Makeup Review: Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner Black 001

Hey everyone, hope you're having a good week. I AM! But I think I'm gonna update you all with an actual proper post later this week, I'll see. 

Today I am reviewing Rimmel's liquid eyeliner, something which I've used for many years now and it's an old favourite of mine for sure.

First of all, the packaging is fairly simple but I like it. You don't need alot of product for your eyes so each bottle does last you a good while and it's a good travel size too. You get alot of product in each bottle so you have to be careful when you open them and scrape a little off the wand before you apply it.

The applicator is great, it is very sturdy and doesn't slide everywhere like other eyeliners. I know people often struggle with liquid eyeliner but this is the perfect to start with because you can press as hard as you like and it doesn't shift much. You have complete control and the applicator allows you create the precise and smooth look that you want around your eyes.

The product is a very pigmented liquid and it is a bold, strong colour which lasts on the eyes even when it dries. It dries very quickly so you have to be quick and precise with what you want on your eyes. It lasts for a good while but 16 hours that Superdrug state isn't very true. It smudges and flakes a little after about 9-10 hours but that's still pretty good by my standards. I don't usually have my makeup on for near 10 hours anyway! Plus, it comes off really easily with makeup wipes, cleansers etc.

You can get it here for £5.29

Have you used this? What do you think of it?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

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Makeup Review: I Heart Makeup - Blushing Hearts Triple Baked Blusher

Hey, everyone!

I hope you're doing well and looking forward to this weekend. I have been mad busy with my dissertation so I haven't updated my blog much lately, sorry! But today I've got a quick makeup review for you. 

Today, I am reviewing I Heart Makeup's blusher in the shade Blushing Heart which is a fabulous little product.

I have been using this for almost a year and it hasn't even begun to run out at all yet! It is a perfect colour for Spring or Summer, it goes with anything if you apply the correct amount. I usually apply bit by bit to add a bit of subtle colour to my cheeks.

It is a lovely shade and it is very pigmented so you don't need alot on your cheeks. If you put too much on, it can look like you've been slapped!

The packaging is very, very cute but it is quite clearly a blatant copy of Too Faced's Sweetheart Blush, just at a very cheap price. I love using this and haven't found any other decent blushers just yet. I do think a few pounds should be knocked off the price because I wouldn't say it's worth a fiver considering the brand. But if you compare it to Too Faced, you're getting a hell of a deal and it lasts for ages! 

You can buy it here for £4.99

Have you used this? What do you think of it?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

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Makeup Review: MUA Eyebrow Pencil - Brunette.

Hi, guys! I've got another makeup review for you today. This time I am reviewing an eyebrow pencil from MUA so let's go!

MUA isn't the best brand of makeup I find but I have really enjoyed using this eyebrow pencil. I get the shade 'brunette' and it is only £1! To be honest, I haven't used any other eyebrow products, certainly not expensive ones.. for fear they won't work and I'll have wasted my money. But I think I'll try some others in the future. But right now, I really like this one.

For the price of it, it is very pigmented and works very well. I'd recommend it especially for those who are trying out eyebrow products for the first time. It's a great size as well. I kept my first one for well over a year and all for £1!

The brush at the end is great for blending out the pencil and making it look more natural and finish off your makeup look nicely. It's a little bit hard, bristle-wise, so I wouldn't press down too hard. Also, take care with sharpening the pencil itself. The product is fairly creamy and soft and does break off easily when pressed hard but it's great overall. You're always left with lovely eyebrows which is what everyone wants!

You can buy it here for just £1!

Have you tried this? Do you like it?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

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Makeup Review: The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter.

Hey, everyone. I just realised I haven't done a review on anything makeup related in ages! But today I'm doing a review on The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer's highlighter. I've been loving this recently and I know it's been raved about by other bloggers so here's my review!

First of all, I absolutely love the packaging. It's very unique and shows a classy, pin up girl on the front jailed for looking fabulous! I forgot to photograph the back of it as well so I had to use someone else's but it looks like this:

(x)

It looks so cool and retro. I love it!

The Mary-Lou Manizer states that it is an "innocent honey-hued lumanizer that catch everybody's eye .. your skin looks softer and younger while adding a subtle glow".

The colour is absolutely gorgeous and it is really shimmery. You don't need alot on your brush or finger, it is very pigmented. Gradually add more and more until you're happy with the result. Too much and you can end up looking like a disco ball! Actually, I wore this last night and I don't often post photos of myself on here but I did like how I did my makeup. Have a look:

Hopefully, you can see that highlighter looking on fleek! It really is worth the money and for the price of it, I'd say you should use this for special occasions and nights out rather than for every day use. I got this on sale but it's a higher end product. Get a cheaper one for everyday use because this is one is really too nice just for every day. It is entirely up to you but personally, I don't wear alot of make up every day for uni and stuff but each to their own.

