The Best and Worst Mascaras

Drugstore Beauty: Superdrug Makeup Haul

On the whole, I'm definitely becoming more and more of a fan of high-end, luxury makeup but I'll be the first to admit that there are some wonderful brands and products available on the hightstreet. As you might be able to guess, I'm a big lover of reading beauty blogs and the majority of products that I go out and buy are recommendations from other bloggers. So, when I popped into Superdrug recently I already had quite a few makeup items on my wishlist. I didn't buy everything I wanted - a couple of things were annoyingly out of stock - but I found almost everything that I was looking for.

I made the most of Superdrug's 3 for 2 offer and as you can see from my photos I picked up six items from a variety of brands. In case you're interested in exactly what I bought - or want to know how much each product costs - I've listed them all with links below.

MaxFactor False Lash Effect Marie Curie Mascara

available online from Superdrug for £7.99

Rimmel Lasting Finish High Coverage Foundation in True Ivory (03)

available online from Superdrug for £7.99

Lottie London Tan Time Brush

available online from Superdrug for £7.99

L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper

available from Superdrug for £4.99

Makeup Revolution The One Blush Stick in Matte Rush

available online for £5.00

Rimmel Good to Glow Highlighter in Soho Glow (003)

available online for £4.99

I can't wait to start using all of these new beauty bits! Let me know in a comment if you've tried any of these products - or if you'd be interested in seeing reviews.

Ten Party Makeup Picks for Under £12

Looking for some affordable new makeup for your Christmas or New Year's Looks? I've gathered together some of my highstreet favourites that all come in at under £12. I was planning on doing an "under £10" round-up but I just couldn't exclude the Revlon PhotoReady SkinLights in Bare Lights which comes in at £11.99. It's such a gorgeous highlighter that I love to use a primer when I'm going out for an evening, the bronze colour works really well at masking any redness in your skin. Anyway, here's my ten budget makeup picks for the party season.

Revlon PhotoReady SkinLights in Bare Light

W7 Liquid Eyeliner*

MaxFactor Creamy Touch Blush 

Glam Crystals Dazzling Gel Liner in Funk

Maybelline Colour Drama Velvet Touch Lip Pencil in Red Essential

Seventeen Stay Time Concealer

Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in 111

Maybelline the Falsies Volum' Express Mascara

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze

BeautyUK Baked Blush in Halo

Do you have any affordable makeup recommendations?

October Beauty Favourites

October Beauty Empties

My MaxFactor Mascaras (False Lash Effect and Masterpiece)

For the last few months (four, or maybe even five) I've exclusively been using two mascaras from MaxFactor (barring one encounter with a mascara from W7). They're actually both repurchases, I've used MaxFactor's Masterpiece Mascara once before and I've gone through countless tubes of their False Lash Effect Mascara as it was my go-to for years when I was a teen. However, now that I've tried the Masterpiece Mascara I don't know if I'll be repurchasing the False Lash Effect.

MaxFactor's False Lash Effect Mascara has a very thick brush that adds a lot of volume to lashes - perhaps too much. I find it can be a bit too much for everyday wear as I've come to prefer a lighter and more fluttery eyelash look. I find the brush can be a little bit hard to work with, partly because of its size but also because product pools at the end of the brush often causing awkward smudges on my eyelid. The formula is really great though, it's incredibly long lasting and waterproof and I find it can hold a curl very well. I've become more accustomed to reaching for it when I'm going out in the evening or if I think I might get rained on, because this bad boy is not going to budge. (This does mean that you need something pretty hefty to remove it - I generally turn to Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish which does a great job.)

MaxFactor's Masterpiece Mascara has a much thinner brush that gives tremendous length and definition but not a whole lot of volume. I use this pretty much every single day and I repurchased it as soon as I finished my last tube because I didn't want to try anything else. The brush is really easy to use and I don't have any problems with it, I hold it at the roots of my lashes and then wiggle it upwards to get as much length as possible. It doesn't have the same lasting power as the False Lash Effect Mascara but this does mean that it is much easier to remove, which I definitely prefer for general everyday wear. I find that I don't need anything special to remove it, I've been using Garnier's Micellar Solution and L'Oreal's Gentle Eye Makeup Remover and they both do a great job. 

