Friday, 22 August 2014

Rainbows and Unicorns ♥

I try to keep my style as fun and colourful as possible, especially in the summer! I love the quirkiness of this dress, i found wearing it out caught a few people's attention, obviously because they're jealous and want one. But in all seriousness i think your never too old to work quirky pieces into your wardrobe weather they include rainbows, unicorns etc etc!













Outfit - 

Dress Ebay
♥ Cropped Cardigan - Primark
FedoraMissguided
Boots - Amazon

Sunglasses - Primark
Choker - Amazon
Feather Necklace - Forever 21
Satchel - Primark
Heart Earrings - Primark (Pack of 6)
Cat Ring - Amazon
Daisy Ring - Forever 21

Make Up - 

Benefit The Porefessional - Primer
Supergoop! CC Cream - Coverage
Smashbox High Definition Concealer 
Benefit Stay Don't Stray - Eye Primer

Bourjois Smoky Eyes Trio - Gris Dandy ( I used the shimmery white as my base and to highlight the inner corners of my eyes. Apologies for the state of it, its seen better days!)

Make Up Revolution Pure Pigment - Hysteria (I worked this pigment into my lid starting from the corner and up half way to create a gradient effect, keeping my corner quite dark.)
  ♥ e.l.f Flawless Eyeshadow - Party Purple (I worked this into my crease and also under my bottom lashes.)

♥ Lord & Berry Kohl Eyeliner 
♥ Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner ( To line my lash line and create flicks!)
Eyelash Curlers - Forever 21
Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies Mascara
♥ e.l.f Lenghting & Defining Mascara 

e.l.f Tone Correcting Powder
♥ e.l.f Studio Eyebrow Kit
♥ Maybelline Baby Lips Electro - Berry Bomb
e.l.f Make Up Mist & Set (To keep all my make up in place and looking lovely!)







Wednesday, 20 August 2014

My First Birchbox! ♥



Recently i signed up to Birchbox, a monthly beauty subscription box! For those of you who don't know, the box comes with 4 to 5 good sized luxury samples, tips and tricks that link with the season of that month. My first box was the July Sun, Sea & Sand, although if your wondering why i'm delayed with this review it is because i didn't receive it till August, and i wanted to try the products out properly before saying what i think!

I joined personally because my interest for the world of beauty has grown significantly over the last year; wanting to stray away slightly from drugstore make up and products into the wonderful world of higher end beauty products! (Nothing against drugstores, i love me some Superdrug and Boots!) 

The great thing about Birchbox is it gives me the ability to try new samples from the higher end, before committing to buying full sized products!



On the back of each monthly welcome card, Birchbox provides information on each sample i have received, plus the price of each product's full size.



I love the theme of this box, its so colourful and summery! It came with five cards, covered in ways to use each product, make up and beauty ideas and even inspiration for things to do with your summer. 


Everything with in the box is enclosed in a simple fabric bag, with the Birchbox logo on each side.


A 7.5ml tube of the highly raved about Benefit The Porefessional was the first item that caught my eye, as i've been wanting to try it out for sooo long, although always discourage by the price. 

To be honest, i don't see what so amazing about it? Yes, it feels lovely when rubbing it into my skin, silky almost. But as a primer solely on it own, i found it quite drying especially in my T-zone. Although when using over a moisturizing primer i do see a difference to using it on its own, and with a little powder to set it creates a nice natural coverage.

I like how it feels, its smells fresh, for these reasons alone i will continue to use the rest, but when it comes to thinking about repurchasing i don't think i will, but its been nice to finally try it out!


So many great things to say about this hand cream! Basically, the creators have taken that lovely summery fresh beach smell and mixed it into a moisturizing hand cream. I've used the product almost everyday, as i just can't get enough of the beach inspired scent. It moisturizes wonderfully and has definitely worked its way up to favourite status for this summer!


I was excited to find a 7ml tube of the Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream in my box, as my eye bags have been a pain recently, self inflicted of course with these long summer nights (not complaining!). I've been using the cream in the morning and before bed for a good week and a half and honestly i can see a nice change, my eyes bags are basically none existent on a good day! 

I'll think about repurchasing, although eye creams are new to me, so i may do some more research into other brands.


This LAQA & CO. Lip Lube in the shade Bees Knees is just gorgeous! I love the metallic packaging, the minty fresh scent and the sample size is great, i don't think it far off being full sized. The Lip Lube is moisturizing, and the fresh coral colour is versatile making it wearable through out the day with subtle make up, then built up at night time with a more dramatic eye.


SOIGNE Boutique nail varnishes are so beautiful, i always look at them in aw when seeing them around, although not owning any myself. Thanks to Birchbox, now i do! They sent me this beautiful bright orange in the shade Persimmon, not necessarily a shade i would pick myself but none of the less i love it, i think the bright colour is perfect for summer and can work its way into Autumn too.

The packaging is so simplistic and classic, if i didn't know of the brand i would of thought it was a fancy perfume sample!


