Charlotte Tilbury – JK Magic Review

By now, everyone and their nana has seen that Charlotte Tilbury has launched Hot Lips 2 – a gorgeous new line of lipsticks all inspired by her famous friends. If you’re interested in a review of the Hot Lips 2 collection, and particularly a JK Magic review, then you’re in the right place!

Photo belongs to Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks are famous. Her previous collection of Hot Lips lipsticks were all inspired by famous clients that she has worked with before… so the second one should be no different, right!? The Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips 2 collection contains 11 brand new shades, including CT’s first lip balm. The shades are as follows (image top left to right):

Glowing Jen – A tawny, beach rose nude
Viva La Vergara – A soft wine
Dancefloor Princess – A pop pink
In Love With Olivia – A sumptuous pink
Amazing Amal – A soft, berry-pink
Red Hot Susan – A tawny-orange red
JK Magic – A peachy nude-rose
Patsy Red – A statement red
Carina’s Star – A modern peach soft coral
Enigmatic Edward – A ‘comforting’ lipstick conditioner
Angel Alessandra – A ‘sunset’ peachy nude

(As far as I can tell, Angel Alessandra is missing from the pic above).

To me, these shades are far more beautiful and much more wearable than the previous collection of Hot Lips, mainly because it includes a wide collection of nudes.

Charlotte Tilbury JK Magic lipstick from the Hot Lips 2 collection, inspired by JK Rowling

Despite all these stunning shades, the main reason you might have heard about these lipsticks is because of their beautiful, custom packaging… and the fact that they are refillable. As far as I’m aware, Charlotte Tilbury is the first mainstream makeup brand to offer refillable lipsticks. Now, I might be living under a rock here and be totally wrong, but I can’t think of any others off the top of my head. Going forward, I think that refillable lipsticks will become the new ’40 shades’ – that is the new industry standard when coming out with a new product. I mean, you’ve got to hand it to her, Charlotte Tilbury is has come out with the most gorgeous packaging so obviously you’d never want to chuck it away! Plus the refills are obviously cheaper than the entire lipstick and case, AND it cuts down on waste! It’s all very clever and has me well and truly on-board. The only sliiiight downside is that you can’t choose which packaging you want – they’re already assigned to certain colours. This isn’t a massive issue to be honest and once you buy a refill, you can put any colour you want in any packaging. There are only 5 different packaging options, which, again, isn’t the end of the world AT ALL.

After lusting after these a bit online, I swatched pretty much all the nudes in store and they were all absolutely gorgeous. I could have easily walked away with four lipsticks (JK Magic, In Love With Olivia, Glowing Jen and Dancefloor Princess). I was particularly torn between JK Magic and Dancefloor Princess. JK Magic was more of a classic nude with a touch more orange/pink, whereas Dancefloor Princess was a nude pink. The way that I like to wear my nude lipsticks is using a dark rose shade lip liner (the absolute best one is MAC Whirl lip liner – nothing ever measures up to this!) Even though JK Magic does have a touch of orange to it, pairing it with Whirl literally makes it the perfect shade. It also makes it more versatile – you can wear your lipstick as it’s original colour and choose a lip liner that is close to it, or you can go for different lip liners to play around with the colour! These are very pigmented and just one swipe gives you great colour pay off.

These lipsticks don’t have the same matte finish as the original Hot Lips collection. I have another Charlotte Tilbury lipstick, admittedly from the Matte Revolution line, and they really weren’t joking when they said it was matte. These are a lot more comfortable on the lips and have a gorgeous sheen that make your lips look lovely and juicy.

In case you aren’t familiar with Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks, the lipstick bullet itself if very angular. Initially it confused me because you can’t imagine how a square shaped lipstick could possible give you sharp lines or stick to the outline of your lips, but it does! And really well! Maybe the best part of this lipstick (if you’re a total sucker like I am) is the lips that are engraved/printed into the lipstick bullet. If I’m truly honest, this little kiss imprint in the bullet was a major deciding factor in me buying this. It actually breaks my heart to think that at some point it will wear away, but for the meantime, it’s true love. I keep looking at it and taking pictures of it. I’m such a loser I know.

I am absolutely in love with this lipstick! This nude is perfect for anyone as fair as I am (NC15ish). Though you probably could wear it alone, I love to pair this up with Whirl lipliner from MAC and is the most perfect shade. I am so impressed with the shade, the formula and the packaging that I’m SO tempted to buy another one. I’m lusting after Glowing Jen or In Love With Olivia, and if I’m being honest with myself, it’s just a matter of time before I get another one. Even the non-nude shades have me ready to throw my money at the Charlotte Tilbury counter! This is probably one of the most expensive lipsticks I’ve ever bought, if not *the* most expensive, at £28 for the full package (the reusable packaging and the bullet – it comes all in one like a normal lipstick). The refills are £19, which to me is still pretty pricey considering it doesn’t include the cost of the packaging, but I think these are definitely worth it. I love wearing this lipstick, it feels really gorgeous on the lips and makes me feel so confident!

