Free Beauty Blender from Birchbox!

Just a quick post to alert you all to this great offer! If you read my review of the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge you'll notice I said I was really keen to try the real Beauty Blender. However I would only try it if Birchbox did another of their amazing offers.

I don't know if it's fate or a pure coincidence but an email has just dropped in to my mailbox from Birchbox with another of their amazing free Beauty Blender offers on.

You have to be a new subscriber to Birchbox and it can be a monthly, six month or 12 month subscription. You also only have 48 hours to claim this! That means you're paying £12.95 for a Birchbox, a Beauty Blender and the Beauty Blender cleaner. 

There is another offer on for those of you who have a Beauty Blender, and you can receive a free Wild About Beauty palette, which does look stunning. 

https://birchbox.co.uk/

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Review | Duo Striplash Adhesive

Duo Striplash Adhesive - White - £4.99

If you were to ask most of the girls you know what makeup task they find most difficult I'm pretty certain most of them would say applying false eyelashes - and possibly liquid liner. Which wouldn't surprise me, because for years I've longed to be able to wear false eyelashes but I've just never been able to actually get them on to my eyes. I've been unsure whether it was me, whether it was the eyelashes or whether it was the glue, and I've finally realised it's all in the glue when it comes to false lashes. I had suspected this because the eyelash glue you get with Primark lashes might as well just be water, it does nothing!

Review | Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge - £5.99

When it comes to foundation application the thought of using a sponge used to once disgust me. When I think of foundation sponges I just think of the multi packs you can buy in Poundland or dirty sponges girls in high school would keep in their makeup bag -  and those kind still do disgust me. However, in the past few years the beauty industry has seen the launch of several different foundation sponges, most notably the Beauty Blender. I've never tried the original but I've tried a cheap one off eBay and needless to say, it was rubbish! Around a year ago, Real Techniques, released their own version of the Beauty Blender and with mixed reviews across the board I've always been keen to try it, so on a recent trip to Boots I noticed they had their 3 for 2 offer on and picked one up to try.

Review | Urban Decay Naked Basics 2

Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 - £22.00

There's nothing quite like a new Naked palette to create hysteria in the beauty world is there? So when Urban Decay announced they were releasing a new Naked Basics palette, just like a lot of people, I was excited by it. I don't actually own the original because I thought the shades were a bit too warm and basic? Yes they're called Naked Basics, but the original shades just weren't unique or interesting enough for me to get use out of them. When I saw pictures of this version, I was interested and was keen to snap it up.

What I've Bought #2

Firstly, sorry for the not so great picture. Getting natural light to take pictures seems impossible at the moment as the day goes dull around 2pm and I don't get in from university most days until gone 3:30pm. So I had to try and get a picture where there were no visible shadows, with enough light and still being able to see everything. Which didn't work that well.

But anyway, I thought I'd show some of the beauty items I've been buying recently because there's some great offers and some new products out in Boots I was keen to try.

I'll start with the two things I actually got for free, which is the Barry M Showgirl Extra Lengthening Mascara and the Umberto Giannini Glam Hair Backcomb In A Bottle. I recieved these from a goody bag in Boux Avenue, when you spent £45 you got a gift bag with a few beauty products, sweets and a magazine in. I've been keen to try the Umberto Giannini product for a while so I'm glad I got this for free!

Next I've picked up a few more products from Real Techniques. I already have most of their brushes but when Cohorted were doing the Duo Fibre Set for a really great price - it was something crazy like £13 - I couldn't say no, so snapped them up. I also picked up the Miracle Complexion Sponge from Boots, I've already started using this and I absolutely love it. It's great at getting your makeup on quickly and flawlessly!

Whilst I was at Boots I also restocked a few items that I had run out of. The first were my two favourite concealers which are both from Collection. The first being the extremely hyped up Lasting Perfection Concealer, I only ever repurchase this every few months and will sometimes go months without using it, but always go back to it because the coverage is great. The next is also one I always go back to and that's the Illuminating Touch Concealer which I love for under the eyes. It adds a nice glow under the eyes but still provides enough coverage. I also picked up another Maybelline The Falsies, but picked up the wrong one because there's about 4 different variants. Another repurchase was the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo+, I've used up two of the original formulas and I can't see this one being that different to the original.

