Charlotte Tilbury - Brow Lift 3 Way Shape Tool

Morning all!

It's been a crazy busy few months for us that we didn't anticipate at all, we've both been super busy at work, with our houses and also battling internet/PC issues so hopefully now we can begin to catch up as we've got so much to share with you!

In March I finally got round to adding some Charlotte Tilbury into my make up bag. I genuinely haven't looked back and plan on picking up a few more soon.

The first item I wanted to share with you is the Brow Lift 3 Way Shape Tool.

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette

Good morning!

I'm sure you've probably read a few posts on the fabulous Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes by now but I'd still like to add my own thoughts to the mix.

I bought the Modern Renaissance palette with some money I had pre Christmas and couldn't wait to share. The colours are perfect for this time of year so it was the best time to treat myself.....right?!

MAC Mineralize Multi Effect Mascara

Well hey there!

Today's review is of another MAC mascara - I've certainly been raiding their shelves recently and this one in particular was from the Cosmetics Company Outlet in Swindon on a recent trip there. I already need another  trip now that my favourite face wash and foundation are both running low, but still can't get there for another few months!

This mascara is the Multi Effect Lash mascara from their Mineralize range. It costs £21 at full price and I picked it up for £14.75 at the outlet.

I chose Charged Black, I always choose a black mascara as my lashes are already black as they are but it surprised me that they didn't have a brown option too.

The packaging was pretty standard for MAC, black and sleek.

This Mineralize mascara contains a unique combination of 77 Mineral Complex including shea butter, emollients and conditioning extracts to help keep your eyelashes soft and flexible. 

The brush looks pretty standard, there's nothing about it that screams out that it is anything different from any other mascara. 

So what does it look like on the lashes?



I'd say it works pretty well at lengthening my lashes, they look longer and blacker without being clumpy.
I do normally like a bit more volume in my look but for day time it's perfectly fine. I bought this on the horrifying occasion that I went out without mascara on, it wasn't a planned purchase but nevertheless it has been a good addition to my make up bag.

What do you think of MAC mascaras? Do you think they are worth the extra money?

If I'm honest I don't normally think that spending more on mascara is worth it, but that's because my lashes don't seem to respond to curling or any kind of taming, so lengthening and volumising is my only option!

L xxx

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer

Happy Saturday lovelies!

Hope you've got some exciting things planned. Currently I will be having a quiet day and then settling in to watch the Wales v New Zealand rugby match at 5.30pm as it's a big one for me family seeing as some of them now live over in NZ! That and it's always a tense game regardless!

M has frequently told me how flipping amazing the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer is, but my bank balance just wouldn't stretch to it knowing I had a few Collection ones in the make up bag that needed using first. Needless to say when they were on their last dregs I caved and snapped this up without a second thought. Welcome to my make up bag NARS!

I chose the colour Vanilla as M uses the same. Most people seem to think i have much darker skin than I do on account of my near black hair colour but I really am quite pale (my mum gets annoyed when I wear dark lipsticks as it 'makes me look ill' - thanks mum, your genes remember!)

This colour was absolutely perfect for me and i haven't looked back. The rubber packaging looks really good though alas gets ridiculously dirty 5 seconds after opening.

I've been using this mostly under my eyes as it's wonderful at covering those pesky bags that never seem to go away. I think my skin is so pale that it will always be an issue for me!

The concealer is thick and creamy and blends in really easily so I've definitely been won over by the consistency and pigmentation.

The wand is also really easy to use and holds a decent amount of product without caking it on.

I have also used it to cover up spots on the odd occasion but I tend to use other products for that and save this one for the big job of concealing my undereye area. I use the wand to apply it to my face and then blend it in using an expert face brush from Real Techniques.

Here's a few snaps:

These two were without flash and show how the colour blends right in and covers up my bags really well. I've got foundation on as well as this is how I wear my make up every day so just need to set with powder to keep it set for the day.

The photo below shows with flash and you can see where my bags are but they are still pretty well camouflaged in my opinion!

I think I could have added an additional layer if I had wanted too and maybe it would be blanked out completely but for every day use this is perfect for me.

I've had no issues whatsoever and can only rave about the results from using this; it's a 10/10 from me and a 100% recommendation. Totally worthy of the hype and other rave reviews that I've seen!

Have you tried this concealer from Nars? What's your favourite Nars product? Do you have of their Christmas gift sets on your wishlist?

L xxx

Nip and Fab Bee Sting Fix Eye Cream

Well hi there!

