Yves Saint Laurent 'Shocking' Mascara Review

I cannot believe that considering how much I love this mascara, I haven't reviewed it before. This is one of those products that from the moment I first put it on, I was in love with it. In case you can't tell, this is a pretty positive review. 

I've repurchased this a few times now in between daily use of everyone's favourite Maybelline Falsies, and every time I come back to it, it's a bit like coming home. At £23 a tube, (depending where you buy) it's not cheap but I think it's worth every penny. What makes this mascara different for me is the formula - the only way I can describe it is like a kind of gel texture. It sets quite quickly on your lashes so you do have to beware clumping by applying coats too quickly - a mistake I've made many days when I'm rushing to work!

Sorry for unruly brows! Late night blogging...

As you can see, two coats goes a long way. I don't have the most defined of lashes as it is so I need all the help I can get! I just love the framing that this mascara achieves - it's not 'false lash' excessive but it's definitely wow. I feel comfortable wearing this without eyeliner which is a biiiiig thing for me too! 

The only drawback I will say is that sadly this mascara dries out reasonably quickly. This isn't necessarily a problem for me because when this is in my stash I wear it every day and use it all up! But if you bought this just for special occasions or as a treat then it's not one you can keep a hold of and only use every so often. 

I still wholeheartedly recommend this mascara 10000%. Buy it. It will change your life and your lashes!

L'oreal Volume Million Lashes 'So Couture' Mascara Review

As my beloved Maybelline Falsies mascara has almost all but dried up, I thought it was (foolishly) time to pick up a new mascara. Wandering into Boots the display for this mascara hit me straight in the face and I was swayed by the lovely lady filling the stand. Into the basket it went...

I've had this for about a week now and although I wanted to hold off a bit longer, 1 - I'm going on holiday on Saturday so can't really write a post then, and 2 - I was just so let down by it that I wanted to write about it now. Seriously! Remembering back to the first version of the Million Lashes mascara, this doesn't compare at all. I fondly remember being at school wearing it and my friend Jack asking why I wore fake lashes to school? When it was just the genius mascara!

I really like the sleek packaging of this mascara - it's a refreshing change to the neon plastic tubes you see a lot of now. I do have to say though the 'So Couture' bit annoys me - nothing makes classy looking things look cheap than actually stating 'hey, this mascara is couture!'. The wand is quite compact and hard - the bristles are short and plastic rather than the softer bristles you find with most mascaras that claim to be volume enhancing! This isn't a problem as you can get quite close to the root of your lashes without being poked in the eye by a stray frond. The formula seems nice too, quite wet but dries quickly so you don't get the awful bits of wet mascara floating around in your eyeball. The only qualm with the formula is that it seems to be scented?! Who needs scented mascara?! It's an alright scent, I'll give them that, but it's very odd and every time I apply it I'm just bewildered by it.

However no matter how nice all these things are separately - all together they just amount to nothing. It's not terrible by a long shot, but it's just not very good either. It annoys me that I always do this - stray from my beloved falsies to try something new only to be let down! Sob!

Have you tried any new products lately? Mascara is always the one holy grail product I'm looking for!

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush Review

A little bit late to the party, I finally bought a Real Techniques brush last month. Famous for it's excellent pricing that doesn't skimp on quality, I've been road testing this for the past few weeks before I wrote a review.

I admit it: I hated it the first few times I used it. I just really didn't get along with it and I was instantly disappointed that this brand - that everyone seems to love - had let me down. But I persevered, used it every day, and slowly began to fall in love with it. The bristles are super soft but packed tight so they don't just annoyingly splay out everywhere when you're trying to buff in foundation. The head is small enough that you can use it to blend under eye concealer. And without sounding weird - the handle is a bit thicker than brushes by MAC per say - which makes it very comfortable to hold.

I've been using this so far for concealer and foundation but I know some people really enjoy using this as a powder brush which I'll definitely try out! One of the best things about Real Technique brushes is supposedly that you can really use them for all sorts of things - I know a lot of brush brands such as MAC or Sigma tend to have a brush for literally everything you can think of! Real Techniques having a smaller range means that you don't have to spend as much money but still get the good quality you're after. You can buy this brush here for £8.99 - though I do recommend keeping an eye out in Boots and Superdrug as they run 3 for 2 offers on these literally all the time.

