Essence: Cream Blush Review;

As you may know Wilko's has recently started offering a brand of makeup called Essence. I hadn't heard anything about the brand before, but from what I've seen in store they're a budget beauty brand with a wide variety of products, as well as a great selection of nail art pieces including gel polish (which I am super excited to try!).

The first thing I decided to try out by Essence was their Cream Blush Stick in the shade 30, which cost me just £1.50. I've got to admit I do wish they had shade names, its one of the little quirks I love with makeup. On the cheeks this is a quite subtle, natural blushing cheeks colour with a peach tone. The blush is easily blended into the skin, and not at all cakey. It dries as a sort of cream to powder finish, leaving no greasy shine like some cheaper cream blushes can do.

 I have to admit that what first attracted me to this was the little voice in the back of my head that said 'you don't own a blush in stick format', but having the blush in the stick doesn't really add much to the product as you still would need to blend this with a brush or your fingers. That being said I'm glad the little voice lured me into buying this as it really a great product, and it's kept my bank account happy.

PS Love: Makeup Review;

Good evenin'! How are you all doing?
In the past few months Primark have been selling make-up, and bloggers all over the country went crazy when it first came out so, of course, I had to get my hands on a couple of things.

The first thing I think is quite the little gem and costed just £1, and I think it's quite great. It is a Moisturising Lip Gloss Crayon, I don't think they have shade names but its obviously the light pink one. This is a little chubby stick 'dupe' of sorts, which I have tried a lot of (but never the Clinique ones...) and I think that it makes application a tonne easier. I also love the gold accents and writing on the packaging, and the product has a lovely buttery sweet scent. It has glitter, chunky glitter which I usually am not a fan of in lip products. That being said, although you can see it in the stick itself doesn't over power on your lips. It is also essentially a gloss so it can be sheer and rub off quickly. Built up it can give a lovely colour, a gorgeous light pink that is perfect for spring. I have found myself reaching for this quite a bit. And against all odds I have found myself loving this, I think it is definitely worth the tiny price tag. 

The second thing I picked up was an eyeshadow palette for £2.50, this palette is the day palette. The packaging is matte black with gold writing which does look lovely. On the inside there is a really sizeable mirror which is great for the price. There are 8 eyeshadow shades, both matte and shimmery. The left four are brown in tone and the right are grey and cool toned, which I personally don't think is what most people would consider a daytime shade. The top left is a lovely shimmery champagne colour, the bottom left is a matte mid-tone brown, and the 1 one from right is a lovely grey with blue shimmer. But as for the rest of the shades... there isn't a lot of colour at all. I know it was £2.50 but I'd have rather bought a Starbucks than a palette that sits in a drawer because I only like a few of the shades.. sorry Primark!

The last thing I bought was a double-ended make up brush. One end has a flat, large top which I use for blending in my Benetint, it blends easily and doesn't stain the brush due to the pink bristles (or my fingers). The other is smaller but thicker and it is great for blending in both concealer and highlighter. This brush is also great for on-the-go as its 2 in 1!
Thank you for reading, I urge you not to overlook Primark for makeup as it may pleasantly surprise you!
Have you tried any of the PS Love range?

A Green Smokey Eye;

Good afternoon, today I wanted to share a little look I created. I decided to change up my usual makeup by creating a green toned smokier eye and I hope you like it.

I began with my base and face makeup. I primed my face with the Body Shop Instablur Primer which I picked up recently and am enjoying so far. I applied to this to my t-zone and then blended it out to the rest of my face to prolong the wear of my makeup and for a bit of oil control. Next I took my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair under my eyes and on my blemishes (which I have a lot of today) and blend in with a brush. I then went in with foundation, today I am using the L'Oreal True Match Foundation in the shade Rose Ivory, I like to use a small amount of foundation and really work it into the skin for a while with a flat top stippling brush. This gives the most flawless effect and keeps it looking great for longer. The last part of my base I used my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Ivory just to powder my t-zone. Moving onto my cheeks I first took my Avon Marbelized Blush. As this is both pink and bronze toned, I used it to contour my cheekbones on an angled blusher brush. Then I took possibly my favourite ever blush, Benefit Boxed Powder in Rockateur and dusted this across my cheeks with a tapered blush brush. This product gives such a lovely sheen I didn't feel the need for highlighter today.

