Maybelline Colour Drama | Intense Velvet Lip Pencil

As soon as I heard about the Maybelline Lip Pencils I knew I wanted to give them a try. I think this is the first lip pencil I've owned, as I haven't been able to justify spending £18 on a Nars Velvet Matte Pencil. I expect they are very similar though! 

The colour range isn't huge, but hopefully more will be released later on. I decided to go for 'Fab Orange', which is bright, but a great all year round shade. I was worried that it might be difficult to apply, but I actually found it more straight forward than using a lipstick. I've given this shade a good test run on two separate evenings and found that it lasts around six hours and when drinking and eating you would probably need to reapply after four or five. These pencils have a matte texture but are not too drying at all, which is what makes them a winner for me. 

One thing that I did find strange was that when I wore this lip pencil for the second time it kept ending up on my chin or smudged across my forehead. This didn't happen at all the first time I used it and I reckon it was just down to me being carless and that it wasn't the product. I was wondering if anyone else has found this when they've used this lip pencil?

Overall, I think these are great value for £4.99 and I've got my eye on a couple of the darker shades for winter.

Have you tried the Maybelline Velvet Lip Pencils? 

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer | Review

A product that I've been enjoying recently is the L'Oreal Lumi Magique concealer so here's a quick review for you.

I was using the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch but when it ran out I decided to go for the L'Oreal one. I think it was probably the gorgeous packaging that drew me to it more than anything else...so pretty! The only downside of the packaging compared to the Maybelline concealer is that you can't see how much you have left so don't know when you are close to running out. The way that you rotate the bottom of the packaging is the same however. It makes a clicking sound and the product is dispensed through a brush at the end. I use the brush to sweep the concealer under and around my eyes and then I use a Real Techniques Foundation Brush to really blend the product in. 

I have been using the shade medium, which is perfect. I think this product literally only comes in the shades Light or Medium, but I guess it doesn't need to as it's only being used for under the eyes. It doesn't have very thick coverage either meaning it doesn't cover up those dark circles, but it's just enough to brighten up your eyes in a subtle way. I love to use it as part of my every day make up routine and I think I'll purchase it again when this one runs out. I also want to try the Primer from this range, has anyone tried it?

Beauty Haul: Recent Additions

I was on a clothes spending ban during January but I seem to have picked up more beauty items to make up for that...oops. To be fair, most of these products were on offer and I did purchase most of them with a gift voucher and my Boots points. So the damage isn't as bad as it looks. I'm also really pleased with everything that I bought, especially the Revlon Colourburst Matte and Lacquer Balms.

I've been using the Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean Cleanser for about two weeks and I am already starting to see a difference to my skin. I've also already incorporated the L'Oreal Cleansing Oil into my routine and it really helps to budge that last bit of eye make up. I haven't used the La Roche Possay Effaclar Duo Plus yet but I love using the Effaclar Duo twice a day and have a feeling this one might be even better. 

The little purple lipstick is from the Littlemix range by Collection. I don't normally pay much attention to lines like this but my friend was wearing Perrie's shade the other week and I thought it looked lovely so got one for myself. At £2.99 you can't really go wrong with Collection lipsticks. The Maybelline Colour Tattoos are amazing, so I finally added the shade 'Pomegranate' to my collection and find that it's great for creating a quick and easy smokey eye. I also picked up the MUA LUXE Power Brow and I'm liking that so far, however the colour range wasn't that great when I was trying to decide which one to get and I'm worried that it might be a bit too dark. What I do like about this brow pencil is that there's a highlighter at the other end. 

Lastly, we have the L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint. I love the formulation of this foundation and think it will be great for spring and summer time when you want less coverage and something less heavy. But I found it very difficult to pick a shade as the range isn't great so ended up choosing 110 Warm Ivory. I'm a bit worried that in the summer this might be too light, but all of the other shades were way too orange. Did anyone else find this?

Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts? Or have you picked up anything new recently that you would recommend? 