What's more, you can also use this lovely product as an eyeshadow too! It comes out as a lovely yellow gold shimmer and it's really nice to wear on its own or to add a bit of sparkle on top of other eyeshadows for your eye look. Plus it has a compact mirror so you can pop it in your bag for whenever you need to top up.

You can buy it at Superdrug or Amazon for £17.50.

Have you used this? What did you think of it?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

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7 Deadly Sins of Makeup Tag.

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good Sunday afternoon so far. All this turning-the-clocks-back-an-hour business has got me very confused as to what time it actually is. BUT I was able to sleep in without guilt today haha! 

So today, I have a little fun post for you all and it's actually a makeup tag. No one has actually tagged me in this (billy no mates over here *sniff*) but I thought it'd be fun to do. Enjoy! 

1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?

I think the most inexpensive beauty item I own is a Make Up Academy eyebrow pencil.  It's only £2.69 and it's really good for the price of it! I haven't really tried any other eyebrow products though so I'm using this at the moment but it's certainly good enough.

The most expensive beauty item in my collection at the minute I would definitely say is my Urban Decay Naked 2 eyeshadow palette coming in at £37ish but I can't remember if I got in a sale or not.

2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love hate relationship with?

This is an odd question for me because any beauty item that I have a slight bit of dislike for, I just wouldn't use. But I'd say I LOVE my Benefit Roller Lash mascara but HATE the price, I do think it could be a lot cheaper.

3. GLUTTONY: What brand takes up the most of your collection?

I think it would probably be Rimmel because I have quite a few different shades of lipsticks from them. They're reasonably priced and their formulas are always so great.  

4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect due to laziness?

I think it would have to be any blushers that I have by Ted Baker, Kiko Milano or I Heart Makeup. I tend to not use a lot of makeup everyday because I'm usually only going to university for a couple of hours or hanging out at home. I only ever go all out with blushers, highlighters, eyeshadow etc. for meeting up with friends or nights out. 

5. PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most confidence?

Ooh, that is a tough one! It would have to be my Benefit Roller Lash mascara because it makes my eyelashes so much longer with just a few coats. Either that or my lipsticks from Kiko Milano in Passion Red and Dark Berry - these are such beautiful colours, perfect for autumn/winter right now actually. They look matte when dry but they are so creamy and stunning.

6. LUST: Which beauty item is at the top of you wish list?

I have had my eye on The Balm NUDE'tude Nude eyeshadow palette, the colours in it look incredible and I haven't had anything from this brand before. But I don't think I'm going to buy it at the moment because it's pretty pricey at £29.99 and I have a fair few eyeshadow palettes right now. 

7. ENVY: Which beauty items looks good on others, but not yourself?

I know this straight away! Literally any contouring products! I haven't tried contouring yet and I'm a little hesitant on where to start. So if you have any recommendations for cheap, decent contouring items for someone who wants to start practising right now then please do leave your suggestions in the comments!

So there we have it - my seven deadly sins of make up.  I hope you enjoyed reading this and do feel free to do this on your own blog.  Feel free tagging me in any posts if you do!

Thankyou for reading.
Laura.

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Organise your makeup!

Happy Sunday afternoon, everyone! 

Now I don't know about you but I feel so much better when everything is organised and clean. However, I am a lazy person and I leave everything in a mess everywhere! But once I get round to it, I actually love having everything sorted and organised. Especially when it's things I use everyday like make-up!

Now, usually I have eyeliners and lipsticks all over the place.. in my bags, boxes, on a table somewhere. I didn't have it all in one place and that needed to change!

So I got my act together and sorted through all of my make-up. I had a massive clear out and threw out make-up that was years old or not used anymore. If anyone has any recommendations on what to do with make-up that has been unopened, then please let me know. I'd love to donate make-up if directed to the right place (in the UK). 

I went online and found this lovely little make-up organiser on Amazon. 

It is made from clear acrylic and it's actually pretty good quality. It's small enough to neatly fit on your make-up table or chest of drawers. It comes with 12 lipstick holders and different compartments big enough for your foundations, powders, primers etc. It also comes with three drawers that fit most things in it, such as:

 Eyeliners (both glitter and normal), stick eyeshadows, eye pencils.

