High End Beauty - Wish List

Hello Everyone!

I hope you have all had a good weekend! Not looking forward to the early wake up tomorrow morning for work but I thought I'd cheer myself up by creating a 'wish list'of high end beauty items that I would absolutely love to have in my make up drawer.

FACE

Left to Right

Concealer - MAC Matchmaster Concealer - £17.00

Foundation - MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 1 Foundation -£21.50

Highlighter - Yves Saint Laurent Touch Eclat - £22.50

Blusher - Too Faced Sweetheart Blush - £24.00

Shimmer Blush - Bobbi Brown Shimmer Blush - £19.00

EYES

Eye Shadow - Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette -£37.00

Eye Shadow - Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette - £39.00

Mascara - Benefit They're Real - £19.50

Eyeliner - MAC Liquid Liner - £15.50

BASE/FINISH

Primer - MAC Prep + Prime - £15.50

Setting Spray - Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray - £9.00

Normally I will buy my makeup from drugstores like boots or superdrug, it's very rare that I will splurge on beauty products at the moment as money isn't exactly something I have a lot of right now. I work as an apprentice, so I'm on an apprentice wage but this does stop in May, which I can not wait for! 

So there you go, my current wishlist for face, eye and base/finish beauty products!

If you've tried any of these products I'd love to hear your opinions!

Sophie

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Feeling a little pale

Hello Everyone!

Summer is definitely gone and that means that our tans are going to be disappearing. If you're like me and quite pale, the thought of sunbeds and potentially frazzling doesn't appeal then gradual tanning lotions are the way to go.

I've never been keen on the idea of sunbeds. Spending money to lie on a bed for a couple of minutes a day just to get a bit of colour to my skin whilst potentially risking skin cancer just isn't my idea of money well spent. Yes I know that sunbeds are a lot safer in regards to cancer but still, it doesn't appeal to me. 

A couple of years ago I was introduced to gradual tanning lotion and found it so easy to apply. I think I used the Dove summer body gradual tan lotion first. I never really liked the idea of covering myself in fake tan. The idea of possibly turning out like I'd been covered in Orange Tango just scared the hell out of me (trust me, the girls I've seen out in town look exactly like a can of fizzy orange and I wasn't going to look like that).  When I tried this out I found it easy to apply and didn't turn me orange. 

The whole gradual tan really does appeal to me as I like the fact that you can literally top it up as often or as little as you like to get your desired colour. I do mine every other day now.

These are the Gradual Tanning Lotions that I like using. They're the easiest to apply and in my opinion don't give you the zebra look (streaky arms and legs? No thanks!) they don't have an overpowering scent to them either.

ST. Tropez Gradual Tan - Everyday Face 50ml - £14.30

ST. Tropez Gradual Tan - Everyday Body 200ml - £14.30

I bought these in September and I really love using this Gradual tan and I love that there's a seperate bottle for your face. Yes it's a little pricey, but it is amazing. It doesn't leave you with streaks and is super easy to apply. I recommend applying this with a tanning mit, this will give you an even coverage. If you're applying this with your hands, make sure you have a face/baby wipe to use once finished. No one likes orange hands or having those horrible dark lines between your fingers where the product has settled. 

As this bottle is quite pricey I only tend to use this for when I've got a night out with the girls coming up, or a date night with my boyfriend. 

Garnier Body - Summer Body - Moisturising Lotion 250ml - £5.30

This is the Garnier gradual tanning lotion. At over half the price of ST. Tropez's gradual tan it's a bargain! It smells so yummy - with the help of the Apricot extract which leaves your skin smelling amazing. I use this product more than the ST. Tropez as I like the smell of this one more and also as it's a bigger bottle and a lot cheaper it's a lot easier to replace! If you're like me and on a budget then definitely go for this one! You don't need a lot to get the colour you want and it leaves your skin feeling moisturised and so smooth. 

Sophie

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Make up brushes

Hello Everyone!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about my desk(to see that post click here) and I showed you guys my Zoeva brushes. However, I didnt really get a chance to show them all to you. So I thought I'd do a little bit about these amazing brushes.

Apologies about the dirty brushes on this photo, I had taken this after I used them this morning! 

I never used to use makeup brushes and never really saw the point in them, that was until I saw a youtube tutorial that Zoella had created. She had mentioned these brushes a couple of times before, but after a while I got curious as to what the fuss was about. So I checked out the Zoeva website and had a browse at all of their products.

They are pricey but, I think that when it comes to brushes, you get what you pay for. The quality of these brushes is amazing and I can't fault it.

This is the set that I bought, the classic face set this costs 60.00 EUR*. I love this as, even though this  goes without saying, it has all you need for your face when applying makeup. You have a brush for; foundation, pressed powder, blusher, highlighter, stippling brush and concealer.

