Wednesday 5 March 2014

February Favourites!

Hey Guys!

It's that time where I wonder where yet another month has gone. This year is going by really quickly already and before I know it, it will be Christmas again! This month took an unexpected turn right at the end when last week I was offered a job four hours away from where I live now. So this month is going to be a busy one for me as I'll be moving out of my parents house permanently, which I'm super looking forward to.

I got a few new things this month that I have been loving and as last month I will link to products where I can.

Make-up:

Revlon Colorstay Combination/Oily in Ivory. This is a rediscovery for me as I have used up several bottles of this in the past. I stopped using it as for some reason I was having trouble with it rubbing off of my nose as I was buffing it in. I use this with a sponge as it gives a really flawless finish. This is also one of only 2 foundations I've found that will hold up for the majority of the day without me getting shiny.

MAC Cosmetics RiRi Hearts MAC Hibiscus Kiss Blush/bronzer Duo (Limited edition). I wasn't using this as much after I had got my sleek contouring kit, but after getting a few things from the new MAC collection, this made a reappearance as I've decided that spring make up can start now! I like that this doesn't make my super pale skin look muddy or orange and can be built depending on how deep you want the colour to  be.

With the MAC bronzer I have loved combining it with the new MAC A Fantasy of Flowers mineralize skinfinish in Stereo Rose. This gives a gorgeous pinky-coral glowy finish which is perfect for spring and summer. It's also really pigmented which is great as it means it will last for a long time. Unfortunately this is limited edition and now sold out.

This month I purchased my first MAC pigment in the shade Golden Olive. I love green eyeshadow, bright in the summer for a pop of colour or blended over brown tones to give a subtle green tint. Green makes my eyes look really blue, which is also a bonus. You need so little of this pigment to get a strong colour, I'm going to be hanging onto this for a long time. 

Hair Care

This month I rediscovered my L'oreal Mythic Oil and remembered how much I loved it when I first got it in a GlossyBox. This is one of those products that instantly gives results and makes you wonder where it's been all of your life. I have wavy/curly hair so it's always really dry at the ends even though I rarely heat style it. This instantly makes my hair feel really soft and almost like I've just had it cut. I also use this by appyling a lot to the ends at night and letting it soak in to make my hair extra soft.

Random Favourite

This month I have been loving getting Graze boxes through the post. Graze boxes contain healthier snacks and as a massive snacker, this is right up my alley. I especially love the Graze brownie which is gluten and egg free, making it a brownie you can eat without feeling guilty afterwards. They have a massive range of snacks and you can rate the ones that you have received so that you can make sure you only get what you like.

What have been your favourites this month?

Hayley
xxx




Monday 17 February 2014

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm

Hey Guys!

The other week when I was in Plymouth, I had a cheeky stop in boots as I had run out of my Max Factor 3 in 1 foundation. Whilst I was in there I spotted the new matte version of the Revlon Kissable Lip Stains. I loved the original and have about five of them, so I was excited when I heard that they were bringing out a matte version as I love matte lip colours. 

I picked up two colours, Striking Spectaculaire (top) and Elusive Insaisissable (bottom) try saying that one quickly ha! I did use these before I had chance to photograph them, so excuse the slightly used look.


I love how these lipsticks are packaged as a jumbo pencil, it makes them super easy to apply on the go without fiddling about. This is especially helpful with the red shade as I always use a lip brush to apply red lipstick, but this one you can just draw on. The formula is creamy and moisturising, despite the matte finish. They also have the mint scent that the original formula has. My only complaint is that the matte packaging scratches slightly where you take the cap on/off, but this is only cosmetic and hardly a problem.



These are both day time and night time colours for me, but I especially love the more nude pink colour, it looks great for the summer. The red shade is more of an orange red, which also gives a nice pop of colour to any look without being too overbearing.

Overall, at £7.99 (and at boots cosmetics are basically always 3 for 2) these are great value as you get a lot of product for your money and the formula is really pigmented. I love these style of lip products and probably own far too many already, but can see myself buying a lot more of these.

Have you tried these? What did you think?

