GOSH AW16 Launches!

Back when I wrote my last post on the GOSH cosmetics products that I love, I ended up being in contact with the lovely Sophie from their PR team, who told me that there were some exciting new launches coming for AW. I love AW fashion and beauty, and I can tell it's going to be a good season this year! Being a very new and small blog I wasn't expecting to be too involved in the campaign. but she actually sent me 3 of the launches to try out and review, for which I am so so grateful! 

The Velvet Touch Matt Lipstick in Grape, Foundation PLUS + in 004 Natural
 and the Giant Pro Liner

The Foundation PLUS + in the shade 004 Natural is the first thing I tried out. It claims to be a foundation and concealer in one, which means it's medium to buildable coverage, while being light and natural. It's formulated to be pigmented with active ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, liquid sea minerals and seaweed which makes the foundation nourishing and light on the skin whilst still providing good coverage, and has a satin finish.

GOSH Foundation Plus + in 004 Natural (photo from Superdrug website)

I was so looking forward to trying this foundation, but when I received it the shade is far too dark for my skin. From swatching it on my hand I was able to get a good impression of the coverage of the foundation, which is definitely medium buildable, as it's so lightweight! I had to mix it with my GOSH X-ceptional Foundation to lighten it, which did make the coverage slightly lighter but I am building up my tan with the Garnier Summer Body and Utan Gradual Facial tan so hopefully soon I'll be able to use the foundation on its own (or at least mostly). I absolutely loved the finish of the foundation, it blended beautifully into the skin and looked so natural but with great coverage, and it didn't settle into any dry patches. The foundation is £9.99 for 30ml, which is an absolute steal for this foundation!

The next new release I tried is the Giant Pro Liner, which I have to admit was a little scary because the nib is quite thick, but I have to say it gave me such a quick and accurate application! You can use the fine point to draw out your line and use the thicker edge to fill it in. It's a nice, strong black and I was surprisingly impressed! It retails at £6.99. A little tip GOSH suggest is if you're new to applying eyeliner, you can use their kohl white liner to sketch where you want the liner and trace over the top with the Giant Pro liner. You can also use tape to get sharp and symmetric wings!

GOSH Giant Pro Liner

If you read my previous GOSH post (link) then you'll know that the formula for the GOSH lipsticks are possibly my favourite of any I've tried, especially with the matte lips, so of course I was so happy to find one in the little PR package. The one I received is the Velvet Touch Matte liptick in the shade 'Grape', which is a beautiful deep wine red with a hint of berry, it's bloody gorgeous and I feel like it's all I'll be wearing on my lips in autumn and winter. They're made with natural waxes and hyaluronic acid to moisturise and smooth the lips. They're creamy, long lasting, and beautifully pigmented, as usual. There are 4 new shades in total and they're all beautiful.

The GOSH Velvet Touch Matt Lipstick in Grape swatched - such a beautiful deep colour!

Velvet Touch Matt Lipstick in Grape

The range also includes a few things I haven't yet tried. 

One of the products I don't yet own but will definitely be purchasing soon is the Overnight Primer Oil Essence (£14.49), which is ideal for prepping your skin the night before applying makeup. It's slightly more pricey than other items in the range but it's definitely worth it if you're looking to really pamper your skin. Your skin regenerates at night, and we usually use serum to give this process a boost, but for a little extra nudge this is perfect. It's full of anti-oxidants, fatty acids and oils which help to provide moisture, vitamins and minerals so you wake up with glowing and primed skin! It can be applied before night cream or alone, but I'd probably apply it before night cream in place of my serum. 

Overnight Primer Oil Essence (photo from Superdrug website)

The Lash Sculpting Fibre Mascara (£9.99), contains fibres up to 2mm long which add an amazing amount of volume, and the wand is formulated to scuplt and define the lashes with the fibres.

Lash Sculpting Fibre Mascara (photo from Superdrug website)

They also released a Brow Sculpting Brow Gel (£6.49) which helps create full, groomed brows using the fibres to make thicker brows. There are currently 2 shades (Nutmeg and Chestnut) in the range, but again I'm yet to try this. I like that the wand isn't super short, and that the bristles are super tiny which will really help to get into the hairs. 

