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Showing posts with label NARS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NARS. Show all posts

Monday, 7 April 2014

March Favourites

Another month has been and gone in the blink of an eye, and with it, another collection of products that I've been coveting. I find it hard to believe that we're already in the fourth month of the year, but with the clocks going forward, and sunnier evenings back in my life, I'm getting more and more excited for summer. And I think it's safe to say that this months product picks reflect my sunny mood. So, without further ado, here are my March Favourites.

NARS Duo Eyeshadow//Isolde

This has been in my collection for about a year now, and is one of my favourite eyeshadow duos of all time. I pushed it aside over the winter, favouring more autumnal, less metallic shades, but March saw me fall back in love with it, and I pretty much wore it everyday. A lighter antique gold, and a chocolatey bronze, these two shades pair together for the perfect spring/summer look. I usually use both together, sweeping the lighter of the two all over the lid and blending the bronze through the crease. However, for a sultry night out look, I go all out, using the bronze as a darker, more intense wash of colour which I adore! And these colour make my eyes look so blue! Never do I get as many compliments as I do when I'm wearing this delicious duo. It's a wonder I ever take it off at all!

Stila Stay All Day Eyeliner//Dark Brown

Another product I've had for a while, it never really fell out of favour with me. I just went through a bit of a phase of using a more intense black to line my peepers. However, old habits die hard, and gone back to using a softer, more subtle brown for a slightly more natural effect. This product  is, hands down, my favourite brown eyeliner. Perfectly pigmented, and super easy to use, the ultra fine felt nib gives me precision and control, and is great for those mornings when you need to do your make up in a hurry (every morning in my case - damn snooze button), and just don't have the time to faf about. It's like eyeliner for dummies really, and I love it so.

Sleek Blush by 3//Lace

I've never been one for powder blush, always picking creamier alternatives. I just think they give a more natural finish, and, contrary to popular opinion, I find them easier to work with. But in Superdrug a few months back, a friend of mine recommended Sleek blushes, and at £9.99 for three generously sized pans, I had nothing to lose. Admittedly, it has taken me a few months to end my exclusive relationship with cream blushes, but needless to say, I have now embarked on a glorious love affair with powders. All three products in this palette are beautifully pigmented and blend to perfection. Although my picture seems to portray a slightly pinky hue, the blushes are all in the orange family, my favourite of all the makeup colour families. I'm particularly enjoying Guipure, the middle shade of the trio which, when I bought it, I thought would be the dud of the collection that I never got any use out of. Boy oh boy, how wrong I was! A warm golden orange, shot through with flecks of rosy shimmer, I think it adds the perfect amount of glow to a flushed and dewy cheek. 

Benefit Gimme Brow//Light/Medium

Before I begin, I feel I should tell you that Brooke Shields is my brow idol. Like her, my brows have never been particularly arched, and, unlike her, they have never been all that thick either. I mean, they're not sparse, but I love the look of fuller brows, and I'm constantly searching for products that will help me on my way to Delevingne-dom. In March, I finally found it - my new holy grail eyebrow product. Benefit's Gimme Brow. I went for the shade light/medium, as that's what the woman at the Benefit counter recommended. Annoyingly, it's a little too light to wear over MACs Charcoal Brown, my everyday brow boost, with copious blending needed for a natural look. However, it's the perfect colour for those days when I can't really be bothered, or, more realistically, I'm running late, and I just comb it through solo for some extra eyebrow volume. It's amazing, I now have the brows of Lily Collins, and I'm never looking back.

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm//Audacious

Everyone and their gran seems to have this product, in this colour, and for good reason! I love matte lips, but struggle to find the products that don't make my own pout look dry and flaky. The Revlon products, although not particularly moisturising, don't flake at all on me, which is a huge selling point! The tangerine hued Audacious looks almost neon on my pale complexion, and, for me, it's  perfect for rocking the orange lip trend.

