Benefit's New Brow Range!

Hello everyone!

Apologies for the lack of posts from us, we have both been super busy recently and have been away at Glastonbury followed by seeing Beyoncé on her stadium tour so time and wifi access a been very limited! We are super tired and looking forward to quiet weekends to catch up on everything so expect lots of posts to be uploaded soon.

The first post I needed to write was to tell you all about the new brow products from Benefit.

I'm sure by now you have all seen the new range but i really wanted to give you my thoughts on it too. 

When I heard that Benefit we're bringing out even more products and redoing their packaging I was equally excited and a little confused, surely there couldn't possibly be any more brow products that were necessary?? Aren't benefit the top sellers for brow products anyway, how can we need more??

Well let me tell you I was suitably impressed when I was invited to the Benefit counter in Boots Llantrisant to see the new products in action. 

There are many of them for starters, and also in new much needed shades. There really is something for everyone depending on the brows you have, the colour of your brows and also the look you want to achieve (which if you are anything like me will change regularly!)

First we had a demonstration of the products to give us an idea of the purpose of each of the products and then we were allowed to go crazy and test them all out ourselves which was fun.



So here's the run down of the new range (all 10 products!) in full:

1) Browvo! - this is a conditioning primer to enhance colour and extend wear, it will help to make your brows appear fuller-looking too which is an added bonus! £21.50

2) Goof Proof Brow Pencil - this pencil twists up to dispense the product and the pencil is flat with one side wider than the other, this makes it so so easy to get your brows on in the morning! Cannot go wrong with this style and it's available in 6 shades. £18.50

3) Precisely, My Brow Pencil - a super fine pencil for the ultra-precise brow and creating individual hair like strokes with 12 hour wear. Available in 6 shades, £18.50.

4) Brow zings - the old favourite and best selling kit has new packaging and a new extendable dual ended brush, plus guess what? Available in 6 shades! £24.50

5) Ka Brow! - this is a new cream gel that almost feels a bit like a mousse, it's waterproof and buildable for all brows even the big ones! 24 hour wear, available in 6 shades, £18.50

6) Gimme Brow - another favourite of mine but now the volumising fibre gel now comes in three shades! £18.50

7) 3D-Brow Tones - a totally new idea to me, this gel will give you subtle brow-enhancing highlights to stop your brows from looking flat. As far as I can see this is available in 2 shades, £18.50

8) Ready, Set, Brow! - this newbie is a shaping and setting gel to keep the brows where they need to be. This one is clear and quick setting to stay for 24 hours. £18.50

9) High Brow and High Brow Glow - these pencils blend super easily to give highlights on your brow bone, one is more luminous than the other

There is also a pencil sharpener, angled brow brush with spoolie, and a grooming tweezer with brush too.

I'm already a big fan of Gimme Brow and have used Brow Zings in the past and liked that too. Nowadays I like brows to be as quick as possible and take minimal time, but I do particularly love the new Ka Brow, the new colours are really good and the gel is so buildable I spent ages playing with it and getting the look just right.

After this I tried the Precisely, My Brow pencil and this was really good for adding in the extra hairs where you may have some gaps.

After this I also tried the 3D BrowTones and was surprised how this came out, it actually looked like my brows weren't flat but they weren't glittery either. I'm not sure I'd purchase this myself but I can certainly see why some people may need it to stop their brows looking so drawn on.

Lastly i finished off my look with the Ready Set Brow! setting gel which was great and something I would definitely want to get my hands on.

So how did it look? See below for some quick selfies post event:

I really like the overall effect and although I was sceptical that I would need even half of the products I can understand why you could need all of them!

They each have their own job and they do all of them very well. I already have Brow Zings and Gimme Brow, but I now realise I need Ka Brow, Precisely My Brow and the Ready, Set Brow! setting gel. Luckily we were given a sample of the setting gel so that will keep me going until I splash out soon!

Have you seen the new products? Which are your favourite?


They are all available and have been since the 24th of June, see you in store!

Thank you to Benefit Llantrisant for inviting me to their event :)


L xxx

Get Ready with Me - Dinner Date

Evening All

Another late post from me. I seem to only find time in the evenings to write lately! This weekend was an action packed awesome one!! I'll share more of that later on in the week.

My favourite type of posts lately seem to be get ready with me and face of the day! I love seeing these posts from people as you can pick up little tips and get new ideas!

Today's get ready with me was for a dinner date, I wear this look quite a lot as it's quite classic and easy!

My hair was straightened so I started off by putting in my lauren's way rollers pre shower! When my hair is straight if I'm doing something in the evening I like to pop the rollers in for an hour if I have time so my hair has a bit of body. I find doing them pre shower helps speed up the process as the steam slightly dampens the hair!

For my eyes I used a combination of palettes. I used Urban Decay primer potion in eden to start (I'm in love with this and use it all the time if I need my make up to be long lasting or more vibrant. As a base colour I used a combination of bootycall from naked 2 and strange from naked 3. As I wanted a slight bit of colour I blended Benefite Raincheck? through my crease and outer V. I Then applied Buzz from Naked 3 under the eye for some shimmer!