Brow Sculpting Fibre Gel (photo from Superdrug website)

The last release that I haven't tried is the Contour & Strobe kit (£12.99), which contains 2 bronzers (which is a really nice touch, as you can mix them to make your perfect customised bronzer), a semi-matte blusher and of course a highlighter. There's a Light option and a Medium one. I really like the blush choices in these. In the light one it's a pretty peachy-coral colour, which is so flattering on pale skin, and then the pink in the medium kit is equally flattering on medium and darker skin tones. They claim to be ultra-light, soft and creamy to make them easy to apply and blend, and I can't wait to try this. 

Contour & Strobe kit (photo from Superdrug website)
L - Light
R - Medium

Finished look using the Foundation, Liner and Lipstick! 

All of the products mentioned can be found here: Superdrug Website and GOSH is currently on a 3 for 2 offer so snap them up quickly while you can get an item free!

I'm sure it won't be long before I've bought the rest of the range, so look out for my review of those, but for now I hope you enjoyed this and thank you to GOSH for letting me try a few things from the launch! 

See you again soon! 

Paige x

This post contains PR samples.

Setting Spray Suggestions!

I don't know about other parts of the world, but right now in the UK it's absolutely boiling! This means that if you're like me and you can't not wear makeup even in the scorching weather, then you need to be prepared, or anything you put on your face will melt off in a matter of minutes, especially if you're going to be moving around. This is also helpful for those of you who like to go out in the evenings - makeup and sweaty clubs don't go together too well unless you're willing to put the time and effort in to complete the necessary steps. I'm going to talk about primers when I''ve finished trying out all the ones I currently own, but for now I'm going to talk about the last step - setting spray. Not only does setting spray help your makeup last, I also use it to dampen brushes for stronger shadow and highlight!

My makeup routine has inevitably had to change to suit the weather (let me know if you want an updated makeup routine post!) but one thing that hasn't changed is needing a setting spray. While I have really dry skin, I get quite an oily t-zone, particularly if it's warmer. When I worked in Superdrug I had a lot of people ask me to recommend them one, so I'm going to tell you all what I told them.

Hands down THE BEST setting spray I've ever used is the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray. I received a little travel bottle of the stuff and Urban Decay my Lord and Saviour did it again. It made my makeup stick to my face and last for hours longer than it would have without setting it. Holy grail product right there. Unfortunately, my love affair with the UD setting spray came to an abrupt end, when I ran out of the product, and realised that it was £22 to purchase the full size 120ml bottle. My bank account said no, even though my heart was saying yes yes yes do it buy it plssss. So, I went on the search of a good and cheap(er) setting spray.

Photo by Urban Decay (http://www.urbandecay.co.uk/) - Urban Decay Setting Spray

The first I came upon in Superdrug was the Makeup Revolution Setting Spray. The bottle's big, in fact you get 100ml for £5! Unfortunately my excitement didn't last long. I love Makeup Revolution and I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't do anything for me. I was so disappointed, I've heard so many people say they like this product, but for me it just kind of felt like spraying water on my face, without any improved staying power for my makeup. So sorry Makeup Revolution, I love you, I just didn't get on with it. Maybe it's just my skin? Who knows. Have you tried it?

Photo by Superdrug (http://www.superdrug.com/) MUR Pro Fix

The other two alternatives are Freedom and Makeup Academy, and I have to say both were pretty on par with eachother. Again, both the Pro-Fixing spray from Freedom and the Pro-Base Mattifying Fixing mist were £5 for 100ml of product, and these ones were definitely worth the money. While the staying power wasn't as good as the UD setting spray, who's going to complain for such a huge saving?

Photo by Superdrug (http://www.superdrug.com/) Freedom Spray  

Photo by Superdrug (http://www.superdrug.com/) MUA Spray

There are other notable setting sprays that I'm yet to try:

- L'oreal Infallible Fixing mist
- NYX Dewy Finish Setting spray
- Maybelline Superstay 24hr spray
- Evian Facial Spray (apparently!)

