Beauty UK - Baked Blush blushers

I spent the past weekend in London for a friends birthday (we went to see The Bodyguard at the Adelphi Theatre - what an amazing play!!! A definite must see) and you can't go to London without having a browse around the shops. As well as the ridiculous amount of clothes now added to my wardrobe (my credit card has taken a serious hit) I picked up these two blushers from Beauty UK. 

The first shade I picked up was the gorgeous pink shade no.2 Rose Rouge. It is a very warm, subtle pink that gives a really nice blush to the apples of your cheeks. I have been looking for a pink/red blush for a while that I could get along with, as I find most have next to no pigmentation or are at the other end of the scale making you look like a doll with the tiniest amount applied. I find this one applies really well to the face and has just the right colour pay off. It is also the perfect colour for my skin tone.

The other I picked up was no.3 Halo. This is the PERFECT powder highlighter, giving the most flattering shimmer to your brow arches and along the top of your cheek bones. I wore this to go out Saturday night just to highlight my brow arch and I'd happily say it looked better than when I use Benefit's High Beam. That's not easy for me to say because I love High Beam, but it really was good and credit where credit is due.

These come in good quantity compacts, complete with little mirrors. They remind me slightly of the Bourjois blushers as they are similar in colour and composition what with the dome shape, but come in a lot larger amount for a cheaper price. I would definitely recommend these!!

Have you tried any of the Beauty UK blushers? I'm loving more of their products every time I go to their stall in Superdrug! And for the amazingly cheap prices I think they are just brilliant. Ok, I probably wouldn't buy their eye shadow palettes as I think they look a bit cheap and tacky, but that's a void that the new Make-up Revolution eye palettes easily fill.

Beauty UK Baked Blush blushers are available here for £3.99, currently also on 3 for 2

April favourites

I know it's probably a bit late to be writing my April favourites now that its the 7th May, but I have been planning this blog post for a couple of days now. I always find it really difficult to limit my favourites to only a few items! So here are those carefully selected for April:

Barry M Textured Nail Paint in shade TNP 5 Princess 333 - I go through phases with Barry M of either loving there products or finding them a bit disappointing. This nail polish though is Barry M at its finest. This is a gorgeous glittered light pink shade and is so easy to apply, especially for a textured polish. It dries evenly, but you do need to use a topcoat to avoid that rough, sandpaper like feeling you get with textured/ glittered varnishes. I really do love this colour though and have worn it a few times for evenings out as it really is like dressing up your nails.

Benefit the POREfessional Agent Zero Shine - As you may have read in earlier posts of mine, my skin is very oily and looks very shiny very quickly, regardless of whether I have put a base on before my make-up or not. But this works wonders combatting the shine! It's a mattifying powder that does really work to give a more matte look to my face. I keep this in my make-up bag and use for touch ups during the day, which means that it having a built in brush is brilliant! It's a translucent powder so can be used for all skin tones and it doesn't cling to dry patches like with some face powders. Being from Benefit it is a bit pricey, but well worth every penny.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum - This was actually a gift from my aunt that got pushed to the back of my perfume collection (I do have a pretty epic perfume collection) and forgotten about until recently. I was wanting to wear a different perfume as I seem to always wear the same 3 or 4 regularly, so I picked this one up and have been wearing it a lot since. It is a beautiful smell and has great longevity so you really don't need a lot to last you all day. I'd say it is a great summer scent and I will definitely continue to wear this a lot.

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in shade 240 Striking Spectaculaire - Not only do I love a good bright red lip but I also love a good matte lip, so I definitely struck gold with this lip crayon. It is so easy to apply accurately to the lip and goes on so smoothly and feels so hydrating, not like you would expect from a matte lip product at all. This shade is a gorgeous bright red that I love to wear out in the evenings, although I do have some more neutral shades in these Revlon crayons as they just feel so great on the lip. The fresh minty-ness of it is an added little bonus as well - lovely!

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in shade Busy Signal - I got given this by a friend AGES ago as she didn't think the colour suit her (she is blond with a very fair complexion and this just looked to dark against her pale skintone). Again this was a product that I had just chucked in with my other make-up and not really given a second thought to. I rediscovered it when sorting through my make-up a few weeks ago though and have been wearing it to work a lot since. I prefer to use it as an eyeliner as it isn't too obvious and a perfect shimmery brown shade that compliments my eyes and skintone, but I have also used it as a shadow too recently (after trying the shadow sticks here, before getting them I always thought anything other than powder eyeshadow would feel cakey on my lids) and it gives a great colour without feeling in anyway heavy on the lid.

So those are the products I have been loving in April. It is mainly just make-up products but I haven't found any other products that I have really fallen in love with recently. Are you a fan of any of my recent favourites? Maybe you have these yourselves? All comments are very welcome :)

Battle of the Primers!