I bought this along with the brow line brush and the cream shader separately. 

This is the 322 Brow Line brush, I don't really use this much any more as I've made the swap from powder to an eyebrow pencil. This brush is perfect for doing your brow line as it has very short bristles that make filling in those brows very easy! If you're anything like me and struggle with doing your eyebrows then what more could you want? 

332/Brow Line Brush - 6.80*

This is the 106 powder brush, I use this for my pressed powder. Its quite a wide brush and distributes the powder evenly over my face. I'm really happy with this brush as it's ridiculously soft and does exactly what I need it to.

106/ Powder - 12.80*

This is the 102/ Silk finish brush. If you've watched any of Zoella's makeup tutorials you'll more than likely see her using this for her foundation. It's a brilliant brush that allows the foundation to be smoothly applied onto your face giving a 'silk finish'. I use this in a buffing motion when putting foundation on and it's amazing. I love this brush, it really is the best for foundation, I have tried other branded foundation brushes and to me they don't compare to this.

102/ Silk Finish - 12.80*

The 127/ Luxe Sheer cheek, this another favourite used by Zoella. This is for your powder blusher. The angle on this brush is to help define your cheek bones. By blending in your blusher you can really get those cheeks to stand out using this brush. It's fantastic if you just want to add a little bit of colour to your cheeks as this brush is stupidly soft so when you apply powder lightly it gives a subtle colour to your cheek.

127/ Luxe Sheer Cheek - 12.80*

The 122/ Petite Stippling Brush. I use this for my cream blushers. This is fantastic for applying these blushers as it doesn't put too much product on the brush. Dabbing product onto my face using this gives my cheeks an instant glow, especially over winter I'll be using this to give myself the cold rosey red cheeks. 

122/Petite Stippling - 9.80*

The 142/ Concealer Buffer. This brush is so lovely to use for your concealer, I use this brush to cover my dark circles. The brush itself is small and soft, perfect for covering up those pesky imperfections!

142/ Concealer Buffer - 8.80*

The 105/ Luxe Highlight Brush.

I haven't really used this brush properly since I got the set as I still haven't found a highlighter that I like that's in my price range (oh the joys of being on an apprentice wage!) I can't wait to try this out properly when I do find a highlighter I like and can afford. 

105/ Luxe Highlight - 12.80*

The 233/ Cream Shader.

This brush is perfect for when I'm applying eye shadows. I recently bought the Bourjois Paris Colour edition 24h eye shadows that are a cream to powder eye shadow. I find it a lot easier to use this brush to apply these eye shadows than using my fingers like I normally would have. It's great for blending eye shadows to give a smokey look too. I'm so happy I bought this brush!

233/ Cream Shader - 7.80*

So those are currently the makeup brushes that I am using. I do plan to buy quite a few more, but for the time being I'm more than happy with these. 

Have you tried any Zoeva brushes?

Give me your recommendations for future purchases!

Sophie

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*Note that the prices are in euros as this is a German company and you do need to pay for shipping.

Keep those lips kissable!

Hello Everyone!

So today I'm going to talk about our lips! Now that the summer months are far gone its time we started looking after our lips. With the cold months upon us it's important to keep our lips moisturised - because who wants dry, chapped lips and more importantly who on earth wants to kiss those lips? Lets avoid nasty looking lips and get them soft, smooth and kissable!

These are the lip balms and scrub that I'm currently using and they are all a staple in my handbags!

This is the Bubblegum Lip Scrub from Lush which you can buy here for £5.50

It's so pretty and pink and smells amazing I literally can not explain how amazing it smells. It's fantastic for your lips. You only need a tiny little bit on your finger and then you literally scrub it on your lips. It makes them so smooth and tastes amazing too! I'm having to stop myself from eating the whole pot!*

Next up should be a staple in every girls handbag. Vaseline Petroleum Jelly Lip Therapy tin. You can buy this from boots/superdrug/bodycare and they're relatively cheap.

I love using these on my lips, this is the aloe vera tin. It soothes dry skin and lips, so it's perfect for moisturising those chapped lips and your skin.

This is the Nivea Pearly Shine Lip Balm. Again you can buy these from most drugstores and is relatively a cheap item. I love using this as a lip balm as its got a slight pink tint which is great as I like having a bit of colour on my lips, and having a lip balm and faint tint in one is great!

Now the two balms above I'm going to talk about together as they do pretty much the same thing. Except the balm at the top is a soothe and protect balm which does exactly what it says on the packaging. So it's another one to help with those troublesome chapped lips! The second balm is the basic Nivea lip balm which I usually put on when I start doing my make up to keep them moisturised. 