And of course the MAC Fix+ which I am desperate to get my hands on!

I've linked to the Superdrug website for the drugstore sprays, and makeup's all 3 for 2 at the minute there so you can treat yourself!

Is there a setting spray you've tried that you'd recommend? Have you tried the MUR and did you like it? I'd love to know.

It has been a little over a week, I was in a little bit of a blogging rut but I'm hoping to be posting more often now!

See you again soon (hopefully!)

Paige x

I Heart Makeup Purchases and Giveaway!

If you read my post on Makeup Revolution, you'll know that I'm pretty much in love with the brand (don't tell my boyfriend), so if that's anything to go by I was bound to love the I Heart Makeup range. As expected, I've got nothing but love for the products I bought. The ones I chose were those that are pretty much dupes of Too Faced products, those that I like to admire from afar but can't justify spending the money on. I'll try to show comparisons of the Too Faced and I Heart Makeup products, but I don't own the Too Faced alternatives so I won't be able to swatch them. You can easily source them yourself with a quick google search as these are quite well known dupes!

First and foremost, the I Heart Chocolate palette, which is an almost direct dupe of the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette. This was the product I was most excited to get out of the range. I adore the packaging, the melted chocolate bar is so cute, and I actually kind of prefer it to the Too Faced one for that alone! Then there's the price difference, it was only £7.99! For that price, the quality of the sturdy packaging and pigmented shadows is unbelievable. While I can't compare the pigmentation to the Too Faced one, I can tell you that these are very pigmented, very buttery and easy to blend. Such incredible quality! I will 100% purchase more of the Chocolate palettes as there's a few more from I Heart Makeup, and I might try a few of their others too. I've been reaching for this non-stop since I bought it.

Just look at the packaging! So cute.

Such pretty shades. Unfortunately the shimmers aren't picking up in this photos but there are some beautiful gold and pink shimmers, as well as some more brown toned ones. If you want a more clear photo then try the product page on MUR's website.

Another product that I was VERY excited to try was the Blushing Hearts Triple Baked Blusher in Candy Queen of Hearts, £4.99. This is a dupe of the Too Faced Sweetheart Blush and it's beautiful. The packaging is adorable, and the blush itself is made up of three shades that can be used separately or together if you swirl a brush in the blusher. It's very pigmented so use a light hand for sure, and it's also shimmery so you could use it alone or very lightly over a matte blusher for a pretty glow. It's bloody beautiful, honestly. Again, I've been reaching for this pretty much every day, and also it just looks pretty in my makeup drawer.

So cute!

Last, but not least, the Lip Lavas. I've lusted after the Too Faced Melted Lipsticks for so long, yet I've never been able to justify purchasing them. Then I spotted these bad boys, and I'm so glad I did.

They come in five shades, and there's an option to purchase all 5 on the Superdrug website at a discounted price. 

Left to right - Forgiven, Tremor, Unleash, Shockwave and Firestorm.

All of the shades are bright and glossy, and last for quite a while, but wear down really nicely, leaving a pretty but faded version of the shade on the lips. They aren't matte so do transfter, but are quite moisturising and for £2.99 each you really can't complain!

• Forgiven is a beautiful nude pinky-brown, very wearable and on trend for summer. 
• Tremor is a very pretty pink which I didn't think would suit me but I stand corrected. It's supposedly a dupe for the TF shade 'Peony', and again it's very wearable. 
• Unleash is a vibrant peachy-orange shade.
• Shockwave is an intense light purple shade, which I liked more than I expected to.
• Firestorm is a b e a utiful deep red shade

The product is squeezed out of the tube onto the sponge applicator on the top of the tube and can be applied straight onto the lips, which is really simple and pretty fool proof for those who struggle with applying liquid lipsticks. I loooove these. I love the formula and the gorgeous bright shades which are perfect for summer and festival season (I know they will be coming with me for Reading festival!)

I have literally nothing bad to say about any of these products. They're all so pretty and I'm so happy that Makeup Revolution are making such good quality makeup at affordable prices, making on trend products so accessible. 