If you are in the market for a new lipstick – GET ONE OF THESE. The shades are excellent, super pigmented and have a beautiful finish. They’re pricey, but if you’ll get the use out of it then do it!

Xo

Follow me on:
Instagram | Bloglovin |Twitter | Pinterest

DISCOUNTS:

For 30% off Dr Botanicals, use code 30HANNAH at https://drbotanicals.com/

Get £10 off £40 at Space NK – https://referme.to/Tbbrb1o

Get your first month of Beauty Pie for free! – https://beauty-pie.mention-me.com/m/ol/am8tu-hannah-butler

The Best Affordable Brands for Each Makeup Step

The high end often takes the spotlight when it comes to makeup, but it’s important to remember that the drugstore also releases some amazing products. Just like the high end, not everything is a hit, so I’ve broken down my favourite affordable products for each step of your makeup routine!

Foundation

Finding your shade can be a little bit difficult in ‘drugstore*’ brands, especially if you fall at either end of the spectrum. If you find yourself in this category, your best bet brand-wise will probably be NYX. Their recent Can’t Stop Won’t Stop range was a collaboration with Youtuber Alyssa Ashley and was formulated with POC in mind. Makeup Revolution also offer a pretty good shade range. If you’re looking for something a little less matte and a little more dry skin friendly, consider Bourjois – their Healthy Mix foundation, or even the serum version (even more dry skin friendly) are both great options.

Concealer

The Maybelline concealers are great – the age rewind one is great if you don’t mind concealers with a sponge – and likewise their Fit Me range is great (even though the shade order is a bit messed up). My personal favourite and go-to for many years now is the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. It’s full coverage and blends out beautifully.

Brows

For me, there is only one contender here – NYX! Their Microbrow pencil is a dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer and there is a pretty wide shade range. Their clear brow gel is another absolute winner – who needs high end!?

Blush

You really are spoilt for choice when it comes to blush from the drugstore. Brands like Milani, Kiko, NYX, Bourjois… the list is endless! The pigment is really close to more expensive products but just at a fraction of the price!

Highlighter

This one is a little harder, but Sleek and MUA tend to do pretty good highlighters. These are brands that are pretty widely available in Superdrug here in the UK and are really cost effective.

Eyeshadow

Affordable eyeshadow can be a little hard to find. I don’t find that the traditional ‘drugstore’ brands (L’Oreal, Maybelline etc.) offer much in terms of good, pigmented eyeshadow. Brands that I have decent luck with are Makeup Geek (their singles are fab, but they’re about to relaunch the brand and half their stock is sold out everywhere), Colourpop and NYX. NYX is easily the most accessible of the 3 brands and offer a great assortment of colours at a really reasonable price point. The Colourpop shadows do have a lot of fall out in the pan, but I personally don’t find that to be the end of the world.

Mascara

When it comes to affordable mascara, I am team Maybelline all the way. I was a Maybelline girl since I started wearing makeup until I started wearing Benefit Roller Lash a few years back, but Maybellina hands down makes the best drugstore mascaras on the market. I never found L’Oreal to be as lengthening and voluminising in one, plus they were always that bit more pricey.

Eyeliner

Hands down Sleek. Their white eyeliner was a staple in my makeup kit for yeeeeears for my lower water line and it would. not. budge. They are lovely creamy formula and last for a really long time! I’m not sure they have a massive array of colours, but for the basics there is none better!

Lips

For lip liners, NYX are very good and offer a great shade range. When it comes to lipstick, there is only one winner for me – Maybelline! Their colour sensational range is SENSATIONAL – there is an amazing range of shades and finishes and they come at such an affordable price point that honestly there is no beating it. Two of my favourites are nude shades 725 Tantalising Taupe and 630 Velvet Beige (pictured above). If you’re a nude fan like me, you need these in your life!

You may notice that there are some steps that are missing – that is because I haven’t found products that I like enough to recommend. I find primers to be a bit hit and miss, bronzers in the drugstore are a mess and setting sprays aren’t that widely available and the ones that are miss the mark.

Let me know what your favourite drugstore products are!

Xo

* I hate the term ‘drugstore’ because we don’t call those brands that here in the UK, but we don’t have a word for it, so I’ll use the American term.

Follow me on:

Instagram|Bloglovin|Twitter|Pinterest

Colourpop Disney Designer Bundle Review

When I saw that Colourpop were launching a collaboration with Disney that was themed around the Disney Princesses, I knew this was the collection for me! The collection focuses on 6 princesses – Ariel, Tiana, Belle, Cinderella, Snow White and Jasmine. The collection features a palette, a single eyeshadow and lipstick for each princess and 3 glosses (very cooly named Bibidi, Bobidi and Boo). Around Black Friday, Colourpop also released Princess bundles, where each princess contained their lipstick, an original lip gloss and their single eyeshdow. I bought the Ariel and Tiana bundles.

