Tuesday 23 October 2018

Essence Review;-

Wilko Essence
Essence are a brand I forget about. They are Cruelty Free, really budget friendly and I really like most of the products I've tried from them before. I think my problem is how far away my local Wilko is from the car park... I'm really that lazy. I have heard really good things about their Lash Princess Mascara so I picked that up and bought a few other goodies too.

Lash Princess Essence
Lash Princess Mascara - False Lash Effect
This is the whole reason I wanted to try some more from Essence, I've heard so many good things about this mascara. This mascara is just £3.30 and I didn't believe that a mascara at this price could be as good as I've heard. The wand is made up of bristles, I usually prefer plastic wands, and its pretty thin so I really wasn't expecting a lot from this... but this mascara blew me away. This goes on super black, it is more lengthening on my lashes than any other mascara I've tried and its volumizing too. This doesn't clump your lashes together and doesn't dry really solid so it can be layered. I think my lashes are the best they've ever looked, really black, defined and long. This doesn't flake, but on hotter days in the summer this did smudge a few times after a long day. It doesn't do it now that its cooler so I'll give it a pass. For the price I think this mascara is amazing and I can see myself buying it again

Essence Brush Review
Eyeshadow Brushes
I can't find these exact brushes online so I'm not sure if they still sell them, but they do sell other eyeshadow brushes. I wear different coloured eyeshadow all of the time I'm always in need of new eyeshadow brushes to use when all of the rest are dirty so I decided to pick these two up from Essence because they were around £1.00 - £2.00. The first brush is a small smuding brush, I wish they did this in a bigger size because I think it would be perfect to apply shadow to the lid, but this is perfect to apply inner corner highlight and shadow to the lower lash line. The other brush is a fluffy blending brush, this is really good for applying transition shades as it gives a light application or using clean to blend shadows together.
Both of these are really good quality for the price. I've washed them and I've had no problem with shedding. As the bristles are white and they have been recently used for blue eyeshadow they have stained a little, but that doesn't really bother me. I would definitely think about picking up more of these in the future.

Essence Instant Colour Lipstick Pink Candy
 Ultra Last Instant Colour Lipstick - 10 Pink Candy
I had no intention of picking up a lipstick, but this colour just drew me in. This is a pink/purple fuchsia shade, I didn't really own any other lip products in a shade like this. Its a really eye catching shade that I love wearing on warm days with minimal eye makeup. This has a satin finish and it feels super nice on the lips. It feels really comfortable to wear and lasts a good few hours before it begins to fade. It wears away really smoothly until you can't see it at all. All in all I really like this and for just £2.30 I'm really glad I bought it.

Have you tried anything from Essence?


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Monday 15 October 2018

Finish 9 by New Year;-

I like to claim that I'm into panning but I haven't actually posted a project pan this year, I've been trying to use up items in my collection behind the scenes but I haven't stuck to a proper project where I track my progress on my blog. With the end of the year fast approaching (not even kidding how the hell has that happened?!) I thought it would be fun to see if I can finish a few more products before 2019 comes around the corner and use up a few more non cruelty free items in my collection, so I can start the new year a little more fresh. I have made note of which products are cruelty free, but if you know something I don't please leave me a comment to let me know so I can correct it!
Finish 9 by New Year 2018
If you don't know what a Project Pan is, I've picked 9 items from the collection that I want to completely use up and I will be using my blog to update you on my progress once a month. I've done two project pans previously, which you can read here and here and I'm currently trying to finish 18 Eyeshadows in 2018.
With no further ado here are the products I've chosen to include in this project.

Finish 9 by New Year 2018
1 - Vaseline Lip Therapy Aloe Vera (Not Cruelty Free)
I always include a lip balm in my Project Pans because I have quite the collection and they're all getting pretty old now. I've made pretty good progress with this by using this in the mornings. I have another lip balm I'm about to finish in my handbag, but once I finish that I will pop this one in there and I'm sure I'll make pretty quick progress. I want to continue to use this as it isn't cruelty free and then I can move onto another lip balm in my collection before they all go bad!

Finish 9 by New Year 2018
2- Smashbox Eyeshadow Primer (Cruelty Free)
This is a holy grail product for me, I've used this to prime my lids for about 2 years now. Its a mousse formula and it is work, party and festival proof. However, this is £20.00 and I've heard a lot of good things about some drugstore eyeshadow primers and I really want to see if I can find a cheaper alternative. There is less than a third left of this in the tube, but it does last a really long time. I'm hoping I can get this finished up in the next couple of months so I can try something new.

Finish 9 by New Year 2018
3 - L'oReal Infallible Matte Foundation (Not Cruelty-Free)
I really feel like I've been everywhere with this foundation, I've even reviewed it twice on my blog (here and here). It used to be my favourite, then I really didn't like it and I've recently discovered I can work with it really well if I use a facial oil underneath it. It is cruelty free and I own four foundations that I reach for them over this. I really don't wear the thickest layers of foundation so I find them really difficult to finish but as there is less than a third left in the bottle I think I can  be done within the next month if I really focus on it.