I actually have an extra set of the Lip Lavas, so to win those enter below! The giveaway will open midnight tonight UK time and will be open for a week. Good luck!

Paige x

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Makeup Revolution Collection!

Anyone who knows me also knows I'm a huge fan of Makeup Revolution, particularly for their eyeshadow palette offerings. The quality of the eyeshadows is spot on, particularly the shimmers. Thanks to the price of them I've been able to afford to buy multiple palettes, which means I tend to reach for them more than my Naked palette, just for the variety. I've also recently bought a few brilliant products from I Heart Makeup range, but I'll talk about those in another post.

A few from my little collection

I'll start with the Redemption Palettes. They're 12 shade palettes, and they're just £4 each! Which is how I justify owning Iconic 1, Iconic 2 and Iconic 3, and will continue using this excuse to justify buying more. The best part is that they're incredible dupes for the Urban Decay Naked Palettes, which are nearer to £40 each. What more could you want? The pigmentation, especially in the shimmer shades, is AMAZING. As with most budget eyeshadow palettes, some of the shades are a bit hit and miss, but honestly I really don't mind at all considering how cheap they are!

Top - Iconic 2, Bottom - Iconic 3

Another dupe that I own is the Iconic Pro palette, a dupe of the Lorac Pro palette and a fraction of the price. This palette also has a nice big mirror in the top, which is great for travelling. It also came with a double ended brush, not those horrendous little foam applicators that I throw out as soon as I spot them. I love the colours in this palette, but I recently dropped it and snapped it in two which left me very upset, but I'm sure I'll end up replacing it at some point, as it's £6 so it doesn't really break the bank. (I also don't have this one with me to photograph but when I get it I'll edit in a photo, sorry!)

One of my more recent eyeshadow palette purchases from Revolution is the Fortune Favours the Brave palette, by BritishBeautyBlogger. This palette deserves a moment of silence while we all admire its magnificence. There are 30 shades, a mix of matte and shimmer, pressed and baked powders and I love it. The pigmentation, range of shades, the marbled effect of some. There's nothing I don't like about it and I will continue to treasure it. It was only £9.99, but I used all my saved up superdrug points and got it for £3.99, which I was obviously ecstatic about, but I'd have happily paid the full price for it as it's 100% worth the money!

I took these photos of the Fortune Favours the Brave palette a while ago, hence the different background. The writing on the front has since worn off unfortunately.

Makeup Revolution are also famous for it's baked highlighters. They're absolutely stunning, and only £3 each! I also purchased the Radiant Lights powder compact in Breathe (£3) the other day, and if I'm honest I thought it was a highlighter, which it can be used for, but I actually have been using it as a face powder. Stay with me here. If you do a heavy swatch, you can see that it can be used as a subtle highlight, but when dusted over my face it set my foundation and left a beautiful natural looking glow that I fell in love with and I've used it every time I've done my makeup since. I did purchase the Pressed Powder a while ago for £2 when I had gone away for the weekend and forgotten my Rimmel one, and actually really liked using it for ages, but I love the radiance that Breathe provides. It's a similar concept to the very sought after and horrendously expensive Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders.

Radiant Lights - Breathe

Another Makeup Revolution product I use every day is the Ultra Sculpt and Contour Kit in Ultra Fair, which I've mentioned before. It's small and travel friendly, and contains both a contour powder and a highlight as well as a pretty light rose gold blush. It's a really simple, quick and easy everyday contour set and I'm a big fan, especially of the highlighter inside. MUR you win with highlighters, congratulations.

Ultra Sculpt and Contour - Fair

I shamefully haven't tried any mascaras from MUR so you'll have to forgive me for that, although I've heard that the Amazing Curl mascara is a cheeky dupe for the Benefit Roller Lash so I might have to give it a go! In terms of eyeliners, I'm very fussy. I have the most sensitive eyes in existence, as soon as I leave the house my eyes water and my eyeliner decides to vacate the premises and instead live all over my entire eyelid, so I'm always on the look out for one that will stay put. Now, I haven't tested this properly yet but I swatched the waterproof liquid eyeliner (£1.50) and it did not budge no matter how much I wet it, so I'm hoping I'm onto a winner here! It's nicely pigmented, but the brush is quite stiff so I don't know how that will affect the application. If felt tip's more your gig, I've heard nothing but praise for the Thick and Thin liner from my friend Megna. She said 'it goes on silky and super pigmented and pretty', and coming from the expert of liquid eyeliners I definitely trust her opinion.

