Winged Eyeliner Wonders

The cat eye is a bold and sexy look. Not only does it elongate the eyes, making them appear bigger, it also draws more attention to them. It can be hard finding the right products for the perfect winged liner, especially as you want it to be as dramatic as possible and stay in place all day. After a lot of trial and error, here is my killer combo. 

After trying and failing with many eyeliners that either smudged or weren't pigmented enough, I decided to go for a more long wearing option. I discovered gel eyeliner about 2 years ago, when Maybelline launched their Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24H. This is a jet black gel eyeliner which is incredibly smooth and applies really well to the eye. It then dries within a couple of minutes and will not budge until you come to remove it. This is perfect for anyone with oily eyelids as it doesn't transfer or smear around the eye area. This was the first gel eyeliner available in the drugstore and many bloggers have compared it too MAC's Fluidline eyeliner. This is a great product, with a brilliant price point, considering it comes with a brush. It also doesn't dry out too quickly as I got around 18 months out of my last pot. 

To compliment the gel eyeliner, I have recently discovered an amazing brush to apply it with. Model's Own do a 5 Piece Brush Set (to be featured in a haul post coming soon) which is a range of 5 travel size brushes, which includes an angled brush. This is just the perfect width and length for gel eyeliner and so creates even the thinnest of lines. It also makes it very easy to control where the product is going. The only problem is that the gel eyeliner strains the hairs on the brush, so it does need to be rinsed after every wash, to avoid the hairs clumping. If you prefer a thicker line, the brush that comes with the Maybelline eyeliner, will be fine for you. 

Which products/tools do you use to create the perfect eye look?

Monday Mani #3

On my nails today is one of Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine Nail , Paints in the shade Pomegranate, which is number 332. This is an ultra rich and glossy polish which makes the nails appear as if they have had a professional shellac/gel manicure. The quality of these polishes is great, I get at least 4 days wear from them, if not up to 7 days. I use my regular Revlon base coat to prevent staining, as the colour is so dark. But I find this does the trick. As this line of polishes are so ultra glossy, you can skip a top coat, but if you like an extra glossy nail or really need to prevent chipping, then I would still apply a top coat, as I have done. If you like to skip steps, then this is definately a polish for you. I also own Papaya in this line, which is a peach/orange colour, perfect for spring/summer. There are also 17 more colours to choose from. The best thing about this range is that they are only £3.99, yet rival Essie quality, which are £7.99! I will definitely be investing in more shades in the near future. 

No7 & Soap And Glory Haul

As we're still in dreary January, I thought I'd pick up a few beauty treats..

First off, Boots currently have their No 7 vouchers on. This means that you can get £3 off any makeup purchase and £5 off skincare. I decided to get a pack of face wipes purely because they are hassle free and they are handy for the gym. I picked up the Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipes, which are suitable for all skin types. I have used these numerous times before, as they are very moist, so remove makeup well, plus the packaging is well designed to ensure they do not dry out. You get 30 wipes in the pack and with a voucher they are only £2, a bargain. 

To fix my Soap And Glory craving, I went a little crazy and stocked up on some of my favourite products from their range. Firstly, for bodycare, I repurchased their Sugar Crush Body Scrub. I have used this continually for over a year now, purely because it exfoliates well, without being too harsh on the skin. It leaves my limbs soft and smooth and smelling of brown sugar and lime, delicious. I use this product about once a week during the winter, as I don't tend to get my legs out much during the colder months, so I find a tub lasts a good few months. This product was also voted best body scrub by Essentials Best Beauty Buys 2011, and I can see exactly why. A 300ml tub is available in Boots for £8. 

I also treated myself to a couple of skincare bits. The first being the Face Soap And Clarity 3-In-1 Daily Detox Vitamin C Facial Wash. This is a green liquid which contains very small pink beads to lightly exfoliate the skin. It isn't too harsh or drying, meaning it can be used on a daily basis as your morning/evening face wash. Again, this is a product I have gone back to so many times as it is great. You can also feel it working as it tingles once you massage it into the skin, so you can feel your pores really opening up. The 150ml bottle is currently £5.33 at Boots, reduced from £8, so go and snap it up!