Ariel Collection
The Ariel lipstick is a dark-orange matte nude that I wouldn’t usually go for, but because it was Ariel and she’s my favourite princess I thought I’d give it a go. The ‘Guppy’ lipgloss is a beautiful true nude shade that is perfect on my pale skin. The only part that lets this little bundle down is the HIDEOUS eyeshadow. I have no idea why they thought that this would be a nice eyeshadow to include, but it is so unbelievably ugly. I guess it’s supposed to be the colour of Ariel’s tail but it is such an unwearable shade for 99% of beauty lovers. The pigmentation is also not the best on this one. I knew this was included in the bundle, I knew I didn’t like it, but I knew that I really wanted the lipstick and the lipgloss so I bought it anyway. I mainly wanted the gloss because it was exclusive to the bundle, and I’m a sucker for all                                                                                              things Ariel.

(Left pic top to bottom: Lipstick with lipgloss over top, gloss alone, lipstick alone)

Tiana Collection

The Tiana lipstick is a dark reddish-purple that would look amazing on all skin tones, but especially dark skin. The lipgloss in ‘Gourmet Dreams’ is golden sparkly gloss that looks amazing as a lip topper and the eyeshadow in ‘Almost There’ is a neutral shimmery brown. I find it kind of hard to use single shadows in large packaging like this, simply because it’s not an easy one to reach for. If these were the magnetic kind that I could add to my kit, they would be far more user friendly. I will try and find a use for this, but I basically just bought this one for the lip products too. The shadows in this entire collection haven’t really done it for me, but the lip stuff is just gorgeous. Tiana is my second favourite princess, and the gold gloss just got me totally weak at the knees!

(Top to bottom: Lipstick with gloss on top, gloss, lipstick)

Overall, the Disney Designer lip bundles are really nice. Would I have preferred both sets without the shadows? Ummm, hell yes. The shadows are a bit of a lack lustre addition to the set. But they were such beautiful colours that I didn’t want to pass up the chance to get my hands on them seeing as they sold out so quickly before! I’ll definitely get more use out of the Ariel shades because I’m a nude kinda girl, but this reddish purple would be a beautiful pop of colour to bring out every once in a while.

Have you tried anything from the Colourpop x Disney Designer range? What did you think?

Xo

Follow me on:

Instagram|Bloglovin|Twitter|Pinterest

Why it’s totally fine for North West to rock red lips

On Boxing Day, Kim Kardashian West posted a series of gorgeous photos of her little family at the annual Kardashian-Jenner Christmas Eve party. The photos pictured a beaming Kanye, a giggling Saint, a gorgeous Kim holding little Chi and a sassy North. However, one thing that everyone picked up on (other than Kanye actually smiling for once) was the fact that North is wearing red lipstick.

Picture from Instagram @kimkardashian

Let’s just take a step back for a moment. You need to think about who this little girl is, and who her family are. Her mum is a global makeup mogul and so is her aunt. Because of the business that that family is in, North will be used to seeing makeup artists and massive amounts of makeup around the house. Because of her family, her relationship with makeup will be so different to ‘the average kid’.

If you watch any of Kim’s videos, snapchats or Instagram stories, you’ll know that North loves makeup and often finds her way into Kim’s collection. But also… she is a little girl. Most girls/women will have stories about going into their mum’s makeup collection and causing havoc. Why? Because they want to look like their mum! Or they see it as a sign of being a ‘grown up’ and want to play around with it. It happens so often in popular culture (films, tv) that it really shouldn’t surprise anyone to see North wearing lipstick. The only difference is that North is ‘famous’ and therefore people think they are somehow entitled to an opinion.

They’re not.

It takes a really big person to criticise the appearance of a 5 year old. North has basically been makeup shamed at the age of 5. She looked beautiful and probably felt it too. This was one of the biggest nights of the year for their family and was probably allowed to wear it as a treat. Makeup washes off. It’s not a sign of ‘growing up too fast’ – it’s having fun! The same people that will makeup shame a little girl are the same people that will bash normal makeup wearers just because they don’t wear it. There is nothing wrong with letting a child wear lipstick on a special occasion, equally there would be nothing wrong if North decided red lipstick was all she wanted to wear for the next 6 months. You are not her parent and therefore your opinion is neither asked for nor wanted. There is absolutely no reason to get so personally offended over a celebrity’s child wearing makeup. Please join us back in the real world. Would you make these comments to a random kid on the street having a great time in lipstick? I’d hope not, mostly because you’re without the anonymity that the internet kindly gives you.

The fact of the matter is children want to play. They like to dress up and change their appearance… just like adults. Dressing up for kids might be dressing as their favourite princess or as a cowboy OR it might be smearing blue eyeshadow across their face and drawing on themselves with black eyeliner. The reaction to this would have been totally different had North walked out in a cowboy hat – like makeup, you can just take it off at the end of the day. People need to bear in mind that while Kim may have chosen this life for herself, her children didn’t. They don’t deserve any of these negative comments that some believe are so imperative to leave.

To be quite honest, while a number of commenters might think allowing North to wear lipstick reflects badly on Kim, I actually think the opposite. She is letting her little girl express herself how she wants and it is something that they can bond over. North looked AMAZING and most commenters said exactly that.

