New MUJI Make Up Storage

Hi Ladies! I know I'm a little ridiculously late with buying acrylic make-up storage. It seems like everyone in the beauty blogosphere has already had theirs for quite a while now, and it was up to silly old me to be the last. Well, somebody has to be last right? I know these became popular after everyone saw them on 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' a while back and since then it's been a must-have product to store make-up and make-up brushes nicely on your dressing table. I'm already quite organised with my make-up, but starting to rumble around in a box for what I needed started to become a bit of a chore so acrylicd drawers were the only way forward. I posted about wanting these in my January Wishlist (read it here) and they arrived almost by magic yesterday evening, so without further ado, let me introduce you to my new 'getting ready' saviour..

I first heard about Muji a while back from Kayleigh over at CoutureGirl and I'd already spent a silly amount of time looking at eBay and Amazon for acrylic storage, wondering why they were so overpriced. I then dipped my toes into the Muji pool and I'm so glad I did. Admittedly it has taken me forever to purchase it, just because I kind of left it and forgot about it up until just before Christmas. I ordered my products on Tuesday, and they arrived on Thursday which is excellent service. It may be down to the fact I live in London so it's closer to the warehouse but I'm super-duper impressed. I ordered:

2x Acrylic Box - 2 Drawers With Flip-Top Lid - Wide £11.95

1x Round Acrylic Pen Pot £2.95

+ £4.95 Shipping Fee & Delivery

I know the 5 drawer box is most popular, but when I went to buy it, there was a heartbreaking message that said they wouldn't be getting anymore in stock until February. Boo. I wasn't waiting a month! So instead I bought 2 drawers to stack on top of eachother and a pen pot to store my make-up brushes upright. It looks just as good, and the flip top lid means there is ease of access when I want to use a foundation or a palette. I've stored my products in the order I apply them to make it that little bit easier as I'll be working down the drawers. Foundations, concealers, primers, powders and contours are in the top draw, eyebrow palettes and eyeshadows and some eyeshadow palettes are in the second, mascaras, eyeliners, tweezers and other bits and bobs are in the third and finally lipsticks and lip treatments are in the bottom. Phew. 

The pen pot was a bit of an impulsive buy as I didn't originally plan to buy it, but I thought it would look nice on my dressing table if it matched the drawers. It isn't big enough to store all of my brushes, so I use it just for those that I use on a daily basis and store the others in a box in the top draw of my dressing table. All in all I'm super impressed with my new Muji storage, and as my collection grows I'll definitely be ordering a few more drawers and pots.

What do you use to store your make-up? Have you ordered anything from Muji recently?

Tag: What's In My Handbag?

Hello Girls! I've been meaning to do this post for quite some time now, but I'm forever changing my bag and emptying its contents out onto my bed that I've never really found an opportunity to do it. I don't know about you but I love this tag. I'm a real nosey parker and love seeing what you girls have lying around in the bottom of your bags! Just like my skincare routine, this changes all the time and I always take things out and in turn put new things in!

Beige Structured Tote Bag - Zara Dupe From Primark
I bought this bag in the Boxing Day sales (which I blogged about here) from Primark and I have been hooked ever since. It's such a nice size and goes with almost everything in my wardrobe, plus its such a good dupe to the one from Zara but at almost quarter of the price.

iPhone 5 & Apple Headphones
I bought the iPhone 5 on the day it came out because I'm a little bit of a technology geek. (see, the home truths are starting to come out of the closet now) and the bumper case is from eBay. I am absolutely loving the new Apple headphones too.

Make-Up Bag & Products
In my make-up bag I just tend to store things in there for touch-ups etc. Things like powder, lipstick and mascara are amongst the dark depths of my make-up bag. I also carry around Soap and Glory's 'Hand Maid' as I hate germs. I'm obsessed with keeping my hands clean, and the tissues speak for themself.

Oyster Card
If you live in London then an Oyster is probably the focal point of anyones bag. It gets me around while saving money, but I won't even attempt to show you the picture inside.

Purse
In my purse I have a stupid amount of bank cards, store cards, reciepts and the rest. I also picked this up in the Boxing Day sales from River Island and I love the studded detail on the front.

Keys
Well I'm not going to get very far without my keys! I have silly keyrings on mine, but by far my favourite one is my diamante 'K' inital one, along with my 'Mrs David Beckham' one too.

Denman Grooming Brush
I need to brush my hair extensions througout the day, but I love this one as it really smoothes the hair down too which is perfect for windy days, or any day if you live in England.