July Favourites

How is it August already? I know this post is a bit late but my brother took the DSLR to Hungary with him and so I've been camera-less for a couple of weeks. But here are the things I was loving during July, better late than never! 

I have so many body lotions and butters. But I guess you can never have too many because you moisturise every day right? Well that's my excuse anyway. I've been loving the Nip & Fab Pistachio Sundae Body Butter recently because it's just such a great product all round. I love pistachio scented products (Including the Laura Mercier Crème de Pistache Soufflé...but I can't justify the price) and originally wanted to get the smaller sized tub, but when I saw that the 200ml one for half price on the Nip & Fab website, I knew it was a sign. I'm so glad I decided to try it because everything about this body butter feels really luxurious. It smells so good and has a lovely thick texture which absorbs into the skin beautifully, meaning that it isn't greasy at all. In fact, if you compare it to body butters from The Body Shop it feels more like a thick cream than a butter. It's just lovely. 
I've since discovered that the reason this product was half price is because it was been discontinued. But if there are still any left in the world then I would encourage you to get your hands on them, or try out some of the other lovely sounding scents. 

My friend got me the Organix Weightless Moroccan Argan Oil for my birthday in June and used it every time I've washed my hair since. It's even started to replace my V05 Miracle concentrate, which I thought was irreplaceable! I love the fact that the oil is in a spray bottle as it helps you to use the perfect amount of product. On the bottle it claims to "tame fly-away frizzies". If you have frizzy hair then this product might be good for you as it really does have a lovely effect on my hair and calms it down a bit. As well as applying it to wet hair I also apply it to my hair when it's dry, throughout the day to tame the frizz. This oil also smells gorgeous which is always a plus when it comes to hair products. 

The last two beauty products that I have been loving are from Maybelline. I've been so impressed with their products recently, especially the Dream Lumi Touch and Colour Tattoos. Before trying the Lumi Touch I'd never really tried a highlighting concealer before. I have no idea why because now I can't imagine not using it. I love the fact that it comes in a click pen because this means that you use up every last drop of the concealer. I even find that I don't have to click the product out every time. The one thing I was worried about was the fact that the shade looked very light. I went for 02 Nude and it has actually ended up being the perfect shade, so don't let this put you off if you are choosing one in the shop (there also seems to be more shades available in store than online). The concealer is gel-based and goes onto the skin very well, without creasing throughout the day. 

If you haven't tried the Maybelline Colour Tattoos yet then I highly recommend that you do. They are great for using as a base under powder and other cream eye shadows or using alone all over the lid. They are incredibly long lasting and do not crease what so ever. They are very creamy and smooth and haven't dried up in the pot, which is something I always worry about with cream shadows *touches wood*. The shade in the photo above is Pink Gold.It's incredibly pretty and my favourite shade from the range that they offer in the UK. 

Moving on from beauty products, I wanted to mention two necklaces that I picked up in the Topshop sale. I've really been enjoying wearing necklaces with large, statement pendants. The best thing about them is that they were only £3.50 each. You really can find some amazing bargains in the reduced jewellery section, you never need to pay £10 for one again!

Last but not least is my 15" Cambridge Satchel. I used it almost every day in July and can see myself getting so much use out of it throughout the year. It's so sturdy and timeless. My grandma even commented on how she had a satchel just like it when she was my age. I found reading reviews very useful when I was thinking of getting one, especially as they come in a variety of sizes and colours so i'll write my own review soon. 

Have you tried any of the products I've mentioned? What are your thoughts?





Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience.

On My Nails: Nails Inc Caramel & Maybelline Colour Show Polka Dots

I love the Maybelline Colour Show Polka Dots in Chalk Dust. I haven't tried the L'Oreal Confetti Top Coat but i'm guessing they are similar. The reason I opted for the Maybelline one is because it's a bit cheaper and I now have a few polishes from the Colour Show range and i'm really pleased with the quality. I decided to try it over a neutral colour so used Nails Inc Caramel which I got free a while ago in Boots when I bought two bottles of Coke. I love it when they do deals like that as even though I do like the Nails Inc polishes I never want to spend £11 on a bottle. I love the neutral shade underneath the black and white polka dot effect, it reminds me of eggs. I think next time I use it i'll try it over some pretty pastel colours such as Barry M's Blue Moon.