Hayley
xxx

Tuesday 11 February 2014

MAC Viva Glam Rihanna

Hey Guys!

When I got the email from MAC saying that the new Viva Glam lipstick had been released, I immediately got on to the MAC website and ordered mine. It arrived today and before I could try it out, I had to take pictures so that I could write this blog post. 

This is the second collaboration between Rihanna and MAC, the first being her rose gold packaged collection last year. As a massive fan of the RiRi Woo lipstick I got from that collection, I was excited to try her new lipstick shade. And as a red lipstick hoarder, I was keen to add this one to my collection.


I really like the packaging of this lipstick as its a slightly textured, soft feeling material. It really reminds me of the original Diesel perfume I had when I was a teenager. 


The colour itself is a deep blue-red, the kind I prefer to wear as it suits my pale skin tone more and the blue undertone makes your teeth look whiter, and who doesn't want that? 


The formula also has a very fine sparkle to it which isn't something I usually have in red lipsticks, preferring matte or flat colours. I like the look and feel of this on as it is moisturising and comfortable on the lips. This lipstick can be worn straight from the tube for a dramatic look or applied with a lip brush for a more subtle stain effect. It also has the classic MAC vanilla scent, which smells amazing whilst it's on your lips. With darker MAC lipsticks, I find that the staying power is very good which is a bonus if you aren't always able to reapply your lipstick during the day.

Hope you enjoyed this post, what do you think of the new Rihanna-MAC collaboration?

Hayley
xxx

Tuesday 4 February 2014

My January Favourites

Hey Guys!

So January ended a few days ago and the stream of January favourites appears on my YouTube subscription feed so I thought, why don't I do my favourites as well? Rather than either uploading or finding images of each product I thought I would link to where you can buy them instead. Hope you enjoy!

Make-up:

This month I did a bit of travelling to and from job interviews in both Shrewsbury and Norwich so I had to sort of, perfect what worked best for me out of what I have already with minimal use of space. 

I have particularly been loving Max factors 3 in 1 foundation, as it has high coverage and is the foundation that stays put best on my super oily skin. I like to apply it using a cosmetics sponge to stipple it into my skin as I feel this gives the most flawless finish possible. 

This is the month where I rediscovered my MAC studio finish concealer. This is definitely one of my all times favourites because it just melts into my skin with minimal effort and blending. It also has high coverage and can be used for both under eye circles and also blemishes.

Sleek products are difficult to find where I live so whenever I found a stand I stocked up on cult favourites of beauty bloggers everywhere. One of my favourite purchases has been the Sleek contour kit. I have a very round face so I'm always keen to try ways to make my face look a little more sculpted. This kit is very pigmented so you don't need to use a lot if like me, you're super pale. 

This month I picked up a full sized Benefit Watt's Up after loving the sample size I have so much. It is a cream product that you need the tiniest amount and will give you an amazing glow. It is definitely one of those products that you will never run out of!

My favourite lipsticks this month have probably been the Rimmel Apocalips in Nova and MAC's RiRi Woo (Limited edition but I think that its the same as MAC's Ruby Woo). I just love these colours as they have amazing staying power and are easy to apply.


Also a special mention for L'oreal's Skin Perfection BB cream which I will be doing a full review of very soon.

Random Favourites:

This month I have been obsessed with one food item: sweet and salty popcorn. I really cannot get enough of this stuff. I like to kid myself that it's kind of healthy but it's really not haha.

My clothing favourite for this month has definitely been my Zara leggings, I only have one pair and so I find myself wearing them, washing them immediately so I can continue to wear them. I did make the mistake of tumble drying them and so they have got a bit shorter than they were, but I still love to wear them. the wide elastic waistband makes them super flattering and comfy. A bit like how I imagine maternity trousers to be.

Hope you have enjoyed this post, let me know some of your favourites this month!

Hayley 
xxx

Friday 31 January 2014

Yves Saint Laurent Flower Crush Spring 2014 Collection: Rouge Volupte No.32 Jealous Coral

Hey guys!