Birchbox also offer a little extra in your box, i chose a life style extra and got sent Chai Shots. Small seeds that can be sprinkled on to everyday meals like cereal, salad and in soup etc. They have barely any taste but offer great benefits displayed on the card above. These tiny seeds have become a part of my everyday, i've recently bought a big jar from Tesco!



I signed up to the Birchbox newsletter a month or so before i purchased my subscription as i noticed they offer extras when you sign up at certain times, keeping my eye on these till i found one that i thought seemed like a good deal.

 These 3 items came as extras when i signed up, a tiny Benefit Stay Don't Stray, a Kohl Black LORD & BERRY eyeliner and a Alima Pure loose eye shadow in the shade Chai, which is beautiful, giving a lovely golden shimmer to the eye. I thought these three little things where a nice addition to my first box and great way of saying welcome! 

Let me know in the comments if your thinking of joining or already are a member and whats your favourite product you've received so far!

Keep your eyes pealed for my review of my August Birchbox!

Have a lovely day!


♥♥♥

Sunday, 10 August 2014

e.l.f Haul ♥

I recently did some research into cheaper beauty dupes of various higher end products. E.l.f products popped up here an there a number of times, people mainly recommending their studio range. I was thrilled when heading over to their website finding there was 50% off... on everything! Typical me got too excited buying a small box full of products, instead of the 1 or 2 things i actually needed!

♥ Eyes 


I've been loving purples recently, so this 'Party Purple' compact palette is perfect! I love how each shadow is named in order of ways to apply. These shadows create a lovely vibrant eye, that can be made as subtle or as bold as you like, perfect for day to night. 



I have to be honest i wasn't expecting major results from the e.l.f 'lengthening and defining mascara' as it only cost £1.95, but i was pleasantly surprised! As you can see in the photos, my lashes are lengthened,well separated and this was achieved after only 2 coats!
I'd recommend trying it out, as it actually does what it says on the packaging and for the bargain price what do you have to lose?!


♥ Lips 


I love love love this lipstick! When organizing my collection the other day i came to the realization that i didn't own a matte red lipstick, all the more reason to buy one! What i like about this is the sleek pen like applicator, making it super easy to precisely fill in my lips. The moisture of the lipstick is just right and the staying power is amazing! I wore it out for lunch, a burger,salad, plus a coffee later and it stayed put.(Note to all this is normally how i tested the staying power of lipsticks; if they can last while i stuff my face, they're good!)

A dupe of the Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Luxembourg $26.00 = £15.50



I'm a lipstick gal all the way, so when it comes to lipglosses i'm hesitant as the few i have tried got sticky and felt uncomfortable because of this when wore for a long period of time. For a steal price of £1.95 i thought i'd give one ago! The texture of the gloss is smooth and not too thick, which i find is normally the quality that makes a lipgloss sticky. I got mine in the colour joy, mainly because it looked lilac on the webpage, but is actually quite a neutral pink in person. I think it will be perfect as the finishing touch over various lipsticks!

This gloss resembles the Stila Lip Glazes which cost $22.00 = £13.12.


♥ Face  


I slipped up a little when buying this item as i thought it was a powder.. no Kim its a cream foundation, read woman! None of the less its a lovely constancy and the porcelain colour matches my skin tone almost perfectly. The case its self also contains a mirror and a compartment under the foundation with a sponge in, perfect for throwing in my bag to touch up on the go!



I've seen a few of these brightening/ tone correcting powders around the make up market, not really understanding how they worked as they're a variety of colours. I purchased the powder in the colour cool, which i find gives my light skin a nice radiant glow and a natural coverage. 

This powder is a more affordable dupe of the Bobbi Brown Brightening Finishing Powder in the shade Porcelain Pearl which costs a pricey £40.00! Why pay more when you get the same effect?



Filling in my brows is normally a quick process for myself, using a matte light brown eyeshadow. I've been interested to try out a brow gel for a while, so when i saw this gel and powder duo i had to snap it up! I found the shade light is perfect for my blondy brown brows, plus the case is comes with a built in mirror and double ended brush, making it easy to achieve strong defined eye brows!

A dupe of the highly raved about Benefit Brow Zings £24.50

♥ Studio Eyebrow Kit £3.95


Finally, i purchased the e.l.f setting spray, which really appealed to me because of all the beneficial ingredients 'Aloe, Green Tea, Cucumber, and Vitamins A, C & E'. It feels and smells super refreshing, and is true to what it says on the bottle!

Dupe of the Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Setting Spray $14.00 (30ml) = £8.35 or $30.00 (120ml) = £17.89 
Many reviews say they can't tell the difference between the 2 products, which makes it a no brainer to go for the cheapest option, right? You get 60ml in the e.l.f bottle, that equivalent to 2 of the Urban Decay smaller bottles!


Overall i'm a huge fan of e.l.f make up and cosmetics, all items i have purchased i am thoroughly happy with as they are all high quality for such affordable prices! 

Let me know in the comments what your favourite affordable dupes are for higher end products, i'd be happy to hear and perhaps try them for myself!

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day!