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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The Pinks To Make You Spring Ready

Despite it still being freezing cold outside and the rain doesn't seem to want to budge, Spring has apparently sprung. This means the dark vampy purples are being put in to hiding for another 8 months and the fresh girly pinks are making a come back - although I love pink all year round, I just love it that bit more in Spring.


You can't really talk about pink makeup without giving a shoutout to the Urban Decay Naked 3, the twelve shade palette containing mauvey and rose gold pink shades, some mattes, some shimmers and two very glittery shades. I only really use this in the Spring and Summer months because I prefer a more deeper eye in Winter, but it's already started to make a return this month and I can see it creeping back even more in the coming months. It's the perfect palette for any pink lover and complete makeup addict this season. An alternative palette if you're on a bit of a budget, or you're just not massively in to pinks to make the commitment to a £38 palette then the L'Oreal Color Riche Quad in Smokey Eau de Rose is for you. They're all shimmery shades which are perfect for adding a shine to the eyes and they blend and last on the eyes wonderfully. They're slightly less pigmented than the Naked 3 and a bit more peachy pink than golden pink, but if you're after a condensed Naked 3 this is the way to go.

In terms of lipstick Rimmel's Kate Moss Matte lipstick in 101 is a staple all year round for me, it's a pretty muted blue toned pink which matches well with any makeup, but looks especially gorgeous paired with glowy cheeks and pink eyes in the Spring. If you're going to buy one new pink lipstick this season I'd make it this! However, if you're feeling spendy and you're going to invest in a second lipstick I'd make it MAC's Pink Nouveau, a bright barbie pink lipstick which is sure to turn heads. It doesn't seem to appear as bright in the summer, presumably because I tone the rest of my makeup down, so it's the perfect bright pink and a lipstick I found myself wearing on a daily basis last summer. If I'm ever wanting to feel a bit brave or need some confidence for the day I wear this, it sounds silly but if I can have enough confidence to wear a colour this bright, I can have the confidence to know I can pass an exam.

Finally we've got blushes and one of the easiest ways to make the transition from Winter to Spring is to add a bit of cream to your makeup, one of my favourite blushes for this time of year is the Max Factor Miracle Creamy Touch Blusher in Soft Pink. It is a real cream blush - none of this cream to powder - that blends like a dream on the skin and leaves a gorgeous healthy glow to the skin. It can be easy to go a bit overboard but it's easy to just blend it out with your foundation brush. The blogging world had a bit of a moment with this blush a few summers ago and I'm still having that moment, it's one of my favourite blushes of all time! Despite saying that creams are the easiest way to transfer to Spring I still love the Sleek Blusher in Pixie Pink which is a completely matte blue toned pink. A little really does go a long way with this one, it's super pigmented so you just need to dab your brush lightly, it can be a bit of a struggle to blend but I like to use a slightly fluffier brush rather than your standard dense blush brush and this sorts the problem. It really brightens up the face and is the cheapest product mentioned here so it's the perfect colour for Spring!

What are your favourite makeup items for Spring?

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Don't forget I have a MAC giveaway up here

My Current Everyday Makeup Routine

I've been keeping my makeup relatively simple at the moment, but seriously loving the look. Rather than having lots of eyeshadow and a simple lip I've been doing the complete opposite, and I can't get enough. I've worn this look for over a week now, which is probably the longest I've worn the exact same look in a long time.

Top 15 Discoveries of 2014

My initial intention for this was to do my top 14 of 2014, but when I was taking the pictures and writing down my choices I couldn't kick one out, because they're all amazing products, and whilst I feel I'm a bit late to the 2014 favourites I still want to do one. Exam revision is slightly taking over my life but I've been thinking and planning this post for a few weeks now. Instead of doing top products I've decided to do my top discoveries, because I don't think I could whittle down my top products in to a select number and I wouldn't have a favourite for every category. Some of these products are new to the market this year and some are just new to me, but hopefully you'll find something you'll want to try this year!

The Matte Lip

With Autumn and Winter just around the corner I've slowly found myself starting to ditch the glossy and sheer lip products in favour of a more bold and matte lip colour. Matte lips will always be my favourite kind of formula, they last the longest, their pigment is usually better and overall I find I just suit how they look on me. I've picked five lipsticks all from different brands to compare them and see how they differ against each other.

Rimmel Kate Moss 101 // Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Elusive // Collection Cream Puff in Cotton Candy // Soap and Glory in Pom Pom // MAC Russian Red

Rimmel Kate Moss - This is the first matte lipstick that I tried and the one that got me hooked on others. This particular colour is a baby blue toned pink and a lipstick which goes with any look. It's my go to lipstick for days when I'm not sure what to wear, making it one of my most used and favourite lipsticks of all time. Overall it's a really moisturising and easy formula to wear, 107 from this range is also great!

Revlon Matte Balm - There was so much hype around these when they were first released, but this is still the only one I've tried from the brand. It's a slightly deeper mauvey pink, making it slightly hard to wear on very pale skin. I find it can sometimes look a bit one dimensional on the lips, but it is still a great one for day to day use and the formula is super moisturising.

Collection Cream Puff - This is the cheapest of the bunch, so a great one if you want to try matte lips but don't want to spend a lot of money. The formula is really moisturising and easy to wear, the only problem from the two that I've tried is they can be slightly streaky when first applied.

Soap and Glory - This is the latest matte lip in my collection, but I'm already loving it! The packaging and emboss on the lipstick makes it feel like a more high end lipstick, and the lipstick glides on the lips. This is a great one for those wanting to try deep reds or purples but not wanting to go in head first, it's a slightly deep berry and a great pick for this season.

