FOTD - Bronze Smokey Eye

Hi Everyone,

Today's FOTD post features one of my favourite looks- the bronze smokey eye. I must admit that I am not the most adventurous with my eye make-up on a day to day basis but I am getting better after following some absolutely amazing MUAs on Instagram. This one is pretty quick and easy and is just about subtle enough for everyday wear, although I did use false eyelashes today which definitely is not something I have time for every day!

Prep:

Ultima II Procollagen Extrema Day Lotion (I love this moisturiser and it is sparkly too!)

Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer

Face:

MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NW20

Benefit Erase Paste in Medium

Clinique Even Better Concealer in Chamois

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium

Brows:

GOSH Eye Brow Kit (colours light and medium)

Cheeks:

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer (to contour)

Estee Lauder Ideal Light Brush-On Illuminator in Light (to highlight)

M&S Limited Collection Highlighter Drum

MAC Powder Blush in Melba

Eyes:

No.7 Stay Perfect Amazing Eyes Pencil in Black

Estee Lauder Doublewear Stay-in-Place Gel Eyeliner in Stay Onyx

Eylure Naturalites Natural Volume False Lashes

From the Urban Decay NAKED palette: 

-Shade 'Naked' on lid

-Shade 'Virgin' on browbone

-Shade 'Creep' along lower lash line

-Shades 'Darkhorse' and 'Smog' along upper lash line

-Shade 'Half Baked' on lid

Estee Lauder Doublewear Zero Smudge Lengthening Mascara in Black

Lips:

YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in Nude Beige

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis a Levres in No.19

Phew, that was a lot of products! I hope you enjoyed my face of the day and I'd love to know what your favourite make-up looks are.. Maybe I'll try them next time!

Rosie x

December Favourites!

Hi All,

As this year draws to a close I thought I'd share with you a few of my favourite Winter products at the moment. I must admit that Winter is not my favourite season as it wreaks havoc with my skin- it's paler, duller, spottier, drier, and all around difficult to manage. Here are a few of the products that have helped me through these tricky Winter months so far!

1. Angels on Bare Skin

The first thing to say about Angels on Bare Skin is that it's a bit of a weird product, and I can definitely see why some people don't like it. It is a LUSH product which means that it is handmade from natural ingredients, and this particular cleanser lists almonds and lavender amongst its ingredients. It comes in a tub as a sort of smelly, grainy lump, and the idea is to mix a little in your palm with water to make a paste which you then rub into your skin as a cleanser.

Is it messy? Yes. Is it pleasant to use? Not particularly. But what Angels on Bare Skin does offer is results (at least in my experience!). It leaves my skin so incredibly soft that I can barely stop touching it, and redness is also significantly reduced. I don't know that I would choose to use this cleanser in Summer when my skin is reasonably healthy, but in Winter I find it gives me just the pick-me-up I need.

2. No.7 Instant Radiance Highlighter

The second item on my list is this lovely highlighter from No.7. I have had my eye on the Watts Up! product from Benefit for a while now but at £9.95 this seemed like a cheaper alternative so I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! I use this every day now under my foundation to give a subtle radiance, and over foundation as a highlighter on nights out. I find it gives a lovely dewy look to the skin which is just what my skin needs for Winter. I also love the packaging of this product- it is like a shorter, fatter version of a Clinique chubby stick and fits perfectly into any make-up bag. The only negative I have found with this product is that it didn't sit very well with my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation and needed rather a lot of blending. Other than that it has been a Winter triumph in my make-up collection!

3. Quinoderm 5

I mentioned that I often get breakouts during Winter, and this year I even got a bit of mild acne which had never happened to me before and really got me down. This product was an absolute saviour and treated it so quickly and effectively! I need to point out that this product was recommended to me by a pharmacist because I was suffering with mild acne and I would always, always check with your local pharmacist before purchasing for yourself as it contains Benzoyl Peroxide which can be harmful to your skin. I used a tiny bit of this on the affected area twice daily and within a few days it had almost completely cleared. I couldn't believe it as I had tried lots of conventional spot treatments like Clearasil and Freederm with no success, and I would certainly recommend looking into it if you are in the same position.

4. John Frieda Luxurious Volume Range

The final products I would recommend for Winter are the John Frieda Luxurious Volume range. I have been using the Shampoo, Conditioner and Blow Dry Spray to combat lank, Winter locks and I have rarely loved a shampoo more. My hair feels soft from root to tip and it has a lovely healthy bounce and shine to it that I love. I also use a touch of Frizz Ease to keep my hair smooth after straightening and I've been really pleased with the results so far- a definite Winter winner!

So there you have it- a few of my Winter lifesavers. I hope that you enjoyed my post and I promise to be far more disciplined with my blogging in the New Year!

Happy 2014 Everyone!

Rosie x

PS Please note these images are not my own

Haul Post: Topshop Makeup

Hi Everyone,

I hope you're all having a great week! Just a quick post today to share with you a couple of new bits and pieces that I picked up recently from Topshop. I have been having a real love affair with Topshop makeup recently and decided to try a couple of products that have been on my wishlist for a while.

First up is the Topshop Bronzer in 'Sandcastle'. This is a lovely, matte bronzer which is perfect to give an everyday glow. It also works really well for contouring and I have been cheating on my previous favourite (the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer) with this new purchase ever since I bought it last weekend. I also really love the packaging of this bronzer- the silver compact is very simple but chic, and I'm sure that this will become a full time handbag favourite of mine. The colour Sandcastle I would say is a good choice for lighter skin tones, but apply sparingly as a little of this product goes a long way.