Keep wearing lipstick North. 

Xo

Follow me on:

Instagram|Bloglovin|Twitter|Pinterest

Spring time makeup look

I’ve been feeling really inspired by the blossom that’s in bloom everywhere at the moment, and so created this look. It features a pink/coral halo eye with yellow winged liner, rosy pink cheeks and a pinkish coral lip. Scroll down to see how I got this look:

Eyeshadow:
I set the concealer on my lid with a skin tone shadow. I started by applying Chickadee by Makeup Geek to my outer corner and crease before blending it in. I then took this into the inner eyelid, making sure to leave the middle of the lid blank. I then applied Tuscan Sun in the same areas to add a little extra depth and add warmth.

Then taking the NYX Ultimate brights I took the coral-pink shade in the second row with a smaller tapered brush and applied the most pigment to the outer corner and started to blend out and into the crease.

In the area that I left blank, I took some concealer on a flat brush and went over the area and carved out upper part of the lid. Then, I applied Shimma Shimma by Makeup Geek (which is a beige/gold colour) to add some shimmer! To blend the into the rest of the matte shades, I used the NYX Jumbo Pencil in Strawberry Milk.

Liner:
For the winged liner, I took the NYX vivid brights liquid eyeliner in yellow and applied a few coats to really build up the colour. To still give the lash line some definition, I applied a black liquid liner close to the lash line. Then I coated my lashes with the Maybelline Temptation mascara.

Lower lash line:
For the lower lash line, I put Chickadee on the inner lash line to the middle of the lash line. I then took Tuscan Sun for the outer crease and blended the two shades together in the middle of the lash line. Then I put the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara on my lower lashes.

Cheeks:
I skipped bronzer on my cheeks but applied it around my forehead and on the sides of my face. I went into a Revolution blush palette in Blush Goddess and picked up two shades – a brownish/pink and a bright pink (middle two shades on the bottom row) – and applied the colour most heavily on the apples of the cheeks before sweeping it back.

Lips:
I applied the NYX lip pencil in Peekaboo Neutral before applying a light layer of Creme Cup by MAC. With my finger, I applied some of the brownish/pink blush colour to warm up the colour of the lips a little more.

I felt very out of my comfort zone doing this look, but I think it actually turned out really well! What do you think of this look? Let me know what you think on here or on my Instagram!

Xo

Follow me on:

Instagram|Bloglovin|Twitter|Pinterest

My go-to make-up

My go-to make-up style is full coverage, with glowy, bronzy skin and a fairly natural eye. Even though this is a pretty natural look, it takes a lot of work! Here’s how I get my go-to look:

PRIME:
I apply Mac Prep and Prime Skin Base Visage and Make Up Forever Step 1 Primer in Hydrate, leaving it to sink in before applying foundation.

FOUNDATION:
My favourite is Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation in shade 02 Fair. It gives the skin an amazing glow, and has lovely buildable coverage without looking orange and cakey. I take one pump which usually gives pretty decent coverage, but I often take another half pump to cover the redness on my cheeks that peeks through. I use a thick bristled brush (Morphe 439) to buff this into the skin. Using a brush will give more coverage than a beauty sponge.

CONCEALER:
I take the Collection Lasting Perfecton concealer in 1 Fair. I apply it in a triangle shape under the eyes, in three lines on my forehead (from between the eyebrows going upwords), on my nose to correct redness, a little to my cheeks and on my chin. Then I take either the new lighter shade of the Collection concealer (0 Very Fair) or the Naked Skin Concealer in Fair Neutral and put a little under the eye, on the forehead, down the nose and on the chin to give my face a little more dimension. I use a Beauty blender to blend this in with the foundation and make sure that the foundation has no streaks and sits nicely on the skin.

POWDER:
Using a stippling brush, I apply Nars Soft Velvet Loose Powder so my skin feels a bit more matte and less sticky, making sure to pay particular attention to powder my eyebrows so the brow pencil sits better.

BROWS:
I usually do my brows after I’ve powdered and before blush and bronzer. I use the NYX Microbrow Pencil in Ash Brown. I start by outlining the shape of my brow on the underside. Then I outline the top side, and start to make hair like strokes from the front towards the back of the brow. I use a brow powder to go over the entire brow to match it to my hair colour and to make the brow look sharper. I think finish things off with the NYX Clear Brow Gel, combing the hairs at the front of the brow up, and the hair at the end down to keep the perfect shape.

EYESHADOW:
I always like to set my eye with a skin colour shade before I start, my favourite is Vanilla Bean from Make Up Geek. I then like to take Beaches and Cream and put some warmth into my crease. Using a more tapered blending brush, I start to add dimension into the outer corner and crease by taking Malt and Quarry by MAC. If I want to add any more drama, then I apply more Quarry, but I like to keep my eye looking quite neutral and natural. I then take Shimma Shimma by Make Up Geek to add a pop of shimmer to my inner eyelid.

