Top 5 Mascaras

Hello my lovelies! Sorry for the post being a day late and it not being the one planned (#2014BC Spring OOTD) I promise that that one is on it's way although slightly late again I admit, I have been so busy lately and due to that, mega tired as well! So I'm a bit behind of schedule and no where near as organised as I'd hoped I'd be. 
Anyway I hope you all had a good easter and didn't feel sick after eating lots of chocolate!

Today I am going to be sharing with you my top 5 mascaras at the moment, mascara is one of my favourite products to switch up and find new alternatives so when I find ones I love they tend to be ones I've used for a long time or have really impressed me, I have loved all of these for a while now and each have different qualities that make me reach for them on certain occasions; so I'll dive in (this is not in order of preference).

First (Left to Right) is Bourjois' Ultra Care Volume Glamour mascara, this is the newest of the bunch to my collection and the one with the biggest love hate relationship! Yet it still made it to my top 5 so it's definitely a good'un. It's wand is dense therefore delivers a good amount of mascara in one go, granted this can sometimes be clumpy especially when the tube is new (hence love/hate) yet when it's dried out a little it becomes a brilliant volume building mascara that is perfect for a top coat over another mascara for extra oomph or even when switching day makeup to an evening look.

Up next is good old Estee Lauder's Double Wear Lengthening Mascara, this one has regularly reappeared on here and there's no doubt it's definitely my favourite high end mascara (not that I've tried many). It is amazing on it's own or built up with Maybelline's Colossal (the perfect mascara duo), it's really does give your lashes amazing length and I have had quite a few people ask if I was wearing false lashes with this on, so this is one for those of you who need length but not too much volume, although a few coats can add to that.

Soap and Glory's Thick & Fast just had to be up here with the others, I have loved this since I got a full sized tube free in a magazine, that's right pretty good deal huh?, I was super impressed straight away and that is saying something coming from someone who is quite picky with her mascaras! I gives lots of volume but no clumps and the wand is nice a full so it can grab all of your lashes.

This wouldn't be my top 5 if Maybelline's Colossal didn't appear somewhere! This is just the epitome of the perfect mascara and better yet it is cheap too! I have used this one for years and I can't count the amount of times I've repurchased it. Considering I like to try out lots of different mascaras saying that I've repurchased this one definitely proves the point. I love it, just love it.

Last but not least the infamous Benefit They're Real mascara, I go this one as a freebie in Elle magazine with just about every other bblogger out there and seriously fell in love; it's one that I have to use, then leave, then come back to to realise how much I love it but it really does make your eyelashes look long and full and separates them beautifully. The wand on this one really grabs your lashes from the root and coats them evenly, giving full colour opacity and no clumps at all. I know this one has been reviewed to death so I won't bore you with another rave, however I will state my love for it and when I finish this tube and need a new mascara, (once I've used up my stash) I will definitely repurchase this!

So there you go! My top 5 favourite mascaras, from drugstore to highend, mascara is one of my favourite and the most essential products I use so I love to try out others and find new ones. I've been looking at the Collection Does it All mascara and think I will probably try it out as I have loved the other Collection mascaras in the past. If you have tried it out let me know by email or in the comments below, and drop me some suggestions for others if you have any :)

See you soon for my ever delayed #2014BloggerChallenge post.

Love,

 

Bloglovin' / Twitter  /Tumblr 

#2014BloggerChallenge Topic Four Highend vs. Highstreet

Wow! So I have been so awful at blogging this week, and it's exactly the opposite of what I had planned. I thought having a week off college would allow me to catch up or even plan ahead blogging wise, yet if anything it's put me behind! So for that I apologise. 

It's not even as if I've had the opportunity to blog or even write drafts, I genuinely haven't touched my laptop in days! I was worried I would start to get withdrawals soon enough.

I realise in my absence that I have completely missed the window for the #2014BC and I'm sorry to those who wanted to read it/those who are a lot more organised than me/Gaby who runs it. I know the idea of this challenge was to give your the blog a scheduled idea plan and I've already broken that four topics in! I promise to be more prepared next time!

Well without further ado, here is my highend vs. highstreet.

L- Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara
R- Maybelline le colossal volum' express Mascara

I like how broad this topic was, it allowed you to pick anything to do with the comparison of Highend and Highstreet products, which is a universally questioned topic. Everyone wants to know which is better, whether the more expensive is worth it, and if money does buy quality. Now we all know this is a largely debated subject and that 1) it all depends on the product/brand and 2) it depends on you to (the user) as everyone is different and subjective. So I chose to be Switzerland in this debate and just play the fence. I chose to show you my favourite mascara of the Highend And the Highstreet and to compare them and show why I like both so much and above all others. If you've read my blog before neither of these will be a shock as they have been mentioned multiple times, however I thought I'd like to go into more detail into why they appear so frequently.

I'll begin with the cheaper option:

Highstreet
Maybelline le colossal volum' express mascara.
Now this mascara, this beauty has been a favourite for a very long time, I think even from when I first started wearing make up. It was a lucky chance that I happened to blindly pick up such a brilliant product with no previous knowledge of it or what to expect of make up, at that age. It was purely a, "ooh that looks like it'll do the job and has pretty packaging" purchase and I'm pretty sure it may have been on offer, which persuaded me to grab it over any others. So from there I used it, finished it and forgot about it until, I really got into make up again; ever since my make up bag has not been without one!

What's so good about it I hear you say? Well, it separates the lashes amazingly, making them look fuller and more volumous, which is a BIG must for me when it comes to mascara and it also adds length to your lashes, giving them an all round bigger fluttery look. Another great thing about this is that it is black, and I know that sounds silly and obvious, but I mean it's black black, not a faded-need lots of layers to make it look black-black, you get me? 

I also love the brush on this, it's bristles rather than silicone which I prefer, and the rounded shape of allows it to grab all the lashes from the root, lifting them and adding a curl. The wand is also tapered at the end making it easier and cleaner to grab the smaller inner lashes. even though it's cheap it doesn't fake or fall down throughout the day which is brilliant.

Last but not least, I love the price! Obviously with it being from the Highstreet it is cheaper than a lot of mascaras and is amazing quality, especially with this in mind.

On to the more expensive one:

Highend
Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara.
I think I have mentioned before, maybe in a favourites post, about how I happened upon this one but I run over it again quickly. I got given a tester sample of this with the concealer on the other end, unfortunately the concealer was a shade to dark however the mascara, as you can see, I liked a lot! I was pleasantly surprised as I don't tend to go for lengthening mascara, my aim from mascara is volume and blackness. So when the tester ran out I was umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether I should fork out the money for a full size tube, or stick with my cheapy highstreet ones. Well I blame my blog for this one! but I went ahead and treated myself, and haven't looked back since. Granted I'm still on the first tube but that's a good sign right?!

So what's great about this one? Well for a lengthening mascara it adds a good amount of curl and fullness too, as well as this it does it's job brilliantly, making my (naturally stubby) lashes look long and luscious all day long. It is also very black and doesn't flake either, which is great for long days! The brush on this one is slimmer and has shorter bristles but this helps it to get right to the root of the lashes and pull the curl and length right from the bottom, getting to each and every lash and fanning them out. 

It's always nice to have a luxurious product in your make up bag right? and just being able to treat yourself on something you know is good quality and you will enjoy using is always a pleasurable way to hand over the cash, even if it is more than what you would usually/could spend. Plus with more expensive products you always get prettier packaging too, bonus!

So the verdict? Overall I think I would have to say that I love the highstreet one the best, I put it down to what I initially want from a mascara and which performs that the best, so yes the cheaper one is my favourite. But they go amazingly together! My everyday routine is to put on the Maybelline one first then layer the Estee Lauder on top just to give my lashes a boost in length and volume, perfect.

So there you go, my on the fence post on Highend vs. Highstreet mascaras.
I hope you enjoyed this and seeing my view on both the ends of the scale, sorry that it's late I'll be better next time, promise.

Bloglovin' / Twitter  /Tumblr 

January Favourites

I'm sorry this is about a week late, and I'm sure your not interested in my excuses so I'll just get on with it.