I was feeling classic make up so went with a black flicked eyeliner!! I love winged liner but I have to be in the mood to do it. This nights wasn't that tidy. For foundation I used Illamasqua Skin Base which is my all time favourite foundation for flawless skin. For concealer I used Nars Creamy Concealer. Another big favourite!

For my brows it was of course browzings! They are horrible unruley as I was letting them grow pre brow arch march wax! For masacara I used They're Real but I was having a bad mascara day. My lashes weren't playing ball as I hadn't got it all off post shower!

For bronzer it was none other than my new bronzer love of Make Believe! I can't stop using this beaut! It's so easy! I contour my cheeks and nose with this!

On my cheeks I used the blush and highlighter from naked flushed. I'm in love with the highlighter as it's finer than MSF so much easier to wear! The blush I love for days when I want more than dandelion gives!

As I was off to meet the guy I'm seeing I opted for a soft neutral lip. If I was out with the girls a red lip would have been a must here! I opted for Revlon Kissable balm stain in honey! I love this shade for easy to wear colour on the lips!

I love how the rollers when applied to my hair straight just give it soft bounce and body. After being in for 45 minutes they give the perfect result for me.

I had to share my new dress as I'm in love with it. It was a bargain £5 from Asda kids range. this is a age 12-13 and I'd say it was an 8 -10 so if your a 12 I think the age 14-15 would fit. I love the bright daisy print and I was instantly sold with the cut out back! I really love a cut out back and as I don't have a whole lot of boob I love to show back instead of cleavage.

My necklace was a bargain my mum found in boots at Christmas time and was only a £1! As it has gold and silver it's a great piece. Boots have amazing jewellery and great discounts when they go in the sale so I'd highly recommend checking it out.

I finished off the look with my ever faithful Primark coat and black tights!

What do you wear on a dinner date?

Love M

xxx

Reviews of products mentioned

Naked 3

Naked 2

Naked Flushed

Benefit World Famous Neutrals

Benefit Browzings

Make Believe Bronzer

Primark Coat

Get Ready WIth Me - Night Out

Hey All

Hope you had a good weekend. I've had a really busy week last week and the weekend was rather busy too. I went out on Friday night and thought I'd do a type of get ready with me post. I love watching these on YouTube and love FOTDs that show you the look step by step so it's easily re-creatable. The lighting and photos aren't great as it was night time!

After showing and washing my hair these are my current go to products! I have to use a lip scrub and I couldn't be without my breath of fresh air toner. As I've got a few big spots at the moment I use my Effaclar Duo before my moisturiser. As It was for a night out I used the Label.M volume foam to add some extra volume to my hair.

I was soooo impressed with the volume the label.m foam gave and it didn't make it sticky either or feel caked in product! Hello night out must have!

For a flawless night out for me there are four products I have to use! Benefit Porefessional, Illamasqua Skin Base applied with a beauty blender type sponge and Nars Creamy Concealor. They all just make my skin flawless. Illamasqua skin base was definitely a foundation I fell in love with only after using a beauty blender type sponge. It was all I found worked for me application wise! I then set all my base using my HD brows powder!! I'm really loving this for oil control and setting make up.

At the moment I'm totally in love with the make believe bronzer. It's a perfect matte shade and comes with the softest brush. I contour my cheek bones, nose and around my forehead and temples.

As I was going out it had to be Benefit Dandelion blush. No matter how much I wear other blushes none are as beautiful as this. I love the soft pink. I then used Mac MSF in soft and gentle. It really adds a shimmer to the cheeks.

To primer my eyes I blended constructivist Mac paint pot all over the lids up to the crease using a real techniques crease brush.

I then applied Mac naked lunch (a soft nude shimmer) all over the top of constructivist to set it.

To the crease I blended out a mid brown matte shade. This one is from a Lancome palette I have but is similar to UD tease in the naked 2 palette.

As it's been a while since I wore it I blended Mac Cranberry through the crease and under the eye. To smoke it out and to softer the redness I blended a matte black shade through the outer v and half way across the under eye.

For me it's all about the Eylure 116. They are one of my favourite lashes as they are subtle and just lenghten. I applied these and lashings of Maybelline Colossal Volume.

For my brows I used my Benefit browzings. I use a combination of the wax and powder and set with a Collection clear mascara. I think used my Laura Mercier Secret Concealer to line around my brows to highlight the brow bone and sharpen the brow line.

I then lined the eyes using my Maybelline gel liner in black and a real techniques liner blush. As I didn't want my eyes to be too black I used Rimmel Scandaleyes liner in nude to line my waterline.

For my hair I straightened it and add slight shape to the front by turn the straighteners. I hate it when my hair just sits flat.

For the lips I went with Mac Fanfare. It's such an easy to wear colour and looks soft and subtle on the lips without looking OTT when wearing a bolder eye.