MASCARA:
My favourite mascara is Benefit Roller Lash. It is great for curling the lashes up, and making them nice and thick. Even if I don’t curl my lashes, my lashes still stay nice and curled up.

LOWER LASH LINE:
To make my eye look bigger and more defined, I like to use a cool toned darkish brown on my lower lash liner. I then use the Charlotte Tilbury Rock ‘N’ Kohl in Eye Cheat, which is a creamy/nude shade to brighten the waterline and to look more awake. I then use Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara to coat my lower lashes. I find that this makes my lashes look really good, but also doesn’t leave that suuuuper annoying black mark underneath your eyes when your mascara touches the area under your eye.

BLUSH:
For blush, I love the Fenty Beauty Match Stix in Trippin’. To make the Fenty Beauty blush work, I don’t apply it straight to the skin as it removes the base. I warm the product up with my fingers first and then tap it into the skin, starting on the apple of the cheek for the most colour pay off, and move it backwards towards the top of the ear.

BRONZER:
To bronze, I have always used the Make Up Geek Contour in Love Triangle. Even though it is technically a bronzer, it is warm enough to be the perfect bronzer for my fair skin! Make Up Geek products are super reasonably priced and the ‘contour’ shades take into account warm and cool skintones, so it’s to find the perfect shade for you.

HIGHLIGHT:
As my highlight, I like The Balm’s Mary Lou-manizer. It’s a gorgeous gold colour that is not too dark on pale skin.

LIPS:
I aaaaadore a pinkish-nude lip. My go-to combination is Mac Lip Liner in Whirl and Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Ex-Girlfriend. To make it a little more glossy, I love the Jouer Lip Topper in Frost.

TO SET:
To finish everything off, I spray my face with Mac Fix + and fan my face dry. I do this once I’ve finished all of my make up, rather than just my skin.

And there we have it! My everyday make up look that still consists of a ridiculous amount of products (:

What is your go-to make up look? Leave a comment on here or on my instagram!

Xo

Follow me on:

Instagram|Bloglovin|Twitter|Pinterest

Full face of forgotten favourites/rarely used products

It’s super easy to get into a routine of wearing the same products day in, day out. I went through my make up collection recently and found so many old gems that I had forgotten I even had, or stuff I had bought on impulse and never used. I’m going to compare these to my favourites I use everyday, and see whether there was a reason I stopped using them!

Foundation – Make Up Forever Ultra HD foundation in 117/Y225
Concealer – Nars Creamy Radiant Concealer in Chantilly
Powder – RCMA No Colour Powder in Translucent
Blush – Nars Orgasm blush
Bronzer – MUA Mosaic bronzer
Highlighter – Sleek highlighting palette
Eyeshadow – Morphe 35T palette
Lip pencil – Nyx Peekaboo Neutral
Lipstick – Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick

Foundation/Concealer
I love the Make Up Forever HD foundation and it just fell out of the regular foundations I use because I tried out new ones. It has always been quite dark for my skin tone because when I bought it online, Make Up Forever wasn’t easily found in stores. So to make the foundation work, I thought I would mix it in with the Nars Radiant Creamy concealer. When I bought this, I colour matched myself online and the shade was too light to use as a regular concealer. However, together these two made the perfect shade for my skin tone. So I will definitely be using this combination again! I have the same trouble with some of my other foundations, so now I know I have a concealer that can be mixed in, lasts a long time and has a lovely finish.

Powder
I saw a lot of people raving about this translucent powder so I decided to try it out. It was my go-to powder for quite a long time, but I didn’t like that it left a white cast on my face when I took pictures with flash. I’d often use this to set my foundation before a big night out, so I wasn’t happy that I looked like a ghost. I used this to bake under my eyes again and lightly applied it to the rest of my face and was pretty content with how it looked. It did take the colour out of my face a little bit, but not as much as before. The finished look didn’t beat the Nars Soft Velvet powder I usually use, so I won’t be turning back to this again soon.

Blush
When I was living in Spain and got a bit Sephora obsessed I got a set that was Nars Orgasm Blush and Laguna Bronzer in one. But I then thought that the Blush was too pink and the bronzer was too dark for my skin. But I thought I’d give the Nars Blush another go. It actually was a really flattering shade of pink that wasn’t as bright pink as I thought it would be. I was really pleasantly surprised and I’d definitely start rotating this in to my usual routine!

Bronzer
I decided to use my old favourite which is the MUA bronzer. I was pretty excited about using this one again because I actually liked this one and only stopped using it because I discovered the Make Up Geek ‘contour’ instead. However, when I applied this I did one swipe and was shocked at how red it looked on my skin. Rather than looking like a nice bronzey tan like my MUG one, I just looked really strange. I really loved this a few years ago, but I’m not sure I’ll be grabbing for this any time soon.

