Makeup

Current Concealers

- Vicki 5 Comments

I suffer from terrible dark under eye circles that have been kindly passed down to me by my mother (thanks for those) and I’m also at that age where I have fine (some not so fine) lines under my eyes so finding a concealer that doesn’t crease too much has been a bit of a mission. I also use concealer to cover some redness around my nose & on one of my cheeks. I thought I would share with you a few concealers from my collection that I’ve been reaching for on a regular basis.

Concealer Favourites

Garnier Eye Roll – On Anti Dark Circles – This concealer has a  roller ball applicator and it feels so cooling on the skin. I wasn’t sure if I liked this at first but I have grown to really like it & now use it daily. Its crazy to think this has lasted me over a year & like I said I use it daily. The product is quite a runny consistency so you can use just a small amount of product & even though it is runny it has a great colour pay off & it covers my redness & blemishes. I do sometimes use this under my eyes too just to counteract the blue under my eyes & even out my skin tone.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles – I only have love for this product, it brightens my under eye like no other & makes me look awake. I use this either on its own or for the days I use the Garnier Roll-On under my eye I will go over the inner corners with this just to brighten them slightly. I do need to really hydrate that area first as this can dry almost to a powder finish on me & that just sits in my fine lines.

I didn’t think the sponge applicator was going to work well for me at first but it is a good way of not applying too much product. I tend to dab the sponge where I need the product then I go in with a tapered brush to even out the coverage and make sure its sitting right on my skin. It’s great at illuminating & covering darkness, I always travel with this, its so handy to have in your makeup bag.

Bobbi Brown Concealer Kit

I have a love hate relationship with this Bobbi Brown Concealer Kit, as the Creamy Concealer part hates me with a passion & I can’t get it to work on my under eye area at all. It creases so badly and after a couple of hours it looks oily on me so I’m sad to say that side of the kit is left unloved. The powder however I’ve rediscovered in a bid to get my money’s worth from at least half of this duo. The pressed powder is in the shade pale yellow and I have been using it along with my Bobbi Brown brush to set my under eye concealer and its been doing a great job. It is a finely milled sheer powder that helps set the concealer & absorbs the oil throughout the day. I wish I’d bought the powder by itself but you live & learn. I do like the packaging of this & the handy little mirror for touchups on the go. When it eventually runs out (it seems like its lasting forever) I will buy only the powder.

Concealer swatches

Bottom – Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Top – Garnier Eye Roll-On

What concealers are you using at the moment? Also if you have any tips for getting the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer to work I’d love to know. Seems such a shame to waste it.

April 2014 Favourites

- Vicki 13 Comments
Muji storage drawers

Acrylic MUJI Drawers Storage

My first favourite has to be my MUJI Storage. Yes, I know its overdone & everyone has it but I love it & I’m happy with the two pieces I bought. I went to the MUJI concession in Selfridges at The Trafford Centre & it took me ages to decide what to get, I still haven’t organised my makeup in them yet but I am working up to it. I have the 2 Drawer Narrow & Wide 5 Drawer 

My favourite makeup and skincare from April 2014

Garnier Micellar Solution – I have been using this for a couple of months now & I’ve not even used half the bottle which is great. You get a whopping 400ml and it seems like it will last a really long time. I managed to buy mine from a shop called Savers for £2.99 so stock up if you have one where you live. I like to use this to take off my eye makeup & then I sweep the cotton pad all over my face to remove a little more of my base before cleansing with my DHC Oil Cleanser or my Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm and that seems to keep my skin really clean and blemish free. I bought a bottle for my mum too and she called me to let me know how much she has been enjoying using it so we both give it the thumbs up.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL Anti Shine SPF50* – I’m in love with this facial SPF, I don’t want to say too much because I have a full review coming up on the blog this week. So all I will say is this is the only facial SPF I will be using from this day forward.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara – This mascara is very black and coats each individual lash to make them look so thick & intense. Its a really long wearing mascara with no fall down throughout the day. So no Panda eyes here. I have repurchased this a couple of times now & that is unusual for me as I hardly ever repurchase makeup. Its a seriously great mascara if you have short, sparse lashes.

L’Oreal True Match Foundation in the shade Vanilla – I only bought this at the beginning of March and it is the first ever L’Oreal Foundation I’ve tried, I think I have a shade slightly too dark but I am hoping that will suit me a little better as we get into the warmer months. This is a light to medium coverage, you can still see all my (hundreds) of freckles which I like. It looks natural and wears really well, it doesn’t oxidise on me and my oily skin seems to only start looking shiny after about 6 hours wear & then I lightly dust some powder on. 21

Soap & Glory Solar Powder – This is a purchase totally influenced by the gorgeous Amy from SRSLYLOU. I have been wearing this religiously for a couple of months & all of my other bronzers are crying neglected in the drawer. This is a two-toned bronzer, I like to swirl my brush around both shades, sweep it across my forehead & down on to my cheeks that adds a little colour & glow to my very pale skin. The lighter shade has a little sheen to it & the slightly darker brown is matte. So that’s handy having 2 shades. I think this bronzer gives me a sun-kissed glow & a touch of natural colour.

REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask* sample size – What a mask this is, I won this in the lovely CatherineLoves giveaway & have been savouring each use. It is quite a sticky formula & it smells so good, I apply a small amount to my face and smooth it over my skin & try to relax (generally watching YouTube videos in the bath) for about 20 minutes before taking it off with a warm flannel to reveal soft, smooth refreshed looking skin. This is a gentle but effective exfoliator which has been working wonders. Now I need to purchase the full size of this mask. Hello smooth, bright skin!

