Wednesday 1 November 2017

Beauty Rehab


Hey all!

I've been writing these Beauty Rehab posts for a long long time now, even though I started them right at the beginning I still enjoy showing you what I've actually been using throughout the month and what I've finished. I'd like to say I am working through my stash but that would be wrong, my stash seems to have ballooned in recent months so I'm going to try and make more effort between now and Christmas!

Here's what I've used up recently:

Beauty Rehab

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Thursday 26 October 2017

How to Pack Beauty Products with Airline Limits - Cruelty Free

Hey All

Twice this year I've traveled to Edinburgh from Cardiff and flown, the biggest challenge I find is getting all the products I want whilst sticking to the 10 x 100ml airline limits. Of course as with all of my posts all these travel products I use are cruelty free too!


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Monday 21 August 2017

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!

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Friday 9 June 2017

Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation Shade 2.0 Review

Hey All

A few months back I share my thoughts on the Urban Decay Naked Skin if you read that post (here) you'll have seen I'd picked it up in error and had meant to get the All Nighter Foundation.  It turned out a great accident as I fell in love with Naked Skin as it's such a great foundation. I was still curious about the All Nighter Foundation as it's namesake setting spray is my all time favourite so C bought it for me for Christmas.






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Thursday 30 March 2017

Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Review and Swatches

Hey all

Urban decay is a brand I love, I have Naked 2 and 3 (reviews Here and Here) And when my other half asked if I wanted anything for Christmas the link to ultimate naked basics was one of the first things I thought of as i don't have many matte eye shadow palettes and it had a great range of light shades.

Also the packaging needs a shout out, how gorgeous is it. It's plastic so long wearing and has a huge mirror.



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Saturday 18 February 2017

Urban Decay Razor Sharp Liquid Liner in Perversion


Hi all!

A key product for me in pretty much every make up look I've ever done has been a good liquid liner. Priorities for this include a good formula that's runny enough to work with but also pigmented and fast drying, it also needs to last all day/night.

I found this in the Urban Decay Razor Sharp Liquid Liner in Perversion.


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Thursday 17 November 2016

Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation

Hey All

Whilst in duty free I couldn't resist a few cheeky purchases (who can!!) I'd been eyeing up the Urban Decay All Nighter foundation for weeks and had planned to purchase it. In my excitement at the airport of seeing the Urban decay Shop and Foundations there I just grab Naked Skin not paying any attention to the packaging thinking it was the All Nighter foundation. Initially I was a bit disappointed but it's actually really impressed me.


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Saturday 3 September 2016

Wish List: September 2016


Hello there! 

I've been writing a wishlist for weeks now and for some reason just haven't got around to getting it posted...in this time it has obviously grown but at least the items on it have a bit of variety.

The last year of house owning has ruined most shopping trips, planned or otherwise so writing a wishlist has been quite therapeutic. If I still want it after 6 months I obviously really want it...right??

Take a look and see if they match your wishlist items too! 

I keep seeing these beautiful gym leggings everywhere. As I'm tall I can struggle to find leggings that are long enough and also sit on my waist properly, but I'm still on the endless search for a long black pair with some sexy mesh panels in - just because I'm sweating doesn't mean I don't want to look good! 
I've seen some from Active in Style, the top ones are from Zanna Van Dijk's range and cost £85, the second are the Inda leggings from Daquini and cost £110.


Travel:

Image from Lonely Planet website


Forever dreaming of a paradise island getaway my latest focus has been pinning pictures from the beautiful island of Bali. Those white sands, turquoise waterfalls and 'once in a lifetime' sunsets are on my dream list. Keeping all my fingers toes and everything else crossed that one day I can actually go on holiday!



Palettes:
I mean it was extremely difficult to choose one palette from Sleek owing to their absolute corker of a collection right now (rivalled by another fave - Make Up Revolution, see below) but this highlighter palette is just all of the Pinterest/blogger/makeup goals right now.Amazing casing, flattering colour choices and apparently awesome blend-ability. 

All of this for £9.99?? Get me on the delivery list pronto!


Lipstick:
Image from UD website
Long have I lusted after the Urban Decay lipsticks but after their recent revamp and 120 shade uber collection I perve on them all the time.
I am still looking for the perfect red, this time a classic blue toned red. I either seem to repurchase orangey ones, or the super dark vampy ones but I always get it wrong!

F-Bomb looks the perfect shade, and is 100% on my wishlist

Browse them all by selecting this link, each comes in at a perfectly reasonable £15.


