Smashbox Brow Tech "Blonde" & Revlon Brow Fantasy "Dark Blonde" & Soap and Glory Archery "Love is Blonde"

Ooo yes, let's talk brows.  Up until a few months ago, 'doing' my brows was never part of my make-up routine.  I did pluck to prevent any stragglers, but other than that, they were generally left wild and free.

 

It wasn't until I had a particularly over-zealous plucking session, and took off far too much of my inner brow.  In a panic, I went in search of a brow pencil to rectify the bald patch I now had, and I found an old one in my Mum's make-up bag.  I'm talking SO old that I can't even tell you the make, as it had long rubbed off.  My Mum is also darker than me so the pencil was a deep brown, and I'll be honest, when I tentatively went in with light feathery strokes, I was expecting a make-up distaster of Greek tragedy proportions.

 

But to cut a long story short, it did kind of work, and I enjoyed the 'neatness' the pencil brought to my eye brow.  It finished my eye area off a bit, and looked more polished.

 

So.  Off I went in search of a more suitable brow product for myself.

 

As I said, brows are a WHOLE new concept to me, so I was a bit of a fish out of water.  I did a lot of blog trawling and the basic message I was getting was that blonde brows are a nightmare to colour match, and basically trial & error was the only way to go.

 

So!  3-4 months down the line, I've tried four brow products, two of which I didn't think to photograph before they ran out which I'm SO annoyed with myself about, so it's going to be official photos of those I'm afraid.

 

Right.  First up was Soap & Glory's Archery in "Love is Blonde" £10.00

 

 

To date, on my brow journey, this has probably been my most successful purchase.  I was drawn to the double ended design, as it has a crayon one end and a felt tip the other, and I didn't know whether I'd be a crayon or a felt tip kinda girl.  So what a marvellous way to try both!

 

The felt tip end, for me, didn't really do much.  It has SUCH a fine nib and the actual ink (is that what you'd call it!?) is really pale and watery.  It added a nice gloss to my brows, but as for filling them in...I didn't really think this did much.  But again, I am a brow novice, I might be missing the point...

 

But the crayon end..oo la la I'm a fan.  The colour was pretty much perfect for my brows...which are an ashy dark blonde I'd say.  I don't dye them or do anything to blend them with my uber blonde hair, so they're my natural hair colour.  So yeah, mousey, ashy, dirty blonde.

 

The crayon consistency isn't ideal in my opinion.  I found it to break off into little crumbly bits quite easily and its not particuarly soft or creamy.  It's quite hard and almost brittle, and you have it give it a good old rub to get decent colour pay-off.  But the colour makes this a winner hands down for me, as it isn't orange-y in the slightest and looks mega natural when on.  At £10 it is bit steep purely because you only get about 2cm of crayon so it runs out quite quickly.  It also isn't the world's most amazing product, it's just the colour that I think will appeal to a lot of ashy blondes out there.

 

OK next up iiiiis.....Smashbox Brow Tech in Blonde £17.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

This teeeeeeny tiny little brow product is a whopping £17 and I only bought it because of a Boots deal that was running over Christmas.  When it arrived, I was like ohhh my god it is SO small (0.7g to be exact).

  It comes with two brow powder sections and one larger brow wax bit. 

 

This was my first foray into the land of brow powder, and I had to buy a slanted brow brush for E.L.F. as well so I could apply it.

 

Now again, with this one, I would 100% recommend the colour to my blonde ladies out there.  It's such a gentle colour with an ashy undertone, and you get two shades in the pot which compliment each other really well. 

 

I also found the powder to be soft, very long lasting, and it covers your brows really evenly.  For a novice, I found the whole application of this product SO easy, and I think it's ideal for people who just want to fill in sparse brows.

 

But if you're looking (like me) for a just a small bit of shaping or 'neatening' from your brow product, then I'd say this isn't worth the price tag.  The powder nature of it means the overall effect on the brow is soft.  It didn't give me nice clean lines, and so whilst it gave a lovely 'natural' look, if I was going for a more graphic eye,I just felt I needed more precision.

 

And as with the felt tip nib of the Soap and Glory one, I have to confess the brow wax in this one....ABSOLUTELY no idea how you're supposed to use it.  I tried applying it using the brush and it went on super thick, you could blatently see it, and it didn't exactly tame my brows that well.  I tried my finger, no joy.  I tried an old mascara wand (cleaned up) and I couldn't get the product out of the pot as the wand just kept knocking the plastic edges.  Argh it was so frustrating!!  So the wax is a no for me.  Again...I'm probably applying it using the wrong tools or something, but oh well.

 

So my disastrous attempt at brow wax, led me to buy MAC's "Brow Set" gel in clear £13.00 

 

My brows being unruly is definitely one of my "brow issues" so I thought maybe Mac's gel could tame them.  Sorry for the generic photo from the site, but although my gel is still very much going, it's now gone a manky brown colour, and wasn't worthy of a blog pic.