Have you tried any of these brushes? Are there any you can recommend?

Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Review

I've actually had this for well over a month now but held off reviewing because I literally could not make my mind up on it! Although lots of people have apparently been wowed by this, I think I can finally say that I am not. For starters, you need a lot of this to cover your face. It's quite a thick consistency that doesn't spread out very well so when you try to use less you end up with patches of your face uncovered that obviously then becomes patchy foundation! So a tube that should normally last you quite a while will no doubt only last me another few weeks.

My other concern is just that really, it doesn't work that well for me. I definitely can't see any drastic improvement in my foundation application as a result from it, in particular it does nothing in terms of creating a smoother base to cover blemishes - they still have to be loaded with concealer to look anything near normal! I just feel like for the price (around £7.99 full price) I would rather spend the extra pounds and get something like the L'orel Studio Secrets primer (which I can vouch for!). 

Overall I think Maybelline have missed the mark a bit with the 'Baby' products - I really didn't take to the BabyLips and I haven't taken to this either! Stick to the more grown up products that work please Maybelline, you're so much better than this!

MAC Lady Danger Lipstick Review

As you saw in my last post I treated myself to a new powder, this was the purchase that went along side it! On a recent night out I lost my beloved Russian Red (it still hurts) and so I thought I'd buy a new red that felt a bit more 'summer'. Enter Lady Danger. It's described as a 'vivid bright coral-red', and when they say vivid bright - they bloody mean it. I hadn't actually realised how much the orange/coral comes out when you wear it - it definitely verges on not really being red! 

It's a matte finish so you definitely need to have prepped lips for this to sit well. A lot of people complain about MAC matte finishes 'bobbling' or drying out but it really is all in the prep work. Lip balm, scrubs, the works - and then it will look beautiful. At the minute I'm wearing it with winged eyeliner but I think in summer when it's hot (haha, hopefully) it will look great with just lashings of mascara. 

Shockingly bad iPhone quality of Lady Danger on the lips!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation Review

Another amazing bargain I had to try when I found it in Bicester Village. Yes, it's the famous foundation raved about by everyone and their mum. A full coverage foundation that's still meant to look natural, I've heard nothing but good reviews about it. And annoyingly, I have to agree with them.

The foundation itself doesn't feel heavy or thick on the skin but definitely gives full, flawless coverage. Looking in the mirror, my skin looks matte yet glowing at the same time?! I did use concealer underneath but the foundation has covered all blemishes anyway. If I had to pick a few problems with this foundation, it would be that although it stays in place - and that's great - you need to be quick moving with it when applying. There were a few spots where I didn't work it into my skin quick enough and you get that odd patch that then won't go away. I can't imagine this works too well for people with too oily or dry skin either. My only other problem, which if the same for many - the price. I picked it up for £19, RRP £28.50. I used to pay around £20 for my MAC foundation which was at the limit for me - unless it's super duper amazing, I can't justify that much money! I think I'll be saving this foundation for maybe special occasions where I want my makeup to be really flawless.

Tanya Burr Nail Polish for Eye Candy Review - Bright And Early

Tanya Burr nail polish in Bright And Early, £5.99 at Superdrug

Tanya Burr has to be one of my very favourite Youtubers, so when I heard she was bringing out makeup I was naturally excited. However, I then heard one half of the range was lip glosses and my heart sank - I hate lip gloss with a passion! It made me quite sad as I know she's probably targeting a younger audience with these but I was really hoping for lipsticks. I can't argue with nail polish though so when I went into Superdrug the other day I decided to pick one up!

I got the shade Bright And Early which is a pinky/corally/orange/very hard to describe. Certain lights it looks definitely orange, yet other lights show it in a more pinky orange tone. Whichever light you look at it in, it's a nice shade - nothing spectacular but definitely nice and one that I can see myself using a lot in summer.  The formula is surprisingly good - thick without being gloopy - the texture actually reminds me a bit of the Barry M Gelly polishes. They do dry fairly shiny but I would recommend a top coat as they seem to lose shine with every hour that passes by! Speaking of drying as well, these take a while to dry. About twenty minutes after properly applying they still were a bit tacky and catching on things slightly - not a huuuuge problem but it does mean you have to sit twiddling your thumbs (carefully!) for a while.

Overall, I quite like this polish. If I see more swatches of other colours then I might be tempted to get a few more but I'm not rushing out the door to get one right now. I'm also glad I held off ordering online so I could see them in person - some of the shades do seem to look a bit different. All in all I'm really happy for Tanya and think it's an amazing venture that any one of us would love to take in a heartbeat. Congratulations Tanya! :)

MAC Cranberry + Woodwinked Eyeshadow Review

Cranberry (left), Woodwinked (right)

Enter two of the prettiest eyeshadows ever. My two best chums bought me these to start off my own MAC palette (love you guys) and though I had 4 colours I'd like on my wish list, they chose the best 2 out of the 4. Cranberry is the most stunning red shade. I always thought that red (along with blue, green, purple etc - 70s/80s/90s I'm looking at you) was a colour to be avoided in eyeshadows but this is not the case here. It's hard to describe but it's subtle enough not to be a full on red, yet still pigmented enough to tell that it is red. This even as a wash all over the eyelid looks amazing with heavy black mascara contrasting against it.

Woodwinked is a true gold shade that can easily be built up. While both are highly pigmented and give great colour this is the one you want to be light with when applying - it's beautiful when applied lightly or if you go for a full eye look using it heavier as a highlight looks amazing. This one can literally be used for any kind of eye look you want to create.

Being MAC shadows of course the formula is great - pigmented, long lasting, smooth to apply - no complaints here. Now just to finish those 2 empty spots..

Forgotten Loves: The Blusher Edition

As I'm sure many of us do, earlier I was rootling through my stash of makeup to see what I hadn't used in a while.. When I came across these. Both of these are well loved and well cherished blushers, but for some reason I'd been neglecting them *taps wrist*

Estée Lauder Pure Colour Blush in Witty Peach (21), £25

I bought this blusher because my best friend had an old one that I kept borrowing, til it got to the point where really I should buy my own. The photo doesn't do the colour justice - it's actually a gradient blush, starting with a light peach colour and graduating into a soft pink. When you swirl them together you get a wonderful soft, girly glow.

MAC Pearl Matte Face Powder (Archie's Girls) in Flatter Me

So technically a face powder and not a blush, but I tell you if I put this all over my face it would not end up. Another powder that you swirl the two colours together, these two combine to make a very glowy almost tan colour with a hint of pink. I find it quite subtle and I think it looks so pretty in summer when you have a more tanned face. Sadly this was limited edition so if you fancied yourself one you'd have to trawl the likes of eBay for a genuine buy.

Disappointing Products 1: MAC Eye Shadow Gilt By Association

As many beauty bloggers will find, sometimes you lust and lust after a product and then when you get it - it breaks your heart. This is most definitely the case with this MAC eyeshadow.

Can we all just appreciate how freaking beautiful this shadow is?! It is stunning. A true black flecked and swirled with a pure gold. I could rave about how it looks in the pan all day.. but on my eyes, not so much. The two colours together actually make it very hard to work with - you cannot achieve a true smoky eye because the gold throws it off, but the black makes it hard to use the gold (err… that kind of made sense right?). 

This is swatched with no flash and natural lighting - and it almost comes off brown in this picture! I could have taken a million pictures with my arm turned this way and that to show the different flecks. The consistency is also a bit of a problem - you don't get a lot of colour payoff with one swipe so you have to work to build it  a lot. And I mean a lot - the above picture was 4-5 firm swipes. 

It makes me so sad as I literally love this eyeshadow to death but you cannot use it in an eye look without looking terrible. I'm sorry, MAC. I thought we got along with everything. *violin music*

Disappointing products will be a recurring theme on here (sadly as I have quite a few). Have you had any luck with shadows like this? 

MUA/One Direction 'Kiss Me' Lipstick Review

Let me start off by saying no, I am not a One Direction fan. When I first heard about this collection all I wanted to do was stay the hell away! Then the reviews started trickling in and I had to admit to myself that the lipsticks actually looked pretty darn good.