Chanel Chance:

Another dream - owning a Chanel perfume!

Chance is my favourite and I had another whiff of it recently, I still love it. At £68 for 50ml however I definitely need to save or wait for a rich man.

One day!


MakeUp Revolution: 
Last but certainly not least is Make Up Revolution. 

There are so many things I want....NEED to pick up from this brand and knowing they are affordable means I actually can. I'm waiting for some free time to go in store and browse myself as that's always the best part, but these rose gold brushes are high on the priority list

Five brushes for £34.95 sounds pretty reasonable to me and they are beautiful! So instagrammable!



What's on your wishlist at the moment??

Hopefully I can get some of these soon but it's always nice to dream!


L xxx





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Monday 9 May 2016

FOTD - Current Favourites

Hey All

It's been a long time since I've shared any favourite make up or done a face of the day so I thought I'd combined the too and show you some of the products I've been reaching for the most lately.

FOTD Current Make Up Favourites

FOTD Current Make Up Favourites




I love the difference make up makes to my features. Being pale and with light hair means my features can get lost without make up so I can't be without brows and mascara!

FOTD Current Make Up Favourites

Products used:




FOTD Current Make Up Favourites

I'm always one for a flawless base but lately I'm really struggling, I seem to be more pale than normal and no foundations are working properly. The Shade adjusting drops have been an amazing find. I've been able to use my foundations that have been sat to one side more and I'm getting a better colour match. Studio fix fluid isn't my favourite Mac foundation I'm more of a pro longwear fan! Browzings has been a regular use since I discovered it. It just gives perfect definition and will always remain a firm favourite. The same goes for the Nar concealer! I love this stuff, it covers sooo well! I fancied a bit of extra brightening this day so used the urban decay concealer underneath too. For me the eyes are always a touch smokey. I love the shimmer in the Phees Shadows and they are just so pigmented!! I used peppered over the lid, with sphinx on the out part of the lid, shades from Kat Von D palette through my crease and deadweight through the outer v to smoke it out then used the UD liner to line my lashline. I added the original highlight to my inner corner to brighten it up and used it as my highlight. I used the Kat Von D palette to contour. The middle large shade is perfect for this I love the colour it is. My cheeks are an old discovery, a random blush I found in my collection but absolutely love. The lips are a shade I can't stop reaching for. It's perfect for everyday and a great neutral shade!

FOTD Current Make Up Favourites

What are your current make up favourites?

Love M

xxx


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Wednesday 6 April 2016

Birthday Time!


Hi all!

It was my birthday last weekend so posts the last week have been a little thin on the ground...it was lovely to have a long weekend for it and I had something planned every day which was really nice.

It was overall quite a quiet weekend but to be honest I'm getting to the age where using a long weekend to see friends and catch up on sleep and good food is the best kind of weekend!

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First me and M had an afternoon tea session at Celtic Manor which was amazing as you would expect. It was the Chocolate Afternoon Tea which is available until the 19th of June - we will definitely be writing a full post on this as it is beautiful! Here's a few snaps to show you how amazing:

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After that we just about made it through the front door, and had a girly evening in with face masks, tan and some prosecco to celebrate! It was a lovely evening, and M even made some Captain America cookies for me, how cute and clever are these??

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After this we had a very civilised night out with yummy cocktails and a cheeky McDonalds which was really nice as we haven't been out for a while.

I also had a lovely meal with my family at Wahaca, me and my dad shared the Wahaca Selection which was lush to try so many different things and I washed it down with a Mexican hot chocolate which is dairy free. It was an interesting taste and I'd order it again but it's quite bitter so hard to finish the whole thing.


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I had some amazing gifts from friends and family. My brother bought me a sushi making kit which I can't wait to try out and also a selection box from T2 tea who have some crazy loose leaf tea flavours such as Caramel Brownie and Choc Chip Chai.

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M got me a lush Origins set with my favourite products in and a pre order of the Harry Potter and the Cursed child - who isn't excited for that!!
I also had another Barnes and Noble classic book to add to my book shelf. I'm getting quite a collection together now and can't wait to get as many as I can!

I also had some vouchers so I went shopping on the weekend and bought the Naked 2 palette which I have wanted for ages and also some stuff from Lush too!

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It was a really nice weekend and it was a shock to go back to work last week!

I've been struggling ever since and now I'm away with work so am feeling all over the place, looking forward to getting back to normality and joining my new gym permanently when I get back.

What have you been up to lately? I have so many posts to catch up on and so much to share with you!