Amazing Eyeliner Waterproof - Black

Lastly, on a whim I added one of the #LIPHUG lipsticks to my online basket in the shade 'Still missing my baby' which is a deep plum shade, and cost £2.50. It's beautiful, glossy and super moisturising. The shape of the bullet makes it a little hard to apply accurately but I think with the help of a lip liner it'd be a winning lip for the cooler months.

#LIPHUG - Still Missing My Baby

Still Missing My Baby
Top - One Swipe
Bottom - Several Swipes

If you haven't tried anything from Makeup Revolution before I sincerely encourage you to do so, for the price of the products you really can't go wrong! I've heard on the grapevine that there are some really exciting products coming soon so look forward to those, I know I am!

Have you tried any Makeup Revolution products that you'd recommend?

Paige x

Matte Liquid Lipsticks

I'm jumping on the bandwagon a bit here. I've wanted to do a post about matte liquid lipsticks for a while, but I wanted to wait until I had a decent range of them that are easily accessible to UK shoppers, because like many I'm a bit unsure when it comes to purchasing from outside the UK. I've ended up with 6 in my collection so far, each from different brands, but I expect I'll be getting my hands on more soon because I have to say I'm a big fan of matte lips, particularly nudes, and I love the feel of the liquid ones.

Tranquility, MUA LUXE - £3
This is a slightly brown nude shade, which is the shade Tranquility by MUA LUXE, from their Velvet lip lacquer range. The packaging kind of reminds me of the Gerard Cosmetics Hydra Matte lipsticks, with the frosted glass and gold lid. It's a very pretty nude shade. I did find the formula was a teeny bit thin, but still opaque when applied to the lips. As you'd expect with budget liquid lipsticks, I did find this a little drying after an hour or so of wearing, but nothing a little bit of lip balm can't fix. Although I do prep my lips with a scrub and some balm I always find my lips to be a little dry anyway, so I can't blame the lipstick entirely. In terms of longevity, this did need touching up quite a bit, and if you wanted to keep it perfect you might have to remove it and reapply it completely after a few hours, especially after drinking, but for the price you really can't complain.

Tranquility

Stockholm, NYX - £5.50

The next shade is a slightly more peachy toned nude, Stockholm by NYX from their Soft Matte Lip Creams. The colour is beautiful, and I didn't expect one so light to suit me, but I actually find myself reaching for it quite a lot. The little doe foot applicator allows it to be applied precisely and quickly, and I didn't find this one too drying. After maybe 4 hours I wanted to apply some lip balm but it was manageable. Again, it did wear a little once I'd eaten and drank, but as I said before, for the price I'm not complaining. This is one of my favourites, and I'm desperate to get some more of these!

Stockholm 

Birthday Suit, Sleek - £4.99
It wouldn't be a matte liquid lipstick post if I didn't include this bad boy now would it? Every blogger and their dog raves about these and I can see why. They're long lasting, non-drying, and come in beautiful shades. Birthday suit is a pinky nude shade, and it looks beautiful on the lips. It doesn't settle into the lines on your lips, but glides over and ah I love it, and the Matte Me range is less than £5, so it's definitely worth buying! My only niggle with these are the shape of the applicator, which I find makes it a little more difficult to apply, but I can live with that seeing as the product itself is so nice!

You can see from the swatch of Birthday Suit that I struggled to get an even layer due to the really thin applicator but it's slightly easier on the lips.