 

Now this gel...hmm...what to say about it.  It has a very satisfying squelch  sound when you pull the wand out!  The wand is a standard mascara type design, and if I'm honest, I'd prefer a slightly smaller one to be able to get along the shape of my brows easier.

 

I do find that this smooths my brows down, and keeps them in place pretty well throughout the day.  It doesn't dry crispy and you can't tell you're wearing it (in a good way, not a bad way).  But I can't help but wonder if a high street dupe could do just as well.  Not that I can find a high street dupe.  I was hoping Collection or Rimmel or someone might do one, but I cannot find any!  The only one I can find is a clear mascara from Natural Collection and this dries hoooorrrrribly.  So maybe you do have to pay the MAC price tag to get this product.

 

It also lasts well, I use it pretty much everyday and have had it over 4 months, and it is still well over half full.  I guess the proof on this one will be in the repurchase.

 

 

Which brings me onto my most recent purchase...Revlon's Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde. £6.99

 

 

 This caught my eye for two reasons....the brow gel (cheaper alternative to MAC??) and the colour, which looked pretty good.

 

The design is double ended, with a brow gel on one end with a mascara wand type applicator, and a brow pencil the other end.

 

First thing's first, the brow pencil is so soft and creamy.  It was a joy to apply and felt a lot more high end than a £6.99 product.  But alas!!  The colour!  For some reason when I applied this, it looked dreadful.  The pencil had some kind of red/golden undertone which meant it clashed with my natural brow colour and was sooo obvious as it was a completely different colour.  I despise 'obvious brow filling in' and this was a classic example of it.  I'm gutted as I think if the colour was right, this product would be a real little gem.

 

I'm going to continue to use up the gel end, as the tint is barely noticeable and the wand is slightly smaller than the MAC one, and it would be a waste just to dump it due to the pencil end.  And once again, the gel pretty much does what it says on the tin, much like the MAC gel. But all in all, a massive disappointment for me I'm afraid.

 

I swatched the Revlon pencil against the Smashbox powders below, and you can see the difference in undertone really clearly.

Revlon on the left, Smashbox on the right

 

 So..my brow journey continues.  What I'm desperate to find is a decent, soft/creamy brow pencil in a gentle ash blonde. Something I can get some precision out of.

 

If any one has ANY recommendations at all, then this straggly browed blogger would love to hear them..



Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream & Maybelline Superstay Better Skin & Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation

 

 

If there is one thing I'm a sucker for in the cosmetic world, it's 100% a foundation.  I literally crave flawless skin, and since genetics and a penchant for chocolate means my natural complexion is pretty manky, foundation has had to become my best friend.  And I am always on the hunt for my holy grail of foundation.

 

It has been a while since I've purchased a new foundation, basically because I started to get a bit disillusioned by what was on the market.  Yet when I was on a recent blog trawl, I noticed a few new(ish) ones that were getting some impressive blog reviews.  And my my, am I easily led by a positive blog review.

 

My first purchase was Vichy's Dermablend Fluid Corrective 16hr foundation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a foundation that is marketed more as a 'medical' type cosmetic product, aimed at individuals with very sensitive, very reactive skin.  It was in the skincare section of Boots, was in a box, and came with a rather substantial instruction leaflet.  I bought mine in Shade 25 "Nude".  It is designed to be very high coverage (we're talking literal camouflage) but lightweight and also very gentle on the skin, so ideal for rosacea, severe acne, vitiligo or eczema

 

Now first things first, my skin is sensitive but not very sensitive, and is reactive but not mega reactive.  I have to be a bit careful about what I use on it, but it certainly isn't on the extreme end of the scale.  But at the same time, I do suffer with eczema, I do have significant red, itchy patches on my face, and I am a bit of a fan of a flawless high coverage finish.

 

So what was the verdict?  My first issue with this was the colour range.  Anyone who reads my blog regularly will know I'm all about the yellow undertones.  I always lean towards yellow foundation, yellow concealers, yellow powders....I'm obsessed with taking the pinky/red out of my skin tone.  This foundation comes in about 5 shades, with nude being the second lightest...and it really isn't very light.  It also has definite pink-undertones.  It's what I would call a very 'old-school' type foundation shade range, before cosmetic companies started jumping on the 'undertone' bandwagon.  If you have pale porcelain skin, I just don't think you're going to get a shade to suit you.  Likewise if you have very dark or olive-toned skin.  For reference, I'm an NC25 in MAC, and the Nude shade was a tinge on the dark/orange side.

 

Which is a shame, as the foundation itself is actually really good.  For the degree of coverage it gives, the consistency is actually not that heavy, nor cakey.  It applies really easily, blends well, and is definitely a really high coverage.  When I have red patches or scarring, this covers them an absolute treat, and gives a real airbrushed appearance to the skin.  It also doesn't sit in my rather oversized pores.  I do have to set this with a very light dusting of powder, as it does have a tendency to go quite greasy on the skin though.  For this reason, I use this more of a concealer than an all-over-the-face foundation.  It is ideal for providing higher coverage on areas you need, allowing you to have a much lighter foundation (like a CC cream) on the rest of your face.  It's success definitely comes from how easily blendable it is, because it means you don't get any obvious tide marks or texture changes if you use it with a much lighter foundation. 

