A quick update...

Hey everyone!

Just a quick post to say thank you so much if you’ve stayed subscribed throughout my massive (year long?!?!) unexplained absence- A-levels got very stressful very quickly, and so time that I would have loved to have spent writing and taking/editing photos had to be spent working instead.

However, now that it is summer I have had a lot more spare time, allowing me to get back to blogging! The blog has been given a revamp and I’ve got plenty of posts up my sleeve just waiting to be published, with the first one being due this weekend.

Watch this space!

xxx 

Red Lipstick 101

I haven't written a blog post in quite a while because I've been so busy with university visits and things, but seen as it is now summer I thought I would jump straight back into it by writing about one of my favourite makeup items ever- red lipstick. I love red lipstick as I think it instantly makes an outfit look more put together, and because it often makes skin look much more brighter and awake. Here I've chosen my top 5 favourite red lipsticks of all time and given you a little introduction into applying red lipstick. I tend to prefer matte lipsticks due to their extreme lasting power and intense pigmentation, which is why the majority of the lipsticks mentioned throughout this post are matte.

Left to right: Barry M lip liner (3), MAC Ruby Woo, Sleek Matte Me (433 Rioja Red), NARS Dragon Girl, MAC Viva Glam 1, Max Factor Lipfinity (120 Hot)

In order to make your lipstick last as long as possible I would recommend ensuring that the lips are well exfoliated and moisturised. This can be done by using a lip scrub and a lip balm, but make sure that the lip balm has soaked into the lips before applying the lipstick- particularly if it is matte. Having applied the lipstick, take a tissue and blot your lips with it. Then reapply another coat. This helps make the lipstick to last longer as it removes any excess wax. Before applying red lipstick I also like to use a lipliner, lining the edges of my lips and then filling in the middle. This makes application a lot easier and again means that the lipstick lasts longer. My favourite liner to use is Barry M's lip liner in the shade 3. It is really soft and creamy, making it effortless to line the lips because it doesn't tug. The shade is a basic red colour and so can be used with the majority of red lipsticks out there.

1. MAC (Ruby Woo)
Ruby Woo is a cult classic amongst the makeup community, and I completely understand why. It applies beautifully, suits most skin tones, and lasts for ages- what more could you want?! I'm also a little bit in love with the vanilla-y smell of MAC lipsticks, as well as the sleek packaging, so that's always a bonus.

2. Sleek Matte Me Lip Cream (433 Rioja Red)
I love the velvety texture and intense, bright colour that this has once it has dried, and the staying power is just incredible. Whenever I'm choosing between my red lipsticks it is often a battle between this and MAC's Ruby Woo- quite impressive considering this only costs £4.99. I do find that it is more drying than the average matte lipstick but this it's not uncomfortable if you make sure to apply lots of lip balm. I would definitely recommend picking one up next time you're in Boots!

3. NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (Dragon Girl)
I can definitely see why this cool toned lipstick is what Taylor Swift uses to create her iconic red lip look. It has more pink undertones than the rest of the products mentioned but is still a typical cherry red. I love the fact that it is a crayon as it makes applying the lipstick so much easier- this is a good one to grab if you often find yourself in a rush or on the go, and it also slots easily into your bag or purse. I find that it doesn't last as long as the other lipsticks, a factor that isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it instead leaves a pretty stain of colour that can either be left as it is or brightened by applying more.

4. Max Factor Lipfinity (120 Hot)
As I previously mentioned, I prefer matte lipsticks because they are more long lasting. This, however, is the one non-matte lipstick that I have found lasts for a whole day, through drinking and eating, and still requires scrubbing with a makeup remover to get it off. It is such a clever product- you first apply a layer of coloured lipstick before then applying a layer of moisturising balm. This balm makes the lips appear shiny and moisturised, and therefore more full. I absolutely love this lipstick and have never seen anything like it before.

5. MAC (Viva Glam 1)
I've written a post about this already but I like it so much I thought it deserved another mention- you can check out what I think about it here.

It was so difficult for me to only choose 5 lipsticks to write about so I'm sure there will be a similar post again some time in the future- let me know what red lipsticks you would recommend!