Let me know what products you have been loving or if you have tried anything from my lineup.

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.

Urban Decay Eyeliners – A Wardrobe For Your Eyes

- Vicki 9 Comments
Urban decay liners2

Urban Decay Eyeliners

I’m that person who loves to wear eyeliner & looking over my stash of liners (mostly liquid) they’re 90% black. I don’t feel like myself without a winged liner. I have been wearing eyeliner since I was 15 so that’s 21 years now (cries) I’m obsessed with looking for the perfect liner & I was excited to learn that Urban Decay released some new liners into their range, and I’ve been enjoying them all. I reviewed the Cream Liner here if you’d like to read that. Urban Decay has dubbed this latest release ‘A Wardrobe For Your Eyes‘ which I like, as we like to switch it up and wear certain liners to create specific looks. A girl needs options, right?! Here are my thoughts on their latest releases.

Urban Decay Black Eyeliners

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes Waterproof Precision Eye Pen in Perversion

This is Urban Decay’s felt pen liner has a fancy 360-degree nib which makes applying eyeliner so much easier. This user-friendly ultra fine nib means that even eyeliner novices are able to apply their eyeliner with ease. It allows you to move the nib in any direction without dragging or pulling at the skin, it also means your eyeliner is much neater and looks fab.

This Ink For Eyes is super black and dries to a glossy/shiny finish that won’t budge. Take it from me a girl with oily eyelids once this liner has dried its there until the bitter end. I like how this fine tipped liner is able to create the finest of fine cat flicks to the most dramatic bold lines. It allows you precision and the bold intense Perversion Black colour does not fade throughout the day. If you’re like wearing liquid liner you must give this a go, you won’t regret it.

24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil / All Nighter Eyeliner / Ink For Eyes

24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil in Black Velvet

This is Urban Decays more Velvet version of their popular 24/7 pencils. This new formula is a little more powdery and dries to a matte velvet finish. It is still intense in colour even when blended out to create the perfect smoky eye. It’s quite hard to create a precise line with this pencil but if you’re a Smoky Eye fan then you will love the ease at which this applies and needs little work to create that sultry smoky look. It’s soft in texture and you have just enough time to blend it, once blended this 24/7 Velvet liner is there until you decide to take it off. It’s waterproof and very long wearing. So I would say this is the ultimate pencil for creating a soft smoky eye.

This pencil is paraben free and contains Jojoba Oil so it is moisturising & won’t dry out your eyes.

Urban Decay Perversion Eyeliners

Urban Decay All Nighter Eyeliner in Perversion*

Now, this is seriously intense in colour, I wish I could say that I’m hip enough to have tested this after an all-night party but sadly not. I have however worn it for some long days & have to say this stays put like no other liner. It is bold, and intense in colour & once on the eye, it won’t budge. This is a twist up liner which I like as I always lose my sharpener (OK I’m just lazy), but the packaging is slick and the twist up pencil makes it always to ready to use.

This eyeliner is waterproof and contains moisturising Vitamin E & is also Vegan

Do you like to wear eyeliner? Let me know what your favourite Black liner is & I’d love to know your Urban Decay recommendations too.

Products that are marked with a * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However, if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.

Most Used Brushes

- Vicki 6 Comments

I don’t have a huge collection of brushes but since blogging I’ve bought more than ever before. I’m happy with the ones I do own and I thought I would share with you 6 of my favourite brushes (at the moment).

Favourite Brushes

1. Sonia Kashuk Duo Fibre Multipurpose Brush – This is part of a travel set I picked up whilst in San Francisco last year. I like the whole set but I have been using this one a lot for applying my blusher. I find that it picks up just the right amount of product & it’s easy to knock off any excess powder. It is soft & the brush isn’t too dense, I sweep it along my cheeks and it applies powder blush perfectly. I love the brightly coloured handle too.

2. Ecotools Full Powder Brush – Again this is part of a mini travel set & this EcoTools Fresh & Flawless Set is one of my favourite ever sets of brushes, its a gorgeous set. I use this one for applying my bronzer, this brush is quite fluffy, oval shaped and fairly dense but the brush head isn’t too big and so you can apply just the perfect amount of product to specific areas. I can often go a little OTT with bronzer when I use a big brush so this keeps me in check.

3. UBU No.35 Eyemazing Tapered Blending Brush – I use this brush for blending my eyeshadow, it is purple which makes me happy and the bristles are quite long but soft & easy to blend. I tend to only wear two colours at a time on my lids so I use this to soften the edges.

Most Used Brushes

4. Nanshy Large Shader Brush* – I use this to pack on my eyeshadow before using brush 3 to blend it out. These Nanshy Brushes are amongst the softest & best quality I have ever tried. This picks up a good amount of shadow and the dense firm bristles makes it great for precision.

5. Crown Brush C325 Large pro angled eye brush – I use this to blend shadow through my crease and outer corner, its the perfect angle for that. I have found it sheds a little to begin with but after a few washes that stops. This feels smooth on the eye, its great for getting right into the socket and blends shadow like a dream. This is the only Crown Brush I have but I would be tempted to get a few more.

6. Bobbi Brown Eye Blender – It took me a while to find the best way to use this brush as the bristles are very long and not all that dense. I didn’t get on well using it as a blending brush but I now use it to set my under eye concealer. Its large enough to lightly sweep under the eye applying just enough powder to set my concealer without looking too heavy. Its small and easy to manoeuvre and also light to softly apply the powder.

An honourable mention for my Real Techniques Stippling Brush which I use to apply my foundation, I find this brush is the perfect size for applying liquid foundation and gives me a flawless finish.

What are your must have brushes?

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.