 

I literally love this for touching up bad skin areas, and despite the poor colour range, will definitely be purchasing it again.  It is a bit pricey at £15-16, but if you use it the same way I do, then it will last for ages. 

 

My next purchase ws Maybelline's Superstay Better Skin Foundation

Now this little gem has received a LOT of fuss in the blog-sphere.  I'm not usually a fan of Maybelline's foundations, but this received such consistently good reviews that I decided to give it a try.  It retails between £7-£8 so pretty standard for a high street foundation, and it claims to improve your skin just from wearing it *sceptical eyebrow raise*

 

Now, first things first, this is a really, really nice foundation.  It has a really light consistency, smooths onto the skin mega easily, and actually leaves the skin with an impressive amount of flawless-ness.  I would even compare the consistency and finish to my all-time favourite foundation, the Diorskin Nude (amen).  But the shade range for this foundation IS. AWFUL.

 

As I said, I'm an NC25, which in my opinion is not particularly extreme on the pale scale.  I got this foundation in 010 Ivory.  The lightest shade appears to be Light Beige...but that's literally no lighter, trust me, I swatched extensively.  This looks SO orange on my skin.  And I'm talking nasty, jaw-line tide mark, orange.  The first time I wore it I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and was like sweet jesus I look like a 14 year old experimenting with make-up! I tried to tissue some off but ended up having to wipe it off completely.  I have given it another couple of tries since, but I just can't get on with the colour.  It just has such an orange finish to it - I think it might oxidise quite a lot on the skin.  You can see the difference below between the Maybelline (on the right) and my MAC NC25 on the left. 

I am SO frustrated with Maybelline about this, as the foundation really genuinely is an impressive high street foundation.  It's coverage and smoothness is reminiscent of much pricier foundations, and I think it would be a bit of a holy grail jobby if I could only get a colour to suit my skin.  So Maybelline, sort it out!!  Embrace a bit of pale and a bit of yellow-undertone!

 

My final purchase was the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream.



 

Now once again, I'm not particularly all over the Bourjois foundation range.  I do enjoy their Healthy Mix range, but I don't rave about them to the degree some people do.  So I was a little dubious about buying this.  It is Bourjois' answer to the CC/BB cream craze and is meant to contain apricot, green and white (really!?) to counteract fatigue, redness and darl spots.  Hmm..really?  A CC cream? But glowing reviews are glowing reviews, and I decided to give it a little punt.

 

Oh how glad I am that I did.

 

At the moment I am L.O.V.I.N.G this foundation.  Let me say first of all, that CC creams and BB creams and tinted moisturisers are normally not my bag.  I wear foundation for coverage, and normally the 'light-coverage' brigade just don't cut it for me.  But this little offering from Bourjois actually has coverage!  Who would have guessed!?

 

I bought this in shade 32 Light Beige (beige clair) and hallelujah (take note Maybelline) the shade is exquisite.  It has just enough yellow undertones to keep me happy, and is such a fresh shade.  As with the other Bourjois foundations, you may struggle if you have very pale skin, as I think this is one of their palest shades.

 

But the winning quality of this for me is definitely the consistency and coverage and (suprisingly) the staying power!  This covers equally as well (if not better than) some of my "medium-coverage" foundations, and yet it is so light and hydrating and evens your skin tone out an absolute treat.  It's perfect for Spring/Summer as it gives the skin a real glowy, natural look, but still does a good job at hiding your nasties.  At the moment I've been wearing this everday and then topping up my really red patchy areas with the Vichy Dermablend.  The two together are like a little dream team.

 

So if you're a light-coverage phobic like me, my only advice is not to overlook this little CC cream. 

 

 

So!  There you have it.  Now this little lady needs to stay away from the foundation counter for a while..!

 



The Balm "Bahama Mama" bronzer

Regular followers of my blog will know I have a bit of a bronzer obsession.  It is the staple of my make-up routine, and it's crept right up there with mascara as my desert island make-up item.

Thing is, I also have a bit of a phobia of orange bronzers.  I know they can be brilliant at warming up certain complexions, but on a bleached-blonde-fake-tanned young lady like myself, an orange bronzer can take you into territories you just don't want to go with your 'look'.

Up until a few months ago, I swore by Benefit's Hoola bronzer (you can see my mega bronzer post here), but the £23.50 price tag always depressed me a bit.  Especially as the design of the packaging means it is tricky to use all of the product.

Then I was watching a YouTube tutorial one day by SMLXO (such a good make-up vlogger, check her out here....SMLXO) and she was using The Balm's "Bahama Mama" bronzer.  She made a flippant comment about it being an "anti-orange" bronzer, and BAM, my little ears pricked up and I was on Google before she'd even finished her sentence.

