Beauty Blog
I started my blog as a creative outlet but somehow ended up doing reviews at the expense of creativity, probably because getting creative is so time consuming! I’ve decided that I would try a different approach to my reviews so let me know if you like it.
Continue reading “Lancôme Grandiose Mascara vs L’Oréal Telescopic Extra-Black/Carbon Black Mascara”
Oh my, what did I do? Debenhams has 10% off beauty at the moment and this time around it includes Urban Decay! This seldom happens!
I started off by being good and just ordering the Gwen Stefani Lip Pencil in 714 (which had 30% off), because I was so impressed with the other shades in the range and I needed a good bold red lip liner. Then when I went to pick up my order I noticed there were a few Alice in Wonderland Through the Looking Glass eyeshadow palettes. I don’t need any more eyeshadow. I really, really don’t. But it was so incredibly gorgeous. I had a long chat with the account manager about ways to wear it in the day to go to work, using it wet and dry and decided I had to get it. The colours are just so gorgeous and unique.
Continue reading “The Debenhams Spring Sale Urban Decay Haul”
The moment I saw the Kiko Milano Wanderlust collection I knew I had to have it!
Not just because the textured package is in a luxurious golden hue. Or that it was designed by Robert Lovegrove. Or that’s it’s limited edition which always make my heart leap. It’s mainly because I knew that I would be purchasing amazing quality make-up for a very reasonable price. That’s what I love about Kiko.
Continue reading “My Kiko Milano Wanderlust Collection and why I almost didn’t buy anything”
When I opened up my post from Black|Up to see this Volumizing and Lengthening mascara in Bleu, I was very excited! I’m always on the hunt for a good mascara and it’s been a long time since I have used a coloured one.
I know someone who wears a very, very natural look but her mascara is always blue. The blue really makes her brown eyes pop. When I saw this, I wanted to try it for myself and then Black|Up gave me the perfect excuse. I want my eyes to pop too!
I knew what was inside because of the image on the packaging. That’s really helpful so you don’t leave the shop with the wrong shade which I have done a couple of time. Despite that, when I first opened the mascara, I was taken aback by just how bright it was. Could I really wear in the daytime or to work? Would I look too eighties? It is a bold, bright blue in the tube which comes up well on my black lashes.
One coat works well for a flash of blue so for me I had blue tinted black lashes. That wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted high impact bright blue lashes which I got with two coats. The colour really did make my brown eyes pop and I found it was easy to wear in the daytime. It actually makes a good alternative to black.
The brush is a traditional bristle brush with different length bristles to grip all of the lashes. The mascara performed as promised; it added length and volume. It lasts all day without flaking and is comfortable to wear.
The Black|Up Volumizing and Lengthening Mascara in Bleu is a good all-round product and the blue colour makes it just a little bit more special. I got the pop I wanted! Can we have some more colours please? I would love it in a rich, amethyst purple!
*I was sent a sample of this product and I have chosen to share my honest opinion of it with you.
After taking a look at the Benefit stand, I ended up buying six pairs of lashes from Salon System, a professional brand. Yes, I know I am useless at applying them but practice makes perfect after all. To try to justify the purchase, I bought some pre-glued lashes to ease myself in. Here’s what I bought with the advice of the lovely Sam Simon according to my eye shape:
The pre-glued lashes claim to be “faster than mascara”. I’m happy to put that to the test! I think you’ll agree I have a good range to try out.
After purchasing the lashes I had the option to either have a set applied for me or to have my brows shaped. I needed help with my brows because I am growing them out. Sam gave me a mini lesson on the brow shades to use from the Marvelbrow Brow Powder palette and the best brow stencil for me from the Marvelbrow Self Adhesive Brow Stencils. My ideal brow stencil was “natural arch”. The other options were “high arch” and “full arch”.
I now feel ready for party season. Thank you Sam and Salon System!
I also asked at the Ardell stand if there were any new lashes I could share with you. They’re not all that new but I was shown the lower lashes, number 112 in the Glamour range. I gave them a miss though as I couldn’t shift the image of me gluing my eyes shut! If you have used lashes on your lower lash line, show me by adding your link below. I’m definitely intrigued!