My final purchase from S & G was The Ultimelt. This is a hot cloth cleanser that works well at cleansing the skin to remove any last traces of makeup, as well as unclogging any pores. It is infused with lots of nice ingredients such as orange and lavender oil, to really treat the skin. Inside the box is the tube of product, as well as a muslin cloth to remove the product with. I have tried this once before and really enjoyed it, as it leaves your skin feeling like you have just visited a spa. This is the first time I have bought S & G skincare in the new packaging, which was changed last year and it definitely has a more high end look. A 100ml tube of this will probably last me a couple of months using it once or twice a week. This product is also currently on offer at Boots, reduced from £10 to £6.67 and I would highly recommend it.

What have you treated yourself too recently?

Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara Review

I recently picked up a Lancome mascara set in the post Christmas sales. I tried the Lacome Hypnose mascara a few years back and thought it was ok, but nothing special, so never went to repurchase it. Here's what I thought of the Doll Eyes mascara. 

Firstly, Lacome claim that this mascara is supposed to leave the eyes with an 'extended and lifted lash look.' From the name 'Doll Eyes' it suggests that this is more of a lengthening mascara, instead of volumising, to create a fanned out effect. 

As soon as I opened the tube and pulled out the wand, I noticed how dry the product was. This is something I really dislike as I feel it doesn't last as well on the lashes and smudges easily, as well as causing dry lashes. The formula of the Hypnose mascara was exactly the same. Personally, I prefer a wetter formula, which are more common. I then noticed the tapered wand. The shape makes it really easy to coat all of the lashes, especially the tiny inner corner ones, as well as the bottom lash line. This was a great feature to the product. I then went onto apply the mascara to my lashes and was utterly disappointed. The mascara defines and separates the lashes well, but no volume is built up, at all. If you try to add multiple coats of product to the lashes, they get clumpy as the product is so dry, which looks awful. After a few uses, I found a knack to applying this mascara and it became much easier. But the product also has another downfall, it smudges like crazy. I have oily eyelids but I have never suffered with mascaras smudging on me. Within a couple of hours, I have a black smudge under both eyes, which just looks terrible. I then had to keep checking my eye makeup each time I got near a mirror, which is ridiculous. One bonus point was the fact that this is a very rich and intense black mascara, but this still wasn't enough to sway my opinion. I have tried so many mascaras that stay put until you come to remove them and most don't cost anything like this one. This product is utterly disappointing.

I expected so much from this mascara with a high end price tag, to perform worse than a mascara from the drugstore for a fraction of the price! This product retails for £22 which is far too high in my opinion and I will definitely not be repurchasing it. I believe you can get a better finish and look with a £7.99 Maybelline mascara, or if you want something a bit more luxurious, Benefit's They're Real is amazing, yet still cheaper than Lancome's alternative. 

Have you tried this mascara?

Monday Mani #2

Today I have Barry M's Princess polish on my nails. This is a texturised glitter nail polish, which is a pink polish complete with silver glitter. This polish only requires 2 coats for full opacity, unlike some where you may need 5-6 as the glitter is so fine. This is by far the best glitter polish I own. It can feel rough for the first few hours on the nails, due to the texture, but I find this then subsides. Wear time is pretty good, I usually get at least 4 days wear out of it before any signs of chipping appear. I have applied my Revlon base coat beneath the polish to prevent any staining, but haven't gone for a top coat as it could change the sparkly finish. 

What do you have on your nails today?

Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss Review

Lip gloss is a beauty product that I'm not overly keen on. I find most of them drying and sticky, which end up leaving my lips cracked and dehydrated. Over the years I have found a few lip glosses that I do like, such as Revlon's Colorburst range, with Peony being my favourite shade. I have never been tempted to splash out on a high end lip gloss for myself, purely because I don't use them regularly enough. But luckily I was gifted Benefit's Love At First Shine set, which consisted of 6 miniatures of their Ultra Plush Lip Gloss. 

Firstly, the packaging for these lip glosses is amazing. They almost have a retro/vintage look about them with the cute cream caps. The design on the tube also helps add to this. As they are so small, they are really handy, perfect for your handbag or a small clutch bag on a night out. I also like the fact that it doesn't have an applicator, instead you just dispense as much as you need onto your finger/lip brush, keeping the rest of the product inside the tube free from bacteria. 

As I mentioned, I hate sticky lip glosses, especially shimmery ones which are full of chunky glitter. Yuck! I had mixed feelings before I tried these products, but my opinion was quickly changed. These glosses apply beautifully to the lips and you only really need a tiny amount of product to do the job. Not only do they give a lot of shine, which helps to make the lips appear fuller, they do give off a nice amount of colour. Now, they are not opaque glosses, but they leave a nice sheer colour on the lips, which I think looks really natural. They can also be layered over a lipstick for a richer finish. The texture of the product is really creamy which I adore. Like most lip glosses, their lasting power is fairly short, with touch ups needed after about an hour. 