Nude Flush, Maybelline - £6.99
Now, I have to say this isn't one of my favourites. The shade is amazing, I love the colour and the pigmentation. I didn't think it dried well enough down to a matte on the lips however, and it certainly isn't transfer proof, which means it isn't long lasting. That being said, I've seen quite a few reviews from people who said they absolutely loved this, so maybe I'm just doing it wrong? I'm swatching them all as I go along, and by the time I've looked back at each shade so I can remind myself of the colour etc, they've all been at least partially matte, whereas this one just isn't doing it for me. Sorry Maybelline, I still love you.

Nude Flush - Maybelline.
 I waited to see if this would dry matte to take another photo of the swatch but it still hadn't dried.

Just in Love 335, Max Factor - £10.99
Slightly pricier than the others I've mentioned but the Max Factor Lipfinity Longwear Lipsticks are well worth the money. I started a shift at work not long ago and swatched one of these just to see what they're like, and that evening the swatch was still pristine, despite me working, washing my hands, and even rubbing off other swatches with makeup wipes! Longlasting doesn't even cover it, but while it means they take a while to remove, you can apply it and not have to worry about it all day long. They even give you a lip balm in the set to apply throughout the day to alleviate dryness should it occur but I don't find this one to be too drying either. The shade I have is a kind of bright pink shade but I actually really like it on the lips. Also, as weird as it sounds, the doe foot applicator is really soft, so I really enjoy applying it!

Just in Love - Max Factor

Hot Brownie, Essence - £2.30
Last but not least, The Velvet Matte liquid lipstick from Essence in Wilkinsons. I picked this up on a bit of a whim, because not only did I love the look of the deep plum/red shade, the scent is beyond delicious. Some people aren't a fan of that fake vanilla kind of scent but I love it, although the scent doesn't transfer to the lips, so if that would put you off, don't let it worry you. Again, it doesn't dry completely matte so it isn't transfer proof, nor is it long lasting, but for £2.30 it's a nice lipstick, I just wouldn't say it was a matte one.

Hot Brownie - Essence
You can see where it smudged a little because it doesn't dry down completely matte.

I'm hoping to try more high end ones soon, maybe some of the popular US offerings like Jeffree Star, Colourpop and Kat Von D, so look out for those in the future. Also apologies for the swatches, I'm still figuring out the best way to do those. Hope you enjoyed this. I've got some nice little posts on the way so I'll see you again soon.

Paige.

Shoutout to Adam for fixing my laptop by taking it apart and putting toilet paper and sellotape inside it, lets hope it doesn't set me on fire. xo

My most used Make-up Brushes!

With my makeup fanaticism, comes my obsession with makeup brushes. So, I thought I'd tell you what my favourites and recommendations are. To be honest, my collection mostly consists of the Real Techniques collection, but I do have the Bold Metals, a few MAC brushes, and then a few randoms that I've picked up along the way. If you're just getting started with brushes, I'd fully recommend the Real Techniques kits, as they contain everything you could need to get started!

A few of the gorgeous brushes from the Bold Metals Collection.

Foundation and Concealer brushes, and the B. blending sponge.

Foundation/Concealer

For foundation I tend to use a nice dense buffing type brush, like the RT buffing brush from the Core collection. I really like the coverage this brush gives, as it's good for medium coverage. I would like to try their Expert Face brush, but with the amount of brushes I own I really don't need another foundation brush. I also like using the RT sculpting brush. I got this in the contour set, but I don't really rate it for contour because it's so wide, but it's surprisingly nice for foundation due to the density of it.  

Concealer

If I'm using a separate brush for concealer, which I don't always do because I'm too lazy, I use the Primark stippling brush. It's actually really good quality for something like £1/£1.50. It's soft and blends both foundation and concealer really nicely, but as it's small I tend to use it for concealer.

Blending sponges

I've tried a few blending sponges. My all time favourite was the original Beauty Blender, but the price tag (£16.00) is too high for me to justify repurchasing it. Now I use the RT complexion sponge (£5.99), or the B. makeup sponge from Superdrug (£4.99 but £3.32 until 28/06) if I'm only using it to make sure my foundation is completely blended.