S. Pellegrino Water
I'm currently suffering with an awful cold, and have to take tablets and use endles tissues so I've been told to keep drinking fluids. I love this water, I know that sounds crazy but it has a different taste to other waters.

Lady GaGa Fame Perfume
I love this perfume for daytime. When I first heard Lady GaGa was bringing out a perfume I was a bit apprehensive as to what it would be like but I love it. It has great staying power too so only need a sprita halfway through the day.

Scarf & Umbrellla
Pretty self explanatory as I live in London and you never know when you'll need these. The say could start off with the sun shining and snowing by the evening!

I tag all of my blog readers to do this, let me know if you do by commenting I'd love to see it! What do you carry around in your handbag everyday?

Review: Sleek Face Form Contouring & Brush Palette

Hi Ladies, I've been very quiet on the blogging scene recently; I've been so busy Christmas shopping and finishing off work before I go on my much needed Christmas break that I haven't had an hour to just sit down and blog. As I'm sure you've probably gathered I'm constantly on the lookout for new products to wow me and up until now I used a basic coffee colour eyeshadow to define cheekbones and my nose, along with a liquid highlighter from Gold by Giles to highlight my brow bone.

I will admit I'm not too familiar with Sleek as a brand, I've only ever tried the lipsticks which I did love and have repurchased since. I know that their blushes are famed for being amazing so it was no surprise that I loved their new Blush & Contour palette. I picked mine up from Superdrug for £8.99. The palette itself is pretty standard, just matte black with the glossy Sleek logo which is carried on all of their products. It's exactly the same size as the Blush by 3 palettes which means its compact and can be used on the move with the handy mirror on the inside. 

(From Left to Right: contouring powder, highlighting powder, blush powder)

The Blush & Contour palette comes with a contour powder, a highlight powder and a blush powder. There are three shades available in light, medium and dark so I chose the medium palette as I thought the colours would compliment my skin tone. The contour powder is matte, the highlight is shimmery and the blush is ridiculously shimmery.  

Contour - The contour powder is the perfect colour for my skin tone, and I'm an NC30 so medium would be ideal for anyone with a similar colour match. It blends so easily and sits all day without moving, regardless if I've used a primer underneath my foundation or not.

Blush - It's Sleek's 'Rose Gold' blush although it doesn't say this on the packaging and it's a vibrant peach colour with gold shimmer running through it so it really brightens the skin during Winter.

Highlighter - I'm not a user of powder based highlighter as I used my beloved Benefit High Beam which is liquid based. This is alot more natural and definitely more suitable for a day to  day face so I'll get some use out of it.

All in all I'm so impressed by Sleek's Blush & Contour palette. Once the pans begin to wear their product away I'll definitely be repurchasing it unless I find something better for me. But for the price that it is with three great products, I can't see that happening anytime soon. Have you tried anything similar to the blush and contour palette?

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Review: Real Techniques Stippling Brush

Hello Ladies! How are we all? Just a quick post to tell you about a fabulous new product I bought. I know I'm a little extremely late to jump on the Real Techniques bandwagon, but the perks of being a beauty blogger mean you hear about great make up products and you're bathroom cabinet gets full to the brim within a few weeks. I came across rave reviews of the stippling brush on several blogs, and being an eager beaver, I picked one up from Boots on my lunch break. The website says that 'This dual-fiber brush is the trade secret for creating airbrushed, high-definition results with all types of makeup.' and I completely agree. 

What's Great About It?

♥ I absolutely love the look of it. The pink aluminium handle and the matte black end of the brush is so simple but to me it looks great.

♥ The bristles are 100% cruelty free which of course is a massive bonus, and are taklon and all hand cut.

♥ The white fibres at the top of the brush remain white and foundation doesn't stain easily which cuts back on having to wash the brush as often as other face brushes. 

♥ The brush is great for it's price of just £11.99

♥ It's so versatile as it can be used with foundations, bronzers, highlighters and primers.

♥ It promises high definition results and I completely agree with the fact it also promises an airbrush finish.

♥ The soft bristles glide easily against the skin which makes application of foundation a dream.

♥ The brush stands up on its own which is great if like me you struggle for storage space.

If you haven't already invested in a stippling brush, make this one be it. It's great quality and above all really does make a difference to the look of your make-up. For only £11.99 you can't go wrong.

Have you tried the Real Techniques stippling brush? What are your thoughts?

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Tag: Why Do You Wear Make Up?

Hi Ladies, hope you're all well and good. I was reading through a few blogs and saw this tag which I thought I would join in with. I'm a massive make-up lover! So I tag all my followers to join in aswell.