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette Review

The Urban Decay Naked palette is one of my favourite makeup products due to the high pigmentation and beautiful colours of the shadows. I love using it to create a smokey eye, but find the fact that it has only two matte shades slightly annoying. As a result of this, I went out and purchased the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette.

This compact palette has 6 full-sized eye shadows (5 matte and 1 shimmery highlighter), and a good sized mirror. The shadows have the same amazing pigmentation and colour payoff as the original Naked palette, and are soft without being powdery at all. They are really lovely to use and blend really easily, making it quite straightforward to create the look that you want. I tend to only use neutral eyeshadows and so I love the shade range. It allows for a mixture of looks- the darker end of the palette can be used to create an intense smokey eye, whilst the lighter end of the palette is perfect for everyday use. I particularly love the shade 'Venus', a satiny highlighter that gives a pretty but subtle shimmer and opens up the eye when used in the inner corner. The packaging is sleek and the palette is a good size for travelling with- I now choose to take this when travelling instead of lugging around the original Naked palette!

I absolutely love this palette and think it would make a great starter palette for people who are beginning to experiment with eyeshadows.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder- Review

The recent warm weather in the UK means I have found myself reaching for a bronzer during my makeup routine a lot more than I usually would. Throughout the whole of last year I used Rimmel's Natural Bronzer in 'Sun Bronze' (022), but thought it looked a bit too orange on my skin when I tried it again a couple of weeks ago. As a substitute I thought I would retest the Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder, and I am so glad I did- I am now absolutely in love with this product.

Despite having extremely pale skin I actually use the darker of the two available shades (52), and surprisingly do not find that it is too dark. It is also not orange in the slightest, which I often worry about when using bronzers. It gives a nice subtle glow to the skin, making it seem more tanned and awake than usual. At first I was slightly put off by the heavy amounts of glitter apparent in the bronzer, but thankfully this is not noticeable when applied, meaning it can also be used for contouring the face without any shimmer-related issues. My favourite thing about this product is definitely its smell. It smells of really sweet chocolate and is absolutely gorgeous- it makes me really look forward to using it! I quite like the packaging too as it is nice and compact, and so can easily be carried around in a makeup bag with no risk of it being broken (unlike the Rimmel Bronzer...). The bronzer itself is even made to look like a small bar of chocolate which is adorable.

Overall, I am really impressed with this product- yet another one from Bourjois to add to the list of favourites! What bronzers have you tried and been impressed with?

The Liebster Award

I got so excited when I checked my comments yesterday and saw that two people had nominated me for The Liebster Award. This is basically an award given to bloggers with under 200 followers, to help publicise their blog and to let their followers learn a bit more about them. Apparently Liebster means "sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome" in German so this is a really lovely award to recieve! Thankyou so much to Keli and Kirsty for nominating me, please go and check out their blogs!

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.

2. Display the award on your blog.

3. Answer 11 questions which were provided to you bu the person who nominated you.

4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself. 

5. Nominate 5-11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, (who have less than 200 followers.)

6. Create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.

7. List these rules in your post. Feel free to copy and paste. 

8. Inform the people/blogs that you nominated, that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it.

Here are my answers to the questions I was asked (as I was nominated twice I just randomly chose one of the sets of questions!):

1. What do you do for a job? I don't have a full time job as I'm actually still a sixth form student- I finished my AS exams last week and am now starting my A2's. I do have a part time waitressing job though!
2. What couldn't you live without? Ridiculously cheesy but I honestly couldn't live without my family and friends. Item wise though, I probably couldn't live without my phone which is really sad...
3. What's your favourite makeup product? My favourite makeup product is mascara- and my all time favourite mascara is either L'Oreal False Lash Flutter or L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes. 
4. Do you have any pet hates? I hate it when people chew food with their mouth open (eugh please no, so disgusting) and when people walk really slowly because it's the most aggravating thing ever. 
5. If you could be any animal, which would you be and why? Probably a dog because all they do is sit around, sleep, eat and play- such an easy life!
6. If you could change anything about your past, would you? Nope!
7. Do you have a favourite blog? I have quite a few favourites actually, including Kirsty and Keli's blogs, Vivianna Does Makeup, I Covet Thee, Annie Writes Beauty and all of the ones nominated below!
8. What do you like to do in your spare time? I like to read books/magazines, listen to music, watch New Girl/Nashville/Pretty Little Liars/Revenge, read blogs and go out. 
9. Do you have any strange/weird obsessions? I don't think so, unless you'd count Taylor Swift as a weird obsession? 
10. What's your favourite smell? I have absolutely no idea, probably the smell of chocolate hahaha!
11. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I hopefully would have just finished studying English Literature at University, and would maybe be beginning to work in the journalism industry!

