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1.21.2016

NEW IN: BEAUTY HAUL

 
I have started 2016 as I mean to go on, being a little bit naughty by handing over quite a bit of $$ to the lovely people in Boots. In saying that, I did justify every purchase with a valid reason, valid being used very loosely here as I'm not sure that "treat yo' self" is the best justification by any means.
 
 Anywho, the damage has been done so I thought why not share it with you all. I'll start off with one of my most favourite purchase, the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder (£19.50), I've been lusting over this product for far too long now and as soon as I saw it was in stock in Space NK I knew I needed it. I even paid £5 for shipping. (Yes, £5!!!) Although I haven't had this product for very long, I have been really liking it and will probably do a review very soon! Another one of favourite purchase has to be the MAC Prep and Prime 24 Hour Extend Eye Base (£16), I have just recently written a post on this explaining why I love it. In short, it's great and I definitely prefer it to their paint pots! I also purchased three nail polishes, one was one of the new Barry M Sunset Nail Paint (£4.99) but I haven't got much use out of this as I didn't realise you needed the top coat with it to see the full effect. The other two nail polishes are from Urban Outfitters which I only bought to get the total in my bag up to get free delivery (we've all been there.. admit it). Even so, the nude shade is really pretty and almost a terracotta colour which I think will look very apt as we move into Spring. The other is a glitter polish which seems a bit poo, I'm sure I'll still get some use out of it though. After buying the Morphe 35P palette I really wanted a purple base to make the eyeshadows pop even more, so I got the Barry M Bold Waterproof Liner in Purple (£3.99) on a bit of a whim but I could not believe how beautiful this product is! It's lovely and creamy and lasts such a long time, I could not recommend this product enough. I'm definitely going to be making another trip to Boots to pick up a few more shades from the range. Two skincare items I purchased included the Body Shop Hemp Face Protector (£8) and the Una Brennan Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil (£10.99). I hoped these two would help the dry skin on my face as I suffer with eczema, however I felt like they made it much worse! It's such a shame as the Una Brennan Super Facialist Cleanser felt so lovely on the skin and removed make up in a flash! I may try them again after my eczema has cleared up but I am a little scared it could cause it to flare up again.
 
That wraps up my haul post! Have you had a cheeky splurge recently?
Thanks for reading,
Liv
 

1.18.2016

UNDER EYE TRIO - NO CREASING!!

MAC Prep and Prime 24 Hour Extended Eye Base, Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer, Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder
For me, concealer is both a blessing and a curse. Yes, it covers my dark circles and certainly makes me look wide awake, yet it always creases on me and settles into fine lines making me look 18 going on 80! It's really not a good look and choosing between looking young and tired or old and awake is a tough one for me. So, I've been on the hunt for products I can use in conjunction with my concealer to stop me from looking a creasy mess. First up I use the MAC Prep and Prime 24 Hour Extend Eye Base (£16) to prep my under eyes. As this product is intended to prime the lids to prevent creasing of eyeshadows, it works wonders in preventing the concealer and powder from creasing and moving during the day. I have quite dry under eyes and I have to say this product is great for me as it doesn't dry out my under eyes but rather smooths everything out. Next up is the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer (£17.50) which I just apply in thin layers under my eyes, then using either a damp make up sponge or my fingers to blend it in. This concealer is very lightweight yet provides a decent amount of coverage. Next up is a new addition to my stash, the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder (£19.50), I take a small amount of this on a brush and gently pat the concealer into place. I find this product really is the star of the show as it helps to prevent creasing and just blurs any fine lines! As I mentioned, I have only just got my hands on this product so I'm not sure how it performs when flash photography is involved but I will do a full review very soon!
 
Have you got any favourite crease proof products?
 
Thanks for reading,
Liv
1.07.2016

MORPHE 35O PALETTE

Without flash
With flash
Let us just take a moment to appreciate the Morphe 35O Palette (£20.75)
 
The 35O Palette is one of Morphe's most coveted beauty products and I'm sure we can all see why, although these photos really do not do any of the shades justice. It is an absolutely stunning palette full of warm browns, golds and burnt orange eyeshadows with a variety of finishes including matte, satin and super-shimmery. The pigmentation in most of these shadows are phenomenal! I say most as a few of the shades did let me down a little as they didn't feel as high quality as the rest of the shadows. A few of my favourites include the top shade on the second to last column, it doesn't look anything special in the pan but it looks amazing on the eye as a transition shade! I also love using the third shadow down in that same column in the centre of my lid when doing a spot light eye. I'm going to be posting a make up look using this palette soon so keep your eyes peeled for that one! I would highly recommend this palette to anyone that loves eyeshadow, in particularly warm shades. This palette does go out of stock very quickly so if you want it you will have to be quick as it's every man for himself out there ;) For reference, stockists include Beauty Bay, Beauty Chamber, Cult Beauty or the Morphe website.
 