Finishing Brush 

My all time favourite powder brush is the RT Bold Metals Arched Powder brush in 100, shown in the first picture. It's the softest thing I've ever blessed my face with, and doesn't pick up too much powder so I can get such a light dusting of powder which prevents caking. Plus it looks gorgeous in general. 

Blush Brush

The RT Bold Metals collection gets a shoutout again here, with their Tapered Blush brush in 300. Rose gold packaging is a winner either way, but the brush itself is again incredibly soft, and it's the perfect size for popping blusher on the apples of my cheeks. You can see this too in the first photo.

Eyeshadow Brushes and Eyeshadow Blending

Eyeshadow 

This is a difficult one for me. I have quite a few eyeshadow brushes now, but a few brushes stand out for me for general application. 

- RT Bold Metals Oval Shadow 200: a really big fluffy brush, perfect for those single eyeshadow days. Again, beautiful to look at.

- The bigger, fluffier side of the brush from my Naked palette. Really like it for packing eyeshadow onto the lid.

- RT deluxe crease brush: again, great for packing on eyeshadow, and I particularly favour this one for applying cream shadow bases. 

- MAC 213 brush. Fluffy, soft, slightly dense, lovely application. 

I also own the Eco Tools Eye Enhancing Duo, which contains 2 double ended brushes. One of the brushes has a blending brush on one end and a smudging brush on the other. The second brush of the set has a fluffy brush on one end and an angled liner on the other. It's a really good all round set, and the brushes are good quality and super soft, so I use these a lot too.

Eyeshadow Blending 

I've only recently really gotten into eyeshadow blending properly, so I haven't really invested in blending brushes, but I have 2 favourites for this so far. My favourite for crease blending and application is the MAC 226 - I find blending so easily with this brush! The other is a MAC brush, but I don't know exactly what it is, because it's a tiny brush that came in an eyeshadow palette from MAC. I think it's the 217, but I can't be sure.

Brow Brush

I've been using the RT Bold Metals 202 brush, which is an Angled Liner brush, but it's so small and thin that it makes it super easy to get really natural hair like strokes for my brows. This is the silver brush on the far right in the first photograph. 

Contour Brush

In terms of contour, I'm not much of a pro. I tend to stick to using small blush/bronzer brushes, such as the MAC 116, but I do sometimes use the RT Bold Metals Flat Contour brush.

RT Fan Brush and Setting Brush

Highlighting

My all time favourite highlighting brush is my RT fan brush, I just love the finish it leaves on my cheekbones, it's lovely and soft. It's a pretty brush. No complaints at all. I do sometimes use the setting brush from the same collection, as it's a small, fluffy brush that can be used to create a beautiful glow.

Like I said at the beginning, it really isn't essential to own a load of brushes, I just like to experiment and find which I like for application, and you might not like some of them that I do. Are there any that you recommend? 

The next post will be about liquid lipsticks so keep your eyes peeled for that! 

See you soon!

Top 5 Products!

Ensue first post excitement!

This was requested by one of my friends who probably knew how difficult I'd find this, considering my unnecessarily extensive collection. I thought the best way to do this was make 5 categories and then choose one product for each, but if I choose a high end product I'll also mention it's budget counterpart, because sometimes the budget products are just as good, or good enough considering the price, and on a student budget it makes sense to save where I can.

Foundation:
It was recently my 20th birthday, and I was gifted a bunch of MAC products, which included some foundation samples. I knew as soon as I tried the MAC Studio Fix Fluid that it would be my new favourite foundation. The coverage is medium but slightly buildable and it doesn't cling to dry patches. It glides on, it easily blends to look just like skin and my concealer sits really nicely on top of it. My only problem with this foundation is the company itself, which still tests on animals.

Mac Studio Fix Fluid Foundation sample - NW13

Honourable mention goes to the Rimmel True Match foundation. The shade range is great when it comes to lighter skin tones, not so great if you have darker skin. Again, the coverage is good and buildable, and I love the finish of it. At £7.99 a bottle, it lasts ages and it's affordable, my go to foundation until I inevitably purchase the MAC one.