I have another skincare review for you today and surprise surprise........it's a Nip and Fab product. I hope you're not sick of them yet as I've just bought a few more bits from them including the Dragon's Blood serum and pads and also a few bits from the Glycolic Fix range seeing as they've all been on offer in Boots/Superdrug recently.

Today's review is all about the Bee Sting Fix Eye Cream.

First and foremost, don't ever use this if you are allergic to bees. There is genuine bee venom inside these pots and although that should ring alarm bells if you are allergic you may think it's just an advert. It seems there really is some venom in these products so please bare this in mind!



I love contrasting colours and the yellow and purple look good together, you would have to stick to something bright and sunshine like for a bee product wouldn't you?!

Anyway the packaging is eye catching and as a result has caught my eye MANY times.

Allegedly the eye cream is rich and stimulating and will defend against the look of fatigue, not quite sure what defend means but nevertheless let's give it a go!





I've been applying this to my eye area and up to my brow bone for a few weeks and I can agree that the cream is very rich. It's quite a hard jelly kind of cream which means you need the tiniest bit to apply and it goes a long way which is great for the value.

The little pot costs £14.95 for 10ml which is quite pricey but it seems that you use so little it shouldn't run out too fast.

It was absorbed into my skin pretty easily and although I didn't see much in the way of a reduced look of fatigue my skin was definitely hydrated.

There was one thing that stood out to me when I purchased the eye cream though, and that was how little there is inside the pot. I understand different brands sell products at different amounts but seriously?? When I opened up my brand new pot this was the sight that greeted me:

What kind of impression is that supposed to give? 'Haha you've just spent £15 on the tiniest bit of nothing??'

I almost took it back as I was convinced someone had scooped out a load of product and I'd been the unfortunate recipient of the empty pot. But I checked in store and opened other pots up and they were all the same. This is really disappointing and I can't say I'd rush out to buy another one if this is all there is inside.

I really liked the hydration that this product gives but aside from that it was no different from any other eye cream for me and so for that reason I wouldn't recommend it. It's also pretty disappointing to open it up and see that half of the pot appears to be missing!

There aren't many products that I've tried from Nip and Fab that I haven't liked (in fact this is the first!) but I'm afraid this is a no no for me.

Have you tried the Bee Sting Fix Eye Cream? What's your favourite Nip and Fab product? Have you tried the new Dragon's Blood range?

I've been using it recently and have to say I'm really impressed so far! 

L xxx

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

So as palettes go....I think most would agree that Urban Decay take the crown with them.

Having bought my fair share (is it 8 now? eek!) I can't believe that I didn't own this one; the Smoked palette.

These colours are the colours I have been using for years all from random brands and not in a cohesive palette like this; it's amazing. There's the greys, the blue, the green, the purple, the browns and the super matte black. Not to mention the awesome primer potion and Perversion eye pencil that I might be a bit of a fan of.

The blurb on the back of the box pretty much says it all, and it comes with a booklet to help you get the most out of the palette including tips for blending and looks to try.

The packaging for this is different to other palettes, it has a zip all around it to contain the products inside and the material packaging looks really good. The only downside is that it may not be as robust as plastic palettes as it is only material over a cardboard exterior.

This where you can tell it was produced in 2012, they seem to have come a long way in their designs and packaging in the last few years.

So how about the inside of the palette? The ten eyeshadows are arranged in square shapes with the eye pencil in between the rows. It also comes with a mirror which is very handy for on the go or just generally really! I've been using it loads when doing my make up in my room even though I have multiple mirrors to use.

I have previously written a post on the Perversion 24/7 Eye Pencil which you can read here, so I won't ramble on about it too much but it is the PERFECT pencil for this palette and if you ever buy any eye liner pencil you most definitely need this one.

So what do the colours come out like? The photos show swatches of the eye shadows in the same order as the rows in the palette, without and then with flash.

How beautiful are the colours?! I couldn't resist but have a play around with them!

Both of the nudes barely show up on my skin but they are both good bases for a make up application. In fact I think I like them more for blending in so perfectly as they're so easy to use.

Below I've applied Mushroom to the outer corners of my eyes and blended it through. I really like this look and have worn it to work. I've also worn the same look with Backdoor also blended in to darken and mattify the outer corner shown in the second picture:






One of the main reasons I wanted this palette so badly was the ability to produce a variety of smoky eye looks which didn't revolve around the obvious black and grey. Green is one of my favourite colours for eyeshadow so Loaded was a colour I was keen to use:

I absolutely LOVE it and have been having so much fun with different looks.

Evidence is also a gorgeous blue colour with so much pigmentation, I applied it under my eyes for a colour contrast using silvery greys Mushroom and Asphalt on my eye lid for a separate look:

Do you love creating smoky eyes? Have you used the Smoked palette before? What's your favourite colour to smoke out?