The last makeup item was a L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Mono Eyeshadow in Cafe St Germain 201, which was actually smashed when I got home. So I'm not very impressed by them, but hopefully I can still make it work.

Finally, the last two products I picked up were Embroylisse Lait Creme Concentre and Duo Striplash Adhesive, and they were both on a bit of a whim and because I was just surprised to see them both in Boots. I have been wanting to try a new moisturiser and have recently been getting in to false eyelashes, so I'm excited to try them both!

Have you bought anything exciting recently?

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October Favourites

I feel like with it being the 8th November I'm probably a bit late for doing favourites, but I've had a few products that I've been loving in October so I wanted to get the post up anyway.

Starting with a couple of oldies, I'm back to loving my Revlon Colorstay Foundation in the shade Ivory. I've been using this for just over a year now and started using the Oily/Combination skin formula which I initially loved but I started to notice it separating after a few hours on my skin. I started using Rimmel's Match Perfection for a while, but have recently gone back to this but in the Normal/Dry skin formula and it really is the best. It has medium to buildable coverage, last all day on the skin and although it dries matte it's got a nice glow to it. I love it!

Another oldie is the Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner, this is my second one of these and I've recently rediscovered it and rekindled my love for it. It lasts all day without smudging and makes winged eyeliner so quick and easy to do. The best part is that it is only £2.99 and is always in some deal at Boots.

It was inevitable that the Benefit Box O' Blushes Set would end up in my favourites. I did a post on it last month when I first bought it and haven't used any other blushes since! They're creamy, blend easily and last for hours on the skin, the only problem is that I can't carry this around for when I do need to top up because of how big it is. My personal favourite has been Dandelion, it has always been a blush I was drawn to but I was never willing to pay £23.50, so I'm so happy to have it now.

Another product I've done a post on is the No7 Eyeshadow Duo in Iridescent Purple, which is just the most perfect eyeshadow duo for Autumn and Winter. I've already raved about it in that post, but the formula is the best for any budget brand, so I've been loving wearing this with the felt liner.

Finally are two skincare items - lip balm counts as skincare right? The first is the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Nourishing Lip Balm which I got in a set with the Original Eight Hour Skin Protectant from LookFantastic. I have been loving both but find this one is just easier to apply and easier to travel with, it isn't too heavy on the lips so other lips products apply nicely on top. I think in the coming colder months I'll probably reach for the original balm because it's a bit more nourishing.

Lastly is a product that people have been raving about for months. It's The Body Shop's Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil which I have been using the remove my make up in the evenings. I've never been drawn to The Body Shop, instead I've always preferred Lush or Soap and Glory for body products. But I'll be heading back soon to check out more of their skincare because this is an amazing product! It melts away all of my make up and wipes away on a cloth in one swipe, sometimes if I'm tired I'll just use this and my skin still feels clean and fresh. If you've after a new cleanser I really recommend you give this a try.

Have you tried any of these, and what have you been loving this month?

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Zoella Beauty: My Thoughts

Zoella Beauty Blissful Mistful - £8 and Zoella Beauty Fizz Bar - £5

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past two years I'm almost certain you'll know who Zoella is. She's appearing all over the place at the moment, has created a beauty line and is releasing a book, so it'd be pretty impossible to escape her.

Like I said, she's recently created her own line of bath and body products exclusive to Superdrug, so out of curiosity and being a massive lover of bath products I decided to go try some out. All of the products are priced between £5 - £8 so they're not going to hurt your bank balance. When I went to look at the products I had the intention of getting the candle, the fizz bar and the bubble bath, however the candle had no scent to it at all, I really wanted it to but I just couldn't smell anything. They didn't have any of the bubble bath in, I knew I didn't need anymore body lotions and I don't really think I'm the target age of the makeup bags, so I decided to try the Fizz Bar and the Blissful Mistful body mist.

To start, both the body mist and the fizz bar have the same light, fresh and slightly floral scent, which honestly smells amazing. I didn't expect it to smell as good as it does and I've become addicted to spraying the body mist all over myself. The fizz bar is priced at £5 for 8 squares, which from using it would get you two baths, and the body mist is £8 for 45ml. So they're both average retail prices in comparison to Lush products or other basic body sprays.

However, whilst the products are inexpensive and probably weren't made with a target audience of 19 year olds in mind, they're not the best products on the market. The fizz bar was okay, I used three squares of it in one bath which left a faint smell in the bath and did make the water feel a bit softer on the skin, but I still had to use bubble bath to get a decent bath. The squares sunk to the bottom of the bath and just didn't do much, for the same price I'd just recommend getting a Lush bath bomb which will do a lot more to the water and to your skin.

The body mist also isn't that great, it really does smell amazing when you first spritz it on but after an hour the smell is completely gone from your body. This means you're going to need to carry the bottle around with you for constant top ups, which really isn't ideal because of how chunky the bottle is. So although the product is fairly inexpensive, for the amount of times you're going to need to top you'd be better of buying a more expensive perfume that will last the day.

I'm still intrigued to try out the body wash because I'm not particularly fussy with body washes, but in short, would I recommend them to somebody my age? No, no matter how good that mist smells, there are much better products out there for the same or a cheaper price. However, like I've said I'm not really the target audience, I can imagine a 10 year old girl would be more excited to get the Zoella Fizz Bar for Christmas as opposed to a Lush bath bomb. That being said, they'll only make a good gift if the person knows of Zoella. The products as a whole aren't exciting, but for her fans I imagine they're at the top of the Christmas list.

Have you tried any Zoella products, or any products from other YouTubers?

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Review | No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow Duo in Iridescent Purple

Okay so last time I blogged I said I would try my best to keep at it. But it's just hard to get motivated at the moment, I feel like since being back at uni I'm tired 90% of the time. I keep coming up with ideas in my head for blog posts but just never get them started, but I'm hoping I can keep at it this time!

No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow Duo in Iridescent Purple - £8.50

I've got a review of the No7 duo, which is my favourite eyeshadow at the moment and has quickly become my favourite budget eyeshadow. I bought this duo about a month ago when I was on the hunt for the perfect Autumn/Winter eyeshadow, I knew I wanted something slightly pink and berry because I just love them colours on my eyes. I discovered this duo after searching for a dupe for Estee Lauder's Raisin's duo which was popular with Zoella and Tanya Burr last year, but it was around £23 and I couldn't part with that much money for two eyeshadows. I've spent the last year hoping to find it in a blog sale, but after buying this beauty from No7 my craving has been cured.

The duo comes with a warm toned pink shade which has a slight golden undertone to it, making it the perfect all over the eye colour whether it's worn on its own or with other shadows. The second colour is a deep aubergine colour which adds a perfect pop of colour to the eye when applied to the crease and outer corners of the eye. This is perfect for those of you who want some colour on the eyes but still want to stay fairly neutral. The eyeshadows are super creamy so they apply like a dream and have a lasting power with a primer of at least 8 hours, which is the longest I have found for any budget eyeshadow. In my opinion these shadows are comparable to Urban Decay eyeshadows -  some of the best on the market - but for a fraction of the price.

The only problem is that a light hand is needed when applying the purple shade, if too much is added it can cause you to look tired or like you have some eye infection, neither of which are a good look and once too much is applied there's no going back. However when it's done correctly it really can look stunning on the eyes!

I purchased this at the full price of £8.50 which I think it is completely worth! However all beauty products are currently 3 for 2 in Boots and there is always a No7 voucher hanging around, so you could get this for a real bargain if you work the deals. I really recommend this duo and will be looking to pick up some more colours soon, so even if purple isn't your thing I'd check the other colours out just for the great formulation!

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