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

Makebelieve Enhance Sunbeam Bronzer and Brush!

Hey All

Happy Tuesday! It's definitely the worse day of the week for me and always the one that drags! I'm hoping to get another gym session in tonight to hopefully distract me!

Anyway onto today's review. Apologies for the messy packaging but at least you can see it's well loved. Lately I've been trying to shop my stash and found this gem from the Bristol Bloggers meet around a year ago. We had such amazing goodie bags I've been working my way through them.

Makebelieve isn't a brand I've tried much off but after getting my hands on this and falling in love when I eventually tried it I think I need to get my hands on the fake tan!

A matte bronzer is a daily must have for me. My cheeks get contoured everyday. Anyone who has read the blog for a while may know I'm a huge fan of the Liz Earle bronzer and that bad boy didn't leave my face for well over a year!! Since trying this one it's been replaced!

The packaging I don't love as it is cardboard and gets really messy and covered in my mucky finger prints. But saying that it has held together well. First impressive thing the the amazing kabuki brush it comes with. Usually brushes that come with products aren't that great! This bad boy is so soft. I can't believe I left it untouched for so long! It's also the perfect size to fill in my cheek bones.

The bronzer itself has great pigmentation and not much is needed. As you can see from the picture after about 3 months use it still has the embossed mark visible.

A good matte bronzer isn't the easiest to find. It has to be non orange, non muddy looking and non shimmer. In the pan I thought this would be slightly too orange for my pale skin but after trying it I was totally hooked and it's become an everyday staple for me.

Natural skin

With bronzer applied under the cheek bones.

I love using this to add shape to my face! I really like the colour it comes out on my skin. It adds a natural colour and really lasts well. I like to flatten the kabuki brush so it fits perfectly into my cheek bones. I then use it as is to sweep colour around my temples to give me a glow!

I'm totally converted from my Liz Earle and I hadn't expected that. This is a great quality product with an amazing brush. It's perfect for make up application in a hurry as the brush is always there.

Love M

xxx

Revlon Mauve it Over Matte Lipstick

Hope you've all had a great bank holiday weekend! L and I have had a great one and were suffering yesterday so forgot to write a post.

Today is my newest lipstick to add to my now ridiculously large collection *cough* over 50 *cough*. In boots a few weeks ago they had some of the Revlon line on 2 for £10 including the new lash potion mascara which retails for £9.99. As I hadn't tried it before I decided to pick up a new lipstick as well.  

I've been wanting a more matte nude lipstick for a while. I love my Mac Fanfare lipstick (review here) but sometimes find it is too shiny for some looks. I remember seeing good things about the Revlon matte range on YouTube so decided to give it a go.

After swatching all the matte shades in Boots I settled on Mauve it over. It looked like a great neutral lipstick and felt soft on the hand.

The packaging is simple and classic in black and gold but what I really like it that the top of the lid is see through so you can easily tell the colour. This works great for me for the way I store my lipsticks.

On the hand the lipstick looks slightly more orange toned than it does on the lips. I find it to be very similar to my natural lip shade. It is a almost rose toned lipstick.

Even though it has yellow tones I don't find it makes my teeth look yellow which is always a good thing. I find blue toned neutral shades just look strange on my skin tone. I love the way the lipstick applies. It glides onto the lips and is opaque in one swipe. I find it doesn't really dry my lips out either which is always a bonus.

I love how natural the colour is and find this so easy to wear for everyday and going out. I wore it when I was a bridesmaid a few weeks ago. I love it for a night out as I find it just completes the look without taking anything away from a dramatic eye look. This lipstick has stayed in my handbag since I got it as I find it just easy to wear.

I'm loving this formulation and now want more of the shades.

It's still on offer for 2 for £10 in boots so technically free if you want to try the new Lash Potion. A great choice if you want a new everyday lip colour.

Love M

xxx

FOTD - Step by Step Make Up

After seeing a FOTD on Palindrome Poppet's blog I liked that she did it step by step and showed the before and after photos. I decided to do something similar on my go to comfort everyday look. For me this is what I do when I can't be bothered with my make up and it takes me about 15 minutes to do.

This is the first photo I've put on the blog completely make up free. Please ignore my hair I hadn't done that yet either and it's fading unevenly.

What a difference a bit of make up makes!

On my face I used 

• Sleek blush by 3 in lace. I used the red shade
• Benefit Erase paste in Shade 1
• Miss Sport bronzer (I've lost my favourite No7 blush in honey)
• Mac Studio Fix Fluid in shade NW15
• Revlon PhotoReady powder in translucent.

I really love the finish of Studio Fix. It really evens out my skin tone, covers and imperfections and leaves a natural semi matte finish to the skin. This definitely beats my old love of Prolong wear.