Finally for my outfit I wore nude sparkly shorts bought in the New Look sale last year, New Look black vest with lace detail, New Look blazer, Primark fleece lined tights (I'm getting so old I wear tights on nights out!) and finished the look off with my Primark boots, Ollie and Nic clutch purse and my sphere of life heart necklace!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Do you mind photo heavy posts?

Love M

xxx

   

Review: Elf Studio Eyebrow Kit

Hi 

Hope you all had a great New Years Eve and are feeling ready for the New Year. L and I had a night in with a Chinese, cider and films. We decided to have a chilled one as neither of us our fans of New Years Eve and had drunk a little too much on the weekend.

It was really nice to wake up today and not be hungover and feel positive for what the year brings. I've even been for a run today. Now I just need to keep it up. I'm so excited for this year already. I'm feeling in a much happier place with lots to look forward to including the prospect of buying a house, seeing my brother get married in Cyprus, Glastonbury with some of my closest friends and a few challenges including tough mudder and a half marathon. What plans have you got for the New Year?

Anyway onto today's review. I'm always on the quest for perfect brows. Being pale skinned with lilac/blue/pink (it's a mess) hair at the moment I aim for blonde brows as I think they suit me best. I always like my brows to look well defined with good shape but not too drawn on, powdery or dark for me. Two of my favourite products are BrowZings and New CID I-Groom brow pencil. I love both of these but had heard good things about the ELF brow kit and like the sound of the gel as I thought it would help soften my brows.

With ELF opening up in Cardiff I couldn't resist a sneaky purchase. I tend to not order make up online that I've not been able to look at in person so had been put off until the store opened. I was a little put off by the staff as customers around me seemed to be getting more assistance than me but it did save me money as I only got what I wanted. I'm excited to go back and try the cream bronzer though.

The brow kit has a slight rubberised packaging and comes in an impressive 4 colours. It does get dirty but it is a bargain at £3.50.

I went for the shade light. I'd be keen to see ash in person as I'm not sure which would suit me more. It comes with a brown gel and a light coloured powder. It also comes with a brush which I tend to ignore in kits like these. It had a few stray hairs on it so went straight in the bin.

I was excited to try out the gel. I love that it lightly tints my brows, holds the hairs in place and adds a soft amount of colour that looks natural and not heavy. I then add a small amount of the powder to set the brows and add a bit deeper colour. 

Here are a few photos of my brows done with the elf brow kit.

The kit has really impressed me. The colour is great. It gives light brows without them looking powdery. Below you can see it next to BrowZings. The gel is a light consistency than the wax and the shadow in the ELF is lighter. I still love BrowZings and when I dye my hair on Saturday will probably end up using the gel from the ELF kit and the powder from BrowZings.

Overall I'm really impressed with my first elf purchase and will definitely be repurchasing it though I can see it lasting me a long time. 

Have you tried the Eyebrow kit? Any Elf product recommendations? Are the brushes any good?

Love M

xxx

Everyday Favourites: Make up

I've decided to start sharing some of my favourites with you all. I find it easy to forget the things I use everyday and love. I thought I'd start by sharing some of my make up favourites.

Bourjois Intuitive Liner (Review)

I've always been a gel liner girl and if I was using liquid liner I would use the ones with the pot rather than the felt tip style. This liner has completely converted me. It's so easy to use and I love the triple dot tip so it can be used to add thickness to your lashes or as a liquid liner.

Urban Decay Naked 2

I've actually never reviewed this on the blog. As there are so many reviews on it I didn't bother. I was one of those of those people who loved the MUA palettes and thought spending £36 on a palette was stupid and couldn't be worth it. In America last year I picked this one up and was so impressed. My poor MUA palettes don't get a look in. I use this most days. I love all the colours in it and have hit pan on some. It's so easy to use and can create loads of different looks. Definitely worth the money. I'm drooling over Naked 3 now.

Revlon Colour Stay in Buff (Review)

I recently rediscovered this. When I first tried it I instantly loved it. I had two bottles so when I used one up I left the other one until I had used up more of my products. I've recently been using it again and I love it. The colour choice is amazing for pale girls and the coverage is perfect. It doesn't cake and lasts pretty much all day on me. It great all rounder.

Benefit BrowZings (Review)

I look back at old photos before I used to fill my brows in and they look so pale. I love a good defined brow and think it makes such a difference. The powder and wax combination is great and easy to use. I don't personally use the brushes provided as they are small and annoy me. The lightest shade is perfect for me and my ever changing hair colour. I use this most days now and I'm definitely addicted.

Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer (Review)

This is literally a must have product for me. Since Christmas last year I'd say I've worn this 97% of the time. It's amazing. It's matte, the perfect colour and blends onto the skin flawlessly and lasts. I love using it to contour and bronze and I've only just hit pan now.

Benefit Dandelion Blush (Review)

I have only started using blush in the last 2 and a half years. As someone with naturally rosey cheeks I always used to use foundation to cover them and thought applying blush over the top was stupid. How wrong was I. I love blush now and this is my all time favourite. A soft pink colour with the softest shimmer and it's great for me as I can't go over the top.

So that's my must have make up items. Are any of these on yours? What are your make up items you can't go without?

Love M

xxx