Tuesday 25 June 2013

How Much Does Your Face Cost???

Hi All!
So, I read this post on Hayley Walker's blog (teapartybeauty.blogspot.co.uk) daring readers to list all of their facial products in a single day and how much they cost. I am a nosy sort and really enjoyed reading Hayley's post (her face costs over £200!) and decided to have a go myself to see if I came in higher or lower than Hayley. I am much more of a big spender on my make-up than my skincare regime, but the two combined could well come in over Hayley's total- I can think of a few things already that are going to push the numbers up! So, here goes...

Skin Prep:
Clean and Clear Exfoliating Daily Wash (Oil Free) - £2.99
Witch Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer - £6.99

Total - £9.98 (So far, so good!)

Face/ Base:
MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NW20 - £20.50
Benefit Erase Paste in Medium - £19.50
MUA Pro Concealer Kit in Natural - £3.50

Total - £43.50 (I actually do not think this is too bad- although later on in the day I did apply some of my Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Pressed Powder which pushed the amount up by £24.00!)

Brows:
GOSH Eye Brow Kit - £8.49
Eylure Shape and Shade Eyebrow Pencil and Tamer - £5.39

Total - £13.88 (I did also use my awesome Bare Minerals Brow Brush which cost £10.00... over £20 on my eyebrows does seem a little extreme...)

Eyes:
Natural Collection Duo Eyeshadow in Mink and Sable - £1.99
MAC Pro Longwear Eyeliner in Black Ice - £16.50
Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Nude - £3.99
NYC Big & Bold Curling Mascara - £3.99
Maybelline Mascara Falsies Very Black - £7.99

Total - £34.46 (considering I'm going for a 'natural eye' today that actually seems quite expensive!)

Cheek:
Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base - £31.00
Natural Collection Blushed Cheeks in Pink Cloud - £1.99

Total - £32.99 (Bit of a contrast between the two products there!)

Lip:
Blistex Medplus Repairing - £2.59
Too Faced La Creme in Naked Dolly - £18.00

Total - £20.59 (this is one of my pricier lipsticks but I love it so it's worth every penny!)

Grand Total - £155.40 (or £179.40 if you count the pressed powder I added later!)
Amazingly, it is quite a bit cheaper than I expected!! I'm actually pleased with this as I always thought I was a big spender on make-up but maybe I'm not so bad after all. However, looking back over the list there are a LOT of products there for one day's wear, so I'm lucky that it ended up costing less than Hayley's total in all! Also, it may have ended up being a different story if I'd included hair products, make-up brushes etc...

Why don't you have a go and let me know how much your face costs?!?

Rosie x

Monday 24 June 2013

Lipstick Lovin'

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a splendid weekend- I know I did! On Saturday I treated myself to a cheeky manicure in the morning before having loads of friends over in the afternoon for a bit of a BBQ. The weather was a bit hit and miss but my lovely boyfriend put a gazebo up in our back garden to make sure it didn't rain on our parade. We had LOADS of food and it was really good to catch up with all of our nearest and dearest.

I just wanted to put a quick post in to tell you about my new MAC lipstick in Creme Cup. I mentioned in my blog last week that I bought this when I was out with my friend and I am in love with it already! I know it is not exactly a new shade, but for anyone that is looking for a nice, natural pink lip then this is fast becoming one of my favourites.

I am a bit lipstick-obsessed at the minute, and here is why. Last year I discovered one of my favourite lipstick shades OF ALL TIME- the Topshop Lip Crayon in colour Wave Goodbye. Sadly, Topshop are no longer producing this gorgeous shade and my original purchase is now very much on it's last legs....



RIP to Wave Goodbye... Boo hoo!
See what I mean?! I am completed heartbroken as it was such a gorgeous, natural pinky shade with a really nice, glossy finish. So now with what's left of my lovely Wave Goodbye lip crayon I am trying to find a suitable matching alternative.

So, Creme Cup came along. This is one of MAC's 'Cremesheen' lipsticks so is nice and glossy which I think I prefer in a lipstick rather than being overly matte. The colour is quite similar to my beloved Wave Goodbye, although I would say it is a slightly paler shade of pink- definitely more of a nude shade ('your lips but better!' kind of colour, as people say). I have been wearing it a lot over the past few days and I really do love it as an everyday lipstick, and I find that the creamy finish leaves my lips feeling really nice and soft. I have also had numerous compliments at work about it! Although I love it in its own right I'm afraid it hasn't quite lived up to my favourite Wave Goodbye crayon however, so as Roy Walker would say, 'It's good, but it's not the one...'.