As I've been using both of these mascaras for so long it is definitely time for me to get around to replacing them. I've got a Maybelline option in my stash to try out next but I know for a fact that I'll be repurchasing MaxFactor's Masterpiece Mascara again very soon and I'd definitely recommend it.

What mascaras do you like using?

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What Made The Shortlist (AKA another travel beauty bag)

This week (since Monday) I've been in Shropshire visiting one of my best friends. Usually when I visit him we tend to do a lot of outdoorsy stuff so I'm don't spend a lot of time worrying about what I look like or what make-up I'm wearing. That being said, we did also make plans to visit some of the local towns on more gentile excursions so at least some make-up was going to be needed and today I'm going to share with you what I decided to take with me. In case you're interested in trying any of these products for yourself, and want to know more about them, I've included links to any reviews I've done on the products I'm mentioning.

I always seem to have a mini Benefit the PoreFessional Primer in my collection and it is my travel primer of choice. Nowadays, when I'm not travelling I very rarely use it - I much prefer mixing The Body Shop's Instablur All in One Primer with Revlon's PhotoReady Skin Illuminator in in Bare Light. I find that it's a more affordable option that not only adds radiance to my skin but really helps with the longevity of my make-up. However, when it comes to travelling I do prefer the dinky Benefit primer because it takes up so little space.

For my base I've generally been mixing my foundations because I am in between shades. When I was in Amsterdam I got a bit of a tan and now all of my foundations are too light for me, including Rimmel Wake Me Up in Ivory but being the darkest foundation I own it is the best of the bunch. For concealing, I've been reaching for Lavera's Natural Concealer in Ivory which offers very light coverage but is dreamily blendable. It doesn't cover as much as I'd like but it is very good for everyday wear and I'm going to be doing a full blog post on it in the near future.

For my cheeks I thought I'd take my Stila Convertible Colour Trio in Cool which gives me three shades to play with and I absolutely love these blushes. They last incredibly well on my skin and the colours are really flattering, I'd highly recommend them! For highlighting my cheekbones I'm taking my Catrice Made to Stay Highlighting Pen because I'm sort of between highlighters at the moment. Although I don't mind this highlighter from Catrice I am looking for something new, preferably a natural and cruelty free product, that I could swap into my routine. If you know of something I could try recommendations would be welcomed!

I've only planned on taking one lipstick (which is very unlike me) because I don't think I'll want to wear anything else. I've really been loving Living Nature's Lipstick in Summer Rain* and if you want to see what it looks like you can see me wearing it in yesterday's post. It's the most easy to wear raspberry shade and the formula is really moisturising. It's all I've worn on my lips this week, which is quite something because I love trying out new lipsticks. For eye makeup, I've opted for a couple of my old favourites. For mascara, I chose to take MaxFactor's Masterpiece Mascara in Black/Brown, I like this because it adds loads of length, doesn't flake or smudge but is still easy enough to remove (which is good because I'm not taking my full skincare routine away with me). I also decided to take Essence's Stays No Matter What Waterproof Eyeliner because it has become a bit of a daily staple. I find it lasts very well for such an incredibly affordable product and I primarily use it on my upper lash line to enhance the look of my eyelashes. 

Lastly, for my eyebrows I've been opting for a heavier brow look using Cosmetics A La Carte's Brow Ink in Taupe and Catrice's Eyebrow Filler. I use the brow ink to fill in my brows and then go over them with the tinted eyebrow gel (if you want to know what this looks like I was using this combo in the FOTD in yesterday's lipstick post). I really like using these two products together and I think the brow ink is particularly good, it lasts incredibly well and is very easy to build up the exact look that you want.

That's all I'm taking with me, apart from a couple of Real Techniques' brushes - the Buffing Brush, Stipling Brush and Expert Face Brush. I hope that you've enjoyed having a peep into this week's make-up bag - if you like this sort of make-up overview post (I don't know if it is interesting or a bit too rambly) I could write them more often as regular weekly beauty feature. 

