Soap & Glory Kick Ass video

Hey everyone, I've finally got to grips with my new camera so here is a video of me reviewing and applying the Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer that I spoke about a few posts down. Enjoy!

Rainy Day Products

Every girl has those rainy day products hiding in their cupboard. The type of products that you won't necessarily use a lot, but when you run into a beauty dilemma, you will always know they are there for you ready to use and combat! My bathroom cupboards are full to the brim of bottles of moisturisers, dry shampoo, face masks etc etc - I feel incredibly sorry for the only other person who lives in this flat, my boyfriend, HA! The great thing about this 'clutter' is that although they are incredibly amazing and do the job, they're only at high street prices. Here is a selection of the best rainy day beauty essentials I have ready for me when I need them! 

Good Things Five Minute Facial - I love the Good Things range, all of the products smell delicious and are suitable for all skin types. This five minute facial is a lightweight face mask that you can easily smear onto your face when it is flagging. I aim to use it every week, however I am forgetful! I tend to pop it on just before getting in the shower and wash it off in there. It opens pores and cleans deep down before tightening them again. The result? Incredibly radiant and smooth skin, just what any girl wants!

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter - I'm sure most of you know about this. It's been available for years now and has won many awards, so I won't go into too much detail. It smells gorgeous and this scent lingers on your skin afterwards giving it a sexy, fresh boost. However, the reason why this body butter is so desirable is how moisturising it is for your skin! This product has been a real life saver over the cold, winter months. If cracked and dull skin became an issue, I would just whack some of this lovely stuff on and my skin would be as smooth as a baby's bottom afterwards. Brilliant stuff.

Veet Facial Wax Strips - These are mainly for my womanly moustache that likes to make an appearance every now and then! Having a Lebanese ethnicity and being olive skinned means I have naturally dark hair, which is a right bugger once a patch of hair starts to grow in unwanted places. Bleaching my upper lip is a no-no for me. So I just warm up one of these strips between my hands, pop it onto my upper lip and pull it off. Smooth kisses from now on.

Boots Tea Tree & Witch hazel Nose Pore Strips - These cost nothing. Many of Boots own brand skin care is fine for my skin as I luckily don't have too many problems. I'm not prone to spots and use a blackhead exfoliator every day (Good Things) with a Soap & Glory exfoliating pad so these strips only get used every month or maybe even longer than that! However, they do a fab job when I have a breakout of blackheads on my nose that cannot be tackled with the normal skincare routine. Dampen your nose, pop the strip on and leave for a few minutes before peeling off and washing. The best part is looking at those naughty blackheads on the strip afterwards. Ewwww!!!

VO5 Hot Oil - These are so old-school and were the first oil treatment for hair I ever tried. Even though I have moved on since them, I still keep a stash in my cupboard for a quick treatment in the shower if my hair is ever dull and lifeless. Under a tenner, so definitely worth keeping a box in hiding for a bad cash flow month and if you can't afford other oil treatments. 

What are your rainy day products?  

What I'm wearing on my face!

The part of the day I most look forward to is the beginning, when I get to decide what make-up to wear and apply it. I love playing around with cosmetics and today, I realised I wanted to try the BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow (Noir) I received yesterday in my February Glossybox. So I opted for a classic smokey eye, because what is better to do with a dark coloured eyeshadow?

Face

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid (030 Sand)

Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer (Medium)

Benefit Lemon Aid

Avon Bronzing Pearls

Benefit Get Even (no. 2)

Mac Spiked Eyebrows Pencil 

Benefit 10

Bourjois Blush (34 Rose D'or)

Eyes

Models Own Cream Eyeshadow (White Pearl)

Mac Eyeshadow (Filament)

Myface.cosmetics Blingtone Eyeshadow (Silver Screen)

BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow (Noir)

Mac Superslick Liquid Eye Liner (On The Hunt)

Lancome Le Crayon Kohl (Noir)

Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara (Blackest Black)

Lips

DuWop Venom Gloss

I would like to say I use way too much make-up... Hope you like today's look!