Concealer:
Collection lasting perfection concealer, £4.19. It covers blemishes and redness, it brightens under eyes and it works as a highlight. It doesn't crease and it lasts for hours. No high end version here because I haven't needed one. This product works wonders and that's why it's everyone's holy grail.

Eyeshadows:
For many a month I walked through House of Frazer and stared longingly at the Urban Decay stand, desperately wanting to own the naked palettes but not wanting to spend almost £40 on eyeshadows, regardless of hype or quality. However someone (thanks Emily) convinced me to buy it when there was on offer that allowed me to buy the original Naked palette and the primer potion for £44 and I have no regrets - although my bank account might argue otherwise. Unless you've been living under a very large rock I don't have to tell you how good the naked palettes are. The shades are absolutely gorgeous and flattering on the eyes and the colour payoff is amazing (they're so pigmented!).

If you're not up for spending £38 on a palette, there are a few other options. First of all, the Sleek eyeshadow palettes are £7.99 and the payoff and shades rival those from UD. There's such a good range of palettes from Sleek too, the classic being the Storm palette, which is another of my favourites. Makeup Revolution do dupes of the Naked palettes for an amazing £4, and for that price I can forgive the lack of consistency in the quality of some of the shadows, because some of them are still incredibly pigmented and at a few pounds a palette you really can't complain.

A well loved and slightly battered Makeup Revolution Palette - Redemption Palette Iconic 2

Contour and highlight:
I'm cheating here I know but it was too hard to fit just 5 products in. Contouring has become such a big deal in the makeup world, and so of course I've invested in a few products. I'm yet to fully immerse myself into the world of cream contouring, but with the release of the Sleek cream contour kit I doubt it will be long. I definitely wouldn't call myself a pro when it comes to makeup and here is no exception. I switch between the Sleek contour kit (which has a contour colour and a beautiful highlighter which I hit pan on long ago) and a 3 shade version from Makeup Revolution, which contains a contour, a highlighter and a blush. I haven't used the blush much because I don't find it to be very pigmented and I just have others I prefer, but the contour is perfect for my skin tone, and at £3.50 it's a great little palette. My only niggle with this is the tiny mirror on the inside which is pretty much useless. Speaking of contour, this brings me onto my next product.

Another well loved Makeup Revolution palette - Ultra Sculpt & Contour Kit in Ultra Fair C01

In terms of highlighter, before my birthday in May I was addicted to the makeup revolution baked highlighters. I found that if I sprayed my brush with setting spray and allowed it to dry a little so it was only a little damp and then swirled it into the pan I'd get the most incredible glow, and these remain my favourite budget highlighters. However, I was given the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade on my birthday, and I fell in love. It's not too heavy so I can make a super subtle sheen, however when I use the setting spray trick from before I can achieve a glow that appears to be made by the gods themselves, and who wouldn't want that?

Mac Mineralize Skinfinish - Lightscapade (Ahh isn't it beautiful?)

Lipstick:
I'm not entirely sure how to choose 1 single favourite lipstick, it's like asking me to choose my favourite baby, it's just cruel. So, I'm going to cheat and choose 5, because nobody can stop me.
I tend to go for more nude lipstick due to the fact that I like a nice smokey eye.

Mac - Whirl (£15.50)
A lovely dark nude, almost brown, with a matte finish. A Kylie Jenner classic, apparently.

Rimmel - Kate Moss 107 (£5.49)
A deep berry-red, gorgeous in the colder months.

Ciate London Olivia Palermo collection - Praline (£19)
A slightly lighter nude then Whirl, and a less drying formula, but at £19 it's more of a luxury product.

Sleek Matte Me - Birthday suit (£4.99)
A pretty pink nude liquid lipstick, can be quite drying without the right prep.

Rimmel The Only One - Naughty nude (£6.49)
Another pinky nude, but not a matte, so not as long lasting but much more moisturising.

There are so many other products in my routine that I haven't talked about but would've like to have mentioned, so if you'd like me to do another 5 favourites then let me know! I'm yet to get a decent camera but when I do I'll insert some better photos, be patient with me, I'm new to all this but I'm eager to do it well!