 Next I moved onto lips, before applying my makeup I prepped my lips by exfoliating them with my LUSH Popcorn Lip Scrub and applied Carmex Cherry Lip Balm. Before applying my lip colour I used my Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch as I find it keeps my lips moisturised underneath my lip stick for longer. To add a bit of colour to my lips I used my Revlon Matte Balm in the shade Elusive which is lovely matte, dusty rose shade.
I then brushed out my brows and then I used an Accessorize Eyebrow Palette (no longer available online) taking the middle shade to fill in sparse areas and define the arch. To keep them in place all day I took my lifesaving Collection Clear Mascara and combed through my brows.

Moving onto the most exciting part- my eyes. I primed my lids with Revlon Photoready Eye Primer which I think is a great drugstore eye primer and keeps your shadow on all day. Then I took a Rimmel Eyeliner in the shade White to line my water line and inner corner to make my eyes look bigger. Moving onto shadow I created this look using my I <3 Makeup 'No Photos Please' Palette which is a great palette as it has neutral shades and brights, it is great for slight variations of your daily look or a really eye-catching look for a special event. I first took the shade 'Discrete' on my lids, I then took 'No Comment' and blended it through my outer corner, to add the hint of green throughout my eye look I took the shade 'Jealous of Success' through my crease and blended over the other shades, lastly I took 'Lights!' and used it as a brow bone highlight. After that I used my L'Oreal Super Liner in Black Lacquer to frame my lids with a thing line. The last step was to take my favourite mascara which is the Avon Mega Effects Mascara and added a few coats.

I hope you liked this look if you like the eye colours I have a few more photos in a post here.

Caviar Nails from Ciate;

Hey there!

Today I thought I'd present my first every nail post (sound of trumpets). I used to be quite into nails but lazy person + working in a bar = constantly chipped nails. But with Marie Clare a couple of months ago I spied a Ciate caviar nails set for just £2 and I had to give it a shot.

In this set, there is a lovely almost-coral, almost-red and the caviar beads are pearlescent, transparent and a metallic red. The polish itself is very watery but in a good way, it makes a thinner layer which makes for quicker drying time hurray! It doesn't chip as quickly as other brands but like I said pub work doesn't make for long-lasting polish. It's super shiny which looks amazing.

Onto the beads and technique. Do this on a flat surface and on a peice of paper to catch most of them to put back into the bottle and expect beads to scurry away from you onto the floor, into your bed and even in the loo. Quick tip: Probably keep a Hoover at hand. The idea is you leave your nails wet and just sprinkle the caviar-ness on top which works it just makes one hell of a mess. When you're done your nails look and feel fabulous... while it lasts. The beads in this kit are smaller than from cheaper brands I think the idea is that they will stay on for longer, but even with top coat they were dropping on like flies from day one.

Don't misjudge this I did genuinely like the look it gave, but I think I will be saving this for 'special event nails' and I think you should save your money if you're paying full price kit because a cheaper one will do the same short-term job.

DIY Sunglasses Holder;

Good evening and welcome to the world's simplest DIY. The picture pretty much shows you what to do because it is that simple, regardless I'm going to tell you how I did it and the utensils I used.

It all started on a hot summer day when I retrieved my many 14 pairs of sunglasses and set to put them back in the drawer they're supposed to be kept in, but it simply wasn't happening. I have quite a collection of boxes and pots that I have once used as makeup storage but none quite worked. I keep all of my bits and pieces on a shelf in my wardrobe, and on a trip to find another pot I was, quite literally hit in the head with idea, actually with a coat hanger but hey ho! It is a velvet covered one from a set in Primark that I keep all of my more sheer items of clothing on as they don't slip off. Any hanger with a bottom will do, and I decided to hook my sunglasses around it. I had a spare screw in the wall from an old photo but any hook, screw or nail will do. To jazz it up I used a tartan bow from an old dress that's been hanging around my wardrobe handle for an eternity. I grabbed a hair band and tied it around the handle.

I think this looks chic, tidies my sunglasses and is something Kirsty Allsopp would be proud of. I discovered afterwards that this is all over Pinterest already so I won't be buying hangers and ribbon to make my millions in after all....

xoxox