January 2013 Favourites

So last year I wasn't the best at getting my favourite's posts done, I think I did 3 if that, this year I'm going to be more organised and get a post up each month. I haven't done a favourites post in a long time so there are a few things that I'm really loving at the minute, quite a few things are new but that is because I have been trying out presents that I was given at Christmas, I think for future posts I will include makeup that isn't new to me but that I have rediscovered in my collection.

Real Techniques Brushes: Buffing Brush, Blush Brush & Contour Brush
These brushes are amazing, they are really easy to use and find they really help your makeup look it's best. I have found that the blush brush is great when using bright blushers as it picks up the right amount of blusher so you can build the colour or just get a hint of colour.

Sleek Blusher in Pixie Pink
I bought this after seeing Tanya Burr using it in one of her youtube videos (here), I don't really have many blushers and wanted to expand my collection. It is a really bright pigmented pink, but if you only use a small amount, you can build up the colour that bests suits you. I have really enjoyed using this blusher and have worn it nearly everyday.

MUA Cream Blusher in Dolly
I bought this when MUA first released their cream blushers, I never really wore it though as it seemed a bit of a faff, but recently I have been experimenting with the blusher and I absolutely love it. It does require a bit more effort than powder blush but it's worth it, I especially love blending the colour into my skin with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush. It gives my skin a really nice natural glow.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Liner in Brown
I already have the nude eyeliner from this range and really liked the texture of the liners, so I bought one in brown, the liner has a slightly metalic finish to it which I really like, it's great as a normal liner or smudged out for a smokey finish, I have worn this practically everyday this month.


Topshop Crescent Moon Highlighter and Sleek Bronzer in their Face Form Palette
I have really been enjoying learning to contour and find these products have been great to create a really lovely subtle contoured look. You can see my review of Sleek's face form palette here.

(L-R) Topshop Crescent Moon, MUA Dolly, Sleek Pixie Pink & Rimmel Scandaleyes

Barry M White Foundation Creme
I recently did a post on this (you can see it here) but this is a must for my pale skin, don't know how I managed without it... oh yeah I looked orange all the time!



Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish
I know I'm late to the party with this one, but I love this cleanser, I use it everyday and it's perfect for my winter skin, it's also brilliant at taking off my eye makeup.

Liz Earle Brightening Skin Tonic
I've never really been that fussed about toners before I know I need to use them to make sure my skin is cleansed thoroughly and they help to close your pores but I never really see a difference in my skin after using them, that was until I started using this toner, my skin looks brighter and more healthy after I use this toner. It's not a miracle worker and my skin is still in bad condition but I can see a difference when I use this. I love it!

Clarins Hydra Quench Moisturiser for Oily/Combination skin
I'm still loving this moisturiser, you can see my full review here, it feels lovely and rich without being too heavy or greasy, it has been an essential part of my skin care this winter.

Bioderma
The bloggers best friend. When I was in Paris in September I was sure to stock up on this as it is much cheaper over there as there isn't a stockist for it in the UK. Bioderma is essentially a cleansing water, but it is really gentle and doesn't leave my skin feeling tight or sore. I don't use this everyday but I have got in the habit of keeping it by my bed for days where I have been too lazy to wash my face with my Liz Earle or Emma Hardie cleansers, and that is why it's in my favourites I love being able to use it when I'm sitting in bed, it might not be the thorough double cleanse i probably should do but it's better than going to sleep with makeup on (which I have been guilty of too many times).
Rumour has it that Boots will be stocking Bioderma later in the year!

Full product reviews will be coming soon!

What are your January favourites?

Elaine

Sleek Brow Kit Review

It seems like high street brands are going brows crazy at the minute, MUA, GOSH and Look Beauty all have launched their own brow kits this year. I've never really been that into my brows, I know Rachel was obsessed with her Benefit Browzings (RIP) before it was stolen, but with all the brow kit talk on blogs I have been experimenting and became a bit obsessed with getting my own brow kit, I have used a brow pencil but I didn't really like it.
I had my sights on the new brow kit from MUA but every time I went into Superdrug they never had any left no matter which day/time I went in, and I really have no patience so I bought Sleek's brow kit in light, at £8.50 it is more expensive than MUA but I definitely think the quality is worth the price.