I would definitely recommend the Colour Show Polka Dots, it dries really quickly, gives such a lovely speckled look and you only need to apply a couple of coats to get an even and eye-catching effect. 

There are two other shades which look really pretty, let me know if you have tried them or are a fan of the Chalk Dust polish too! 

May Favourites

I have been really impressed with a lot of beauty products recently and have enjoyed using them so much that I thought it was only right to tell you about them.

Revlon Nearly Naked Powder
I always like to use a pressed powder on top of foundation to set my make up. I'm a massive fan of MACs Mineralise Skin Finish but wanted to find a cheaper option. So I decided to try this one by Revlon as I have tried their powders in the past and loved them. This powder did not disappoint! It is very finely milled so when I use a brush hardly any of the powder comes loose during application. It's such a light powder but still gives great coverage over foundation. It's amazing because even though it gives a lot of coverage, you can hardly see it on the skin and it's not chalky at all.

Bourjois Radiance Reveal Healthy Mix Foundation
I used to use the original version of this foundation all the time a few years ago but for some reason moved onto using other ones such as MACs Studio Fix Fluid and Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation. When I find a foundation that I like I tend to stick with it so I had completely forgotten how amazing the Bourjois one is. When I saw that it had been relaunched and was getting lots of positive reviews I thought it was time to go back to Bourjois when I ran out of my Rimmel foundation. I'm so happy I did because I love this product. It gives a medium coverage and a dewy finish and is hardly visible on the skin at all which I love.  

Bourjois BB Bronzing Cream
I was a bit wary about trying this product but it was on offer and I was just really intrigued by what it said on the bottle. 'Boosts radiance', 'Prolongs tan', 'Refreshing sensation', 'Addictive fragrance'. Firstly, yes it does have a lovely fragrance which reminds me of holidays! It also says on the bottle that it gives a 'flawless complexion' which actually isn't true as when I tried it by itself it gave no coverage AT ALL and just made my face a weird colour. But don't let this put you off! When I use it over the Healthy Mix Foundation I really like it as it gives me a really healthy glow and actually begins to do what it says on the bottle. I can see myself using this a lot over the summer (just not on its own).

Maybelline Baby Lips
They don't sell these yet (I don't know if they ever will?) in the UK so I asked my cousin to bring one over from the States (Thanks Jess) for me to try as i've heard good things about them. The rumours were true! I love this lip balm and it has three great things going for it. The smell- it smells/tastes like tangerine. The formula- it's so moisturising and soft on my lips. The shade- i love the fact that it has a subtle coral shade to it which transfers really nicely onto the lips. This lip product is perfect for summer and I would love to get my hands on some other scents! 

MUA Pro-Brow Kit
For a while I had been using Buck from my Urban Decay Naked Palette to fill in my eyebrows. I realised that used alone it's probably not the right shade for my eyebrows. So I thought it would be easier to just get a small brow kit so that I could mix shades that worked for me. I really didn't want to spend a lot of money so decided to get the MUA Pro-Brow Kit (which was sold out in a lot of my local drugstores). I can see why as I'm really pleased with it and love the fact that it contains setting gel to use on top of the powder. I mix the darker and middle shade together to create a pretty good match for my eyebrows and love the staying power and good quality for the low price.  

Vera Wang Lovestruck
This is probably one of my favourite perfumes ever. I really like the packaging (even if the lid is pretty unpractical) and I love the fact that the scent stays on my skin for a long time. Top Notes of Pink Guava, Angelica Flower and Mandarin. Heart Notes of Indian Jasmine Sambac, Tuberose Buds, blue Lotus Blossom and Base Notes of Sheer Musk ,Precious Woods and Vanilla. This perfume is lovely all round! I also tried the Floral Rush version of it recently and would love to get it when this one runs out.  