Image; weheartit

 

♥ When did you begin loving make-up? I've loved make-up for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I used to go up and visit my family in Stoke-on-Trent every so often and my older cousin would give me bags and bags full of things she no longer wanted. I remeber one morning like a kid on Christmas Eve opening some bags of goodies when I found a big blue box with all of those dodgy coloured eyeshadows and lipsticks and being so excited. From when I was just eight or nine years old, my daily attire consisted of electric blue eyeshadow and shocking red lipstick. Cringe. Once I got to high school I wore a bit of lipbalm and some Miss Sporty foundation, I don't know which is worse! When I was 16 and begun studying Beauty Therapy that's when things changed and my make-up became a little more acceptable. And now I have a stupid amount of products and am lucky enough to be able to mix up my make-up looks quite often.

♥ How do you feel without make-up? I'll be completely honest and say that I used to be the kind of girl who would never leave the house without a full face of make-up. Oh how times have changed. In the past few years I've learnt to feel completely comfortable without slap on, and even went to Westfield last week without any on and my hair in a messy bun! Now I know I'm not kidding anyone, and like any girl, I don't exactly feel myself and as confident without make-up but thats okay right?

♥ What do you like about make-up? I love the way you can create something whch is entirely your own. You can make such a difference to your look and the way that you feel just by switching up the colour of your lipstick. I also love the way you need to experiment by using loads of different products to find what suits you best. It hides all of your flaws and highlights features which you're proud of.

 

♥ Three 'Holy Grail' items - Only three? It's really hard to choose just three but if there had to be three then they are...

♥ MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NC30
♥ 140 Eylure 'Naturalites' False Eyelashes
♥ Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer
 

♥

MAC 'Shy Girl' Lipstick Dupe - NYX 'Pumpkin Pie'

Hi Everyone! I haven't got round to blogging for over a week! I've been so busy getting ready for my holiday which is now only just around the corner. I took myself to Westfield in Stratford throughout the weekend and popped into MAC just to buy myself some foundation. What ended up happening was ridiculous, as I ended up coming out of the store with a bag full of goodies including the cremesheen lipstick in the shade Shy Girl. I met Amy Childs last Wednesday at her perfume launch on Oxford Street and I loved the lipstick she had on. I asked her what it was and turns out it was from none other than trusty MAC! 

Alot of people are somewhat dubious as to why you would spend £14.00 on a lipstick, but my MAC collection has never failed me. I love the cremesheen range as they add the perfect amount of gloss without becoming sticky and have a fantastic formula which means there is extra staying power and it never budges out of place. The only thing I probably dislike is the smell. It has that awful smell of chemicals which is really off putting, especially first thing in the morning. I was also looking through my make-up box a few days back (yes a box. I don't do make-up bags) when I came across a lipstick I'd forgotten I owned and hadn't even opened. To my horror, the shades were practically identical. I purchased 'Pumpkin Pie' a few months back for no more than £3.00 and although the formula doesn't quite match up to MAC's Shy Girl, it's still a lipstick I could use on the go.

I'm an absolute sucker for nudes and pale pinks, so for colour this definitely gets a 10 out of 10 from me! Pumpkin Pie is a very subtle colour, and isn't nearly as pigmented as Shy Girl as I found myself applying up to three coats to achieve a similar colour. It didn't glide on as easily as Shy Girl, but for only £3.00 it's hard to justify why I can't use my NYX more often. It contains a small amount of gloss, again not too much that it's sticky and sits awkwardly on my lips. I did find that after a few hours that the cracks in my lips were beginning to show but it was easily fixed by a quick top up. For packaging, I obviously completely prefer that of MAC's Shy Girl. All the lipsticks from MAC are so sleek looking, and I can't help but think Pumpkin Pie is a little tacky looking. It will be absolutely perfect to replace my Shy Girl lipstick when I go on holiday as I'm so clumsy and will probably end up dropping my MAC into the sea! I've bought a load of drugstore lipsticks recently for this purpose and may post a small haul showing you all what goodies I've managed to find.

Do you own any MAC Cremesheen lipsticks? Which is your favourite shade?

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Cosmopolitan Powder & Blush Brushes

Hello! I hope you're still enjoying this fabulous weather as much as me, although it's forecast rain tomorrow boooo! I suppose that was England's summer, just three days of lovely sunshine. I love Wednesdays, it's pure TV gold. Cherry Healy's 'How To Get A Life' is great on BBC3, and then of course Wednesday means it's TOWIE day! Hoorah! I mentioned in my mini haul post (read it here) that I'd purchased the Cosmopolitan Powder Brush. I sort of got bored of using my usual brushes from Real Techniques (which I'll review soon) so wanted to experiment using a cheaper brand and see the differences. I picked up the Blush Brush recently to add to my mini collection of Cosmopolitan brushes. Sad. I bought both brushes from Superdrug jut over a week ago for no more than £5.00 each which of course is an absolute bargain! Even though I've never heard anything about the brush range from Cosmopolitan I was still eager to try them out and judge for myself exactly what I thought.

I guess what drew me to them was the packaging. I love that these came in a metallic, pink and white pouch which you can zip open. I think like most people I fall in love with packaging before I even look at a product. On closer inspection I actually quite liked the look of the brushes too. They didn't look completely shabby and awful and for £4.69 each what did I have to loose? I trotted back home and decided to put the brushes to the test that evening as I was going out for some dinner with my friend Danielle.


Once I opened the pouch I looked at the brushes more closely and my heart sunk a little. The dreaded malting effect was happening before my very eyes. Some of the bristles on the powder brush were sticking out in awkward directions but I was still eager to try them. So after my foundation I applied my regular powder (read my review here) and I was actually really surprised at the results. It blended and applied my powder fantastically, although it didn't quite have the same airbrushed effect as my Real Techniques powder brush. It's a very thick and heavy brush which makes it great for picking up loads of product on the brush at one time and applying it without getting that awful chalky effect on the skin.

I used the Blush Brush to apply both my bronzer and my blush. If you read my blog then you'll know only recently I have dipped my toes into the sea of blushes (???) and I'm currently using a Model's Own beige colour called Peach Blush. I find that my bronzer and blush compliment each other well and suit my skin tone perfectly. The Blush Brush made application a dream as it is angled so I can really apply it why it wherever I like while I make the fish face. I was surprised at how much product the brush picked up even using a very light hand when picking it up with my brush. I'm really shocked that I didn't have any stray hairs falling down my face, but these brushes sadly won't be replacing my usual brushes. I do like them though and for such a cheap price I really can't argue I think both brushes were my absolute bargain of the week! I think I'd use these brushes as something I have in my handbag when I go out and need a touch up. They aren't particularly compact however I always have huge bags so it shouldn't be a problem. 

What are your favourite make-up brushes?


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Topshop Lipstick in Pillow Talk

I bought another lipstick. Yes, another one. I really need to stop this ridiculous obsession some time soon, I haven't even opened some and the pile gets bigger and bigger by the day, quite literally. Being new to Topshop make-up and being super impressed by the 'Head Over Heels' blush, (read my review here) I was really excited when I picked up this lipstick. I've heard so many rave reviews about the lipsticks in the Topshop range, and especially 'Pillow Talk' known for its great colour pay-off and ultra moisturising qualities. I'm a complete sucker for pale pinks and nudes so this ticked the box with my name next to it.


I think one of the main reasons people love the lipsticks is the packaging. It has a theme which runs across the entire make-up range and it's so girly and pretty. I love the box everything comes in and I actually keep them (upright if you may ask so I can see which colour I'm choosing. Sad I know) in a box on my dressing table. The lipstick itself is pretty standard, nothing too fancy just plain white made with metal. I like the way it clicks into place so easily when you're finished with it. I notice these kind of things as there's nothing worse than when lipstick lids fall off in your make-up bag. 

I have a big thing about how products smell so was a bit disappointed that this smelt of absolutely nothing. I'm so glad that it doesn't reek of chemicals and what have you like others do though (cough cough MAC) but for only £8.00 I'm so not complaining. There's nothing worse than when you have dry cracked lips and your lipstick gets stuck inbetween the cracks of your lips. I'm wincing at just the thought of it. But I religiously use Lush's Bubblegum Lip Scrub (read my review here) and Pillow Talk sits perfectly on top of my lips all day without that dreaded crackle effect. 

For it's colour and texture I'd give this a definite 10/10. It's so creamy you wouldn't believe and glides onto my lips like a dream without it being too sheer to have to apply two or three coats (even though I do as I love to wear statement lips). Because of this, its a really versatile colour as you can build it up by applying more. Pretty self explanatory. It has a slight gloss to it also as it is a velvet moisturising lipstick. So an added bonus too! 

Have you tried Topshop's make-up range? What's your favourite product? I'd love to know.


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Topshop Blush in Head Over Heels

Hi lovely ladies! Hope you're well, I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps with this awful weather. Typical English summer, warm and sticky with overcast and rain. I go on holiday next month for some much needed sun and sea so I thought I'd better get stocking up on some new clothes and make-up. It's a great thing I did, as I found this blusher from the Topshop make-up range.