The kit includes shadow, brow wax, teeny tiny tweezers, a powder brush and angled brush, I have to be honest I will never use these tweezers but they are very cute!

At first I wasn't sure whether to get this due to the limited colour choice, as most brow kits are one fits all, but with Sleek they have different shade options to buy so you can find the kit that best suits you. 

When I want to have more subtle brows I only use the powder so that it is more of a natural filler, when I want to experiment with a more dramatic brow look I either just use the brow wax or mix the powder and wax together to get a darker colour. 

(L - R) Powder - Wax


I have been really impressed with the kit and the different brow looks you can create with only two shades, I think it helps that you can pick either a light,medium or dark kit. 
The colours are really pigmented so you don't need to apply a lot of layers to get the colour you want, and I have found that the powder/wax lasts all day. If you do want to take the kit with you just in case the packaging is compact so it will fit in every bag!

I have really enjoyed using this brow kit and would definitely repurchase. 

Elaine

Sleek Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette Review

I recently became a bit obsessed with contouring after watching a Pixiwoo video on the contouring trend, although the video is a couple of years old it was full of great tips. I really wanted to try contouring for myself, I know it should be second nature for a beauty blogger to be able to contour but I have always avoided it as I am soo pale and a bit rubbish so I thought it would look too obvious on me especially as most bronzers you come across are shimmery!

That was until I was having a bit of a nosey on the Sleek website and found their Face Form contouring and blush palette! I had never seen this in the Superdrug before (don't get me started on the poor quality Sleek stands in Superdrug shops! It drives me insane) was this launched on the quiet??

The palette is designed for different skin tones so you can select the palette that will suit you best, I got the palette for fair skin, but there are 4 options to choose from.

The palette itself contains a bronzer, highlighter and blusher.

• The bronzer is a lovely matte colour that is a perfect shade for my skin tone, the colour is subtle enough for me to confidently experiment with contouring without worrying that I look like I have been tangoed! I have also used this as an eye shadow for a casual daytime look.

• The highlighter is a really lovely pink shimmer, subtle enough to be used during the day and evening.

• The blusher is the infamous Rose Gold blush that a whole lot of bloggers raved about, and I can understand why, it is a really gorgeous colour that is very pigmented so you only need to apply a small amount then you can build it up for the colour that you want.

Top - Sleek eye shadow palette, Bottom - Sleek Face Form palette

I was expecting the palette to be quite large but I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived, it is a decent size but definitely small enough to put in your bag for travelling or touch ups. I have compared it to a Sleek eye shadow palette in the photo above so that you have an idea of the size if you do buy it online.

I really love this palette and have been obsessed with it since I bought it, I think it is really good value for £10 considering the rose blush is £5 if bought separately. I did have to pay delivery of £2.95 which was very annoying (Superdrug!) but I kept going on the Sleek website to look at the palette so I decided to just pay the delivery charge and treat myself!

I'm really liking Sleek makeup at the minute! 

I also bought their Brow Kit so will do a review soon.

Elaine

Sleek i-Divine Ultra Mattes v2 Darks Palette Review

This is the first Sleek palette that I have bought, I have always been tempted by their other palettes (Rachel has the iconic Storm palette which has some great colours) but this is the first palette where I actually thought I would wear all of the colours. It was definitely the colours that attracted me to this palette rather than the fact they were matte shadows, as I normally wear shimmery or metalic shadows. 

The colours that I reach for most often are Thunder, Flesh, Paper Bag, and Villan. 

Flesh is a really great neutral shade for a daytime look and I have been using Paper Bag on my eyebrows, by blending the colour on the back of my hand so the colour isn't too dark. 

All of the swatches are below.

Top to Bottom - Orbit, Ink, Highness, Noir, Dune and Pillow Talk

Top to Bottom - Thunder, Maple, Flesh, Paper Bag, Villan and Fern

I have mixed feelings about this palette, I found that some of the colours look completely different when you swatch them such as Fern and Noir, and not as dark as they appear in the palette. Some of the more vibrant colours are quite difficult to blend which means they aren't the best to add as an accent colour, so I tend to use when I want to have a single eye shadow look so not as much blending will be required.