Finish 9 by New Year 2018
4 & 5 - Collection Contour Kit (Not Cruelty Free)
As you can see this contour and highlight duo is already pretty well-loved. The bronzer is not too dark or warm and the highlight is subtle and I like it for everyday. But as I said in My Ideal Makeup Collection post I need to downsize my bronzer and highlighter collection and I definitely have dupes of both of these. I just want to use this product solely until I finish it up, but its taken me a really long time to get to where I have so I think I'll be in it for the long haul with this one!

Finish 9 by New Year 2018
6 - Stila Eyeliner in Starfish (Cruelty Free)
I really don't like this eyeliner. I got this free when I bought the Stila In The Garden palette way back in 2015 and I never really liked the shade. This is a khaki green eyeliner with gold shimmers throughout. I convince myself that this is close enough to a brown eyeliner that I would use it, but I really don't reach for it. I feel like I've had been trying to use it up for so long I may as well finish it so I can go back to using an eyeliner that I like. This is a twist up liner that won't go back down once rolled up (as I discovered the hard way) so I'm not entirely sure how much of this is left, but I think it would be less than half.

Finish 9 by New Year 2018
7 - Ted Baker Nude Lipstick (Not Cruelty Free)
So a couple of years ago I bought basically every Christmas gift set that Ted Baker did because the packaging was so pretty, but all of the makeup was absolute trash. I kept an eyebrow pencil and this lipstick so I didn't feel like I'd completely wasted my money. Flash forward and I still have this. This is a real concealer-lip shade which isn't greatly flattering, but I do use this over the top of matte liquid lips as it has a glossy finish. I've nearly finished this and I think I could use it up fairly quickly.

Finish 9 by New Year 2018
8 - Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake (Not Cruelty Free)
I used to love this lipstick, it's the first and only lipstick I ever repurchased. I don't use it so much anymore as I prefer slightly darker shades. I also don't really want to talk about this anymore on my blog as Revlon is not cruelty free the Lip Butters have been discontinued, which just shows how long I've had this! I think there is around half left of this, but I think I should be able to use this up quite quickly if I remember to reapply throughout the day.

Finish 9 by New Year 2018
9 - Essence Lip Liner in Wish Me A Rose (Cruelty Free)
I definitely have more lip liners than I need and this is the liner I tend to use underneath my Lip Butter, so I think this would be a good time to try and use this up. There is a lot of product still left in this so I think it will be difficult to finish, but it goes well under a lot of shades so I'm going to give it my best shot.

Are you taking part in any panning projects, because I really love to read them.


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Monday 8 October 2018

Superdrug Skincare Review;

When it comes to skincare, I'm a very simple girl. I pretty much cleanse my face, moisturise and occasionally use an under-eye cream, which is why I don't really talk about it very often on my blog. But back in April I was in need of some new items and I found out that Superdrug's own brand was both cruelty free and and really well priced. I've been using all of these things for quite a few months and I think I'm finally ready to give a review.

Cruelty Free Skincare
Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Eye Cream £5.99
I want to begin with the item I like the least so I can end this post on a high. I picked up this eye cream as it claims to brighten, reduce puffiness and dark circles and awaken your skin's natural glow.
My under eyes can get dry when not moisturised and are quite often puffy with pretty hefty dark circles from staying up to watch endless episodes on Netflix, so I want something that moisturises and brightens. I've used this pretty much every morning and night since I got it. The cream is lightweight and sinks into the skin really quickly and does a good job at keeping my eye area moisturised. However, this does absolutely nothing to make my under eyes look brighter or be less puffy. I've tried quite a lot of cheap eye creams and I find this a running theme throughout. So if you're looking for something that brightens this isn't it.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant 2 in 1 Moisturiser and Serum £5.99
The next thing I had to pick was a moisturiser. This claims to awaken skin's natural glow, hydrate and energize skin. Firstly the bottle to this has a pump which I find really helpful. I was a little confused with the consistency with it being described as a serum. This is a cream consistency. It soaks into the skin quickly and provides a good base for makeup. I have combination skin, most of the times its normal but it gets oily throughout the day but other times I suffer with dry patches. This works well most of the time, but when I'm suffering from dry skin this isn't great. When I don't have dry skin this makes my skin soft and it feels moisturised. When my skin is dry it doesn't provide the amount of moisture I need, so I tend to use my Revolution Baking Oil which helps clear my dry skin a lot quicker. I think this is likely to be a complete miss for those of you with dry skin, but I can see myself repurchasing this when I finish it as it does work so well under makeup and it is a good price.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Hot Cloth Cleanser £5.99
This cleanser is my favourite out of the three things I picked up and the reason I wanted to pick up a few pieces from Superdrug's range as this has been compared to the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. I've never tried the Liz Earle cleanser because it is triple the price for less product.
I really wanted to try a hot cloth cleanser as you don't need cotton pads and I'm trying to buy less single use products. The idea is you apply the cleanser to the face and use a hot muslin cloth to remove it. The muslin cloth comes free with a bottle of this too!
This claims to awaken skin's natural glow (I'm noticing a theme with the range haha), cleanse and gently exfoliate. I tend to clean most of my makeup off with a wet microfibre cloth and then I use this cleanser to clean off the remnants any makeup and cleanse my face underneath. My skin looks and feels clean every time I use this and I think this does a really good job. I even use this around my eyes and it never irritates my skin or breaks me out. I think this does what it says on the bottle for a really good price. I've just finished my first bottle and I will be picking up another when I'm next in Superdrug.