Up until recently I have never bothered with using primers as part of my make-up routine, but then I picked up this Rimmel Stay Matte Primer as it was 3 for 2 on Rimmel (and I really didn't need anymore lipstick!). I used it a couple of times on and off and then I received this RMK Primer in one of my monthly subscription beauty boxes. Since getting these though, I have started using a primer every day. So I think its got to that time to start comparing them now!

First up, this primer from RMK. I was a bit slow trying this out when I first received it, thinking it wouldn't be something I was overly bothered by and then was quite disappointed when I poured some out and found it had a really thin consistency. I thought it would not stand a chance against my overly oily skin! But actually I was really impressed with just how well it held my make-up. I noticed a significant difference in the amount of time my make-up held and I looked oil-free. I have fallen in love with this primer and use it a lot.

This Rimmel offering is of a lot thicker consistency which I liked before trying the thinner RMK one. It's quite easy to apply in that you just rub it all over your face and leave it for a minute to really set. Since using the RMK primer though, I've found I don't get on so well with the thicker texture. I just feel it doesn't absorb as nicely in to the skin. It's still quite a good primer and I do notice a slight difference in the longevity of my make-up when I have used it compared to when I haven't used a primer but for me personally it just doesn't hold a candle to the RMK offering.

Therefore, my clear winner is RMK's Primer. It has just won hands down with consistency and how it works on my skin. It really is the better of the two, sorry Rimmel!! But for the price difference you would expect RMK's to dominate Rimmel's, if you are on a budget the Rimmel Primer really is quite good.

Have you tried any of these primers? What primer is your personal favourite? All comments are very much appreciated!

RMK primer is available here for £28 for 30ml
Rimmel Stay Matte Primer is available here for £5.99 for 30ml

Collection Eye Shadow Pencils

Recently I was doing my usual browsing around the make-up stands in Superdrug and came across these eye shadow crayons from Collection. I have never tried anything other than powders for eye shadow, and these seemed quite easy colours to work with, so I thought I would get a couple and see what they were like to use. I decided to buy shades Gunmetal Glitz 2 - a shimmery light metal grey, Vintage Blush 3 - a shimmery pale pink nude and Midnight Glam 5 which is a shimmery black (notice all the shimmer!). They are absolutely beautiful colours that caught my eye on the shelf.

These were actually so easy to apply that I can't believe I have never tried eye shadow pencils before. I usually use the Vintage blush as a base colour and then either of the other 2 for the crease and it was so easy to achieve this look with just them, no brushes required. I did use a blending sponge to just blend the colours slightly more so that they melted in to each other, but that was it.

They were very creamy and  so smooth on the skin. Once applied you couldn't feel them sitting on your eyelid either, which is what put me off buying anything like this in the past (I hate any make-up that leaves a cakey feeling on my face and this is really what I had expected from these). The only thing that I didn't like about these is that the Vintage Blush shade didn't look overly smooth on the eyelid once applied, it became quite flakey which doesn't look too good. It isn't very noticeable unless you look properly but I wasn't a fan. I didn't seem to have this problem with the other shades though, but I guess this is because I only used them on the crease which is a smaller area and so less noticeable.

All-in-all I quite liked these crayons. I'm not sure if I'll be running off anytime soon to buy more but I quite like using these from time to time.

Have you purchased any of these eye shadow crayons? What were your thoughts on them? All comments are very welcome!

All Collection Eye Shadow Pencils are available here for £3.19 or from Boots which is currently 3 for 2!

Seventeen - Supreme Shine Lipstick

I think in my last post on Seventeen lipsticks (here) I was pretty unimpressed by the brand from Boots. I am now eating my words though, as my new favourite nude lipstick is from this very brand! It is one of their Supreme Shine Lipsticks in shade Bella and I love it.

Shade Bella is a brown nude and has a gorgeous shimmery sheen to it. The pigmentation is great (much better than from the Mirror Shine Lipsticks from this brand) and really shows up brilliantly on the lips. It is quite durable for a low cost brand as well, it lasted at least 2-3 hours on my lips before having to do any touch ups. It applies so smoothly to the lips and doesn't cling to dry patches, so is really good for all lips. Lastly, it feels quite moisturising on the lips as well. Just a perfect lipstick!

Supreme Shine Lipstick comes in a mirrored tube and is quite chunky but in a good way. There is a choice of 13 shades, ranging from deep reds to light nudes but I would definitely recommend Bella, I'm also tempted to get All About the Sass - a dark, wine red shade. Lush!