My questions for bloggers:

1. What is your favourite film?

2. Who is your favourite singer?

3. If you could only use one makeup product for the rest of your life, what product would it be?

4. What was/is your favourite subject at school?

5. When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

7. If you could meet anyone, alive or dead, who would you meet?

8. A lifetime's supply of clothes, a lifetime's supply of shoes or a lifetime's supply of makeup?

9. What is your favourite book?

10. What would be your ideal day?

11. What is your worst habit?

I nominate (please check out their blogs!):

1. sophdoesnails

2. Couture & Dior

3. The Urban Fox

4. Kimiberry

5. Ashhgemm

6. Finders Keepers

7. That Curly Girl

MAC Viva Glam 1- Review

It's definitely no big secret that I love red lipstick, and having spent much of my precious revision time this past month sitting on the MAC website and staring longingly at Viva Glam 1, I knew what had to happen when I spotted the MAC store in Covent Garden.

Since its purchase this lipstick has been worn as many times as physically possible, and it has definitely already secured its position as one of my top 3 favourite lipsticks of all time. It's a gorgeous deep red colour with cool brown undertones, and is a lot darker than the classic bright reds like Ruby Woo. I tend to prefer matte lipsticks due to their extreme lasting power and intense pigmentation, and this is lipstick is certainly no exception. When applied at 10 in the morning it lasts all day, including through eating and drinking- even then it requires a good scrub with my makeup remover to try and get it off in the evening. Matte lipsticks are very often extremely drying, but so long as I use a lip balm before applying, I do not find that it is uncomfortable to wear. I also love the almost velvety appearance of this lipstick- it applies really smoothly and does not require a lip liner to keep it in place.

Swatch of Ruby Woo (top) vs Viva Glam 1 (bottom)

Although MAC lipsticks are more expensive than the average lipstick I believe that they are definitely worth the extra money, and have a feeling that Viva Glam 1 will remain a firm favourite for quite some time.

Benefit Watt's Up vs. Girl Meets Pearl

I have a bit of an obsession with highlighters at the moment, and Benefit is definitely one of my favourite beauty brands out there, making a comparison between two of Benefit's most coveted highlighters a perfect second blog post idea. I tend to only apply highlighter to the tops of my cheekbones during the day, but apply it softly along the bridge of the nose and underneath the brow bone as well when I'm going out in the evening.

Girl Meets Pearl is a beautiful highlighter with warm, yellow undertones and gold sparkle. I find it more suitable for the evening as the shimmer is a definitely a lot less subtle against my pale skin tone than Watt's Up- the glitter is really pretty for night time! The packaging requires you to twist the bottom in order to release product through the 'grid-like' lid at the top. I personally find this a pain as I always end up with too much product left over in the lid, which makes such a mess.

Whilst I love Girl Meets Pearl, Watt's Up is definitely my favourite of the two. It is a gorgeous champagne highlighter, with just the right amount of shimmer to give a natural looking glow. It is a lot softer than Girl Meets Pearl, giving more of a dewy finish. This means it can be used both during the day and of an evening. I like the fact that it is a stick highlighter as it makes it so much easier to apply than Girl Meet's Pearl does, and also makes it easier to use the right amount of product. At the bottom of the tube is a small blending sponge which I have tried using it before but gave up- I found it so much easier just to blend out using my fingers. Blending is important with this highlighter though as the stick applicator means you can easily end up with a sharp, sudden line of highlighter running along your cheekbone!

I love both of these highlighters and will definitely continue using them throughout the summer. However, I really want to try a powder highlighter- I'm looking at you, Laura Mercier Baked Radiance Powder. ;)