Bumble and bumble.//semisumo

Since cutting my hair shorter, I've really been loving wearing it curly. The curls hold for longer without the extra weight, and it just looks so bouncy, voluminous and healthy. What I'm not loving, however, is the fluff and frizz that appear after drying. To combat this, I've discovered semisumo - a product that I've had knocking around for a while, but not really had a clue how to use. Now, I just rub a little bit of the pomade onto my fingers, and run it through my curls. The result is tamed flyways and a huge boost of shine. I'm so pleased this product finally got to see the light of day in March, because it really is a gem!


This nifty little moisturiser is actually designed to calm shaving burn, but I've now adopted it as my daily facial moisturiser. After having a skin consultation at Lush Oxford, the lovely Kym assured me that it's not just for boys, and I went home with a sample of it. Let me just say it. Life. Changed. I've recently had a bit of a lifestyle upheaval, commuting to London daily, and my skin type has really shifted. My previously dry visage has become a little too combination for any of the products I have in my arsenal; my newly irritating oily T-zone is a particular pain. But this product fully balances out the oils in my skin, and even after using a little sample, I've noticed a huge reduction in redness to the point where I barely need foundation any more. As well as all this wonderment, it smells so good I want to grab a spoon. Needless to say, I'll be shooting in to the next Lush store I pass to pick up a full sized pot of this magic cream! 

So there you have it. Another month, another product round up. Have you tried any of the products I've been loving? What are your March favourites? Let me know!

S.

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

January Favourites

Ok, so I'm aware that my January favourites are a little on the late side, but I've been so excited to  share these products that I thought I'd rather write this post a little late than not at all. January was quite a busy month for me, and has been as up and down as the banks of the Thames. For starters, I passed my driving test! First attempt, I might add! :) It's something I'm immensely proud of, and I'm so glad that it's now ticked off my to do list. However, due to the diabolical weather conditions, I've not been able to do much driving with my shiny new licence, and on top of that we've been treated to power cuts and floods all over the place. As a result, most of the back end of the month was spend literally holding down the fort through fear that it might blow away, and, the icing on the miserable cake, I had a stinker of a cold. Things are finally starting to resemble normality here, however, despite the fact that one more inch of rain will mean I may have to swim to work. And although I cannot wait to see the back of this abysmal weather, here are a few of the beauty products that I'm happy to have stick around.

I discovered Liz Earle's Colour collection at the end of last year, and as a result, this little blending dream crept into my brush collection. It's quite a long, tapered brush with a definite point to it, which I find absolutely amazing for blending eyeshadow on my slightly hooded eyes. You literally place the tip in your socket and move it backwards and forwards - no skill required - and you're left with perfectly blended shadows. It's revolutionised the way I apply my make up, so much so that I actually struggle to use my old blending brushes now without making a terrible mess of things. I'm not a huge fan of the clear handles, I feel it's more childish than stylish, but I can definitely deal with the less than pleasing aesthetic when the results are so good!
Ever a lover of MAC eyeshadows, I've been pining after this particular colour for a while. I finally caved and added it to my collection last month, and I was right to want it so badly. A dark shimmery reddish brown, it looks fantastic on blue eyes. I've been loving coupling it with MACs Patina, (the pair blend together seamlessly) blending it through my crease for a beautifully smoky daytime look. 
Jo Malone//Pomegranate Noir

This beautiful fragrance was a Christmas present, and let me tell you, I cannot get enough of it. Fruity and quite spicy at the same time, it has that perfect rich wintery undertone, whilst still packing that delicious juicy punch.

I've never been one for nude lips, and I think I'm only just realising that this is because I hadn't yet found the right nude colour for me. That is, until now! I've recently dipped my toes into the realms of Soap & Glory makeup, and found rather a few gems, but this gloss stick is by far my favourite. Quite a pinky nude with a beautiful shine,  this glossy pencil is the perfect 'your lips but better' shade for me.

Now, I don't usually go for pink on my cheeks, but I've been having a bit of a moment with this blush over the past month. I love the texture of the Maybelline mousses, and I'm a massive fan of this blush's peach counterpart, which I reviewed last summer. These blushes have quite a bit of sheen to them, making them the perfect pick me up in these dreary Winter months. Didn't want my complexion to mirror the dullness of my mood now, did I?

I often suffer from awfully dry lips, and am constantly searching for the best products for keeping them soft and supple. This beautiful balm has done an amazing job of keeping my parched peckers in ship shape this winter. Not only that, it's the most wonderful coral shade which is a lot more than just 'tinted', like a lot of the sheer lip treatments on offer. Although not as long lasting, it's as pigmented as lipstick, and I love wearing it as one when I want that pop of colour, but my lips are feeling oh so dry. This product comes in quite a range of colours, so I'm absolutely going to be expanding my collection. Plus, it has an SPF of 15 built in: always a bonus in my mind. 
L'Oreal Paris//Black Laquer Super Liner

Eyeliner is definitely not my forte. I can never get a straight line, I always end up messing something up and don't even get me started on feline flicks. As a result, I've always got my badly lined eyes peeled for a product that's really easy to use, as well as being really pigmented and having some stick. This month I found it, in the form of L'Oreal's Black Laquer Super Liner. It's got a very narrow sponge applicator which, as well as being fine, is quite sturdy, making it so easy to use. It dries to a kind of vinyl finish, which I love, and it's made my make up routine just that little bit easier this January. 

I used to use Urban Decay Primer Potion religiously, but when mine ran out, I fancied a bit of a change, and I'm really loving the alternative I chose. I found that the Urban Decay primer left my lids looking a bit dry and patchy as I got through more and more of the product, but I haven't had that issue with NARS (yet - it is still early days). Additionally, my eyeshadows blend a lot better on top of this product, and I love the doe foot applicator, as I find it very difficult to waste product this way. So far it's a winner in my books.

What were your favourite products this January? Were you loving any of the same things that I was? Let me know!

S.

Thursday, 9 January 2014

Best of Beauty 2013

There's been a fair few posts like this one floating around since the rather too hasty arrival of the New Year, and I personally love perusing the products that have seen fellow beauty junkies through the past four seasons. So I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring and try to narrow down my beauty favourites to five items that I couldn't have lived without in 2013.
I'm a huge fan of bronze and gold eyeshadows, as they bring out the best in my baby blues. Top of the polls for me is NARS' eyeshadow duo in Isolde. A beautiful antique gold and the perfect bronze shade, this pretty pairing is a dream to blend, has great colour pay off, and has lasted forever! I wear them on pretty much a daily basis, and I'm still not even close to hitting pan! I find them equally wonderful for creating that bronzy summer effect, and the perfect golden Christmassy look. I really don't know what I would have done without this delectable duo for the past year. 
This may seem like a bit of a boring favourite but I'm struggling to remember a time when it wasn't in my make up bag. A product that I never switch out of my daily routine, I use it through my brows, to define my crease and, oh so occasionally, as an actual eyeshadow. Again, not the most exciting of colours but definitely a staple for me.
I don't know what it is about this highlighter, but I just cannot get enough. It has a gorgeous mother of pearl sheen to it, and is subtle enough that I use it every day. When applied liberally, however, it's the perfect product for creating an amped up glowing complexion. J'adore.

For me, this is the ultimate foundation. I discovered it a couple of years ago and, whatever new bases I try, I always end up running back to this one. I have rather dry skin, and I rarely find liquid foundations I like that don't emphasise that, but this gives me the perfect amount of coverage without sticking to any dry patches. With it, I can achieve the very natural, dewy looking skin that I love, and it also has the added bonus of an SPF which, for pale gals like me, is a must. Appealing to my fellow porcelains, this foundation comes in a light enough shade for me. Rejoice! Granted, I do have to go for the lightest shade in their range, but still - it's a rare find, no?
This one just happens to be the one I'm coveting at the moment, but I'd settle for anything from the MaxFactor False Lash Effect range. I favour volume over length when it comes to lashes, and I've yet to find another mascara, high end or otherwise, that plumps up my lash line like these babies do.

It actually proved extremely difficult to pick just five products that I couldn't have gone without last year. I agonised over what deserved a spot, what the criteria should be, and there were a number  of products that I absolutely love that didn't quite make the cut. I'm happy with my pick though, and you never know, some of the runners up might elbow their way into a top five in 2014. But that's one for another year. 

What are your favourite products of 2013? Do they match any of mine? Let me know! 

S. 

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