Pro's

• My favourite colours Fern and Thunder - Fern creates a nice natural day time look, it gives your eyes a great even look, your eyelids but better. I have been using Thunder for a subtle evening look, when you don't want to look too 'done'.
• The price, £6.99 is a great price for a palette which contains 12 shadows.
• The packaging feels secure and good quality for the price, I also like that there is a mirror included.

Con's

• I found that the eye shadow's were very chalky which felt really cheap, especially as I know that other palette's tend to be more on the creamy side compared to this.
• The colours are quite difficult to blend and take a lot of work, and the more you blend the lighter the colour becomes so to get the colour you want you need to apply more layers of shadow.
• Some of the colours when applied and swatched weren't true to how they looked in the palette even when you layered the shadow.

Verdict

I was quite disappointed in this palette, I had expected the quality of the shadows to be better as I know that everyone raves about the Sleek palettes. I have found that I don't wear as many of the colours as I thought I would as they are difficult to blend to create different looks. 

I don't think I would rush to try Sleek matte eye shadows again.

Elaine 

Recent Purchases - mini haul

Just a quick post to share with you some of my recent purchases. While Superdrug had the 3 for 2 on I had a HUGE list of products I wanted to get, unfortunately they never had stock of anything I wanted (sort it out Superdrug) so this mini haul is a lot smaller than I expected.

Sleek Blush BY3 - Lace £9.99 (bought in Superdrug 3 for 2) -  I have been looking for this for so long in Superdrug, I'd given up on finding it so I went in for a different blush but when I asked to see if they had the other blush in stock the sales assistant found the palette and tons of others in the drawer (why don't they have them out!) I've already used this loads and love it, review to follow soon - although I'm not sure anyone really needs to read another review on it.

Revlon Colourstay Foundation - Buff £12.49 (bought in Superdrug 3 for 2) - I used this foundation years ago but stopped wearing it when I wanted a lighter coverage, I bought this as although I don't wear medium to full coverage foundation daily its always handy to have for really bad skin days. Although I wish that I'd waited and got the new SoftFlex ColourStay.

L'oreal Lumi Magique - £8.49 (bought in Superdrug 3 for 2) - I've wanted to try the Lumi range for awhile but the foundation colours really don't work for me and I'm not in need of another primer so I went for this instead. I love the packaging but if I'm honest I'm not sure its really working for me.

nspa Nourishing Eye & Lip Treatment - £2.50 (Usually £3.00) ASDA - I was in need of a new eye cream and as this was only £2.50 it was a bit of a impulse purchase. I haven't used it yet but the smell is delicious!

BM Beauty Finishing Powder - £8.00 EthicalSuperstore.com  - I loved the samples I received from BM Beauty and I absolutely adore their brushes so I have high hopes for this powder. I've played about with it and its seems lovely and light, not at all cakey. I will of course review it fully asap.

Revlon Lip Butter - Tutti Fruitti  - £5.99 Boots (Usually £7.99) - Elaine LOVES this lipstick and I've had my eye on it for awhile, I've got quite dark lips so the lip butters don't do too much for me but its a easy and light alternative to my Topshop Infrared lipstick - I also love using a bit of it on my cheeks when I don't have any blusher with me.

Do you use any of these products?

Rachel

SS12 Trends - Brights Make-up

In all of the magazines they are saying the key trends for spring/summer make up are brights and pastels, so I really wanted to try out the brights trend as normally I play it safe. I went into Superdrug yesterday with the intention of buying Sleek's Acid palette at £6.49, as Sleek was the first make up brand that came to mind for a cheap palette that had a range of colours. But Beauty UK's make up range caught my eye, they are very similar to MUA, and offer a range of colour palettes and very cheap make up, I found a perfect bright rainbow palette for only £3.99, it doesn't have a name just number 2.

I was really pleasantly surprised by the quality and the pigmentation of the eyeshadows, swatches below.

(I can't wait to use the bright pink and orange in a block cover, although I think I'll stick to matching eyes) If you aren't taken by these colours here are some other bright options you can try.

MUA - Pop Tastic £4

Sleek - Acid £6.49

I also found a Sleek Palette in Superdrug called Carnival but I can't seem to see it online, maybe it's discontinued? If you don't want a palette, you can try single MUA eyeshadows for only £1 or Barry M pots for £4.49

We will be posting ways to wear the new trend soon.