What make-up have you been wearing a lot this week? Would you recommend any of it?

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A Budget Must Have: MaxFactor's Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in Soft Pink

My love affair with cream blushes is far from over....

MaxFactor's Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in Soft Pink is in fact the nicest 'drugstore' blush I've come across. It has enough pigment to give a good colour without being at all difficult to work with and the formula is slightly tacky to the touch which means that it does stick around on your cheeks throughout the day. The wearability of this is a big part of the reason I like it. It doesn't disappear to nothing after an hour or two, but like all cream blushes, it doesn't have the same lasting power as a good powder blush. The colour of 'Soft Pink' is so gorgeous, it gives such a natural looking flush to the cheeks that I find incredibly flattering. For minimal make-up days this is all I'm reaching for and on days when I'm wearing more make-up I just add a little bit more than normal to amp up the colour - because among all it's other positive characteristics, it's really easily buildable. But really, you need to see this blush in action to get a sense of the colour and look of it so I've included a day-time make-up look in which I've used it on my cheeks.

What I'm wearing

• Smashbox Photo Matte Anti Shine Primer and Photo Finish Foundation Primer
• Bourjois Serum Foundation in Shade 51 (applied with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush)
• Seventeen Stay Time Concealer in Fair (applied with my fingers)
• MaxFactor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in Soft Pink (applied with my fingers)
• Gosh Defining Brow Gel 
• MaxFactor Masterpiece Max Mascara in Black
• Topshop Magic Liner in Engraved
• NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo

Have you tried any of MaxFactor's Miracle Touch Creamy Blushes? What do you think of the shade 'Soft Pink'?

March Beauty Favourites

FOTD: No Brush Needed!

So the other day, after finally finding time to wash my make-up brushes, I realised that I had to go out and that  I wanted to apply some make-up. I've become incredibly reliant on my make-up brushes for applying my make-up, it's been a ridiculously long time since I applied make-up completely brush free! So I challenged myself to coming up with a simple, day-time look that didn't need any brushes.

The products I ended up picking to use were the following:

Etat Pur Radiant Complexion Care*

Collection Concealer

The Body Shop Brow Definer in Blonde & Auburn

MaxFactor Clump Defy Mascara

MaxFactor's 24hr Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Apricot

Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Honey

Etat Pur's Radiant Complexion Care feels like a very thin tinted moisturiser, and on me it's a little bit too pink. However, with a good concealer to help with areas that need a little extra coverage, you can really blend it out with your fingers so that it evens your complexion while still leaving your skin looking really natural. The concealer I use is Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer in 'light'- I really need the shade 'fair' but it is never in stock whenever I go looking for it! This is really easy to blend with your fingers which makes it really handy for on-the-go.  The Body Shop's Brow Definer is my go-to eyebrow product for natural looking eyebrows and I use it pretty much every day. MaxFactor's Clump Defy Mascara has been my mascara of choice for a couple of months now (it's almost time to bin this tube... sob). The colour is intensely black and the wand makes it really easy to build up volume in your lashes so it's perfect for both daytime and evening make-up looks. On my eyes, I also used a touch of Maybelline's 24hr Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze for just a little bit more definition. I prefer applying this without a brush anyway so this was one of the first products I thought about using. For a little bit of colour on my cheeks I dabbed on some of Maybelline's Dream Touch Blush in Apricot. I dab it on and then blend it out so that it isn't too stark, and the great thing about this blush is that it's pretty subtle but it is buildable so it's pretty versatile. Lastly, I applied one layer of Revlon's Kissable Lip Balm Stain in Honey to my lips. It's a couple of shades darker than my natural  lip colour which makes it a lovely subtle colour that's just makes my lips stand out a little bit more. 

The finished look....

You can see that the coverage of Etat Pur's Radiant Complexion Care is pretty light but it's perfect for days when you don't want to wear too much make-up- I'd just prefer it if it was a smidgen more yellow!