MAC lipstick in Creme Cup


Ho hum, my quest to find the perfect replacement for Wave Goodbye continues, and I would love to hear your suggestions! I would definitely recommend Creme Cup and its already becoming a make-up bag regular for me, although unfortunately it just hasn't quite hit the mark to become my go-to perfect lipstick.

Also well worth a mention is another of my favourite shades at the moment- the Too Faced La Creme lipstick in 'Naked Dolly'. These lipsticks do not come cheap at £16 a pop, but Naked Dolly is well and truly one of my favourite nude lip shades for everyday, and the creamy texture makes it a real treat to wear!

Right, that's all from me today, but I would love to hear about your favourite natural lip colours and whether you have any suggestions of a good alternative to Wave Goodbye?! Have you tried any of the Too Faced lipsticks??

Rosie x

Wednesday 19 June 2013

L'Oreal Color Riche Lipstick Review

Hi Everyone!

How are you doing?! I am SUFFERING- my hayfever has been absolutely unbearable for the last few days and it's making my life miserable! I can't tell you the amount of eye drops, tissues, nasal sprays, vapour rubs and hayfever tablets that I've got through since Monday, but suffice to say that it's a lot and nothing seems to be working!!! Are any of you fellow hayfever sufferers? I would LOVE to hear about any magical remedies you might have!

So whilst I've been feeling pretty rough and my nose has been redder than Rudolph, I have also been trying out this L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Intense lipstick in colour 371: Pink Passion. I loved this lipstick when I saw it in Boots, and the packaging recommends that it is suitable for brunette colouring so I thought I'd give it a try.

The Color Riche range is described by L'Oreal as a 'lip pampering luxury' as the lipsticks are enriched with Vitamin E and Omega-3 oils to prevent your lips from drying out. I have to say that in that respect the lipstick was very good- it felt quite soft and glossy on the lips but the colour was still very striking without having to build it up with multiple applications. However, I did find that in wearing this lipstick for work I was having to reapply very frequently- every 30 mins or so- and by late afternoon I was looking such a state that I abandoned it completely (admittedly, the hayfever may also have played a part in this...).

Overall I was not convinced about the colour- it is a sort of coral red that looked wonderful until I actually put it on. This is not to say that this is any fault of the product itself, more that I wasn't convinced that the shade really suited me, and despite it being a 'brunette' shade I felt the colour could work equally well on other colouring, and for blondes possibly better. Add to that the fact that my lips are not exactly my best feature (they are rather thin and flat), and I am not sure that I will get a lot of use out of this lipstick in future.

However, it was not all bad. Although Pink Passion was not exactly my cup of tea, I do think that the L'Oreal Color Riche range leaves lips beautifully moisturised and glossy-looking, so would definitely be prepared to try out some of their other shades. I also have to say that I did rather like the smell, which was quite sweet and reminded me of Parma Violets as I put it on- yummy!

What do you think? Have you tried any of the other Color Riche shades?!

Rosie x





Colour Riche Lipstick by L'Oreal in shade 371 (Pink Passion)

I hate taking selfies!! Feel sooo silly and never know what to do with my face!

An attempt at a close-up (sorry for the poor picture quality)


Monday 17 June 2013

MUA vs NAKED palettes

Hi Everyone!


So today after work I have been out for drinks and dinner with my friend Pippa so haven't had much time to put a post together.. However, I did promise that I would do a comparison between my new MUA palette and the Urban Decay Naked palette, and I would hate to go back on my word....


Below are the colours from the two palettes- the MUA colours are on the left and the NAKED colours are on the right (it is the original Naked palette and not Naked 2). My initial impression was that the MUA colours are slightly less pigmented than the NAKED shades, and you can see from the pictures that the colours on the left are definitely fainter. However, a lot of the shades are actually really similar between the two palettes; Virgin by NAKED vs. Shy by MUA, Buck vs. Lavish, Half Baked vs. Devotion, Smog vs. Wink, Creep vs. Corrupt etc etc... 