Now it is an American brand I think, but it isn't one of those annoying US brands where you have to spend your life savings just to get it shipped over here.  I found it really easily on feelunique.com for £13.50.  OK, so we're not talking mega cheap, high street prices here, but at a whole ten pounds less than my Benefit old faithful, I figured it was worth a punt.

And worth it, it was. 

The product itself comes in a credit-card sized 'book', with a flip lid that has a mirror inside.  When I first got it, I was like wow that's small. But the Bahama Mama one is 7.08g compared to Hoola's 8g, and as I said, you struggle to get all of the product out of the Hoola tub because it is so deep.  However this is completely flat, so I think it will be easier to use all of the powder.

(This is a photo of the product after I've used it several times!)

A lot of reviews said not to freak out at the colour when it is in the palette, as it does look very muddy and dark.  I'd agree with the dark bit, but I was a bit like "hmm, it still looks more orange than I expected".  But looks can be deceiving and this certainly was.

The tone of the bronzer is definitely more cool than warm.  It is quite a sludgey colour, with a more yellowy undertone.  You can get a better idea of the tone when it is swatched alongside my other bronzers - Benefit Hoola and Sleek Contour in Light.

You can see the tone is quite similar to Hoola, but even less orange, and WAY more pigmented.  That's the only issue I have with this, it is very pigmented.  It would be amazing for hardcore contouring, but for a bit of a bronze glow you do have to give it a good old blend.  It's probably not ideal for bronzing novices, as it can look quite scary when you first apply it, and it does sometimes have a tendency to collect a bit, but I think that's because I have dry skin and I always use very moisturising foundations.  I use my Real Techniques blush brush to apply it, and I would recommend using a bigger, fluffier brush like this.  I think smaller, tight packed ones might load the colour way too much (unless you're contouring of course).

Despite the bicep power needed to blend it in, it does mean you barely use any product (whereas with Hoola I was always giving my brush a good old swish around the tub to get plenty of colour).  I use this everday, and have been for 3 months, and I have barely made a dent in it.  Plus I just love the tone of the colour.  I always go for yellow based foundations, and this compliments them perfectly.  I think it would look a nightmare on a pinky-toned complexion or base, as it would make it look a really dirty, muddy colour.  But blended in with a more yellow-toned base, it looks really flattering.  It matches the colour I go when I tan naturally much better than any other bronzer, which means I think it will be awesome in  the summer too.

Despite the lack of orange, I do still find it to warm my complexion up, and it's bloody good at sculpting your cheek bones.  It's definitely not completely devoid of any orange - I think it's a bit like any tan product, you're always going to have that orangey presence - but this is 100% the least orange one I have found.  It reminds me a bit of the new generation of olive-based fake tans out there (i.e. Xen Tan) as it definitely has the same effect. 

So if you are ok with a generous amount of blending, and you tend to go down the yellow-based route with your foundation, then I'd definitely recommend it.  I'm quite pale skinned (NC25) and this isn't too overpowering and it doesn't look like I'm trying to achieve a face colour that's just isn't natural for me.   It lasts for ages and it isn't crazy expensive.  If you've made it this far down my blog post then well done, you have way more will power than me!!

Recent favourites

There have been a few products that I have been using lately that I wanted to blog about, and I decided the best way was to do a bit of a 'recent favourites' type post.  I do sometimes worry my reviews get a little long winded anyway, so I figured that by doing several in one go, it will (hopefully) make me get to the point a bit quicker!

So here they are..ta-dahhhh.  What a good looking little bunch.  I'll start with a few products I've 'rediscovered' lately...

MAC Studio Sculpt in NC25 £25.00

I can't remember if I have reviewed this before on my blog, but I have owned this foundation for literally years.  I bought it from Macy's in New York about 5 years ago (and yes, I know you aren't meant to keep foundations that long).  I bought it because it was hailed as MAC's dry-skin foundation, and if there's one thing I have in spades, it's dry skin.

When I first used this I hated it.  I found it cakey and it sat on top of my skin like a mask.  It  cracked and looked chalky and dry and I was so disappointed in it.  So to the bottom of my make-up bag it went.

It wasn't until I was watching some old Zoella youtube videos, I noticed that back in the day, she literally swore by this foundation.  I was so surprised, especially as her make-up always looks flawless.  One thing she did say was that you barely need any of this.  *hello lightbulb moment*.  So I gave it another try, with literally the teeniest amount of product, and used my Real Techniques expert face brush, and the difference was unreal!!  I still do find this to err a little on the side of drying - it gives quite a matte finish and it looks very 'make-uppy' - it definitely isn't a 'second skin' type foundation.  It has a nice creamy, almost mousse-like consistency though, and for these winter months I've been loving the coverage and the flawless finish it gives.  Not sure I would repurchase due to the price, but I totally take back my previous negative reviews of this.  Just use it sparingly and you'll get the right result.

Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Black £7.99

 I love, love, love this gel eyeliner.  I finally ran out of my first pot after using it practically everyday for easily over a year (such good value for money).  I own the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner as well, and in my opinion, this is way superior.  The Bobbi Brown one is too soft for my liking.  It doesn't last as long and smudges around my eye much more.  Whereas this one, ah I love it.  It's such a dark, pigmented, inky black and the formula is just the right balance between stiff-thick and creamy-soft.  The balance makes it so much easier to apply, and if you're new to gel eyeliners I would definitely recommend it.  I also think the consistency contributes to how long lasting it is.  I wear this quite happily all day and it's still intact by the end of the evening, with minimal smudging.  It comes with a brush which is a decent eyeliner brush, but I much prefer the Zoeva Fine Liner brush.  I swear by this eyeliner.  It is my make-up bag staple.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundations in 51 and 53 £9.99

I've been a fan of this foundation for a while, but recently I have noticed it has been gathering steam in the blogging world as a high street dupe for foundations such as Nars Sheer Glow, Chanel Vitalumiere and Giorgio Armani's Luminous Silk.  They're some big old names to be touted next to. But I can see where the hype comes from.  For a third of the price of the big-hitters, this is such a good performer.  I'd say it is medium coverage, and you'd probably need a decent concealer for any blemishes, but it gives such a nice dewy finish.  I have very dry skin and this doesn't tend to cling too much to my dry patches and it keeps my face looking plump and hydrated.  I always end up coming back to this foundation, it is such a staple product for me.  I also like the colour range as they tend to err on the yellow-based side and I am obsessed with yellow-based foundations.  I mix 51 and 53 together to get my ideal colour. I use either my beauty blender or my RT Expert Face brush, and both of them give a nice coverage and finish.  Seriously if you have been tempted by the higher end hydrating foundations, I'd give this a try first.  I've only owned the Chanel one before, but there's barely any difference between the finish of the Chanel one and the Bourjois one.

 Tangle Teezer Compact £11.95 and Tresemme Deep Cleansing shampoo £3.79

 Regular followers of my blog will know my hair regularly causes a hole in my bank balance, mainly because it has been bleached heavily and so needs a lot of tender loving care.

A couple of products I have been loving using lately are the Compact Tangle Teezer and the Tresemme Deep Cleansing shampoo.

I've owned the original tangle teezer for some time and would never go back to using a regular brush on my hair.  It gets through my knotty, thick hair so much easier, and the reduction in breakage is obvious.  I used to have so much hair wrapped round my regular brush, and although I do still get hair on my tangle teezer, it is so much less.  I've got all my girly friends into using these - they really are such a revolutionary product for long, knotty hair.  I got the compact one for Christmas, and I much prefer it to the original.  It fits in my hand much better which means I fling it across the room much less (I'm a vigorous hair brusher) and it comes with a 'lid' to protect the bristles.  If you're looking to buy one, I'd definitely say go for a compact over the original.

The Tresemme Deep Cleansing shampoo is something I bought for a bit of a naughty reason.  I recently had my hair dyed a darker blonde, and I'm just not feeling it at all.  My hairdresser said that as my hair is bleached, the dark blonde will fade quickly.  Soooo.....I bought a deep cleansing shampoo to kind of help it along the way.  Naughty.  But I've fallen in love with this!!  It lathers up so nicely, and leaves my hair so clean and soft.  You'd expect a cleansing shampoo to strip the hair, but this definitely doesn't.  I've noticed my hair stays cleaner for longer too which is a bonus.  I got this on half-price offer for about £1.95 and it is SO worth it.  It's a little hair wonder bargain!

Sleek Blush in Rose Gold £4.49



Rose Gold blusher blended

I got this little Sleek blusher for Christmas, and I have been using it sooo much.  It is really pigmented and is a gorgeous bright rose pink with gold shimmer.  You can kind of see the gold shimmer in the photo above (by the way I had to enhance the contrast a bit to get a true reflection of the blush colour, but it has in the process, made my sister's arm look really weird!  Sorry about that Rachy!) 

For how cheap this is, it has a lot of colour depth and blends quite easily.  It looks so pretty paired with a nice bronzer, as it has almost mauve-y type undertones.  I've been loving wearing this with a basic, black feline eye, and leaving the blusher to be the focal point.  It's going to look really nice in spring/summer too.  It really 'pops' on your cheeks and is such a flattering shade.  I normally hate glittery-shimmer in cosmetics, but I like this because the gold shimmer is quite fine, and when you blend it out it doesn't just leave glitter on your face like some products too.  You keep the nice rose pink still.  