Soap & Glory Make-up KICKS ASS

I've been dying to try a few items from the recently launched Soap & Glory make-up range, however every time I would pop into my local Boots store, they would always be sold out of the items I wanted to test out. A positive sign the items in question are great, but not good for Miss 'Must Have It' over here. Luckily, the angels were on my side yesterday and there were a few of the products left in my colour! I picked up Kick Ass Concealer in Medium and the Show Good Face Foundation & Primer in A Nude Peach and I've got to say, God they're amazing!

As you can probably guess from the picture above, I also grabbed a new mascara and another concealer which I've had my eye on as well, but more on those later. 

So shall we start with the Show Good Face foundation and primer? I was most interested in testing this product out due to the fact that it primes and makes a smooth base for your face all in one. With it also retailing at £11, it's well worth the money and is a great size to take in travel bags for those on the go. As well as being a 2-in-1 foundation and primer, it also has an SPF of 15, keeping your skin protected against those harmful winter rays of England (yeah, right?!). Ok, so having an SPF in your foundation isn't a necessity in Britain, but like I said, it would be great for a travel make-up bag. So this could be your perfect holiday foundation! Let's move onto application. Show Good Face is a liquid foundation and just like with any other, I squirted a bit on the back of my hand and dotted a Kabuki brush in it to blend it around my face. It goes a heck of a long way. I bought it in the colour 'A Nude Peach', which is just a shade more golden than my skin colour, but it made my face glow! The box boasts it has 'long wearing lightscramble luminospheres' - honestly, I don't know what the heck that is. I gather it is Soap & Glory's awesome way of telling the consumer it has radiance boosting pigments, something every girl needs in a certain foundation as a pick-me-up. With the product going a long way, my face didn't look caked in make-up therefore leaving me with a smooth and natural looking base. Now, it's nine hours since it was applied and my skin is looking good, but not as great as when first applied. The dewy look I was left with just after application has faded and I no longer look radiant, so on long days you may need some touching up!

Keeping with the Soap & Glory theme just for now, I'll tell you all about Kick Ass Concealer. I'm very excited just about writing this paragraph. As a sufferer of stubborn & dark under-eye circles, I've always been on the look out for great concealers. This is one I will definitely be repurchasing. At £10, again it is a reasonable price and is easy to come by being on the high street - for those of you who have well stocked Boots stores that is. The product describes itself as a three piece flaw camouflage kit, brilliant for any kind of blemish you need covering.

The Powder (Step three)

The concealer (Step one / Step two)

It comes in three steps. The first is a light creamy concealer, great for under-eye circles and uneven skin tone. The second is a dark beige colour, perfect for red spots and to tone down the brightness of the first step. The third step is a translucent powder, there to set your concealer in place and banish your blemishes from revealing themselves all day. 

 

The product was incredibly easy to apply and didn't take any longer than a normal one-step concealer would. I would heavily recommend keeping this in your handbag, ladies! It's as small as any other compact, includes a mirror and a puff for the powder and the concealer is so creamy it can easily be dabbed on with your fingers. Great for any touch-ups! However, that is if you needed any touch-ups. With this concealer applied in the morning, you're guaranteed to be looking blemish free and your best all day. To summarise, it's incredibly long lasting!

 

A quick description on the last two high street products now. Starting with the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer, yes another concealer, but I do love to mix them up every now and then. This product is buzzing around all the beauty blogs right now, however the last time I used a Collection 2000 product was years ago in my early teens. Not knowing what to expect, I tested it in store and it certainly exceeded my expectations. I bought the Medium (No. 3) colour as it was just slightly lighter than my skin tone and perfect for brightening my face when it's flagging. It claims to last about 16 hours, however I have not yet had the chance to test this claim out unfortunately. I intend to keep this in my bag at work as it's a liquid texture kept in a small tube that comes with a brush, making it easy to simply sweep on and blend with fingertips. 

The last product is a toss-up for myself. It's the Telescopic Mascara by L'oreal and it's been on my 'to buy' list for a while as a brilliant beauty blogger (Viviannadoesmakeup) has raved about it. I bought the non-waterproof version. I've never been one for waterproof mascara as I can never get all of the bugger off! As Viviannadoesmakeup has said as well, I don't usually go for plastic brushes, however once applied I found it separated my lashes so well decreasing the chances of clumps forming and lengthened my lashes nicely. It also held the curl in my lash all day, opening my eyes up to make them look wide awake. The only qualm I have is that it doesn't thicken my lashes. Now, I know I'm asking for everything when I want it to separate my lashes neatly but to also thicken them - I don't think there is any mascara that does what I am asking for. However, I much prefer big and thick eyelashes, so I'm going to put this lovely mascara aside for my bad lash days when they need some taming!