Seventeen Supreme Shine Lipsticks are available here on in Boots Stores for £4.99 each

Urban Decay Dupe - Next

I have been keeping my eye out for dupes again this weekend, and it seems that Next has come up a winner again! I found this eye shadow palette in Next and it is a perfect dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palette (the first one) - and is only £7!!!. It is from the brand W7 and is called In the Buff Natural Nudes.

This palette, like the Urban Decay palette, is comprised of both matte and shimmer shades but mainly shimmer. It also includes a double-ended applicator, in much the same way as the Urban Decay version.

The pigmentation is actually really brilliant, I wasn't expecting great things from such a small price tag but I was very impressed. The shimmers show up much better than the mattes on the skin, the first colour on the left of the palette does not show at all on my skin but apart from that all the others are great. I'm also not majorly impressed by the applicator brush but I prefer to use my own brushes anyway.

The eyeshadows themselves are easy to apply, blend and build up to create whatever style you're after. The texture is nice and soft mainly, one of the matte's feels slightly on the chalky side but I find a lot of matte shadows are similar. There is slight fall out but nothing too extreme, nothing a face wipe couldn't fix!

All-in-all, I am very glad I found this palette as I have been lusting after the Urban Decay Naked Palette for a while. Now I have one that's incredibly similar for a mere fraction of the price. It seems like Next are the place to go for dupes at the moment, I also bought myself a big bottle of Sparkle!!

Have you tried any of the make-up from Next? Are there any dupes from there that you like to use? All comments are more than welcome!

My Pay Day WIshlist

Pay Day may still be just over a week away, but I am a girl who likes to be prepared! Therefore I have begun to put together my wishlist of what to splurge my money on. It consists of a mix of high end and high street items but all I have been lusting after for a while. Here are just a few, unfortunately the list has grown out of control so I'm unable to share them all!

Firstly, it's an item from MAC

I love MAC lipsticks, they are always of a brilliant quality and are so durable. I don't own many as they are slightly out of my price range to buy often, but as a little treat to myself they are very nice. I have had my eye on shade New York Apple for ages now and so I think I am going to have to treat myself to it. Looking on their website today they are showing as currently being out of stock, I hope this isn't for long!

Makeup Revolution

Literally every eye palette from this new brand! I have read such great reviews on this brand, with all eyeshadows having great pigmentation and longevity and I just love all the eye palettes that I have seen from them. Even better, they are super affordable!! The eye palettes like the ones shown above are only £4 each, £4!!! That's an amazing price! This whole brand is worth looking at though when it comes to good quality makeup for an incredibly low price as their lipsticks start from only £1. This brand is currently only available from Superdrug online but they are definitely worth having a look at.

Real Techniques

All my brushes are starting to get a bit old now so I am looking to get some new, good quality ones. I keep reading such amazing reviews about Real Techniques recently and so I really want to have some of my own. Pictured is the core collection and I think this would be great as a starting point for a new brush set. It includes a detailer brush for applying concealer, a pointed foundation brush for liquid foundation, a buffing brush for powder or mineral foundation and a contour brush. This is available for £20.99 from FeelUnique and there is no doubt that I will be owning this in the very near future!

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet

I have read review after review about these new lip colours from Bourjois and I am yet to read any that paint them in a bad light. They look so incredible on the lip and dry to a perfect matte finish, which is my favourite lip look at the moment. My must-have of the collection is 06 Pink Pong, which is the one shown on the far right of the picture. It is such a bright, vivid pink and I think it will look perfect now the weather is hotting up (finally).

So there's just a few from my current wishlist, hopefully I shall be the proud owner of these in the very near future! Are any of them also in your wishlist? If not, what beauty products are you lusting after right now?

The Wedding Comedown!

Last Thursday was the long-awaited wedding, so I apologise for having let my blog fall slightly to the sidelines but it has been a manic few days! I'm now finally back home and in to my normal routine, so it's all back to normal on the blog front.

I know I don't really write lifestyle pieces but it ties in with a lot of my recent posts about make-up trials and skin care regimes that I have been helping some of my family with on the build up to the big day. Well it all turned out perfect on the day; mum was really happy with how soft and fresh her face felt all day, not feeling tight or tired at all. My aunt's make-up looked perfect on her, and she used all Boots 17 range products (she bought a shimmer block from their counter for highlighting her cheekbones, it was great and I'll have to get myself one now!). I did also have to stay up until stupid o'clock the night before to do my mum's nails (with waterfall nail art, as previously mentioned here) my nan's nails and then try and get myself in order.

So here's just a quick couple of photos from the day, the hairdresser managed to 'conceal' where I was growing out my undercut and make even my rubbish hair look good! The boyfriend managed to scrub up nice as usual as well! It was a gorgeous wedding, everyone looked amazing and the venue was incredible. A great time was had by all!