I'm looking forward to using this over the party season!

L xxx

Balance Me Extra Care Wonder Eye Cream

Morning lovelies!

I've never really used much from Balance Me apart from an oil I received in a beauty box a while ago, so receiving this in one too I decided to give it a go.

The Wonder Eye Cream claims to soothe, brighten and lift the skin around your eye and claims to be suitable for all skin types whilst being 99% natural, that sounds like something I want in my collection!

The size I received in the beauty box was 7ml but the full size is 15ml and retails for £20. This is quite a generous size as others I've bought have been a lot smaller for the same price.

The eye cream is light enough to absorb into the skin easily but also rich enough to contain coconut, rosehip and carrot oil to soften skin, chamomile, cucumber oil and witch hazel to smooth away dark shadows.

As if that wasn't enough there is also hyaluronic acid and spruce knot (very antioxidant rich) to plump and boost the skin, phew what a list!

I also like that the cream is 99% natural and you can see the list of EVERY ingredient on their website for EVERY product.

So how did I get on with the cream?

I applied it as per the instructions below, I find I need to apply a good blob of eye cream as my eyes can get really dry with constant air conditioning and this seems to help a lot. I apply it all over my eye area which is probably not advised but it works well for me, and then try and tap it in or move slowly in small circles to ensure it has distributed evenly.

First off I'm glad to say that I didn't react to this one bit, my sensitive eyes and skin can react quite randomly to things and this just absorbed in almost straight away with no greasy residue and no reaction, hurrah!

Secondly my skin felt really hydrated for quite a while afterwards and I really do think it has helped to iron out a few tiny creases that have started to appear. I am hoping it's just tiredness and dehydration and not my first wrinkles appearing so I'll keep my fingers crossed! But nevertheless, they did diminish.

The last factor to consider is the dark shadows which for me didn't seem to have any change. I don't know if that is because it has been a particularly busy and stressful time for me or if the product doesn't really combat shadows as much as I'd like, but let's face it a good concealer would still be needed anyway!

I'd rate this product pretty highly on the eye cream scale. I use Origin's Eye Doctor as my staple as I haven't ever reacted and my skin loves it. This also rates about the same for me and seeing as it is £20 for 15ml and the Origins one is £28.50 for 15ml, potentially I have found a replacement.

Balance Me have won quite a few awards for their products and they have been given rave reviews by bloggers too which is always reassuring. I've heard a lot about them and have seen lots of products I would love to try from them particularly the Extra Care range, of which this eye cream is a part of.

It also contains the Radiance Face Oil and Anti Ageing Serum, both of which sound fabulous to me and I may have to look into going to Waitrose again soon and picking some up!

Have you tried the Wonder Eye Cream? What did you think? Have you any recommendations for the Balance Me range?

L xxx

Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Liner in Perversion

Happy Friday everyone!

I know that you know by now that we are both huge Urban Decay fans and it will come as no surprise to you that there is another review from the amazing brand. I really cannot fault their products, from the endless covetable palettes to their revolution lipsticks and their infamous highly pigmented black colour Perversion, they are all hyped up and wanted by everyone.

My latest buy is the 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner that I recently bought with my Debenhams Beauty Card points and obviously my choice was Perversion.

The 24/7 theme is one of my favourites, the eye and lip pencils have never let me down so a liquid liner from UD was the obvious choice for me. The brush allegedly draws lines so sharp they could cut glass, so I put it to the test.

The design is pretty simple, the tube unscrews with the longest side being the handle with the thinnest brush inside. It's somewhat boring looking for UD as normally they have a bit more going on but to be honest its a bit refreshing to let the product itself do the talking instead.

I was worried the brush wouldn't hold enough product initially as it's so thin but I was wrong. for a full feline flick you do need to dip it back into the pot but for a simple line it's perfect.

It glides across the skin dispensing the liner evenly and although it does need a steady hand and a bit of practice it is quite easy to use.

Here are some images with the liner on top in a feline flick along with 24/7 eye pencil in Perversion on the lower rim. As the brush is so small its easy to create a really sharp line for the flick and to get right into the lashes for a super close line.

I'm a firm fan, what do you think?

The only thing I've seen that may be an issue is that after a while, as it's so pigmented, it does start to peel off. I'm talking after a full day and night of wearing it, but it begins to lift off at the edges like eye lash glue does, though it hasn't been a huge issue for me as it's only when I've been home that I've noticed it starting after a relaly long day.

Have you tried the 24/7 liquid liners? Do you love the Perversion range? Which colour would you recommend?

L xxx