Mascaras, single eyeshadow and eyeliner pots.

Lipliners, lipglosses and lipsticks that don't fit in the holders.

It really is handy for keeping all of your everyday makeup together but it doesn't have much space to fit bronzers or contouring powders which I don't use. It also doesn't fit big eyeshadow palettes like the Urban Decay Naked palettes or anything that size. Small, single eyeshadow pots or anything like that are okay if you arrange them correctly. 

  I also bought a small pot for my brushes to keep those together as well. 

You can get the make-up organiser for just £25.99

& the pot for £3.90. 

Have you got something like this? How organised are you with your makeup?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

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Makeup Sponge Review: Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge.

Hey everyone, today I have a review of Real Techniques' Miracle Complexion Sponge and I hope you enjoy reading it. Any recommendations or thoughts you have for me on what to try out are really appreciated.

The packaging is cute and a little different to the usual, box-shape standard that you tend to usually get with other make-up applicators. It is very detailed about what is inside and what it can do for your skin which I think is an added bonus!

I love Real Techniques' brushes which I've also reviewed here.  In the past, I've used my fingers before then converting to my holy grail which is the buffing brush that comes with the Core Collection Set. So I was a little wary and possible biased when I came to use the Miracle Complexion Sponge. I have also never tried the Beauty Blender either which everyone raves about so I didn't have anything to compare it to. 

The sponge is designed to be used, either damp or dry, to apply, blend and buff in your base make-up. The dome part of it is for applying make-up all over your face and the flatter side is for larger areas with a pointed tip to blend in the make-up into all the nooks and crannies. The shape of the sponge is pretty useful and a great concept but I felt like you couldn't use as much of the make-up product as you could with your fingers or a brush. 

As you can see from the picture, you can see how much the sponge soaks up more of the product rather than allowing it to spread around your face. I felt like I get more of a natural, better finish with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush rather than using this. It was rather time-consuming and I felt like I had to use more layers than usual to cover up my blemishes. It was also hard to wash out as well and also very time-consuming.

The only good thing it was actually useful for concealer. Instead of using the same brush or my finger, I can use it to press in my concealer and blend in any product into any tight spots that my buffing brush can't get into. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend buying this because I've heard more bad reviews about it more than good ones, mine included. But if you can afford spending a fiver or so to try this out than it may work out better for you than for me.

You can it from Amazon for £4.48

Or from Boots for £5.99

Have you used this before? What did you think of it?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

Makeup Review: Barry M Bold Gold Waterproof Eyeliner.

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been posting much at all but today I have a review of a Barry M eyeliner for you to read. I think my review will be surprising as this has turned out to be a really much loved product by a lot of people. So let's get into it:

This is a waterproof eyeliner that cames in eight colours from Barry M that is supposedly long lasting (8 hours) and according to Superdrug and Boots it applies "as smoothly as a liquid with the precision of a pencil". First of all this product is £3.99 and for the price, I think it's ridiculous that it doesn't even do the job it's made for! 

 The nib of the pen fell off the very first time I used it! I swiped the product across my lower lash line very gently and the product is that soft or that crap that it instantly broke off and I couldn't even get the full experience of the eyeliner. 

  The swatch makes it looks like it could have been a nice colour on my eyes as well. I originally bought it to wear on Christmas day to make my look more glittery and vibrant but I didn't even get to try it out. I ordered it online from Superdrug and I don't know if mine wasn't as sturdy or as solid as the other eyeliners but I'm very unhappy with it! Everyone else absolutely loves it and have had a brilliant time with it. Unfortunately I am very unimpressed and it is literally the worst product I've ever attempted to use.

Have you ever used this? What did you think of it?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura. 

Makeup Brush Review: Real Techniques Core Collection Set by Nic & Samantha Chapman.

Hello everyone! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Boxing Day, I know I sure did. Lots of wine, food, fab company and presents = fantastic day. If you don't celebrate Christmas then Happy Whatever-You-Celebrate! It even turned out to be a white Christmas as it snowed a fair bit last night!

Today I'm going to be reviewing the Real Techniques Core Collection by Nic and Samantha Chapman as I've had it now for quite a while and I think it's a good time to review it. Before I get into the review, I just want to apologise for the quality of the photos. The weather has been fairly dark and gloomy so the lighting isn't very good for my pictures at the moment. But let's get into the review anyway:

So like the Eyes Starter Set by Real Techniques (which I also reviewed), these are also designed by make-up artist Samantha Chapman and they're made up of synthetic taklon bristles (100% cruelty free!) and they're created to allow your make-up to be even and free of any streaks. They're non-porous and none of the product you're using, germs or dead skin cells get trapped within the bristles. Each brush head is shaped in such way that allows for precise application from thick coverage to a soft, delicate finish.