So recently I made a bit of a splurge purchase. Usually my limit is MAC or Benefit, but I have been dying to try more high end products and as I live in Cornwall, a lot of high end brands are hard to find where you can actually try before you buy. I had also heard lots of good things about YSL and Chanel lipsticks, so when I didn't get a job I had gone for an interview for, I decided that I could justify making a big purchase. 


 I tend to go for brighter colours so I decided to go for a more nude shade as this is something I don't have a lot of. So I decided on this colour from the spring 2014 collection, this may not seem very nude to a lot of people, but my lips are already really pigmented naturally.
The formula of these lipsticks is really moisturising and feel really good on the lips. However, if you have any imperfections in your lips, this will really show them up. I always have dry lips and I have to really rub this in if I'm having a 'bad lip day'. The staying power is okay as well, not as good as some other lipsticks I have as I tend to opt for a matte lip. But this is one of those lipsticks that makes you look good when you put it on in public because the packaging is gorgeous. I love how the band across the middle shows what colour it is so you can tell just by looking at it. 


Overall at £24.50 I think that this lipstick is a good buy, particularly as I don't already have a colour like this. The packaging makes it a real handbag lipstick and I carry it with me everywhere now.

Have you tried any of the YSL lipsticks? What did you think?

Hayley
xxx

Sunday 26 January 2014

L'oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara review

Hey guys!

Sorry it's been such a long time since I last posted anything on my blog, but last year I was in my final year at uni and I was a little bit too busy to blog. This year I'm really looking forward to picking up my blog again and chatting with you guys!


Today I am going to do a review on L'oreal's latest mascara offering. I am a massive fan of their mascaras and some of my long standing favourites are by them. This mascara promises to give mega volume from top to bottom lashes. I usually don't struggle to find mascaras that make my long curly eyelashes look good, but this mascara seems to just clump them together into 'spider-lashes'. While that's a look some people like, I prefer soft voluminous eyelashes. 



The wand on this mascara is a conical spiral shape and I find that a lot of product collects between each spiral and I have to wipe it off before I even think of going near my eye. The wand is also one which bends, which for me makes really getting into the root of my lashes more difficult. The application is awkward with moments where your lashes look super clumpy. However, it does have great staying power as someone with oily eyelids, finding mascaras that won't print on my brow bone is important for me. 

As you can see here, this mascara does have a lot of impact, especially with length. However, a lot of this may be because I normally have invisible blonde eyelashes.

 This mascara isn't bad, but I just don't feel that
it's up to the usual standard of L'oreal mascaras and at £8.99RRP  I feel that there are drugstore mascaras that are way more worth the money.

Hayley
xxx

P.S. Here is a youtube video in which you can see the application of this mascara :)




Friday 18 May 2012

L'oreal Colour Infallible eyeshadow review!

 Hey guys!

Just a quick post on a range of eyeshadows I got a while ago and thought I'd do a mini review on them. These are the L'oreal colour infallible loose-ish eyeshadows. I only have three colours out of the 13 available on the boots website, but I'm sure I'll get some more when I go back to uni/civilisation. 


The three colours I have are Flashback Silver, Sahara Treasure and Permanent Khaki, I mainly use the gold and green ones.

Flashback Silver is a medium silver colour with purple undertones (that haven't come across in the picture -.-) I really like this colour, I just don't think silver is a very wearable day time colour. Permanent Khaki is a really lovely olive green colour that I'll use in a smoky eye or just all over the lid for a pop of colour. During the day I want to do my makeup as fast as possible and still get a polished look and because these shadows are metallic, they look darker in the crease as if you've spent a lot more time doing your eyeshadow than you really have. Sahara Treasure is a really nice gold colour which is great for everyday and isn't too yellow so is still subtle. 



I really like the formula of these eyeshadows as they're semi-pressed pigments, they come with a stopper in the lid. The formula is really smooth as well and they're nice to rub your finger in (a bit weird). I also found that they don't crease easily and as someone with oily skin, this is a major plus because I don't need to use primer like I would with normal eyeshadows. 

Overall I like these eyeshadows and will probably be buying most of them when I get the chance!

Thanks for reading
Hayley x