Palmer's Natural Bronze
I really dislike using fake tan...I just don't get along with it. I was a fan of the Dove gradual tanning lotion but gave up on using it because I wasn't really noticing a difference. So when I saw that Palmer's had released one I really wanted to give it a try. It really does work!! I had a uni event to go to the other day so I started using this the week before and applied it once every morning leading up to the event. After a week I was glowing and the best thing was that it did look natural and there were no streaks. I have stopped applying it now though because I'm sure if I applied it for a few more days i'd be close to looking like an Oompa Lumpa. It seems to be a great product for building up a tan the week leading up to something that you want to look tanned for. The one thing I'm not a fan of is how strong the smell is, but you seem to get that with most tanning products and the cocoa butter does seem to cover that up a bit. 

H&M Phone case
I picked up this phone case in H&M the other week for just £2.99! I mean, it's turquoise AND it's a cat...two of my favourite things. It's surprisingly good quality and it really does protect my phone because it fits all the way around the edges. 

I'd love to hear which products you enjoyed using during May!

Spring Things: Beauty Additions

I think these are going to be the last beauty products I buy for a while. I seem to be able to walk into somewhere like Boots or Superdrug and buy a selection of things that I will probably never use. That's because I don't actually need them but at the time I seem to think I do. Does this happen to any of you? I'm really looking forward to using all of these products though and apart from the nail polish they are things that can be used on a daily basis.

Bourjois Cream Blush in Shade 03- Rose Tender £7.99

I have really been enjoying the one cream blush that I have at home (I recently found a good brush to apply it with instead of trying to use my fingers) so when I saw that Bourjois has released their own, I knew I wanted to get my hands on one. I've only used it once so far and really like it. After i've used it a few more times I might do a post to tell you what I think. But so far, so good. 

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and on Bronze £4.99

I've been using the shade 'Pink Gold' every day and love it so decided to try a bronze colour. I love the formula of this product and the staying power is amazing. I highly recommend these and after using the Pink Gold one for a couple of months it hasn't shown any signs of drying out in the pot *touch wood*.

Maybelline Colour Show Polka Dots in Chalk Dust £2.99

So, I told myself that I didn't need any more nail polishes. But I saw this one and thought it was too good to pass up. I'd been thinking about trying the L'Oreal confetti top coat but this maybelline one is half the price and I love the Colour Show polishes. I'm really looking forward to trying this over different colours.

Superdrug Coconut & Shea Butter Body Butter £3.69

I never stick with the same body lotion. This is because I find that even the cheaper ones do the same job as the higher end ones and I like trying out a variety of scents. As long as it smells good and absorbs into my skin nicely I don't really mind what the brand is. Let me know if you've used any you think I should try!

 I love anything coconut scented and seeing as summer is approaching I thought this body butter would be ideal. I usually prefer using body butters to lotion as long as they aren't too greasy. I'm not expecting this body butter to be outstanding but it smells lovely and i'm sure it will do the same job as one from the Body Shop.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Oil Free Moisturiser £4.49

I ran out of facial moisturiser last month and wanted to replace it with a less expensive one so opted for this one after it was recommended to me by my best friend Laura. We often let each other know if we've tried something and liked it so I knew I should give this moisturiser a try. I also had a £1 off voucher for this range in Boots which was very convenient! So far I really like this product, I love the grapefruit scent and the consistency and also like the sound of the grapefruit face wash.

Have you tried any of these products or picked up any new ones for spring and summer?

Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience.

On My Nails : Maybelline Color Show Pow Green

I have loved everything green recently, including nail polish. This weeks shade is Pow Green from the Maybelline Color Show range. This green is on the yellow side which is what I love about it and it’s brightness makes it a fantastic spring shade. I have applied two coats here but one would probably be enough and with a good top coat it doesn’t chip for a good 4-5 days. I now have three shades from the Color Show range and with a price tag of £2.99 I would definitely recommend picking one up if you can. 

Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience.