31 March 2015

Current Top 5 Spring/Summer Lipsticks

Hi everyone! Since we have hit what is supposed to be spring in the UK (I don't know about you but where I live I'm definitely not getting that!) I thought I'd do a post on what my current favourite lip products are for the change in seasons. I find that pinks/nudes are so pretty in spring and summer especially for a nice day time look so I picked out the top 5 that I am currently loving and swatched them for you!


I'll include a swatch picture below which matches the above lipsticks from left to right which will be named further down.


From left to right:

1. MAC Flamingo (£15.50) which is a lustre finish. It's a really nice subtle coral pink it actually shows up a lot brighter than in the swatch picture. It's quite a sheer finish but it can be easily built up, I think it's a really good colour for someone wanting to try something a bit brighter but doesn't want to go too crazy.

2. MAC Creme Cup (£15.50), this is a cremesheen lipstick and it's one of my favourites I think it's such a nice daytime look and it's really natural and not too full on. If you find it too pale for you it works really well with a lip liner that's a little bit darker. It goes on quite opaque but like flamingo you can build it up, and you're left with a really pretty nude pink colour with a dewy finish on the lips.

3. Too Faced Shimmering Marshmallow Bunny (£18 for the standard shades from the Debenhams website), I actually got this from Too Faced's Under The Mistletoe Christmas gift set along with two other colours. This is different from the standard La Creme lipstick, it is available in that collection just as Marshmallow Bunny, however with this one from the limited edition set they are the same shade this just has added shimmer (similar to a frost finish) so I would definitely recommend getting this even as the standard shade as it's such a pretty colour! It is a light-medium yellow toned pink and the pigmentation is so nice! Unlike some of my other lipsticks which rub off so easily I can wear this out, have food and drinks and it stays on really well which is surprising as its a creamy formula, I'd definitely suggest getting this shade from the La Creme lipsticks!

4. Nars Audacious lipstick in the shade Julie (£24). I love this so much I picked it really randomly off the website, the audacious lipsticks are more expensive at £24 but if you find a colour you really like then you should definitely invest because the finish is amazing! It is described as being long wearing but having a luxurious texture to smooth and nourish the lips. I'd definitely agree with this is as matte lipsticks dry out my lips so much and I tend to avoid them but this appears matte yet still making your lips look soft and slightly dewy. It is described as a nude pink however I would say it isn't that nude, it's got a hint of coral to it while still being a very pink shade with warm undertones. 

5. Too Faced Melted Lipstick in the shade Nude (£19 from the Debenhams website). I have the mini sized one as I got it as one of their christmas gift sets along with four other shades. It shows up really dark in the swatch picture but it is lighter on the lips, It's a peachy beige shade, with a satin/matte finish. The pigmentation of these is amazing, at first I actually found them quite hard to get the hang of as I was applying way too much product, definitely important to note that a little goes a long way! It's so long wearing, definitely recommend this for a night out or any other time when you don't want to keep reapplying. It applies as a liquid and dries matte which for me is a nice change and I'm actually really into the liquid lipstick trend and plan on getting lots more! For me this shade is great for a different look to the standard pinks/nudes and again something to try for when you want something different that isn't too crazy. 

Thanks for reading, let me know in the comments what your favourite spring/summer shades are!xxx
SHARE:

27 March 2015

March Makeup Haul

Hi everyone! I thought I'd do a haul/first impressions post about some of the products I bought this month. Some of it was bought online and some from shops when I went to Leeds as I was able to get some products over there that are harder to buy where I live in Darlington but I'll post where I got each item further down.





First off I'll start with the new foundation I bought. I'd heard a lot about Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua but I was unsure on it as they have a lot of similar foundations such as Vitalumiere but I did a bit of research and thought that while I was in Leeds I would get colour matched and see what I thought about it. I got colour matched at the counter in Harvey Nichols and liked how it applied so I bought it for £33 I think it was in the shade 20 Beige. I didn't actually like it at first when I first applied it with my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge as I felt it took so much to get any coverage but this was probably the sponge absorbing it all because when I used  my Zoeva buffing brush I fell in love its so glowy but not full on dewy and gives really nice light to medium coverage!

I also bought the SmashBox Primer Water while I was in Leeds as there are no counters close to me and I'm not actually too impressed too far, for someone with dry skin like me as a primer its far to light I need something much more hydrating than a bit of mist, it's okay for a setting spray it gives you a tiny bit more radiance but that's all I like it for right now, maybe it will grow on me!

The Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette I got from the Debenhams website, it had only just been posted online so obviously it's only being released now in the UK but as soon as I saw it I had to get it and I love it so much! The colours are so nice, a really good mix for lots of different looks and the pigmentation is really good. It does actually smell like chocolate too like everyone says which is a bonus and I would definitely recommend it.

Now for the MAC products I bought the mineralize concealer in the shade NC20 so far I'm not loving this it just isn't really working for me but I haven't used it a lot so I might figure out how to make it look better on my skin. I also got the mineralize skin finish in the shade Soft & Gentle after hearing so much about it and it is so nice! I prefer it for a more full face look, it is a bit full on when you want a more natural look. The lipsticks are in the shade Blankety which is an amplifed creme and the other is Flamingo which is a lustre finish and I love them both!

Hope you enjoyed reading about the products I bought this month!xxx
SHARE:

18 March 2015

Triangl Bikinis: Are They Worth It?

Triangl bikinis have become so popular recently, they're all over Instagram and although they are lovely they're also expensive so I thought I'd do a post on whether I think they are worth it or not.

I've got two Triangl bikinis, I bought one last year for when I went away to Mexico which you can see underneath.


This one is called Milly and its in the shade candy pink, I'll link below to the ones that I own. It is priced on the website at 89 USD which is about £60 in Great British Pounds, it was actually a present for finishing my first year at uni otherwise I don't think I would have thought to have bought one myself as I thought they were expensive HOWEVER I went on holiday and fell in love with it so in January this year I bought another for my holiday in June. To me it was definitely worth the money, they're so flattering and the quality is amazing. The only issue I had with it was that with all the sunbathing and swimming in the chlorine pool the colour faded a tiny bit and it was less of a bright pink when I came home, not noticeable at all unless you 100% knew what the colour of it was originally! 

You can't treat it as a normal bikini, it can't be folded, it can't be laid flat and it can't be machine washed due to the material but that isn't an issue for me. The one above came in a big box with Triangl written on it and the newest one I bought (Chloe in the shade California coral) which you can see underneath didn't come with a box but with a little drawstring pink bag to match the colour in the same material as the bikini.


Unfortunately I don't have a picture of this on but I have tried it and I love it and can't wait to take it away! This one was a bit cheaper than my other one at 79 USD which is about £52 however you need to bare in mind that if you live in the UK you need to pay shipping, on the website shipping is stated as a flat rate of 20 USD which is around £13. They are a luxury purchase but so worth it and I'd recommend to anyone if you're wanting to treat yourself! 

http://international.triangl.com/collections/swimwear/products/milly-candy-pink
http://international.triangl.com/collections/swimwear/products/chloe-california-coral
SHARE:

MAC Cinderella

Hi everyone! Since everyone has been going crazy about it I thought I'd do a post on the MAC Cinderella collection and what I think of the items that I was able to get hold of (with great difficulty!)

So I'm sure a lot of people had the same problem as me, I'd signed up to the email to notify me when the collection went live on the MAC UK website but I missed it and saw it was live about 2 hours after it went up and basically everyone was sold out :( I actually thought since it sold out so quick they would restock at least once more on the site but MAC's twitter account said otherwise, only that it would be stocked in select UK stores on the 13th of March. I was actually at uni at 9 that day so wouldn't be able to go myself but thankfully I have a really lovely boyfriend who offered to go up to Newcastle for me on the train and wait around before 9 to get it before it sold out. I wanted the lipstick in the shade Royal Ball, the beauty powder in Coupe d'Chic and the lipglass in Glass Slipper. He said there was already a crowd when he got there and as soon as the shutters opened people were bent down trying to get under them (crazy!!), he said he was about 10th in the queue and that people before him were buying ridiculous amounts like 5 of each product so it all sold out so fast, he was able to get me the powder and the lipstick but the lipglass had unfortunately sold out.

On to the products I absolutely love them! The packaging is so pretty, really nice blue and gold with Cinderella written on them, I've attached a photo below for you:


In terms of the quality of the product they are lovely especially the lipstick however they are different than how you would imagine, the lipstick applies really light and the powder needs a lot of brush work as it isn't very pigmented although it gives the nicest glow. I actually use Benefit's Posie Tint under it to give it a bit more colour and a little of the powder really does go a long way, too much and you'll look like a disco ball. It would also work really well as a highlighter. You can see the actual products and swatches below.



You can see in the swatch picture just how light it is, bare in mind I have put very little on my hand, the lipstick is on the left and the powder is on the right.

Even though they are different to how I imagined I still absolutely love them, however I've been really disappointed in how MAC has handled the limited edition collection. As I said before when my boyfriend went to buy it people before him were buying insane amounts of stuff and I don't think its fair for everyone else who turned up early but were later in the queue and weren't able to get anything because it had all sold out. I think MAC should limit the amount of items per person e.g. two of the same products so they could get everything at least twice, anymore I think is just unfair to others. The main issue however that has really annoyed me is that on sites like Depop and Ebay people are selling the products for double the RRP price because it has sold out, it's not fair that some people were able to get their hands on it only to sell it to others for double the price who weren't lucky enough to get it. Why should anyone pay more than anyone else just because they were faster in getting it?! 