Highlighter
This palette was huge in 2015/2016 when American Youtubers stumbled across Sleek for the first time (when us UK gals have known about it for ages). It’s a little annoying to buy a palette and only really be able to use one colour, but I bought it anyway. I used to use this every day after I shattered my Mary Lou-maniser. I decided to try the slightly darker shade in the pan (bottom right) combined with my usual shade (bottom left). Somehow, I think some of the purple residue had fallen onto the darker shade, as my cheek had a purple sheen to it, which I wasn’t happy with. The lighter colour also wasn’t as golden and luminating as I remembered, which was a little sad. Even though my current Mary Lou-maniser has smashed AGAIN, I’m going to carry on using it because it’s just such a beautiful golden glow, especially for pale skin.

Brows
This was one I was really nervous for. I had bought the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer when it first came out because I’d been dying to try ABH brow products. But it was such a disappointment! The idea is that you’re supposed to use the wide end of the Brow Definer’s triangular ‘nib’ to fill in gaps and then use the narrow end to draw on thin hair-like strokes. However I found it really difficult to use, it looked patchy and I couldn’t get the brows I wanted. So using this again, I felt like I really had to take my time (which I don’t usually have the time to do that!) The end result was okay – they were a nice shape, they were even (after combing through a lot) but the colour was not quite as dark as I’d like. The NYX Micro Brow pencil is just so much easier to use as the nib is very small and I can get the result I want with less effort and less stress. I would potentially try this again, but with a brow powder as well and not during the week when I’m in a rush to get ready.

Eyeshadow
I thought I’d find the eyeshadow portion of this make up experiment easy because I do tend to use most of my palettes fairly regularly… except this one. When I reopened this again, I hadn’t realised how dark the shades all were. There is no light shade for a base. There are no lighter transition colours. All of them are dark and that made it really hard for me to do a wearable look. I took one of the ‘lighter shades’ thinking it would be okay to use as a transition colour… NOPE. It was really dark straight away and I was a bit like… oh shit. I stuck to the lighter shades in the palette (aka 4 shades) and had to dive in to my usual go-to palette to make it more wearable. I really don’t think I’ll be able to use this as an every day palette. I’d certainly dip into this for night out make up, but I have other eyeshadow pans in my go-to palette that I’d much rather use.

Lip pencil
I used to use Peekaboo Neutral all. the. time. It was really tricky to get a hold of and I used to buy it in bulk from Amazon. Because it was tricky to get my hands on, I stopped buying it when I fell for MAC Whirl lip liner. It was much more pink than I remembered, but it wasn’t unpleasant! I prefer a pinkish-brownish nude and this overall look was maybe a little pinker than I would have liked but I was happy with it (: As it is so difficult to find in the UK, I’m probably not going to repurchase this for a while.

Lipstick
Again, when I was living in Spain and was v. make up happy, I would buy the same nude shade by different brands. I got the Rimmel lipstick in 45 and basically never used it. Then accidentally bought it again lol. When I used it again, it was pinker than I like now, but it felt really nice on the lips, so I’ll definitely be using it again! It won’t be my go-to lipstick, as I prefer my Maybelline and MAC ones, but it’s one I would consider when I want a more pink lip.

VERDICT:
I was pretty pleased with the over all look. I thought my base make up looked brill, but the red bronzer kind of ruined it a little bit. I did actually apply my Makeup Geek ‘contour’ in Love Triangle before I left the house just to warm my skin up and tone down the redish hue. I was really disappointed how the eyes ended up because I expected more of the eyeshadow palette. However, I. AM. SO. PLEASED. WITH MY WINGED LINER! I never do winged liner (because I can’t do it) but I thought I’d try and it came off really well.

What products have you rediscovered lately? What do you think of the ones that I used? Leave me a comment on here or on my instagram

Xo

Follow me on:

Instagram|Bloglovin|Twitter|Pinterest

Products I always repurchase

There are certain products that I absolutely cannot be without and repurchase as
soon as they start to run low.

These are the products that I always repurchase:

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer – £4.19

This concealer is super cheap and gives such full coverage! The shade Fair (01) usually matches my foundation colour and gives me any extra coverage I need. I’ve heard that some people have found this drying, but for me this is dry skin approved! It never picks up on dry patches and leaves my skin feeling moisturised and even. They’re recently launched a new shade Extra Fair (0) which is a great shade for me to highlight with. If you’re super fair too, this will be a great shade for you. This concealer doesn’t dry down too quickly, so gives you a good amount of play time. Since buying this, I haven’t even bothered trying any others – whether affordable or high-end.

I think this picture below speaks for itself!

Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in 725 Tantalizing Taupe – £6.99

Tantalizing Taupe is my go-to nude lipstick shade. These lipsticks are just perfect. They’re really affordable, offer a massive shade range and feel great on the lips. Tantalizing Taupe is a great nude for pale skin. Without a lip liner, I think it would even be too pale for me. But with one, it’s stuuuuuuuunning. I also mix it a lot with other shades to create hybrid shades. I keep accidentally losing them, so I buy more, then find them all, so I’m pretty well stocked up on this!