So the other day I armed myself with my umbrella and jacket and headed out to do some 'window shopping'. Ahh, I'm excited for the day to come where I go somewhere with a Topshop/River Island/Primark/New Look and I leave empty handed. It won't ever happen. Now, it may come as a shock to you all but I am in fact a Topshop make-up virgin (I know!). It's never really caught my eye in the past, but when I was last there I had a wander over and a little nosey at what all the fuss was about. 

I ended up purchasing a few bits rather than just the one because honestly, there is so much selection. It may just be the Topshop store near me but I really did have my pick of the bunch. After coming to the end of my little nosey I almost walked away and thank goodness I didn't. The blushes which are so highly spoken about screamed "come and get me" so I had a look at the colours which they had to offer. A year ago if you'd have said to me that coral and orange would be my go-to colour choices for lips and cheeks I'd have laughed in your face. But now, I absolutely love it. I think corals are really flattering on every type of skin tone, providing you don't overdo the cheeks. I do love a coral statement lip though.


I swatched Head Over Heels on the back of my hand, held it to the light, and voila! I was in love. I did notice a difference to regular blushes, as it's a cream rather than a powder. Now I'm usually slightly scared and honestly put off usually by creams as I really dislike the feeling that I have something thick on my face. But the cream actually turned into a slight powder format once it dried which was even better. Slightly chuffed with myself I made my purchase and couldn't wait to get home and try it out. 

Once I applied Head over Heels to my face after setting my foundation with powder I actually really liked the effect it had. Those who read a previous blog post will know I only recently have started using blusher as I usually stick to my trusty bronzer on its own but I started to branch out and be more adventurous with what I use (not that adventurous I know but it's a starting point). The picture below makes it look more of a pink coloured blush but I promise it's not (damn camera). I really liked the way it glided on too, so easy and not messy in the slightest. You simply dot it on and blend outwards.


One thing I like about it is the packaging. So simple but so sweet and girly looking at the same time. The only downside is the fact that white make-up packaging gets unbelievably dirty in your make-up bag and it's the same with black bottled products. For only £6.00 it really is a bargain.

I do really like this product from Topshop, so I will repurchase it when I need to. I'm dying to try the other colours of blush as I'm hoping they work wonders as much as this does.

Have you tried Topshop make-up? Or are you a blusher virgin like me and just getting into it?


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Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

Hi Girlies! Sorry I haven't blogged anything beauty related recently, I'm still recovering from an epic weekend in Milton Keynes watching Swedish House Mafia (read my blog post on it here) but I'm back to the real world and so are my beauty blogging ways. After hearing so many rave reviews about Rimmels Wake Me Up foundation I decided to purchase some of my own to try out. After oomphing and aahing for ten minutes or so in my local drugstore I finally settled on 200 Soft Beige as my choice of colour. In the bottle it looks like a fairly tanned pigmented foundation, however when I applied it and set it with powder I felt it was a bit of a pink tone. 


As I'm always completely honest when it comes to reviewing products I have to say I'm not a lover of this foundation. It's not awful but it doesn't obviously look as great as my trusty MACs and Revlons. For an £8.99 3ml bottle I wasn't expecting a miracle foundation as I find that the more you spend on a foundation the better it is. But after everyone claiming it was great I was quite disappointed. 


"Our first foundation that visibly reawakens ad illuminates skin with a radiant glow and a flawless finish Instant anti-fatigue effect. With peptides and a Vitamin Moisturising Complex"

I will agree with the fact that it claims to reawaken the skin and make you look more awake. Although you can't see it from the outside of the bottle, when it is applied there are small highlighting pigments. This is great, but for combination skin it is a complete nightmare. After just 2 hours I was shiny across my T-Zone and slightly patchy across the sides of my cheeks. I used a primer and my trusty MAC foundation brush to apply this foundation, so the application is not at fault here. I know that the main objective of this is to illuminate skin, but to the extent of having to re-powder my nose every so often it isn't great. 


I like the fact that it contains SPF 15 as I'm really concious of getting wrinkles before I'm 30. Although I found this great, parts of it did start getting stuck inbetween the lines under my eyes even after I had used a concealer. One thing I have to mention is just how amazing this smells. I think it really is just Rimmel as a brand as their lipsticks smell delicious too. Sort of fruity and floral which makes a nice change from MAC's studio fix which smells like chemicals.


The bottle itself didn't exactly scream 'glamour' but I must admit I do like the orange lid as it really brightens up my make-up bag nicely. Plus these sleek black bottles get so dirty which makes me knock a little sick when I put my make-up on in the morning. Germs germs germs. 

Have you tried Rimmels Wake Me Up foundation? What did you think?


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