L xxx




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Thursday 25 February 2016

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Lipstick and 24/7 Lip Liner in Rock Steady


Hello all!

I'm sure you've all seen the adverts and the hype, I was 100% not exempt from this and of course I had to buy more items from the Gwen Stefani range.
Me and M have both bought the palette, so you can read that review by clicking here.

This post is alllllllllll about the new lipstick and lip liner, I picked up the Rock Steady colour and it has not disappointed!

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First of all let's just look at the packaging - not only is it both monochrome and metallics which are my absolute favourites but the geometric patterns are also beautiful!

I am not ashamed to say that I still have all of the boxes, although I will have to get rid of them soon!

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Rock Steady is described as a 'deep wine red cream' which is pretty accurate. I turned up at the shop and had no idea which colour I was going to get, it was a busy Saturday and I had 10 minutes.....

I wouldn't say that this was a bad choice by any means, but going by my previous purchases I probably should have picked up a different colour! This basically means I already have my eye on Spiderweb and Wonderland, fingers crossed they will still have some when pay day comes around....and I can justify it.... ;)

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Not only am I impressed with the packaging I also love the little details that go into making the products from Urban Decay, like the UD stamp on the lipstick bullet below, it's a nice touch!

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The Rock Steady liner was just like all the other liners I have ever bought from UD - amazing pigmentation, super creamy and very easy to apply.

The photos below show my rushed application as soon as I had bought it, I couldn't wait any longer as I was too excited! The first photo shows just the liner:


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The photos below show the lipstick, a deep wine red is certainly the correct description and I really like the finish on this lipstick. I think matte lipsticks have their place but the cream type are my favourite!

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So what do you think?

Have you picked up anything from the Gwen Stefani range? Do you love UD as much as we do??

Fingers crossed I can pick up the others before they sell out!


L xxx



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Saturday 13 February 2016

Urban Decay Revolution Sheer Lipstick in Liar


Morning all!

I have a lovely quiet weekend planned, as a single girl Valentine's Day isn't high on my priorities so I will be spending my weekend catching up with everything I need to. I have so much to do and am really looking forward to doing everything I want to, and probably continuing pancake day well into the weekend too!

Without further ado, let's get onto the main reason for the post: Urban Decay Revolution Sheer Lipstick in Liar.

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I tried this lipstick after receiving a tester sachet when repurchasing my favourite liquid liner from UD. I think these testers are awesome, they give you such a great opportunity to try new colours and see if you like them or not.
On this occasion I have only tried the one so far but it's having a 100% success rate - I've bought it!

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The Revolution Lipsticks are defined by UD as 'Creamy, Badass Luxury' and I would have to agree. The packaging is badass and the range of colours are too, the lipstick is super luxurious and leaves your lips covered with pigment and hydrated.
Their Pigment Infusion System helps to deliver the super colours they have available, and in this range there are 20 - I want (NEED) them all!

The composition of the lipsticks includes jojoba oil, avocado oil, cocoa butter and shea butter and it shows, they barely touch your lips and the colour is there without any effort. This also stops your lips from drying out and the colour lasts so much longer.

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So what colour is Liar? It's a pinky-brown nude, its very warm in colour and has a creamy and luminous finish.

It's really wearable and is perfect for work, weekends and anything in between. I've been wearing it a lot and it seems to work for every occasion. You can see it on me in the images below:

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I really like the finish, it's polished and has a good sheen but it looks natural. I feel like it warms my face up too and is so easy to slick on it and lasts so well that I find myself using it often.

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So what do you think? Have you seen Liar, have you tried it?

What do you think of Urban Decay;s Revolution lipsticks?

I've been really impressed with the colour range, the pigmentation and the lasting power. You can pick up one of these lipsticks for £15.50, which is a pretty good deal I think!


L xxx


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Friday 18 December 2015

Urban Decay: Gwen Stefani Palette


Hello all!

We're sure you've heard the hype around this fabulous pallete, and really what isn't to get excited about?!
Urban Decay never fail to produce top quality products, the pigmentation cannot be equalled and their limited edition palettes are always even better. Knowing that this release was with Gwen Stefani was even better! I've loved her style for so long, even with her sometimes quirky outfits she always has flawless make up.
After buying a house and keeping every spare penny for furniture and paint, this was the best news and finally a big enough reason to break into the piggy bank - this release made me EXCITED.

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As soon as I saw the packaging I knew I had to have it, the contents at this point hadn't even crossed my mind. I love monochrome and gold metallics so the colours were perfect for me. Even though Gwen Stefani is known for being part of the Punk music scene she's always stayed pretty classic at the same time. I love it.