In this set there is a detailer brush, pointed foundation brush, buffing brush and a contour brush. They all come in a panoramic 2-in-1 brush case/stand as well so it's easy to travel with or keep on a table. Each name of the brushes is engraved on the handles so it is easier for you to know which one is which when creating your look.

 Detailer Brush

"Precision to cut effortlessly conceal problem areas; or use with lipstick for long-lasting shape and definition."

I use this brush for its intended use actually. It's fantastic as a concealer brush because you're more likely to get more bacteria on your face if you use the applicator that comes with your concealer like mine or even your fingers. It's easy to blend the concealer out as well into your foundation.

 Pointed Foundation Brush

"Use with liquid foundation to build custom coverage."

I don't actually use this as a foundation brush as I feel it's too flat and thin for me. However, I do use it to wipe away any streaks that may occur or to pat down my concealer around my eyes. But I would say this is my least-used brush out of the whole set.

Buffing Brush

"Ideal for full coverage application of powder and mineral foundation."

This is intended for powder but I actually use it to apply my foundation with. After a long time using my fingers to apply my foundation with, this brush is absolutely heavenly to use! It blends my foundation perfectly and I don't have to use as many layers now to cover my face. My favourite brush out of the lot!

Contour Brush

"Delicately applies highlighter to contour or create sheer, soft-focus finish."

I use this to put my powder on and also as a highlighting brush. Again it's fantastic to use and really blends in the product well to help me get that look I want.

These brushes can be a little dear if you're on a budget but they are definitely worth getting.

I did get these when they were on sale but you can usually get them from these places:

Amazon - Was £20.99 now £14.19 

Boots - £21.99

Superdrug - £20.99

Have you used these before? What do you think of them?

Thankyou for reading.
Laura.

Makeup Review: Barry M Natural Glow Palette 2 & Starry Eyed Palette.

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well and feeling ready for Christmas! Today I'm going to be reviewing two eye-shadow palettes from Barry M; Natural Glow Palette 2 and the Starry Eyed Palette. Both of these palettes are great and I highly suggest using them for Christmas nights out or for the day itself. I also used someone else's photos of the swatches because my iPad does not catch the beautiful colours very clearly so please beware that they aren't mine.

Firstly I'll be reviewing the Natural Glow Palette that is also paired with a primer. This is the sequel to Barry M's best selling 'Natural Glow' Eyeshadow and Blush Palette. It has warmer golden tones which is suitable for all skin types. 

This palette has three shimmer based eye-shadows and three matte colours with a tan coloured pimer which helps set your eye-shadow day and night. The colours are just lovely and very diverse, from left to right there is; a matte yellow based cream, a light matte grey, a gorgeous light mauve, a golden shimmery shade, a deep cool copper colour and a deep glittery purple.

(Photo source)

All of the shadows are well pigmented but fairly soft with a bit of fall out and the primer didn't work for me unfortunately due to my oily skin. The texture was far too creamy for my type of skin but it's not a problem as I didn't think I would like it in the first place. I think if you have drier skin, it may work better for you. But the main part, the eye-shadows, blend very easily with each other, they're very soft and with my regular primer they can last many hours.

The packaging is really cute and the size of the palette makes it easy to travel with.
You can get it at Boots or Superdrug for £6.49!

 

Lastly and definitely not least is the Starry Eyed Palette which replaces the primer with a lovely coral blush and it's definitely my favourite palette out of the two. However, it's a limited edition palette so I don't know how long it'll be in stock for so it's definitely worth getting your hands on to try out. 

 

The eye-shadows are absolutely stunning and as I have mentioned before, I do love my darker tones for my eyes. From left to right there is; a light yellowish tan matte colour, a beautiful metallic blue, a reddish brown, a cool golden brown, a matte deep chocolate tone and a brown with a red base.

(Photo source)

Again all of the eye-shadows are pretty pigmented and with a decent primer, they last for hours! The blush is really pretty and you definitely don't need a lot of it as a little goes a long way for sure. I also love the packaging on this palette as well just because it's purple and the lettering is in a lovely golden shade. Again it is light and small enough to travel with which is always handy and great to have in your collection.

You can buy this at Superdrug for £6.49 as well.

Have you tried these out? What do you think of them?
Do you have any other recommendations for me?

Thankyou for reading.
Laura.