The Love At First Shine set contains a sample of all 6 shades in the range. These include Kiss You, Fauxmance, Poutrageous, Lollibop, A-Lister and Ice Breaker. My favourites include Fauxmance, which goes perfectly with MAC's Creme Cup lipstick. I also know that come the summer Poutrageous and Lollibop will be regulars in my makeup bag. All 6 shades are wearable, especially the clear gloss, which can be layered over any lip product. The shade I will probably use the least is Kiss You, purely because it has a blue undertone, but I may find something it will work with. 

Left to right: Kiss You, Fauxmance, Poutrageuous, Lollibop and A-Lister

Same order as above.

Overall I am really impressed with these glosses. The texture is the best I have tried and the colour range is also great. I'm a sucker for anything in cute packaging and this really ticks all the boxes. Well done Benefit! I will definitely be repurchasing the shades I run out of first. The full size tubes are £14.50 which I think is reasonable for such a great product. Any lip gloss lovers should head to a Benefit counter now. You can also still pick up the gift set of miniature lip glosses on the Benefit website, in the sale for £13!

Most Used Makeup Brushes

There was a time when good makeup brushes were hideously expensive. Now thanks to brands like Real Techniques, you can pick up brushes of superb quality, for around the £10 mark. Out of all the brushes I use daily, only one is a high end, proving just how good affordable brushes have become. I also own one MAC brush, the 266, which I think is ok, but wouldn't recommend it based on the extortionate price tag for such a tiny brush. Here are my favourites, which I think every collection should include. 

To apply my foundation on a daily basis, I use the Real Techniques Stippling Brush. This is a flat topped brush that really blends the foundation into the skin, using a stippling motion. I also find this technique reduces the size of my pores and ensures the blend is seamless. The synthetic hairs also don't absorb any of the product, which means the hairs do not stain, making it very easy to clean. I wash this after every use and it still looks in tip top condition. If any of my friends need a new foundation brush, I always recommend this one. 

To set my foundation I use a Ruby And Millie Face brush, to apply pressed powder. This small headed brush allows me to concentrate the powder in the areas I need, without disturbing the makeup underneath, which big fluffy powder brushes can do. The hairs are really soft, allowing them to sweep gently across the skin to apply the powder evenly. I also like the fact that I have this in a travel size, with a smaller handle, so is perfect for traveling or carrying in a makeup bag. I have used this daily for years and I will continue to do so until it falls apart. It's a real shame you can no longer get this brush, as it is perfect. 

Although I have heard so much about the MAC 217 for blending eye shadow, I have never wanted to spend the £18 it costs, as I don't wear eyeshadow that often. Instead I use a No7 brush which is fairly squared, but is soft and fluffy, helping to blend eye makeup really well. This brush is sadly no longer available, as I have had it for years, but their Eye Colour Brush looks very similar. When Boots have the £3/£5 vouchers off No7, you can pick these brushes up for bargain prices. 

I have always struggled to find a good blush brush. The cheaper ones I have tried have never been the right shape, or deposited the product evenly. That was until I came across the Japonesque 924 brush. This brush is the softest I own and applies blush beautifully. Since I purchased it, I have not used anything else for blush, I rarely use cream blushes as I always want to use powder products so that I can use this brush! I managed to pick this brush up in a clearance sale so was a fraction of the full retail price, but after having used the brush, I will definitely be looking into the other brushes in their range. They are well worth the money. 

The perfect brush for contouring is the Real Techniques Blush Brush. This tapered brush is perfect for defining your cheekbones and applying bronzer to the face evenly. The brush is really soft and dense, which gives great application. Just like the other Real Techniques brushes I own, this one washes really well and doesn't shed at all. I know that in the summer this will be a staple in my makeup bag. 

My final tool which I use to apply my makeup is the Real Techniques Complexion Sponge. I hauled this back in December and have loved using it ever since. The egg shape helps stipple and dab products onto the skin, as well as blending them evenly. I also find that the unique flat side enables you to blend under the eye area and around the nose, which can be hard with regular cosmetic sponges. On days I want a full coverage application, I use my stippling brush, on days where my skin is clear and I want a more natural look, I'll use this sponge as it shears out my foundation. If you prefer a sponge to brushes, this one is well worth a try.