The colour range of the eyeshadows is also spot on. There are so many beautiful neutral shades to create so many looks with finishes from matte, frost and shimmer. 

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As for the colours, here's the rundown:

Blonde is described as a “pale beige with pink iridescent shift.
Bathwater is described as a “pale beige with gold pearl.
Skimp is described as a “pale nude satin
Steady is described as a “medium rose with metallic gold shift
Punk is described as a “reddish brown matte
Baby is described as a “cool metallic rose
Anaheim is described as a “light taupe-brown matte
Stark is described as a “nude-pink matte
Zone is described as a “medium brown matte
Serious is described as a “smoky gray with iridescent floating pearl
Pop is described as a “pale coral with iridescent sparkle
Harajuku is described as a “metallic blue-pink with iridescent micro-shimmer
Danger is described as a “deep metallic royal blue with blue micro-sparkle
1987 is described as a “bright metallic yellow-gold
Blackout is described as a “blackest black matte

I'm finding it hard to say which colour is my favourite as I genuinely think all of the top 2 rows are perfection in a palette. Blonde, Anaheim, Punk and Serious have special mentions though! Love these eeeeeeeeeeeeeevery day!

The surprise in the palette is the gold (called 1987), I was super impressed as it is beautiful and so pigmented. I have so far only used this dry as a liner but I would really love to use a wet brush and try it then as I imagine the pigmentation would be so much more vibrant. 

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I'm not sure what I think about Harajuku but I'm willing to give it a try, and Blackout is a staple in anyone's life - it's just a must and the blackest of black eye shadows. I was very excited by Pop and Danger, but sadly these both had quite a lot of fallout. Pop barely made it onto my eyelid so I think some serious primer is going to be necessary. Danger is a wonderful colour but half of it ended up on my cheeks, and I only noticed when it smudged across my face in work and I looked ridiculous!

All of that being said, it's a beautiful and perfect palette that everyone needs. It comes in at £40 but is limited edition and worth every penny. My only downsides are the fallout from Pop and Danger, and I'm a little disappointed there isn't a brush or an eyeliner included like many other palettes.

In fact, although I'm excited for the lip products maybe they should consider an eyeliner collection too, how much does everyone want the perfect liner that Gwen always seems to get right??

Think about UD, it would fly off the shelves even faster than the palette!

What do you think of the palette? Are the colours perfect for you?


L xxx

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Hey All

As L and I went to John Lewis Urban Decay counter to see this palette I was sure I wouldn't buy it. I didn't need another palette and after recently moving in with C I couldn't really afford it. As we arrived Kate did my eye make up for me using it and I was instantly sold. In my slightly hungover state I had absolutely no willpower I think knowing it was Limited edition made me want it more.

As L has said the packaging is amazing!! It has a huge mirror with a cute quote in the corner of the mirror which you can see below. The packaging is apparently inspired by some art Gwen has in her house!

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The colours in the palette are what made it hardest for me to resist. It's full of mostly wearable colours and the prettiest nudes! Anaheim is one I was instantly drawn to, it's a perfect crease colour and would probably make a great brow colour too. It has a really great mixture of shimmer and matte shades and all of them have the quality you'd expect from UD, there is some fallout with some shades especially Danger but if I'm going all out with make up I tend to do my eye's pre foundation anyway as it makes clean up easier!


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Danger is another shadow that made me buy this palette! What an amazing shade of blue. I did a smokey eye using it for last weekend and it just looked amazing (even if I do say so myself ha!). I keep reaching for this at the moment and it's making me feel inspired to play with make up again. If I'm honest Harajuku probably won't get used but I need to play around more and see if I can find a way to use it. Lastly worthy of an honourable mention is Baby. When I swatched it in store it was love, such a pretty everyday shimmer with a hint of worth. It looks great as a lid shade especially with Anaheim through the crease.

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As a bonus with the palette you get a preview and sample of the lipsticks that will be released next year. How beautiful is that packaging going to be!!! I love all the four sample colours and will definitely be testing these out. I like that you get a to test out the different formulations of the lipsticks too. I'm intrigued by 714 as it's a mega matte! And let's face it, I have high expectations for the Red lipstick if it's been done in collaboration with Gwen Stefani.

It retails for £40 but the eyeshadow pans are a decent size and almost the same size as a Mac eyeshadow pan! This is one you won't regret.

Have you picked it up yet?

Love M

xxx


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