Incredibly happy about my mini make-up haul, ESPECIALLY my Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer. That has earned it's place as a staple in my make-up bag already. What are your make-up bag essentials? And have you tried Soap & Glory's makeup range?

I think I'm in love with nude lipsticks!

In my previous post, I spoke about how I decided to take a risk and buy two nude toned lipsticks that the beauty blogging world loves - Mac's Hue and Shy Girl. A Mac package arrived very quickly and swiftly at my door the other day and I was face to face with these two beautiful colours, the first time seeing them in the flesh for myself. 

I was quick to try to the lipsticks on. I have to admit after years of wearing brightly coloured and highly pigmented lip products, I slathered the sticks on my lips waiting to see a huge difference gushing before me. Little did I know, the huge difference wouldn't surface. My first experience of nude lip colours and I was quite disappointed. But I didn't want to give up, I knew there was something special about these colours and they wouldn't be as popular as they are today if there wasn't. And so, I have swapped these two products around and worn them religiously the past 5 days and now, I have to say...I think I'm in love. 

So let's move on to the actual products in question.  

Hue was the colour I was most intrigued about. Not only was it one of Mac's bestselling lipsticks, it was also the number 1 lip product all the beauty bloggers would be talking about. I felt lucky to have my hands on it, even though Mac has sold thousands (possibly millions) of Hue, I didn't know anyone personally who used it. So what is so special about it? Let's start off with the colour. Although, it is classed as a nude lipstick, it actually has a very subtle pink (dare i say it...) HUE to it. Not the kind of Barbie pink that you see in many make-up products, but the lightest shade of pink you can imagine. Coinciding with the colour, the texture is very soft and smooth and it glides on so easily, almost as if it were a gloss. A shimmer parades throughout the lipstick that catches the light nicely to compliment the colour.

Onto Shy Girl. Now I've got to tell you, this has to be my favourite shade out of the two mentioned in this blog. The reason? Shy Girl, again is classed as a nude lip colour but it actually has a gorgeous peachy tone to it. This peachy tone compliments my skin and really lifts it up when it's flagging, especially recently due to the cold weather and the impending spring. Pastels are making a comeback this spring/summer, however I would definitely favour this peachy colour over bright pastels. It compliments my olive skin tone nicely and paired with a similar coloured blush, it really gives your face a cute shot of colour. The product has a slight shimmer to it again, similar to Hue, however it seems a tad thicker in texture needing slightly more effort to apply. 

All this time I was looking for a huge difference to my lips, when I didn't seem to comprehend that huge difference was somewhere else. The simple process of using a skin toned lip colour changed my appearance in full. My everyday make-up routine consists of many neutral shades and tones, I don't tend to use bright colours - that can be saved for nights out and Summer. Instead, I brighten the tone of my make-up by then adding a heavy and deep coloured lipstick to draw attention and definition to that one part of my face. After using Hue and Shy Girl, I feel like there is now a balance. I automatically looked older, not in the negative sense but in a sophisticated way. My boyfriend started complimenting my appearance a lot more. Coincidence? It could be. However I put it down to the fact the colour of these lipsticks don't release a cry of desperation to be complimented, like many bright products can do. Instead, they subtly sizzle with hotness, dominate with power and release your inner prowess.

Hue (Left) & Shy Girl (Right)

I am most definitely in love with nude lipsticks and cannot wait to buy more. What nude lipsticks do you love?

Coming soon...

This month, I'm trying to save some money. Therefore, I've had to cut back slightly on my beauty budget - a hard thing to do when you're obsessed with make-up and skincare! So this month is devoted to necesseties. So far, I've indulged in three pairs of jeans (it's cold, I need them!) plus a few little fashion bits, but what I am really looking forward to is a little Mac package coming through my door. Unfortunately, the closest Mac counter is about an hours drive away so I couldn't buy any skin colour based products, but I thought I would treat myself to two lovely lipsticks that I have been longing over for a while. Cue Mac's Shy Girl and Hue lipstick!