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara – £19.50

I saw a lot of beauty influencers talking about this on Youtube about 2 years ago and decided I had to try it out. Despite the hefty price tag, this mascara gives me the length and the thickness that I want and is totally worth the splurge in my opinion. You don’t even need to curl your lashes for it to give them a good curl! As soon as I feel the formula getting a little bit dry, I buy a replacement straight away!

MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick – £17.50

I have never actually come to the end of this lipstick before, but I do seem to lose them a lot. I often take this on a night out with me (mistake lol) and lose it. But it’s one of my favourite lipsticks I own and just have to replace it. It is quite a brown-nude, so I usually combine it with a more pinkish-nude to create a hybrid. Despite it being a matte lipstick, it is comfortable on the lips and still has a slight sheen to it. It is nice and pigmented with just one swipe.

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara – £15

For a long time, my lower lash mascara would transfer onto my under eye, ruining my make up. I did some research into the best bottom lash mascaras and found this gem! I have not had this problem since! It’s a shame how little product you get with this product, but I don’t dare try another mascara for fear the same problem will happen again. My lashes are never clumpy or spider looking so I’m happy!

NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown – £8

This shade matches my hair colour perfectly. I really like how thin this pencil is and it allows me to get a nice sharp line, but also lets me do create realistic brow hairs. I’ve tried more expensive brow pencils that haven’t performed as well, so why would I stray from one I love!?

MAC Prep and Prime Skin Base Visage – £22.50

This was the first primer I ever bought, and was actually in the first high end beauty purchase that I ever made. It’s super soft on my skin and makes it feel really moisturised and smooth before I apply my foundation. One bottle of this lasts a really long time, so I don’t mind paying this much when I’m so pleased with the results. Also, if you purchase from MAC online, they quite often send a sample size of this with your order.

What are your products you always repurchase? Leave a comment here or on my insta! If you try any of these, let me know what you think!

Xo

Follow me on:

Instagram|Bloglovin|Twitter|Pinterest

When to save and when to splurge

As nice as high end products are, who has the money to use exclusively high end in their make up routine!? Affordable and high end products are going head-to-head to see when you should save and when you should splurge.

COMPLEXION

Primer: HIGH END

A good base for your make up is one of the most important steps. Depending on your skin type, your primer could hydrate, mattify, blur pores etc. By doing these things, a good primer should also make your make up last longer than it would without it.

I can’t say that I have noticed many drugstore primers, and the ones I have tried (NYX Angel Veil and L’Oreal Lumi Magique) left my skin looking dry and broke my make-up up. Maybe that’s because the drugstore options cater more towards oily skin types, which obviously doesn’t suit my dry skin. If you do have oily skin, try them out!

My go-to primers that I use every time I wear make-up (whether minimal or for a night-out) are MAC’s Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage and Make Up Forever’s Step 1 Primer in number 3 Hydrate.

I would always go high end for primer, mainly to cater for my dry skin. The Make Up Forever Step One range of primers is especially good as it has a primer for any skincare concern you might have!

Foundation: HIGH END

For day-to-day make-up,  I prefer to use a cheaper foundation that I’m not so worried if it runs out quickly. However, I do find it difficult to find an affordable foundation in a shade that matches my pale skin. My favourite one is Boujois Healthy Mix, which I have in the palest colour 51 Light Vanilla, but even that isn’t quite light enough for me and leaves me with white neck syndrome. Alternatively, The Ordinary have recently come out with two foundations – the Coverage and Serum foundations – which are super cheap at £5.90. Their shade range isn’t bad to start with, and I’m sure they’ll expand it further. However, the more affordable foundations just don’t have the same staying power and break up on me throughout the day. If I really want to look good, or really want my make up to stay all day, I use Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Foundation. It gives beautiful, buildable coverage, and creates a lovely glow from within. It is one of the only foundations I have that has survived my commute so far! I am definitely willing to pay more for foundations that match me well and I know will stay well, while making me look like a glowing goddess.

Concealer: AFFORDABLE

This is definitely a win for team affordable! There are so many great concealers in the drugstore that do the job of a high-end concealer just as well. The Maybelline’s Eraser Eye concealer is full coverage and moisturising and is super affordable. My favourite concealer is the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer which is only £4.19 and comes in a shade pale enough for me! Also, recently a ‘super fair’ shade has been launched which is the perfect highlight shade for under the eyes and the middle of the face. It is the same colour as the fair neutral shade by Urban Decay and like a quarter of the price!

Powder: HIGH END

I’ve tried quite a few affordable powders and they just do not work on my dry skin. I often feel like powders are more geared towards oily skin types, but I want to set my foundation too! I’m not about walking around with a wet face! This one is dependent on your skin type, but I’ve found that affordable options make my face look as though it’s going to crack after a few hours. The Nars Soft Velvet Loose powder is great for setting the face, without looking cakey or changing the colour of your face. Using a coloured powder, rather than a ‘translucent’ one doesn’t leave you looking like a corpse (:

Blush: AFFORDABLE

There is not a single high-end colour that you can’t find an affordable version of. The Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso is as good as everyone says it is and it’s easy to find on amazon (we don’t have Milani in shops in the UK). Some of the Revolution blushes are also great and they’re sooo cheap!