On my eyes I used

• From Naked 2 Palette: Bootycall and Tease
• Maybelline Gel Liner
• Avon Super Magnify
• Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes
• Eylure Shape and Shade brow pencil

Firstly I apply my Erase paste reviewed yesterday to under the eye and over my lid as an eyeshadow base. I apply bootycall all over my lid and then blend tease into the crease. I really love tease. It's the perfect crease colour and looks amazing blended out.

For this look I always used gel liner. I love gel liner and wear it most days. I find it much easier to work with than any other type. I find the maybelline last extremely well all day. I start of with a thin line and blend it towards the outer corner of my eye. With this look I don't wear anything on my bottome lases. Just a bit of bootycall blended into the tear duct.

Next is lashings of mascara. I apply the Avon one first to separate my lashes, then my Lancome one on top to define and volumize.

I use the Eylure pencil to fill in my brows and give them some shape. I'm still learning and have now bought Brow Zings which I'm hoping will make me better at my brows.

For blush I apply a bit of bronzer to the hollows of my cheeks to make it look like I have cheek bones. Then I apply a small amount of the red from my sleek palette to the apples of my cheeks. This blush is so pigmented I have to use a light hand.

These are my go to brushes. The Avon one is what I use for Gel Liner and is the best of the best for gel liners. The accessorize brush was a brush my mum gave me from a set. I use it to put shimmer into my tear ducts. Then My Real Techniques Stippling Brush. The next brush is actually a lip brush I recently picked up in M&S for 25p it's great for blending out the crease (which I use the brush from my Naked 2 palette to apply). Then the jolie box conealor brush. I like to blend my Erase paste in with this. FCUK blush brush. This is the softest brush ever. The Mac 168 I use to contour. It's amazing and lastly is an avon fluffy brush I use to apply bootycall.

And last but not least my No7 lip liner in plum and Mac lipstick in Plumful. I love this shade. It's a perfect pink colour. Followed by a gently powder with my Revlon PhotoReady.

And that's my go to make up. Seems a lot when I describe it.

What do you think of step by step FOTDs? Do you prefer them like this or is it too photo heavy for you?

Love M

xxx

Review: Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Coral Reef

Revlon have a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan base, including myself and M.

Both of us have been going mad for their products recently including Colorstay, nail polishes, lip butters and general love for the PhotoReady range.

I picked this up a fair few weeks ago now and have been meaning to write about it but the photos I kept taking were useless!

So finally I have something fairly decent that shows the product on my skin with true colours.

I love monochrome and I love simple shapes and designs.

This means I obviously love the packaging for this and that it comes in a box, it is wasteful as it's going straight in the bin to be honest (a recycling one!) but it makes it feel more expensive.

This cream blush is really easy to use.

I personally use the expert face brush from Real Techniques to apply this as its the perfect size and shape to pick up the product and apply it to the cheeks and particularly the hollows.

Eeee I do love how simple and amazing it looks.

It's faired pretty well in my gym bag too considering it gets carried around all day. It has never opened up by accident and the product sits at the bottom unaffected by any heat from car heaters etc.

I wish it still looked as perfect as this though:

This product is so easy to swirl onto a brush and straight onto your skin.

It blends with minimal effort and you need such a small amount that you will not need a new one for a long time!

You can see below pictures with a small amount and then the second with more:

It's really natural and can be worn all day every day, and out for an evening look.

After buying Cha Cha Tint in the summer I would say that the colours are comparable, with the Revlon being slightly easier to use with it being in a pot and not being runny.

However both have their place as I think Cha Cha Tint does last longer.

The only problem I've had with the Revlon Cream blush is bits of fluff from seemingly nowhere always finding their way into the product. This is easily rectified by wiping the surface with a tissue and it removes minimal product but it isn't great to see it all on the surface!

I would certainly buy this cream blush in another colour and have been eyeing up the pink!

It's currently on 3 for 2 in Boots which is asking for it really....

What do you think of the Cream blushes? Have you tried them out?

L xxx

Review: Collection Fix Me Up Spray

I was so excited when I opened a She Said Beauty box a few months back and found this little delight in there. Being an Oily/combination skin type a Make up Setting spray has been something that has interested me (and L who was equally eager to try it) for a while. I can't wear foundation without a bit of powder to set it or I'd just look like a shiny mess, but I've never been a fan of the powdered look. So a spray that reduces that was something I'd been meaning to try for a while.

There are so many of these type products around including the ever famous in blogsphere Caudalie Beauty Elixir and the Urban Decay up all night. For me it was just nothing I thought to spend my money on. Other more pretty make up appealed to me. Both these products have rave reviews and I will probably end up purchasing them at some point to compare. Especially as a quick google has bought up some reasonable prices for the Caudalie Beauty Elixir. Escentual have the 30ml bottle for only £9.99 (here). Note to self order that soon!!