Maxfactor 2000 Calorie curved brush £7.99



Regular followers of my blog will know I am one loyal young lady when it comes to mascara, and I have been using Maxfactor's 2000 Calorie mascara for as long as I can remember.  Any time I have been tempted to stray from my old faithful, I've always found other mascaras to just not be up to the job.  But I did notice that Maxfactor had brought out a slight revision, with the 2000 Calorie Curved Brush mascara.  It intrigued me, so I thought I'd give it a try.  And I actually really like this.  I think the curved brush actually improves the 2000 Calorie design, for two reasons.  Number 1, the curve makes the brush sit easier around the lashes and also it seems to lift the lashes better, improving their curl.  I also think the curve makes the hump of the brush closer to the inside of the tube, so it picks up all that mascara that clings around the walls of the tube.  When you pull the wand out, the hump always has more product on it, so I use that to really ramp up the volume, and then use the inner curve to separate and lift the lashes.

If you're a fan of the original 2000 Calorie mascara then I'd definitely say this one is worth a look.  It's got everything the original one has, and then just that little bit more.

MAC Cremesheen Lipglass in Boy Bait £17.50

I got this lip gloss as a birthday present from my boyfriend, and it is definitely my go-to.  It is such a perfect pink-nude shade and makes a make-up look appear really polished.  It is a bit on the steep side, and I'm not going to lie, I'm glad I'm not the one who had to shell out for this.  But as a present..ah it was such a good present.  The applicator is a small plastic brush, about a centimetre or so in length, and it applies really easily.  I do tend to prefer sponge applicators for lipgloss, but this is MAC, and they don't tend to do a bad applicator - so the brush works.

 

The shine is good, but in all honesty I think high street lip glosses have evolved so much that you tend to get the same 'shininess' from a lot of glosses on the market.  This isn't too sticky though, which sets it apart a bit as a more high-end product.  You're aware if it on your lips for the first half an hour or so, but it isn't uncomfortable.

 

But it is the shade itself that makes this a winner for me.  It is such a gorgeous colour, and even when the shine wears off (which is inevitable with any lipgloss) it leaves your lips looking all hydrated and plump and a pretty nude colour.  Despite the price, I know I'll end up repurchasing this as I've never found a nude lipgloss that is the perfect shade for me.  They're always either too pale, or look a weird grey-based colour, or are too dark or pinky or orangey - you get the jist.  Ah but this is perfect.  It's the ideal shade to pull together a more classy or polished look and I love it.

Brush reviews - E.L.F. and Zoeva

OK so recently I decided that I need to beef my brush collection up a bit.  My little sister went on a bit of a MAC brush splurge, and I noticed that her eye shadow especially was going on so much better with a decent brush. 

I'm a strong believer in tools being really important for make-up application but I definitely concentrate far too much on my face brush collection - I have about three different foundation brushes (my Real Techniques Expert Face brush is hands down the best), an array of blusher/bronzer brushes, but probably the most pathetic collection of eye shadow brushes.  My boyfriend bought me two MAC 219 pencil brushes, and I keep one for lighter colours and one for darker colours - but I feel I needed a bit more of a blending type jobby.

I did a lot of research online, and two brush ranges that kept popping up were Zoeva and E.L.F. (Eyes Lips Face).

I purchased some Zoeva ones first, then buckled and bought some E.L.F. ones too as they are sooo cheap.

ZOEVA

Zoeva is a German make-up brand, and the only place I could get the brushes was direct from the Zoeva website at www.zoeva-shop.de . Only bummer with this is the £7 postage cost. Ouch. They've only been going since 2009 and they're brushes aren't massively well-known.  I couldn't find them on any other major make-up websites etc, but they did seem to be causing a bit of a stir in the blogging world as a cheap MAC alternative.

The brushes I went for were the 142 concealer buffer, 227 soft definer and the 315 fine liner.  My little sister bought the 230 pencil brush.

When they arrived, they did get me a little excited, as they were all boxed up with tissue paper like proper expensive brushes (which, they aren't). Each brush came in a clear plastic sleeve, in its own black and pink zip-top soft-plastic bag, labelled up with the brush type.  So cute!  And totally unexpected seeing as they were only around a fiver.

142 concealer buffer £6.50

I have seen a few people using concealer brushes on youtube tutorials, and was intrigued because one of the few things I hate about doing my make-up is patting my concealer in with my finger.  Drives. Me. Mad.  So the brush seemed a good one to try.  Having said that, I've gone back to the finger-patting.  This brush is really soft, very densely packed and with the white tips it looks a dead ringer for the MAC brushes. I found the brush blended my concealer too much though, exactly the same as if I used my foundation brush to blend it.  I do think concealer needs some stippling action to keep it high coverage.  I'm going to wash this brush out though, and use it for my eyeshadow as I think it will work well.  It has such a nice densely packed 'bulb' type brush head, and although I didn't like it for my concealer, I think I'd have reached the same conclusion from a mega expensive concealer brush.  Concealer and brushes apparently just don't work for me.