Metallic make-up
Much to my delight, metallics were here for spring and they will be back for autumn. Are you wondering how to wear metallics but not willing to buy a piece of metallic clothing that you’ll only wear once? Or perhaps you like to wear the current trends on your face but don’t know how?
Well I have an affordable fix for you – Makeup Revolution Awesome Metals Foil Finish eyeshadow!
I bought my first Awesome Metals eyeshadow in Magnificent Copper last year but it took a long time to find an occasion to wear it. I bought Magnificent Copper because I can get away with copper and golden tones during the daytime – they blend in with my brown skin. See me wearing it in my “Quick Copper Smokey Eyes With Makeup Revolution” post or my “Spring Pink, Violet and Copper” post.
I also decided that in the spirit of all things metallic, I would probably want to turn up the drama at night-time so I bought the Makeup Revolution Awesome Metals in Black Diamond. I’ll be posting this up when I share with you my “Casino Glam” look.
If you follow me on Instagram you might also have seen me wearing a dazzlingly bright silver eyeliner and I did a post about it here. It’s by e.l.f. which is currently not available in the UK anymore (but is supposed to come back soon). If eyeliners are more your thing, just find a metallic liquid eyeliner to join in the trend. For a subtle foray into the world of metallics, try a gold liquid eyeliner such as Metallic Liquid Eyeliner by Barry M in No5 . I’ll show you this in my “Pop of Gold” post soon. Liquid eyeliners tend to give a much bolder colour pop than pencils although I acknowledge they are trickier to apply than pencil eyeliners.
If you do wear the metallic trend on your face, I would love to see. Just leave me a comment below.
There is a little bit of a story as to why I decided to spend precious Boots Advantage Card points on three blue eyeliner pencils during my epic spending ban.
Last year a beauty box featured an aqua eyeliner pencil by Daniel Sandler. I didn’t get the box because the eyeliner was the only thing I wanted. It seemed like a waste of money to buy a whole beauty box for one product.
This year, I am seeing blue eyeliner everywhere! It’s trying to shun its 1980s reputation and bring itself up-to-date. I would wear any colour eyeliner on any day and I really wanted to participate in this blue trend. I even saw it in Stylist Magazine’s Trend on Trial.
The thing that tipped me over the edge was a coffee capsule delivery. The limited edition capsules came in a shade of blue that would make the perfect 2015 blue eyeliner. In my mind, it was a sign. I simply had to go out and acquire a blue eyeliner, or three!
Luckily for me, Bourjois had a 3 for 2 offer on so I spend ages trying to find the perfect three shades of blue (which were in stock and had not been destroyed by people using them as testers).
I chose:
There are so many ways to wear blue eyeliner so I’m looking forward to having a play. Have you tried the blue eyeliner trend yet?
If you have followed me for a while you might have read my post on nude lipsticks for brown skin. There was a time where there really wasn’t anything on the high street for us brown-skinned folk who wanted a nude lip. Thankfully this has improved greatly.
Later, the trend was for natural (or nude) eyes and the Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palettes seemed to have led the way, being all over the blogs and still being incredibly popular.
I own the original Urban Decay Naked palette – the one with the gorgeous chocolate-brown velvet packaging. It took me a long time to decide to buy that one. Why? Because when you put very shimmery or too-pale eyeshadow on black skin, it just comes up looking either ghostly white or you can’t see the colour at all.
The original Naked palette seemed to have the best colour range so I felt it was more likely to be able to find useable shades. Naked 2 has the second best colour range although more of the colours may be too pale – perhaps I will still try it one day. I really wanted Naked 3 but shimmery pinks are the most risky for my skin tone.
Well after all that deliberation, Maybelline brought out their eye palette – “The Nudes”. This palette looks perfect for me and presumably it will be my perfect nude palette shade wise, as they had Jourdan Dunn fronting the advertising campaign. Needless to say, I’m pleased that at last, it has been acknowledged that nude can be brown based.
Then to add to my joy Maybelline release the Blushed nudes. Could this be my perfect Naked 3 alternative?
When I have reached the end of my epic spending ban, perhaps I will buy the Maybelline Nudes palettes. Please don’t let them disappoint me!