The Collection Spray comes in at £5.99 for 18ml which when compared with other sprays seems cheap but is in fact more expensive than the Urban Decay ones which are currently on offer in boots for £16.15 for 118ml. Even when not on offer they are still cheaper than collection ones at £19.00 for 118ml. Urban Decay also do 3 different types for different skin types.

The packaging is a simple black bottle with a black sticker and pink writing. I like the combination of black and pink together and the fact it's plastic means I don't have to worry about throwing my bag around. I'm not the most careful of people. The lid to protect the spray pump stays on securely until you lose it in the pit of lost lids (you know the same one that swallows socks) I lose the lids to all things cosmetics annoyingly.

Ignoring the price of the spray how did I find it. I like the spray and have bought a second bottle since receiving it in my box (prior to comparing prices of others). It says to use three sprays but I usually use four. I absolutely love this product some days. But other days I find you can see where is has been sprayed on my skin and leaves marks in my foundation. It has a fine ish spray to it but I think it could be finer to help leave a more even finish.

The days I've loved it (I switch up my foundation a lot so I think it probably just doesn't agree with some of them) it has removed the powder look. I don't think it makes my make up last better but it definitely gives it a better finish. More smooth and fresh looking. This product is quite scented. It does dry pretty quickly so you don't end up with a wet face.

The big question would I repurchase. Probably to just chuck in my bag and for nights out it's size makes it good, but for a use everyday product I think there is better I just need to test them out and find it. I'd like one that's better value and with a finer mist. I kind of feel like this is one of those products I've made myself think is perfect but I'm not sure it really does too much.

Do you use setting sprays? What are your thoughts on them? Any recommendations on ones to try?

Love M

xxx

Like M I'd never tried a setting spray before this one came along.

I heard it had come in the Beauty Box so was intrigued when M said it was pretty good and so I picked it up on a 3 for 2 deal from Superdrug a little while ago and road tested it when we went out for Halloween.

It has since become an everyday part of my make up routine as I find that it leaves my make up looking dewy and has helped with the lasting power.

I do agree though that when you compare costs with other more widely known setting sprays the difference is minimal and I would be so interested to see how they compare.

I found that the Collection one was a little bit 'dribbly' for want of a better word, it could do with being finer as sometimes I did end up with droplets on my face. They weren't big enough to make my make up run or anything, but a mist would be far better!

This is great for a first try of a setting spray and perfect for throwing in your handbag for touch ups at work as the bottle is handbag sized.

I will be picking up the Urban Decay one though for comparison purposes!

What are your thoughts on setting sprays?

L xxx

Everyday Eye Make using MUA Heaven and Earth Palette

I'm not lucky enough to have the naked palette, I love it and regularly admire it from afar. I think I will purchase the original one soon but for me at the moment my MUA palette is brilliant. I saw this in Superdrug and wanted a neutral palette and thought for the price I might as well try it not expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. It's £4 for 12 shades which is an amazing price. The eyeshadows have a brilliant pigment and a really nice texture to them with barely any fallout. Sounds almost perfect right?

My favourite shade is number and since taking this photo I have hit pan on it. Does any one know if you can get these shades individually?

I tend to use 4 and 9 for most looks as a base coat and use 2 and 8 in the crease of my eye. Depending on how strong a look I'm doing I'll use 5, 10 or 12 for definition. 

I decided not to do swatches as I'm sure most of you have seen them though I will add them if people would like to see them. I want to try and use 3 and 6 more, I'm not really much of a gold person so these haven't really been touched.

1 is a brilliant highlighter for the inner corner of your eye or under the brow bone. All the colours blend seamlessly into each other.

Onto the looks

My go to look

This is how I do my make up most days when I want something simple. I use 4 as a base coat, then blend a mixture of 2 and 8 into my crease and add 12 to the outer corner of my eye to give my eye shape. I like this as it gives my eyes a bit of emphasis but looks pretty natural still.

The black eyeliner look

I like using a slick of black eyeliner, my personal favourite is the Maybelline gel eyeliner. I like how it shapes the eye and think the little flick gives make up a more 'done up' appearance. For this I used 9 as my base shade and blended in some of 8 to my crease, even if it's only a little I always apply a bit of shadow to my crease as I think it really shapes my eyes.

A darker smokey eye

This look is a little darker but I still think it's not too much for day. For this I applied 10 all over the lid and used 12 in the outer corner and into the crease to add shape and definition to the eye. For this look I also applied eyeshadow under my lower lash line.

I love having a nude go to palette and this one is amazing, I'd definitely pay more for this I think it's really good quality and a good selection of colours that can be used for day and night.

Do you have this palette? What do you think of these looks? What's your go to palette?

Love M 

xxx