I hope this gives you girls some ideas on what to have in your handbag to keep you prepared for the cold weather! 

Sophie

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*Please take note that if you have cold sores or any abrasions on your lips you shouldn't use the lip scrub it as it will sting and potentially spread the cold sores. 

Bourjois Paris: Healthy Mix foundation

Hello Everyone!

Wow two blog posts in one day! I am on fire tonight!

I thought I'd talk about my current favourite foundation! 

This is the Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix foundation it's for a healthy glow and flawless complexion it says that it gives you coverage for up to 16 hours. Normally this will last me from 8am when I apply it up to around 3pm. As I work in a small office where there are only 4 people who will see me regularly in there I'm not really that bothered that it wears off. I normally carry my pressed powder in my handbag so I can top myself up later on anyway! 

I bought this foundation in shade No 51 Light Vanilla, I'm quite pale with pink undertones so I find it quite difficult to find a foundation that will blend easily into my skin. With this foundation I've found it a bit easier to blend into my natural skin tone. For me its quite a light foundation that feels wet on your face for a while, but I've had this foundation for the past three months and to be honest, I'm used to it. 

This foundation is perfect if you're not expecting it to last all day, I think this would be fine if you're going out for a couple of hours but if you're wanting coverage all day long I'd stay clear! Most of the time I don't expect a foundation to last 16 hours anyway, I like my skin to be able to breathe and having foundation on for 16 hours straight does kind of scare me a little!

Overall I like using this foundation, however, once I have saved up a bit of money I will be making the swap to a MAC foundation. I've been eyeing them up for a while whenever I walk into Debenhams in my local shopping centre and I really want to try them out. I want to find a foundation that will match my natural skin tone without making me look like a bottle of fanta.

Do you have any suggestions on foundations for us girls who have very pale skin?

Sophie

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Boots Makeup Haul!

Hello Everyone!

So today after I finished work I popped up to my local shopping centre to top up on my cosmetics as I'm getting a little low on a couple of things! I thought I'd give a couple of different products a try, they were on offer so I didn't mind spending money on these items.

The items that I bought were:

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick in 128 Starry eyed -£4.99

Maybelline Colorsensational Lip liner in 338 Midnight Plum - £3.99

Rimmel London Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown - £2.99

Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara - £7.99 

(I got this product free as I spent £10 on Rimmel London Products!)

Rimmel London - Exaggerate Eye Liner - £5.29

I got this item for free as I had already spent £10 on Rimmel London products so I thought I'd give it a whirl! The brush itself is very thin, which is not what I'm used to as I usually use thicker brushes for mascara. I haven't tried this out as of yet but when I do I'll be giving it a review on here!

I spend forever in Boots trying to find the perfect eyeliner for me, I really dislike eyeliner pens as I feel that they smudge way too easily when I apply them and I don't like how they feel when applying. It also takes me forever trying to find an eyeliner with a thick applicator. There are so many liquid eyeliners that have tiny thin brushes, it's the opposite of what I want from an eyeliner as I love having bold eyes. I spotted this one just as I was about to give up. Its quite a thick brush and its easy to apply. I feel that this gives ample coverage when applying and is very thick. It doesn't feel like it will dry out easily either unlike other brands.

Now this is a new one for me, I've never used an eyebrow pencil before, I have always used wax and/or powder for my brows. I thought I'd give this a go as I've heard from other bloggers that pencils are good to use and they don't make your brows look 'painted on' (not that they look painted on anyway but you know what I mean!) I want my eyebrows to look fuller without looking completely fake so I'm giving this a go for a little while and will be giving another review about this product.

I've also never tried lip pencils either! (Wow there's a few firsts in this post) As it's coming up to Autumn and Winter I've found myself buying more and more darker lipsticks so I felt that the time had come for me to invest one of these. I've chosen the colour 338 midnight plum because it is a darker red and with me buying more dark colours it's only logical that I would buy a lip liner in this shade. I found this surprisingly easy to apply (why i thought it would be difficult is beyond me but hey ho!) and it gives a bold line. This is definitely going to turn into a makeup bag staple item for me!

Last but not least here is my most recent lipstick purchase! I'm turning to 'the dark side' when it comes to lipsticks, I feel that the darker colours are definitely making me look more 'vampy'. I kind of like it and I'm starting to alter my eye make up to match the way my lipstick makes me look. This lipstick is very smooth to apply, it's a shine lipstick so don't expect to get a thick matte look from this product. I'm in love with this colour and will definitely be using this on a daily basis!

Here is me wearing the Eyeliner, Lip liner and lipstick, you can't really see my eyebrows in this but I'll be doing a review on some of the other items soon!

What have you purchased recently?

Have you tried any of these items? 

Please send me your thoughts!

Sophie

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