MAC - The most expensive of the bunch and easily the most drying, but along with that it's the most long lasting. This lipstick literally doesn't budge so is a great one for a night out or when you're going out to eat. It looks amazing with just some eyeliner and a contour and makes your teeth look so white because of how deep and blue toned it is. The formula really is drying though so it's best to apply lip balm underneath, but the dry formula is worth sacrificing for the longevity of this one.

Overall my favourite has to be Rimmel Kate Moss in 101, at £5.49 it's really affordable and is my favourite formulation and colour out of them all. The lasting power of 101 may only be a few hours but their darker shade 107 is even longer. If you're after a matte lipstick to try they're defiantly the one's to go for!

What's your favourite matte lipstick? I'm always on the look out for some more.

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Review | Rimmel Apocalips in Stellar and Apocaliptic

I think it's fair to say I'm late on the bandwagon with this one. The Rimmel Apocalips were released around 18 months ago and although I've been interested to try them, I've just always passed. I've never been a big fan of glossy lips and I'd read reviews that said they can smudge easily which always put me off. Although Rimmel are pretty much my go-to for drugstore lips so I don't really know why I didn't just trust them to create something amazing. However on a recent trip to Poundland I noticed they were selling three different shades and at £1 each I couldn't resist finally trying them and picked up these two shades.

The first shade I decided upon was Apocaliptic, which is a deep berry pink colour, so one perfect for the Autumn and Winter months. A typical 'me' shade, and one I think I'll be getting a lot of use out of in the next few months.

The second shade was Stellar, which is more of a coral toned pink, so defiantly more of a Summer shade. Coral toned colours aren't something which I tend to gravitate towards because I find they make my pale complexion even more washed out and have a tendency to make my teeth look slightly yellow, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway.

The consistency is slightly thick but really creamy and becomes opaque from one layer of product. They first go on glossy but after a few hours eventually dry matte, however it's what I find to be a comfortable matte texture, it doesn't feel too drying and instead feels like there's nothing even on the lips - I was constantly checking it was still there because it felt like it had all gone. The wear time of them is amazing, even through eating a stain is still left on the lips and they don't even budge from drinking. For day to day wear my personal favourite way to wear them is to apply a small amount in the middle of both lips and blend it out with my finger, this method means they dry matte instantly and aren't too dramatic for the day.

The applicator is also a great selling point, it is a doe foot applicator with a slight well in it that holds the perfect amount of product. The shape of it is slightly pointed meaning it fits perfectly to the shape of the lips and helps to get a precise and neat application. It is basically the perfect applicator for cream lip products!

I'm almost regretting not picking these up earlier, because they're some of the best lips products I've tried in a long time! I'm now keen to compare these against Revlon's new gloss stain and see how the two compare.

I'll be defiantly be looking to try more shades of the Apocalips in the future and seriously recommend everyone trying them. Of the two my favourite has to be Apocaliptic, I find it just suits me more and is one I feel I can get use out of all year round, however I do still love Stellar and found it to suit me a lot more than I thought it would. I'd also recommend checking out your nearest Poundland, I always see Revlon and Rimmel nail polishes and Rimmel eyeshadows in mine, so they're worth popping in to!

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What I've Bought #1

You might be thinking, "who needs five new lip products in the space of two weeks", well that person is me. But in my defence, one is a new release, one was for my birthday and the others were from Poundland! 

To start, I've wanted the YSL Rogue Volupte in #13 Peach Passion ever since I saw Zoella use it in her everyday makeup video, but £24.50 on a lipstick isn't exactly student friendly. I also wasn't sure if I would suit a peachy shade because I'm quite pale, and previous attempts at orange lips haven't worked out. But after countless times of swatching it, I gave in when I was able to order some stuff for my birthday, and I love it! Along with that I also ordered the Urban Decay Naked 2, I never thought I'd buy this because I've always preferred warmer toned eyeshadows, but I've been using MUA's version a bit more recently, so just thought I might as well have the real thing. Now I just need the Naked Basics to complete the family!

Then today I popped in to Boots and picked up a few things. Firstly I picked up the Yes To Grapefruit Brightening Facial Wipes, and I know facial wipes are quite a taboo in the beauty world, but sometimes you just want to remove your makeup and cleanse quickly, so after about two years of avoiding wipes, I picked some up for those lazy times. I also picked up the Haute Couture Individual Lashes, because I have quite straight lashes so I'm hoping they'll help make a difference. I was after a new powder too, so I chose the Rimmel Stay Matte which I've not used in a while just to test it again. Finally from Boots, I picked up two of the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain's, after seeing Fleur De Force rave about these I was keen to try them out. It took a lot of time to decide on the colours because a lot of them didn't look like they'd suit me that much, but I decided on India Intrigue and Barcelona Nights, they were 2 for £10 and I also had a £3 off, so I got them both for £7, which is an absolute steal!

I finally went to Poundland, where I saw they were selling the Rimmel Apocalips, which I've wanted to try to ages but have just been put off because of how glossy they seemed, and I always got the impression they might bleed a bit too much. But for £1, it seemed too much of a bargain to leave behind, so I picked up two of the three shades which are Apocaliptic and Stellar, so I'm excited to finally try them. Then finally, a rose bath bomb because I love Lush but £3 a bath can get expensive, so I thought I'd see what the Poundland ones are like. 

I'm looking forward to trying all of this stuff out, and I'll try and get reviews up of everything soon. I'd love to know if you've picked anything up recently, although I shouldn't go near a Boots anytime soon, I can always make note of what to buy for the future!

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