They are not an exact match but both palettes contain some great neutral shades, and if I'm 100% honest I would probably be more likely to wear a lot of the MUA colours as they are lightweight and not quite so dramatic. Dark eye makeup for me is an area that I tread very carefully in as I find there is a fine line between seductive, smoky eye and hungover panda! Overall, I'm really happy with my purchase and for £4 I think it is well-worth investing in the MUA palette. I am going to try a few looks with it during the week and will update you on my progress, but I think this is a great beauty buy for everyday use.


Whilst I was out I also bought some fab new lipsticks from MAC which I can't wait to try! I got two colours- Costa Chic and Creme Cup- have you tried either of these? Would love to hear your thoughts!


Rosie x
Shades (L to R): Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal




Shades (Top L to R): Naked, Devotion, Shy, Fiery, Lavish, Dreamy
(Bottom L to R): Tranquil, Exposed, Reveal, Wink, Obsessed, Corrupt

Sunday 16 June 2013

Hi Guys!


I just went on my first ever Twitter chat with my fellow beauty bloggers- I have to admit I've been a bit behind the times when it comes to Twitter and my account has been laying dormant for about 2 years so doesn't make for very interesting reading! However, I really enjoyed joining the beauty-blogging community to chat about our biggest trends for Summer, and was amazed by how nice and helpful everyone on there was.


If by any chance you have found your way to my blog off the back of that Twitter chat then please send me links or comments as I'd love to hear from you! Are there any products you think I should try?!


Thanks for visiting my blog, night night x

Some Summer Faves...

The first thing I wanted to share from my summer beauty haul is this new Anti-blemish Skin Clearing Primer from Witch. I bought this on promotion in Superdrug for about £4, and it is brilliant! It comes out as quite a thick, cloudy gel which I prefer to some of the watery primers which I’ve tried. It glides on beautifully and leaves your skin with a really smooth surface that’s perfect for applying make-up!

Personally I probably wouldn’t wear this primer alone as it doesn’t really reduce redness in the skin, but as a base for applying foundation I would really recommend it, especially if you are prone to oily skin. I have been in denial about my oily skin for AGES but since using this I’ve really seen a difference to how long my makeup lasts- I don’t even bother bringing my makeup bag into work anymore as I know my foundation will stay put all day! A cheap and cheerful primer that has become one of my makeup essentials!



My makeup saviour!!

The second product I wanted to show you was this Bronzing Makeup Base by Chanel. I have wanted to try this product for AGES ever since I saw Tanya Burr use it in one of her videos last year. It is basically a bronzing ‘mousse’ that you apply with a brush just as you would a normal bronzing powder.

It comes in one colour which I was happy to see is not too dark and can be very subtle if you apply lightly. Personally I have been using Real Techniques Buffing Brush to just gently blend it across my cheekbones and temples which gives a very natural looking glow.

It is not cheap at £31 a go but I got mine during House of Fraser’s 15% off event and I would say its well worth the money. The ‘mousse’ is quite firm and easy to use and even though the pot may not look massive (30g) you don’t need to use much at a time so I can imagine it will last you for a while.

Have you tried it? Let me know what you think!





Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base- sorry about the gross makeup brush hairs!

LOVE <3

Finally, I also picked up this awesome palette by MUA yesterday for only £4! Haven’t had chance to have a proper play with it yet but it’s called Undress Me Too and it is roughly based on the Urban Decay ‘Naked’ palettes. I will try it out and do a bit of a comparison in my next post when I’ve got more time!! Laters, Rosie x



MUA palette in Undress Me Too- more to follow!!



New Blog!!!

Hi Everyone!

If you are new to my blogs, my name's Rosie and I am a self-confessed beauty junkie. This is my new, improved blog and I'm really excited to get started sharing some of my favourite new products and beauty looks with you, as well as hearing all about yours.

I've been a bad blogger in the past and haven't been too regular with my posts, but all that is about to change!! Since getting an iPhone it has completely changed my life and the best thing is it means I can update my blog on the go- a lazy girl's dream!

Just to tell you a bit about me, I am 25 and currently living the dream in London (sort of?!), working for a digital media company and blogging in my spare time. I like Gin & Tonic, wearing flip-flops all year round and pretty much any fantasy/adventure films- I'm in love with Narnia films especially, but mostly am forced to watch crime or action thrillers these days since I moved in with my boyfriend [sigh]!

Right, that's enough about me for now! I hope you enjoy my blog and I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Rosie x