I also managed to get the Topshop Glow Highlighter in Polish. I have wanted to try this for a while but couldn't seem to find it in my local Topshop store- fortunately the one in Westfields had it in stock. This is a really lovely highlighter product; I have been applying it with my Real Techniques Blusher Brush along the top of my cheekbones to give a subtle glow. For daily use I would apply under foundation, but I'm looking forward to going for a more dramatic look on a night out. I am also desperate to try one of the MAC Mineralise Skin Finishes, so hopefully this will be one of my next purchases!

Finally, I stocked up on my favourite: the Topshop Lip Crayon in Wave Goodbye. I won't bore you by going on about this product yet AGAIN, but it's safe to say that it is a permanent fixture in my makeup bag.

These are the things I picked up recently- have you tried any great Topshop makeup products recently?

Rosie x

Product Review: Revlon Photoready Sculpting Palette in 001 Pink Rose

Left to Right: Blush, Bronze and Highlighter

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had an amazing Bank Holiday weekend. I spent mine in a wet field at Reading Festival watching Eminem, Chase & Status, Azealia Banks, Disclosure and loads of other amazing acts! I wanted to do a little lifestyle post about it today but unfortunately my phone died early on and I took absolutely no photos, so it probably wouldn't be the most interesting post in the world. Also I was put to shame by all of the trendy outfits that everyone else seemed to be wearing- for me it was a miracle if I could just about find a clean pair of pants in my tent!

Anyway, that was my weekend, now on to today's post: a review of the Revlon Sculpting Blush Palette. I was so excited to get this as it looks like such a useful product; a combination of a highlighter, blusher and bronzer all in one place. This is another sneaky Revlon product that isn't coming out in the UK, but I was lucky enough to pick one up through a friend. 

The first thing that struck me about this product is the size- the palette itself is a good, handbag-ready size but the product isn't. For some reason, Revlon have chosen to make the blush the biggest product in the palette and the bronzer and highlighter both half the size. This for me just makes no sense, as I can barely get my brush into the smaller sections, and I'm far more likely to use the blush more sparingly than the bronzer.

As you can see in the swatches, the blush is quite pigmented but the bronzer is less so, which is another thing that disappointed me about this palette. The colour of the blush and the highlighter are actually both really pretty on the face, although I found it difficult to see any colour from the bronzer at all and I certainly wouldn't use it for contouring. I also found all three products to be really powdery and already the blush has started to crumble after just a few uses. 

All things considered, I think this product is a great idea that unfortunately just hasn't been executed very well. It is nowhere near as good as the Sleek Face Contour Kit (here) but I do really like the fact that Revlon have thrown a blusher into the mix as well. This product could be hugely improved if they rethought the sizes, got rid of the tiny brush that is included as I don't think it's really necessary, and put in a more matte bronze that could actually be used for contouring. All in all a bit of a disappointment for me I'm afraid, although I will continue to use the highlighter and blush from time to time.

Have you tried this product? Let me know whether you agree!

Rosie x

Raiding Poundland!

Hi Everyone,

It is no secret among my friends that I love Poundland. I can't help it- I just love a bargain! The one in Ealing is particularly brilliant, and I was pretty chuffed with myself that I managed to pick up these Rimmel goodies and a Macadamia Oil Body Butter for just £1 each! OK, I originally went in to buy some Vanish stain remover, but with savings like this on offer who can blame me...

In my Poundland mini-haul I bought a Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Varnish in Princess Pink, Rimmel Wake Me Up Shimmer Touch in both Radiant Rose and Shimmering Sand, and a Mellor & Russell Macadamia Oil Body Butter.

They had absolutely loads of nail polishes in Poundland, including some OPI 'Shatter' polishes and others from Collection 2000. I was tempted to stock up, but in the end settled on just one. I've seen loads of posts about girly pink and nude nails recently and I think its a great, low maintenance everyday look, so I'm hoping this one will be a good shade for me. It's a really nice, cream pink and sort of reminds me of strawberry yoghurt.

I couldn't believe my luck when I found these Rimmel highlighters in BOTH colours for just a pound! I have been wanting to try these out for a while but the £4.99 price tag seemed a little steep for such a small tube. I could not have asked for a better deal than this, and I cannot wait to try them out! These are standard sized tubes (14ml) and seem quite glittery from the swatches that I've done so far- I will let you know how I get on with them but reading various reviews it sounds like they might be more suitable for night time make-up than during the day.

Top: Radiant Rose, Bottom: Shimmering Sands

Finally, I picked up this Macadamia Oil Body Butter. I have been reading all sorts of great things about Macadamia Oil recently and was hoping to find a hair mask in the range, but sadly couldn't so I went for the body butter instead. I have only tried a tiny bit so far, but the scent is really subtle and pleasant and the product's consistency feels thick and luxurious like those from the Body Shop. I think this will be a great alternative to my Peach Body Butter that I'm currently using, as the scent from that can at times be a bit overpowering.

So, there is my Poundland haul! I was impressed that all of the Rimmel products came in sealed packets so haven't been tested or tampered with, and the body butter had a foil seal so was unopened. I am going to try these out during the week so will be sure to let you know how I get on!

If you're a Poundland fan too, let me know!

Rosie x