Anyway thank you for reading this post, hope you enjoyed!xxx
SHARE:

11 March 2015

Makeup Collection: My Favourite Items

For my first makeup post I thought I'd introduce you guys to my favourite makeup items in my collection! I'm constantly changing my mind over what brands are my favourite however there's always the same go to products that are staple items to my makeup bag. I've picked out my favourite foundation, concealer, mascara, primer, eyeshadow palette and contour products.

Foundation

Firstly I'll start with foundations, it took me a long time to find a foundation that really worked for me and I went through a LOT of them before I found one that I really liked. I actually really struggle to find a foundation that I feel looks good on my skin as I struggle with having really dry dull skin so I need to make sure that I'm happy with it. The one I had before this one was Estee Lauder Double Wear, which I do still occasionally use for when I'm going out on a night as I wanted it to stay on, however if I'm having a particularly bad skin day I feel like it highlights every dry patch on my face (maybe that's just me but it's a real issue I have with it!). Eventually I came across Nars Sheer Glow which I was a bit unsure on at first as to whether I should buy it as it's quite expensive and I don't have a counter close to me so I'd have to buy online. I settled on it eventually and I love it now! I love the dewy finish and I really don't like full coverage so this works so well for me, it is a lot of money but worth the price especially if you have dry skin like me. I wear the shade medium 1 Punjab. 



Concealer

Concealer wise I've only just recently changed to one that I love, I'd being using Boi-ing by Benefit for a long time in the shade 02 however as I said before my skin seemed to get drier and it highlighted a lot of creases in my skin, more recently I'd discovered Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer after seeing it all over YouTube. It works to well for me, I use it to cover my under eye circles and any blemishes, I use this in the shade Vanilla.



Mascara

My current favourite mascara is Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara, I only recently got this for my birthday in February and at first I found it quite hard to get to grips with as I'd previously been using They're Real which comes with a plastic wand and is obviously really different, however when I got the hang of it I absolutely love it now! For someone with straight but long eyelashes I do still think an eyelash curler is necessary but it can create a really dramatic look when used well.



Primer

My absolute favourite primer which I love so much is Illamasqua Hydra Veil, I would recommend this to anyone! I got in when I was in London as they have a store there after hearing lots of good things about it online, it's a bit strange when you first see it a bit like jelly! However once you get used to it it's such a good product especially when you've got dry skin, you have to let it dry a bit after application but I think it makes any foundation looks better and helps keep your make up on well.



(Thought I'd show you a picture of the inside, it reshapes itself after you've used it as well so it never seems like its running out!)

Highlighter

This was a toss up for me as I have two highlighters both from the same brand that I love for different things, both from Benefit I love Watts Up for a night time going out look, whereas I love High Beam for a day time glowy look. Both are amazing it just depends what you want from your highlighter and what look you use more frequently.



Eyeshadow

This is a really obvious choice but my current favourite palette is Urban Decay's Naked3 palette, I got it for Christmas and it was the first of the Naked palettes that I got (I also have Naked2 now), I found it hard to choose one at first but I'm so glad I picked it! I'm really into pink glowy looks and this was perfect for me, the only issue I have with it is that I find you can only make the same looks over and over even though they are so nice. I've actually just ordered the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette however and I may do a first impressions on it when it arrives.


Contour

Again a bit of an obvious choice but for good reason, I love the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette, again I got this for Christmas from a website called Beauty Bay, it's expensive at £39 however I love it and I think it's good when you're just introducing yourself to contouring as it has everything you need in one palette, my favourite contour shade in there is Fawn, the great thing about this palette as well is that they are refillable on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website so if you hit pan on your favourite shade you have the option to just buy that particular shade again if you're willing to ship it over from America.


Thanks for reading this post and I hope it gave you an insight into the makeup I'm interested in, if anyone would like to see/hear more about these products don't be afraid to leave a comment!

xxx


SHARE:

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my new blog! I've been in two minds for a while about whether or not to create a blog but eventually I thought I'd just go for it since I have been wanting to for a while and I wanted a way to talk about all the things I'm interested in with other people who are hopefully interested in that as well! I'll be posting about a mixture of things such as beauty posts (makeup, skin care, reviews etc.) along with shopping hauls and daily posts about my life in general. I'll be writing a little more about me in the 'about me' section of my blog. Thanks for reading this post, speak soon!
xxx


SHARE:
© Lauren Ashleigh | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Created by pipdig