What skincare products do you swear by?


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Monday 1 October 2018

18 Eyeshadows in 2018, Update 5;-

Its a new month which means its time yet again for another update on my 18 eyeshadows in 2018 project.

Last month I was getting pretty frustrated because I wasn't seeing a lot of progress and I was neglecting the rest of my eyeshadow collection for nothing. This month I think there has been a big change, both in my motivation and in progress. I have taken a break from one of the palettes a week and used another palette as a companion. I've also not used any of these on weekends, I picked up the Emily Noel and Makeup Revolution "The Wants" so I've been experimenting with that and I'm trying to come up with a 5 looks, 1 palette. I think being able to play around at the weekend has made me feel more motivated in using these shades throughout the week.

Smashbox Mini Trio - all shades left (1 done)
Okay, no surprise but this is the palette I've made barely any progress in (again), but I did manage to take the photo completely the other way up. I want this to be done and I'm already bored of talking about it. Moving on...

Mac Quad - Shades 1(done), 2 & 3
 About a week after my last update I finally managed to hit pan on the taupe shade in this palette, which was my goal for this one. I bought in my Iconic 3 palette and I've really been loving using this all over the lid with a couple of the matte, pink toned shades in the crease. I actually think it makes a really nice look, but I don't think I'll be using it a lot in the near future as I'm feeling the warm-toned looks now fall is approaching.
There's a little progress in the light pink shade but I haven't quite hit pan yet. I've been really good and making sure I highlight my inner corner every day. I used this shade for that quite a lot this month, but I have recently taken a week's break from this palette. I think this works better with cool-toned looks, so I will continue to use it for that and then use the champagne shade in the Iconic 2 palette for warmer looks.

Freedom single shadows - all shades
I have come to the conclusion with this palette that I'm only likely to hit pan on the red shades now, with the rest my aim is to just to try and use them more.
I've gone back to using brown shimmery shade a little this month and I've expanded the pan a bit. I hit pan on this pretty early on in this project and I'm glad I took a little break, because I've naturally gravitated back to this and I'm enjoying it again.
There's a little progress in the red shades. I've been wearing a look where I use the middle shade on my lid with the matte brown from my Iconic 2 in the crease and the right red on my lower lash line. I think its a good way to make even progress on both shadows. I haven't quite pan, but I hope I can hit pan in the middle shade in the next month.

Revolution Iconic 2  Palette - Shades 1-5
The palette that looks the most different this month is my Iconic 2 palette, because its has some essential shades that I use all the time.
I knew it would happen, but I managed to hit pan on the matte cream shade already, it did have a pretty good dip going when I first decided to incorporate it in my project. I use this every day all over the lid to set my eyeshadow primer and I'm really glad I've managed to hit pan on another eyeshadow, and I've expanded the pan quite a lot already. It may seem silly, but managing to break through and hit pan on any shade just makes me feel proud like I'm actually making the most out of what I own. I think I should be able to completely finish this by the end of the year.
I've also managed to hit pan in the matte brown shade in this month. I have been using this so much as a transition shade, but I'm still surprised I managed to hit pan on this so quickly! I don't think I'll be able to finish it all up by the end of the year, but I'm sure I can expand the pan a lot.
I've also used the champagne shade as an inner corner highlight with warmer looks and I've really been enjoying it.
I only added this palette to my project last month so I don't have any specific goals on this one I just want to get more use out of the shades I chose to include, but I would like to play around with the gold and copper shades a little bit in the next month. It would be nice to see a little progress and I think they will make nice fall looks.

I said in my intro that I would be putting 50p into a jar every time I hit pan on an eyeshadow and £1 whenever I finish one. I've stuck to that all year across all of my eyeshadow collection and I've also hit pan on a couple of shades not in my project (I've been trying to get better at posting that kind of thing over on my instagram if you're interested). I've now managed to save £10, which doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm really proud as its a physical reminder of how much I've used and enjoyed the makeup I already spent my heard-earned money on. I also said that this would be my fund to buy new palettes and that's kind of gone out of the window. I've bought 2 palettes this year and I definitely didn't use this money, but its a lot less than I would have bought in previous years and I think that is because I'm really learning the value of my makeup. I know how long it takes to use an eyeshadow so I don't want to be completely overwhelmed by owning loads of eyeshadow I can't ever finish. But I'm thinking as I finish my Freedom single shadows I might use this money to buy other singles that will fit in the palette.





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