After following many beauty blogs and youtube channels for a while, I have seen these two shades pop up incredibly often in favourites tags. Being a girl who only owns bright coloured lipsticks to polish off a look, I was wary of spending money on a nude/neutral toned lipstick. If I don't feel like wearing a bright lipstick, a lip balm or lip polish usually does the job. After receiving Topshop's lip polish in the shade 'chiffon' for a present, I was converted to more subtle shades of lip colour.

Shy Girl by Mac

Hue by Mac

So, long story short. I logged onto the Mac website the other day to buy a new bottle of their brilliant brush cleanser when I just decided to go ahead and buy the two lovely shades that I have been desperate for. They should be in the post now, so I cannot wait to receive these beautiful products and test them out myself. Judging by the amount of beauty bloggers that are head over heels in love with them, I'm sure I will be incredibly satisfied.


Review coming soon...

The B.B Cream that starts my day right!

I've been into make-up and beauty seriously for the past year and I have always believed that to achieve the right finish, you have to use the best product to start with. Introducing the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector, a daily all-in-one B.B cream that I use as a moisturiser and primer to prepare my face for my make-up routine that follows. After reading about it in the beauty sections of many magazines and seeing advertisements thrown in my face, I decided a few weeks ago to put it on my wishlist (how fickle am i?) and last week, I finally got round to buying it. I buy many of my beauty products from Boots due to the fact I live in a country town and a variety of shops is unheard of. However, Boots always satisfy my needs as they stock many of the mainstream and some lesser-known brands and they do so at a reasonable price. Whilst browsing last week, I eyed up the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector, and luckily for myself, it was at a cheaper price that day than the normal RRP of £9.99.  

The bottle comes in a handy 50ml size, so it's easy to pop in your bag for any touch ups that may be needed and it's a reasonable size for travelling with. However, this is currently the only size the product is available in so expect to bulk buy when it is on offer to stock up for the future. Moving onto the review, now that I've had over a week to test it properly, I can definitely say that I love it. The B.B in the name of the cream is essentially an acronym for blemish balm, which leads you to realise that this is a cream that flatters your skin by smoothing out any imperfections. The product comes in two different shades, Light and Medium. With no testers around, I was left to go with instinct and picked up the medium, due to the fact I have olive skin and I believed that the light shade would give my complexion the resemblance of a ghost. Onto the application. I squeezed the product onto my fingertip and out came a mousse-like cream that was tinted. I've never used a B.B cream before as they've only just blown out onto the high street, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but once seeing the cream was tinted it all made sense as to how it worked and I thought that it was essentially a tinted moisturiser. Once I rubbed it into my fingertips, the mousse-like texture turned a lot more creamy, echoing that of regular moisturiser. 

 

I'm one of those lucky few that doesn't suffer from spots very regularly, but I do have different tones to my skin all over my face that always has to be fixed during the concealing part of my make-up routine. I applied it to my face using just my fingertips and massaging it all over, including my neck. The tone was just about a shade darker than my regular skin colour, however once I apply my make-up and so on it blends in well. Once the cream was on, the heavy texture turned lightweight and it went a long way . The pictures just above actually show that I put on too much of the stuff! Don't be fooled into thinking you need the amount similar to the size of a 50p coin like with most products as with this you only need the slightest squeeze. After the skin perfecter was applied, the tone of my skin was essentially all the same apart from my under eye circles which are a stubborn purple colour and need a thick concealer to cover them. I felt comfortable in my own skin and thought if I wanted to go for that natural look, all I needed was some powder to blot away some shine after using the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector and I was set! The product has a slight floral smell to it, nothing too overpowering and I found the cream to be a rich peachy beige, a great combination to smooth out imperfections and also give your skin a healthy radiant glow. 

 As you can see from the swatch on my hand, it has perked up the skin colour and blended in really nicely with no streaks.  I tend to use this product as a moisturiser and primer, as it helps to nourish any dry patches and it isn't incredibly oily (IN MODERATION!) so make-up doesn't just slide off of my face. So all in all, I am incredibly happy with this product and for a very reasonable price, I will most likely be buying again - that is if I don't find another high street B.B cream!