So starting with lip products I have has these two in my handbag literally all month, they have not left my side and if I wasn't wearing one I was wearing the other. If you follow my twitter you will know I re fell in love with my Rimmel Kate 05, which I initially bought for my prom back in May, and have neglected since. However after giving it another go I don't know how I could have forgotten about this little gem. Its a gorgeous pink that is bold yet not to out there for an everyday lip, it really compliments my skin tone and is lovely and creamy to apply; I mentioned this one in my Winter Lip Favourites as well. 

Other than this for me it has been all about the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey Douce 001, I know this was raved about ages ago by just about everyone and their mothers but I was very late to jump on the bandwagon and have only just bought it. It is such a lovely colour that is easy to apply even without a mirror, adding just the perfect amount of colour to finish off a look. I have however found that with this product, as you top it up throughout the day that the colour gets bolder so at the end of the day the result is quite different to the one you applied in the morning. I'm not sure if that's just me or not?

Next up the Natural Collection blusher in Pink Cloud, I bought this while in London in December and have been absolutely loving it to give me a little flush of bright pink, brilliant for winter. This is quite unique in my blush collection as I never really thought I would suit bright pink blushes as I'm quite fair and get redness around a lot of my face, however the blogging community convinced me to give it a go and boy am I glad I did! The only downside to this product is that it doesn't last all day so it does need a bit of a top up throughout the day. Paired with this I like to use e.l.f's Bronzing brush, it is angled and quite fluffy making it perfect for applying powder blush, however this brush isn't very soft and can be quite scratchy on the cheeks. I was disappointed with this as all my other e.l.f brushes have been lovely, yet I can't moan at their cheap price tag.

For skincare I have been loving using Superdrug's Vitamin E hot cloth cleanser, it came with a muslin and was a great price. It takes my make up off really easily and doesn't leave my face dry either. Savlon has been a saviour this month! It has really helped my redness and dry patches this month as my skin has been really affected by the weather, being much dryer than usual and becoming sore. I have put this on each night quite liberally and it has cleared my skin up amazingly well.

Lastly, other general beauty bits and bobs, I have been loving my Estee Lauder Double Wear mascara again recently, I switch up my mascaras quite a lot as I have so many and i forget about how much I love this one, I get some many compliments with it and it really does make my eyelashes look amazing. Just love it a lot. And finally my new concealer recently, the Maybelline Fit Me concealer in 15, I have really fair skin so I find it difficult to get a concealer that is the right shade, this range is brilliant for that and the concealer is actually really good, and is brightening as well so is great for under the eyes. It is light and easy to blend, quite a light coverage but can be built up without looking cakey. Next to try the matching foundation, anyone know if it's any good?

Better late than never right? I really do like to keep up with these so I do try to post them monthly, even if they are a tad late.

Well done for getting this far, my monthly post seem to be quite long! I hope you enjoyed seeing what I loved last month and don't forget to check out my links :)

Bloglovin' / Twitter  /Tumblr

FOTD: Boardmaster's Festival

So I'm going Boardmasters festival today and I thought I'd do a quick fotd, I've gone very natural, with just a slight shimmer. 

For my base I started with my Miss Sporty Liquid concealer in 001 light (which stupid me forget to include in the photos sorry) just to cover up a few blemishes I have at the moment, I then went on use my Rimmel Match Perfection foundation in 100 ivory; I set this with Natural Collections Loose powder in neutral translucent. On top I added a light dusting of e.l.f's blush in peachy keen to the apples of my cheeks; this has a gorgeous shimmer in it that picks up the light and almost highlights your face, although saying that this blush is quite sheer so you have to build it a little.

Onto my eyes I have really been loving using my MUA Undress Me Too palette, for everyday I have just been sweeping on the shade Shy all over my lid, it gives a nice shimmer without being to much and is a lovely champagne-y nude. Today I (attempted to) put a hint of e.l.f's brown shade from the butter pecan duo I bought recently, just to contour my eyes slightly more and add a bit of colour. Just to line my eyes I used my Maybelline gel liner, I really love how easy this is to use and how versatile it can be. For my lashes I used my Estee Lauder Double Wear lengthening mascara and a quick top coat of my Maybelline le colossal volume mascara, this is my favourite combo and although I adore the Estee Lauder on it's own, the colossal really adds to the volume. I have recently purchased 2tre's khol pencil in no 16 white I ran this along my waterline just to widen my eyes a bit.

