Cream Eyeshadows

Cream eyeshadows are a product that initially confused me way back when I first became interested in makeup; to me cream eyeshadow just connoted creasing, hard to blend and jelly mixed with glitter eyeshadows - you know the ones? But after trying a Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold I was a total convert, I wore that eyeshadow everyday until there was nothing but a few dried out crumbles left. I'd now say I wear cream eyeshadows 90% of the time I'm wearing makeup, they're so quick and easy to apply, have the ability to blend out and look awesome on their own or act as a base to any eye look, and pleasingly they have become so readily available on the high street - in my opinion again because of Maybelline's fantastic range.

Current Beauty Favourites

I seem to have again been neglecting my blog, I feel like once I start posting regularly something comes along such as an assignment, or an exam or in this case an Easter holiday where I was working a lot whilst I was back home. I seem to have missed April favourites by a long shot, so I thought I'd share some of my favourites for the past couple of months.


For my base I've been loving two new additions to my collection, the Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude Foundation and Revlon Colorstay Concealer. I've loved the Revlon Colorstay foundation for around two years now so I don't know why it took me so long to pick up the concealer, but I'm so glad I did. It's medium coverage and blends to a really nice finish on the skin, it has a really creamy and moisturising formula that lasts all day - think Collection Lasting Perfection but not as drying. The foundation is also a medium coverage - my skin hasn't been the best it could be recently - that blends really easy in to the skin to give a flawless complexion and lasts all day. I've had some dryness recently and this hasn't worked too well on that, so this is defiantly one for normal to oily skin.

Another base product I've been loving is the Benefit Watt's Up highlighter. I've always preferred pinky highlighters so when I got this in the Benefit blush palette I originally had no care for it, but I have been loving the gorgeous natural glow it gives to the skin. It's a cream highlighter that's slightly golden and just blends out to a lovely sheen on the cheekbones. I'm a total cream highlighter convert now, and would go as far to say this is my favourite Benefit product ever! I've also been loving an oldie in the form of the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner, an amazing eyeliner that once it's set does not budge. The formulation is super black and long lasting, and the actual pot itself lasts a really long time, I've had mine over a year and it's still creamy and going strong.

Finally are two Bourjois products, I spoke about these in my Everyday Makeup Routine back in February and I'm still loving them now. The Bourjois Colorband 2-in-1 Eyeshadow and Liner in Rose Fauviste is a really pretty shimmery pink for the lids, the perfect sweep of colour if you're in a rush, but also the perfect base. Finally the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Ole Flamingo, is still a lip product I'm having a bit of a love affair with. It's a bright pink matte lip that lasts well over 6 hours even through eating and drinking, and just looks simply stunning on the lips. The camera never seems to pick up the real colour, so you'll just have to trust me that this is a colour you need. Both of these Bourjois products are the two I would recommend the most, they're amazing!

What have been your current favourites?

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Why Primer Is An Everyday Essential

Primer is a stage I feel a lot of people seem to skip in their makeup, some people feel they don't see any benefits to primer or some people just simply can't be bothered. I personally couldn't wear my makeup without primer, I find it acts as the glue for my makeup and provides a much needed barrier between my moisturiser and foundation, without it my foundation would just slip and slide around. Finding the right primer to suit your skin or the foundation you're wearing can however be a lot harder than it seems.

In my opinion, the most obvious choice when buying a primer would be Benefit the POREfessional, it's the UK's number one selling primer and the beauty community regularly give it the thumbs up. This was the first high end product I ever bought, and although I don't use it everyday anymore I do still love it. It smoothes out your complexion, blurs any imperfections and slightly mattifies the skin ready for foundation. This is one I grab for when I'm going on a night out and I want a flawless complexion, I find if I use it everyday it can start to clog up my pores - slightly ironic considering it's supposed to blur them - so I reserve this for when my skin is in dire need or if I'm after a flawless look.

In terms of high street primers, they never seem to offer anything too much for your skin except helping to make your makeup last a bit longer on the skin. Some budget options would be the W7 Prime Magic Camera Ready Face Primer* which helps to smooth out the skin and blur any fine lines. It has a slightly strange smell, not offensive just not what I expected, and makes the fingers feel slightly dry after you've applied the primer, but it leaves the skin feeling silky smooth and ready for your base. I have normal skin but I can imagine this would be nice for people with oily skin as it helps to mattify the skin and soak up any oil in the skin. Another would be the Maybelline Baby Skin, a little really does go a long way with this primer, if you add too much your foundation will slide right off the skin, but if you can find the perfect middle ground it will help your foundation will last all day. I'm not quite sure it lives up to it's claims of being pore minimising, but if you're after a basic inexpensive primer this is a nice option.

If you're someone who doesn't struggle keeping foundation on the skin but just wants to have the added glow to the skin then you'll love MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage. I bought it recently after trying a sample of it, and it's defiantly my personal favourite of the bunch. It starts as a pearly white with a creamy texture with slight reflective glitter throughout but blends in to the skin to add a hydrated and moisturised look, but without the shine of a moisturiser. The glitter adds a highlight and glow to the face without looking like a disco ball and I've found my makeup does last that little bit extra when I do wear this. It's cheaper than the POREfessional but is still on the slightly pricey side of things, but for me it's an all round winner.

Do you wear primer, and what is your favourite?

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Beauty Gift Guide: £25 and under

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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Benefit Cheeky Sweet Shop (box o' blushes) Palette

Cheeky Sweet Shop (box o' blushes) - £29.50

It seems pretty crazy for me to be talking about something Christmas related when we're still in September, but for something this amazing it needs to be done.

I noticed this around a week ago in my local Debenhams and for £29.50 I was ready to hand my money over, after missing out on the Nars Guy Bourdin palette last year I didn't want to miss this either. However I knew I had Boots points to spend so decided to wait a few days for Boots to start stocking it and was finally able to pick it up yesterday, and thanks to my Boots card not a single penny of my own money was spent! 

The palette comes with five of their blushes, their bronzer and one of their highlighters, as well as a small version of their boxed blusher brushes. You get 4g of Dandelion, 5g of Hoola, Coralista, Bella Bamba and Rockateur, 6g of Sugarbomb and 1.5g of Watt's Up. Meaning you're getting a full size of Rockateur and more than half of the full size of the other blushes. I've actually worked it out to be worth £102.50, meaning you're saving over £70!

The only downside is the packaging, for something that could have been so compact they've managed to make it huge and bulky by putting it in the shape of a gingerbread house, so there's a lot of unnecessary packaging but for the huge saving it can be overlooked. 

I've not been able to try these yet as I've woken up ill but still I wanted to get the post up to let others know it was out there. I'm not sure if it's limited edition but I can see it selling out fast anyway so if you're interested I'd grab one now! From swatching alone the texture of the blushes feels really buttery and blend-able so I'm really excited to give them all a try!

It's not yet on any website but I think most Benefit stands will have it and I believe all the Boots Xmas stock is coming out officially in the next couple of weeks, so it should pop up on the website soon.

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