Thank you for reading! Have you tried any Morphe Eyeshadow Palettes?
 
Liv
1.04.2016

YOUTUBE MADE ME BUY IT


Watching YouTube tutorials is definitely one of my favourite past times and has been for many years now. I have a few favourite YouTubers whose tutorials I just have to watch as not only is the make up amazing but also the personality that shines through in their videos make me love them even more. In saying that, I'm not sure my bank balance feels the same way as many of these online sensations have caused me to depart with my cash on multiple occasions! I thought I'd sum up some of the most recent purchases that have been heavily inspired by a few of my favourite bloggers.

First up is something that Nikkie from NikkieTutorials raves about in almost every video, of course its the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm (£5.29). Nikkie says that the second most used ingredient is glycerine and glycerine makes stuff stick to it therefore helping all of your base make up to last all day. I've been using this as a primer for a few months now and I absolutely love it! With this 8primer, foundations that used to slide off my face half way through the day now last right until I get home from Sixth Form, granted I still get a bit shiny in the t-zone but it still works wonders! I'd highly recommend you pick this up next time you're in Boots or Superdrug, I can guarantee you won't regret it! Another product I bought because of Nikkie is also theBalm's Mary Lou Manizer (£15.70) which is a lovely pale gold highlighter. Many bloggers, youtubers and instagrammers sing Mary Lou's praises and rightly so! It's very intense and it's quite easy to go overboard with this one but, as Nikkei would say, you can never have too much glow!

The next two are because of Jaclyn Hill and they are both for under the eyes. The first product is the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer (£17.50) which is a lovely lightweight concealer that has a medium coverage. This is definitely one of the best concealers I've ever used as it doesn't look too cakey under the eyes (although it does crease like a mf on me). As it is so lightweight it's also great for highlighting too! The other product is Emphasise Shaping Powder from MAC (£16.50)which I like to use after I've set my under eyes with my face powder then I use the tiniest amount of Emphasise as it does have some shimmer running through it. I only really use this when I'm going for full on glam as I do find this powder a little bit too much for everyday.

If you're a make up addict and on instagram you're probably already aware of Jamie Genevieve who is just a make up genius/wizard/all round goddess. Well, after spending an afternoon watching all of her tutorials I knew I had to get the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade (£15). Jamie's eyebrows looked amazing after using this as well as making the application look absolutely effortless. She also explained how to create a softer brow with the product and also a more defined brow and gave some expert tips to make the application as easy as possible. I now use Dip Brow almost every time I do my brows and I haven't looked back since!

If you're a fan of Lauren Curtis you will know she always raves about the L'Oreal True Match Foundation (£9.99) and how lovely it looks on the skin. I had already tried this foundation before watching her videos but I decided to give it another go after watching her videos and now it is my everyday go-to foundation! It is definitely one of the best more affordable foundations out there and it's definitely worth a try if you're on the market for a new one.

A few more of my favourite YouTubers I'd like to give a mention to are Katy from LustreLux, Chrisspy, Desi Perkins, Rach Leary and Manny MUA - go check em out if you haven't already!

Who are you fave YouTubers?
 
Liv


1.01.2016

2016

source: pinterest
Happy New Year!

I hope you're all having a fabulous start to 2016! I thought I would start this year as I mean to go on by finally getting back into blogging. I have some posts lined up and hopefully this year I'll be posting much more frequently than last year! I'm not really making any proper New Year's resolutions that are set in stone as I never keep them anyway. Instead I'm just going to try my best in everything I do. I'm also going to try not to get too addicted to social media and compare myself to others as that can really get you down sometimes! Anyway, I hope 2016 is amazing for all of us and it is full of fun and happiness. I'm determined to make this year my year (although I think I said the exact same thing last year lol) for blogging and everything else that I wasn't so good at last year.

Thanks for reading,
Liv