Last but not least a new favourite of mine, Maybelline's Baby Lips in Peach Kiss, this gives a lovely shimmer to the lips but is so so so moisturising and is beautiful for an effortless finish to the face.

I hope you enjoyed my post, thanks for reading and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin :)

Ooh, Estee Lauder

So it's not to far off now until I go to college and I think it's a good time to start a new; you can forget the stress and pressure of secondary school and totally refresh. Although secondary school forms you for who you will become college directs your future and it's important to keep looking forward. I'm so nervous, but at the same time I can't wait. Results day is so soon, oh god.

I worked rather a lot last month and pay day showed that, so I decided to treat myself. I don't own any high end brand product as I've never been able to afford them before, however I have fallen in love, I swear!

Several weeks ago my sister gave me a sample of Estee Lauder's Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening mascara and oh my, it is simply amazing! It separates your lashes and fans them out as well as lengthening them beautifully; I have had multiple comments on how long my eyelashes looked whilst wearing this (as well as being asked if they wear fake) and it is my beauty must have! I know its quite expensive at £20.50, however there is always one item you should splurge on and for me this is it! Luckily when I went to buy this in a full tube they had an offer on, where you could get Estee Lauder makeup remover and Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream with it for the same price as the mascara alone. However I don't need the eye cream and the lady also said it would be to strong for me anyway, so my mother got a little present out of it, lucky lady. 

 I'm so pleased with this purchase and think I will most definitely repurchase this once it runs out. Highly recommended! 

I hope you enjoyed my post, thanks for reading and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin :)

My Ball Makeup

So on wednesday evening I had my Leavers Ball and I thought I would share how I did my make-up and what I used. 

I decided not to use foundation and only used a little concealer to cover up my main blemishes and under my eyes. 

For under my eyes I used Natural Collections CoverUp Stick in fair, this blends nicely and is a simple product that is cheap and does the job. I do have to say however this can be slightly drying therefore is not great on spots.







For covering my blemishes I used another concealer from Natural Collection, this is the CoverUp Cream also in fair. I like the formulation of this product which as you can see (sorry) has been much loved. The only thing with this product is that it doesn't blend too well and can look slightly patchy, however due to it being cheap this can be expected and with patience you can smooth the colour out. 

For my eyes I decided to splash out and wore some fake eyelashes. I really liked the shape of these and they also weren't to big or false looking so as a first-timer with eyelashes I really liked these. The shape and curl really helped to open my eyes and exaggerate them. Overall I loved these and would definitely buy them again. Just underneath these on my actual eyelashes I used Estee Lauder's Double Wear concealer and mascara duo, the mascara is the zero-smudge lengthening  formulation and it does exactly that. I absolutely love this mascara I couldn't rave about it enough, trust me! I put on about 2 coats just to blend my lashes in with the fakes, I chose to use this one just because the wand is long and thin and gets all your lashes. (I couldn't use the concealer that comes with this as the colour is too dark for me)

So after doing my lashes I decided to add some liner just to finish off my eyes. On my upper waterline I used my favourite kohl pencil liner from Rimmel, this glides on so easily and is so pigmented, I just love it! Then on my upper lash line I used a liquid liner to just make my false eyelashes look more real and so that the glue/join could not be seen. I'm sorry I don't know what the liquid liner was as it was my friends and I don't have it :( but whatever it was it was bloody brilliant so I will have to find out! 

 Then on my lips I chose to use a bright lip that practically matched my dress. It was Rimmel's Lasting Finish Kate in 05, I think this colour is stunning, it is a  dark pinky fuchsia colour that really makes your lips pop. I think this colour matched my skin tone well and really finished off my make-up well. The formulation is lovely, it goes on smoothly and is very moisturising with a colour that stays. I think I only topped this up once throughout my night. 

I hope you enjoyed my post and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin :)