Must Have Cruelty Free Make up Brands

Hey All

A few weeks ago L shared her Top 5 skincare products (post here) so I thought I'd do the beauty version, I've been totally cruelty free in all purchases of make up for over 18 months, it's taken some discovery with some brands being shady about it and some brands making the decision to sell in china so are going back to animal testing (Nars I'm looking at you, that decision broke my heart!) Anyway, so here are some of my favourites!

You Beauty Box

Hey all!

We've both been buying lots of similar things recently so we're back in the swing of writing double posts, we hope you like them!
Today's double review is the You Beauty box. Each box is limited edition and you get a choice each month of two products. You also get some products added in for free, and all this comes for just £6.95 delivered to your door - amazing!

This month we both couldn't resist and signed up mostly because Sasha from Ramblings of a Beauty Bird basically told us to, she is such an enabler!

It was nothing to do with the fact you could get a full size Illamasqua lipstick in a beautiful matte blood red finish for less than half of the normal £18.50 price tag.



Not only that there was also a travel sized version of Dove's Advanced Hair Series Youthful Vitality Shampoo and Conditioner - perfect for L now she's travelling a lot with work.

And also a lovely snack of a Nakd bar. We're big fans of healthy snacks and these are gluten, wheat and dairy free containing only cold pressed fruits and nuts and are normally around 100 calories, they're also perfect to take around with you in your handbag when you need a boost on the go.

This box was dedicated to the Best of British and came with a card to detail each of the products inside. We both chose the same this month, the Illamasqua lipstick and also the Good Things Manuka Honey Face Mask which L has been lusting after for a while. 

We both think this is such good value for £6.95 even without the lipstick. The lipstick is a beautiful bold red that would suit most people and is totally worth the £18.50 price tag for the pigmentation and finish.



Here it is on. The shade that comes in the box is Sangers which is still available to buy. It's matte but glides on easily doesn't dry out the lips and literally lasts all day.

The other products in the box are really generous sample sizes which is great as you will get to use them more than once like you would get with a sachet. It definitely seemed too good to be true. It's a great alternative to more expensive boxes and you get to choose two products each month you want to receive and then get extra ones thrown in or you can cancel for that month.

Have you tried You Beauty box? Do you think £6.95 is a much better price for a beauty box?

Who doesn't like receiving presents in the post?!

L and M xxx

My Everyday Make up Routine FOTD using Naked 3

Hey All

As you read this L and I will hopefully have arrived at Glastonbury and be in the queue. We will stop speaking about it soon but we are just sooooo excited to go to our first festival!

Today I wanted to share with you my everyday go to make up look. This is one I do if I have enough time to tackle the dreaded cat eye in the morning. I tend to go for the liner if I'm meeting someone or doing something after work. Please ignore my brows they were being grown out pre wax!

Since I got naked 3 I use it almost everyday. I wasn't sure about the pinky tones to it at first but I really love the way they look on my skin tone and think they'd suit many tones. They also have some amazing matte neutrals that are so easy to use everyday.

I tend to go with a matte crease colour then shimmer colours over the lid and deeper colour through my outer v. For this look I used limit and nooner mixed and blended out through the crease with a bit of dust and liar on the lid and the used factory and blackheart and add some darkness to the corner.

As always for me the gel liner is maybeline. I'm on my third little pot of it. I just can't find another to compare. For mascara it's my ever faithful maybeline colossal volume. Another old faithful! And on the brows is my eylure brow pencil. 

For skin I'm loving using Illamasqua skin base. It gives such a light flawless finish and lasts all day.     

The cheek combination is one I've not been able to find a better mix of. My Liz Earle healthy glow bronzer and Benefit dandelion blush. For highlighter I'm loving the one from the naked flushed palette as it's a bit better for day time than Mac MSF as it's less sparkly.                

For concealer I'm still loving my Nars Radient Creamy Concealer. It offers amazing coverage, lasts all day and my little tube is still going since before Christmas. I think it's running low now but seen as it gets used a lot I'm impressed it's last so long.

On the lips is Mac Brick o la. This is one of my favourite all time lipsticks. It's an amazing soft red and not so in your face if you don't want to wear a bright red to work (personally I love bright reds but I know some people find them OTT for work!). It is an amplifed formula so lasts really well and is opaque in one coat.

What are your everyday favourites? Do you get stuck in a make up rut? I'm definitely in one at the moment! I think I need to take my naked palettes off myself for a bit!

Love M

xxx

Illamasqua Lipstick - Maneater

Goooooooooooooood morning!

I've got a review for you today on an amazing lipstick. I have been lusting after it for a considerable amount of time. The only person who knew this? M. What did she buy me for my birthday? THIS! < 3 

Illamasqua are a brand that I really like. I don't own many of their products but I do have a very big wishlist of their products and have heard great things. A colleague has recently been on the week long make up course that they offer and got a whole load of products that look amazing!
I've had my eye on their primers and foundations for a while but let's not forget the super amazing eye colours they offer as well as the infamous eye liners. I'll surely be buying more from them soon!

This particular lipstick is called Maneater.

Not only is it quite an eye catching name but its an absolutely stunning colour. It's from their original lipstick range and is a crazy intense, long lasting creamy lipstick with a matte finish.

I love the black packaging, its sleek and simple yet perfectly individual to the brand. I love the stamp at the top with their symbol, its so cute and instantly recognisable.

The photo below shows the lipstick colour without a flash, and below that with a flash:

Illamasqua call the lipstick a 'classic cherry red with a matte finish'. It's the perfect classic red, its creamy, doesn't feather out of lip lines and more importantly; doesn't dry my lips out.

Just look at how beautiful and flattering this red colour is:

Excuse my lip pictures, they're definitely not my best feature!

Here's the lip colour on, in all its creamy cherry red glory:

Admittedly it needs lip liner for a better and cleaner line, but it so pretty!

I haven't tested the longevity of the lipstick yet as i haven't been anywhere special to wear such a gorgeous colour but i will be wearing it out at my first opportunity.

Have you tried a lipstick from Illamasqua? Do you love a classic cherry red?

What products do you want from Illamasqua?

L xxx

Illamasqua Skin Base

Hey all

Today I'm feeling sorry for myself. I'm so hungover after an impromptu pint last night turned into a bit of drinking. Work today wasn't fun!

For me flawless skin is something I always want and being oily skinned, pale and freckly and having quite spotty skin lately it's not been easy to achieve. A fair few months back I picked up skin base on a whim. I'd heard good things and wanted to try a new foundation.

At first I didn't get on with it. I'm used to applying foundation with my expert face brush or buffing brush but couldn't get on with it. It was just looking streaky and not blending in. I asked on Twitter for advice and was recommended to try a beauty blender. That change it all for me. It gave such a flawless finish!

I picked up the shade 3.5. I did originally buy 4 and have been using it but I find it is a bit to yellow toned on my skin. 3.5 works better on my skin tone. I like that they just shrink wrap them now so you know it's not been used. It did come in a box and while I do like box make up I do think it's just a waste.

I like that the applicator is a squeezy tube so that you can control how much comes out, the tube is quite stiff so it's not easy to over squeeze and waste it.

Here my skin is quite red tones and spotty.

With just foundation all the redness has gone and the spots are well covered. I love the natural finish of skin base. It really does look like skin and flawless. I apply it with a beauty blender type sponge or a traditional foundation brush. It surprises me I like a traditional foundation brush but it really works with this. 

With full make up. I love the way it feels on the skin. It's not cakey, looks and feels natural and comfortable to wear. It's also buildable for nights out and photographs really well. Whenever I want flawless skin now I straight away reach for it and have already repurchased it which says a lot for me.

It's not the cheapest coming in at £27 for 30ml but it does last reasonably well. It's a firm favourite of mine now. I love the natural finish on it and the way it makes my skin look.

What's your go to foundation?

Love M

xxx

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