 

 

227 Soft Definer £5.00

 

The Soft Definer brush is meant to be a dupe for the MAC 217, and at £13 less than the MAC version, I was realllllyyyyy hoping this would work.  My younger sister has the MAC 217 so we were able to do a bit of a comparison between the Zoeva one and the MAC one, and I can honestly say there was barely any difference.  The MAC one probably takes the edge with regard to softness, but the Zoeva one is still very, very soft.  It has the same kind of density of bristles, the same length, the same spread etc.  I really like this brush, it applies eyeshadow with ease and packs the colour on well.  It is also excellent at blending colour out evenly.  I probably wouldn't bother to waste money on the more expensive MAC version as this does the job perfectly fine.  At a fiver, it's a bargain and I'm definitely going to buy some more to build up my eyeshadow brush collection.

 

 



315 Fine liner £5.00

Save the best till last for definite.  I am literally in. love. with. this. brush.

Regular readers of my blog will know I swear by the Topshop eyeliner brush for my gel eyeliner application.  I had no intention of buying a new eyeliner brush till I saw this on the website and was massively intrigued by the shape of the brush and the way it was bent at the end.  It was only a fiver (so £1 more than the Topshop one) so I thought I'd give it a punt.  And oh my god I flipping love it.  The bend genuinely makes it easier to apply the eyeliner as  you can get right in there, close to your lash line, without the handle getting in the way.  The actual brush tip is tapered to such a fine point, that you can apply a mega thin line of gel eyeliner, and when you have small eyes like me, you need a nice fine line.  It is definitely the thinnest eyeliner brush I have come across before.  I've used it religiously since I bought it and it isn't splaying yet at all - in fact I'm not sure it will as it is so thin there aren't many bristles to actually splay.  I wouldn't go back to using a generic eyeliner brush, I am so sold on this.  It does take some getting used to due to the thin application - I actually think it is harder to get an even line because the brush is so thin you have to build up the line and this can lead to issues with even-ness.  With a thicker brush you just go for the line and the thickness tends to hide any imperfections.  But once you get the hang of it with the fine liner brush, I guarantee you won't go back.  It's an absolute little beauty.

E.L.F

Ah, and now we turn to the ELF brushes.  I've heard so much about this brand (including its brushes) on online blogs and video tutorials.  Their brushes range between £1.50-£4, and I figured if they are good then that's the kind of bargain you just can't pass up on.

I bought 2 eyeshadow brushes, 1 smudge brush, 1 small angled brush and 1 blending eye brush.  They arrived in little clear plastic sleeves in a jiffy bag and I bought them direct from ELF at www.eyeslipsface.co.uk .

I do really enjoy the way the brushes look - they mainly came in white (other than the angled eye brush) with the name of the brush in silver on the handle.  They look really high end.

But this is kind of where the love affair ended for me......


Small Angled Brush £3.75

I'm sorry, I really struggled to get a good close-up photo of the brush, but you can see which one it is from the photos above as it is the only black one.  I bought this as I needed something to apply my Smashbox eyebrow powder with, and at £3.75 it was a bargain.  But I wasn't a big fan of this brush.  The brush bristles weren't stiff and densely packed enough to give a really precise application of my brow powder.  It does work reasonably well, and I suppose for £3.75 you shouldn't expect too much, but I definitely wouldn't buy it again.  It was already splaying when it arrived and the bristles feel quite cheap.

Eyeshadow Brush £1.50

I was quite surprised by how short the bristles were for this brush, I feel like you need a bit more length to pack colour onto the whole eyelid.  I did find this applied colour evenly though, and is probably much better suited to more precise eyeshadow application, rather than all-over-eyelid colour washing.

Again, the bristles felt a tad on the cheap side for my liking, but then it was £1.50....go figure.

I wouldn't repurchase this.  I'll use it for eyeshadow application but it isn't a brilliant blender and I found the Zoeva Soft Definer to be so much more versatile.

If you're someone who does a lot of defined crease-work or likes to darken the corners of your eyes, then this could be useful.  But I just don't do complicated eye looks enough to need such a specific brush.

Smudge Brush £1.50

I bought this for applying eyeshadow under my eyes, as I have teeny tiny eyes and most brushes leave me with too thick a 'smudge'. 

Of all the brushes I bought from E.L.F. I think this is the one I will use the most.  It has mega short bristles, and is really densely packed and tapered to a slim edge.

Again, the bristles feel cheap to the touch, but because you're not doing as much blending with it, this doesn't seem to matter as much as with the other brushes.

I really liked the way this put a neat, gentle smudge of eyeshadow under my eye, or across my lashline. It's probably a bit too small for the creaseline - I'd say this is definitely a dedicated under-eye brush.  At £1.50, it's a bargain and a useful addition to any brush kit.  I've seen people use it to pack on dense eyeshadow colour to their eyelid too, but I haven't tried that out myself yet. 

Blending Eye Brush £1.50

Oh god, the Blending Eye Brush.

I literally hated this brush so much.  When it arrived I was surprised by how much it was already splaying, and with the longest bristles of all the brushes, you really notice the cheap feeling.

