, if I remember correctly)
Brows - MUA eyebrow pencil - Brown + MUA clear mascara.
Eyelashes - Benefit Bad Gal Lash.

I think that's all the products I used, it has been 10 days since I did this so I hope I remembered everything! I wanted this look to be a bit more shimmery so that's why I used the Britney highlighter. The little palette it's from was hiding at the back of my drawer and I suddenly remembered about it, it's got a couple of nice eyeshadows in it too. Maybe a wee review is in order, although I don't know if it is still available to buy.
It's still a very natural look and pretty similar to my last look, I used a bit more dark shadow in the outer corner/crease this time for a slightly more dramatic look.

Did you do any special make up for Christmas day? What will you be doing for Hogmanay?

X

The Wednesday Waffle - Week 2 | Tumblr, Benefit + Taylor Swift.

Seasons greetings!
It's getting so close to Christmas, I still can't believe how quickly this year has gone. It's crazy!

This week has been a little quieter for me, mainly been working. Also trying to get the rest of my present shopping completed. Yesterday was very productive; I did lots of tidying and cleaning as well as present wrapping.
In the midst of all that I did my make-up with the little Benefit set I bought at the event last week. My next post will be about that, I love it!

You can see what lovely things I've been reblogging on Tumblr by clicking on the screenshots below...

Fashion/Beauty/Inspiration Blog.

Personal/Random Blog.

Christmas Time!

This post is just going to be a little collection of some photos I've taken of decorations, work night out, cat paws, random things. There might be a couple that my boyfriend has taken too, they will be captioned accordingly. :)

Is everyone feeling festive? Only a week to go!

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.

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 :)

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