Bronzer: AFFORDABLE

For bronzer, I just can’t justify spending so much money on this when I know that I can find good affordable options. The first bronzer I ever bought was from Bare Minerals and it was soooo orange in tone rather than brown, it looked absolutely ridiculous on my pale skin. I think since then I’ve been a bit worried about the same thing happening again. Also, many high end bronzer pans are enormous(!) and you pay for a lot of product. If you’re really on a budget, MUA in Superdrug has some great bronzers that are pale girl friendly, but my favourite is a Makeup Geek contour shade called Love Triangle. It’s warm toned, super affordable, lasts a long time and is the perfect shade for anyone with fair skin. What more could you want?

EYES

Eyeliner: AFFORDABLE

I only have one high end eyeliner, because I just can’t justify spending £18 on a stick! I’m a real fan of the Sleek eyeliners – I’m pretty sure they only have black and white, but when applied into the waterline they don’t go anywhere all day! If you’re a fan of brighter colours, maybe you’ll have to turn to the high end, but be sure to check the more affordable options first. There are some really good options in Boots or Superdrug that give really good pigment.

Likewise with liquid eyeliner, I can’t justify the hefty price tag, plus I suck at liquid liner. Maybe if you can actually do a winged liner and do it every day, you could find justification in paying more, but I’m happy with my Rimmel and NYX eyeliners for the foreseeable future!

Eyeshadow: AFFORDABLE

I have a few high end palettes and have some cheaper shadows, and while the high end shadows are very good, there are cheaper alternatives that give the exact same pigment. Most of my eyeshadow kit is Makeup Geek because Marlena (the owner) just understands how to make amazing eyeshadows with great pigment. If you haven’t tried any of the Makeup Geek shadows, I’d highly recommend Beaches and Cream, Shimma Shimma and Vanilla Bean just to get you started.

Mascara: DRAW

This one comes down to personal preference. There are great affordable mascaras, particularly Maybelline ones (I’ve never been a fan of L’Oreal mascaras). Recently I’ve been trying out the Maybelline Temptation Mascara and been really pleased with the results. It makes a great every day mascara. However, my true love will always be the Benefit Roller Lash. I get so much lift and volume with this that no other mascara compares. But this one is entirely up to you and your budget.

Brows: AFFORDABLE

I tried the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer when it first came out because I’d heard her products were cult faves and gave you perfect brows. I found it really disappointing. All the different angles on the brow pencil end made it very difficult to use and get the shape I wanted.

Instead, I love using the NYX Micro Brow Pencil, the one that is like a drugstore version of the Brow Wiz. The applicator is pretty small and thin so I can get natural brow hairs and get a nice thin line. They have a really good range of colours and even with very pale eyebrows, I don’t even use the lightest colour!

LIPS

Lipstick: AFFORDABLE

I think the drugstore might win this one. My faaaaaavourite lipstick is a Maybelline Colour Sensational lipstick in 725 Tantalizing Taupe. I have gotten through so many of these and seem to have about 3 at once in different bags. This is mainly because I misplace them, panic, and buy a new one rather than because I’m that extra 🙂  Maybelline also have so many colours and tones that I’m sure you can find any colour you could want right there.

Lip liner: HIGH END

However, for lip liner, the higher end comes out as the winner. Mac Whirl Lip Liner is just brill. Some people find these a little dry, but I’ve always found that these go on well, and it compliments the colour lips I usually go for (nude). However, if you are looking for something a little cheaper, the NYX lip liners are pretty creamy and come in a nice array of colours.

Lip gloss: AFFORDABLE

THERE👏🏼IS👏🏼NOT👏🏼A👏🏼SINGLE👏🏼HIGH👏🏼END👏🏼COLOUR👏🏼YOU👏🏼CAN’T👏🏼GET👏🏼FOR👏🏼LESS! (CAUSE WHO HAS THE MONEY HONEY)

If you want some great lip glosses, go to NYX. Swatch around in Boots/Superdrug. If you want a clear gloss, go to Natural Collection. You do not need to spend £15 on MAC’s clear lip gloss that is half the size when you can get it for a couple of quid. In terms of lip toppers, I love Jouer’s ones. They are GORGEOUS. I’m not really sure how these fall as they’re not super high end, or affordable. These are starting to emerge in more affordable forms now, and I’m super excited to try them out.

The overall score is: Affordable 9 – High end 5

I am actually a little surprised that the affordable products did as well as they did, but it just shows that as good as high end is, or perceived to be, if you look in the right places then you can really save your money! (to buy more high end lol)

High end is definitely better for the complexion products, especially as they usually cater for a wider range of skin types, skin colours and undertones. Foundations are so hard to find for anyone lighter than ‘nude’ and darker than ‘tan’, but looking to certain high end brands makes this much easier.

At the end of the day, as long as you love the make up you are putting on, that is all that matters.

Xo

Follow me on:

Instagram|Bloglovin|Twitter|Pinterest