It did have a similar spread and density though to the MAC 217 brush so I thought I'd give it a pop.  The main issue I had with this was how much it malted and shed.  I was only gently blending my eyeshadow and the bristles were literally dropping out all over the place.  I managed to get a couple in my eye which was annoying and uncomfortable and led to much eye watering (always a pain when you're applying eye make up).  I also could feel them all over my face, they were itchy and irritating and I was constantly brushing away at my face.

You barely have to pull at the bristles and they come out in your fingers.  I'm so unimpressed with it.  It sheds, it feels cheap - I can't even tell you if it works well as I'd barely been blending for two seconds when I was like woah what's with the bristle shower!?  I know it's only £1.50 but I'd say save your pennies.

My hair

Bit of a random post this one, but I thought I'd give you a little update as I have recently had a bit of a change to my hair...

I have always been a die-hard fan of blonde hair.  I was blonde as a child but it slowly darkened, and then years of highlighting means I'm not really 100% sure what my natural colour is now.  I went for a year with really dark brown hair, following a spontaneous decision in a hair salon, and that year made it clear to me that I just do not have the face to pull off brunette hair.  Here's the evidence....oh. my.

So I've been blonde ever since, and recently it was getting blonder and blonder, following my obsession with wanting white-blonde hair.

My decision to go from half a head of woven highlights to full-on bleach was one that wasn't exactly celebrated by my hairdresser, but she did say my hair was generally quite resilient and thick, so it could take the bleach for a while.

So for the last year or so, this is how my hair has been....

I managed to get it pretty white, with regular bleaching and lots of purple shampoo and toner (!) but you can see from the photo that I only bleached the top of my head.  The underneath is all my natural colour and (in my daft little mind anyway) it felt like I wasn't ruining my hair quite as much by keeping the underneath untouched.

By the way, if you want to read any of my reviews on the purple shampoos I used when I was white blonde, then please see here, as I trialled a fair few!!

Anyway...back in October when I had my last bleaching sesh, I noticed my hair generally didn't seem too happy when I left the salon.  My head felt sore, my hair seemed really squeaky and 'doll-like' and it was knotting and breaking off so easily.  I panicked a bit as I love my hair long and was worried I'd need to cut it all off, so when I next went to the hairdressers (last week) I asked her if I could go back to the highlights.

To cut a long story short, my regular hairdresser is on maternity leave so I had a new one.  She was really lovely, but she did say my hair was breaking off quite a bit, and that when it came to bleaching it was the case that your hair will suddenly give and then it will start breaking majorly.  So she managed to persuade me to take my colour a bit darker (uh oh...).  She recommended the new Wella Illumina range, which is an innovative new hair colour product which gives multi tonal highlights without needing to actually weave in different hair dyes.  So no cap, no foils and no 3 hours in the salon chair. It is also meant to protect the cuticle and be gentle on your hair, which I was obviously in desperate need of.

So she persuaded me (mainly by holding up my iddy-biddy bits of broken hair for effect.  Poor little hair).  And an hour later I left the salon looking like this.....

OK, at this point I'll be honest with you.  I cried.  I reckon about 90% of you will look at that photo and think "it literally barely looks any different".  But that little 10% of you die-hard blondies out there will probably give a little gasp.  The white blonde was most definitely gone.

With regard to the Illumina colour though, I was SO impressed by this.  My hairdresser literally painted it over my entire hair (including my virginal hair underneath) twisted it into little plaits and left it to develop.  I had barely read half of my first magazine and she was back to wash it off!?  SO quick.  And considerably cheaper too!!  My bleaching normally costs me over £100 but this was a snip at £80 and my roots are only going to be £30 next time apparently.

The colour has left my hair really soft already, and you can definitely see the multi tonal highlights.  It doesn't show up brilliantly on the photo above, but that's because I had to kill the flash as it wasn't giving a true reflection of the colour.

So genuinely, if you are looking for soft, natural highlights then I 100% recommend the Illumina range.

Also on an aside, both myself and one of my best friends started bleaching our hair at a similar time. She doesn't use straighteners so her hair has coped a lot better with the bleach, but both of us were a bit concerned about how we would 'get our hair back' from the white-ness. I was adamant we'd have to go red-brown like I had to before, but obviously not! So if you were thinking of dabbling in a bit of bleach but were worried about how you come back from it, be heartened that it is actually wayyyy easier than I thought, and you can just take it down to a more natural, darker blonde.

As for my hair...it is still taking a LOT of getting used to.  I think some of the problem is my hairdresser used a very warm dark blonde and I'm so used to seeing myself with cold, white blonde hair that it just doesn't seem to go with anything I wear or any of my make-up.

I'm going to see how it lasts but at the moment I'm leaning towards asking her to run some white highlights through at the next appointment.  I just want the blonde lifted a bit as it seems a bit drab at the moment.  Having said that, my hair is loving the break from the bleach.  We'll just have to see what happens when I go on 29th Jan for my next appointment.