I hope you liked this FOTD, it proved to me that I don't NEED my make-up brushes but it also showed me how much I rely on them everyday. I think that if you do use your brushes lots and lots then buying good quality brushes is really important. 

Are you reliant on your make-up brushes? Do you think you could come  up with a FOTD without them?

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Another 'daytime' FOTD

Hello to everyone reading today, I hope you're all having a lovely weekend so far. Today's post is another 'day-time' FOTD and this is actually pretty much the way I wore my make-up all last week. [Please do excuse my hair though! I've recently reapplied henna to get rid of those roots, and actually gone for a browner shade.]

You can see the products that I used below.

I tend to not wear mascara on my bottom lashes unless I'm doing a heavier smokey eye but I have been loving a bit of a less subtle lip colour during the day. I've been wearing Revlon's 'Revlon Red' patted onto my lips with a light slick of the Body Shop's Clear Lip Gloss* which I received in the #bbloggersxmas goody bag over the top (I actually forgot to include it in my picture below.) I've also been working on contouring my face (which you can't really see in my photo) but I am slowly getting better at it! My Real Techniques brushes are just fantastic and are a daily staple of mine now. I've also been getting a lot of use out of my blog sale finds, my new Mac blush in the shade Mocha and my A La Carte Cosmetics Brow Ink. 

All of the products I used are firm favourites of mine and if you're keen for any individual reviews or swatches just let me know and I can schedule posts for them!

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FOTD: My 'go-to' daytime make-up

On a day to day basis I tend to keep my make-up really simple. Usually I like to vary what make-up I usebut because I've been incredibly busy lately I've definitely fallen into a bit of a routine. This tends to include a very subtle eye make-up, a minimal amount of blush and some sort of sheer lip colour.

 

The products I used:

I first apply some of The Body Shop's Moisture Foundation in Shade 03 with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush (and I use The Body Shop's Tea Tree Pore Minimiser as a mattifying base). I think this foundation lasts really well, the colour match is very good and it strikes the right balance between keeping my skin from looking too oily without being too drying. Under my eyes, I use some of Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer in Shade 01 and for the price I think it is just a fantastic product. For my my eybrows I've found myself  using my HD Brows Palette a lot recently and then adding a bit of extra definition with A La Carte Cosmetic's Brow Ink in Taupe.

 At the moment I'm finding myself only ever wearing MaxFactor's Clump Defy Mascara as I just love the formula of it and think it does a fantastic job of adding both volume and length; I tend to only apply it to my upper lashes in the day-time. On my eyelids I use my Darling Girl Eye Shadow Primer followed up by two layers of Mac's Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Superwatt. Even with a primer, this eyeshadow doesn't last particularly well but I absolutely love the colour of it so I've still been using it a lot (probably more than it deserves).

On my cheeks I've been using Look's Make Me Blush in Sculpt which is a lovely pink/brown colour, perfect for a really naturally bit of definition. I've been applying it with my Real Techniques Contour Brush which maybe isn't the perfect brush to use, but I've lost my blush brush (cue a shopping trip) and I don't dislike the look the contour brush gives. Lastly, I applied some of 17's Mirror Shine Lipstick in the shade L.A. which is a really wearable red/pink that I've totally fallen in love with.

The finished look:

So, voila! More often than not this would be the sort of look I'd be wearing if I'm in a rush (which is pretty much always) or if all I'm doing is going into university to go to the library or to a seminar.  I manage to make this particular routine take pretty much no time at all to apply so it isn't exactly as 'perfect' as I'd want it to be if I was going on a night out or anything like that.

I'd definitely like to start doing more posts like this so do let me know if you like reading FOTDs as I personally really enjoy seeing the products that people actually use on a day to day basis!

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THIS WEEK'S MOST REACHED FOR: Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss and MaxFactor's Colour Elixir Lipstick

 

So this week it was a real toss up between these two lipsticks but I thought I'd include both as I've been wearing the MaxFactor Colour Elixir Lipstick in Bewitching Coral for most days and I've been wearing Rimmel's Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss in 107 for most evenings.

SUNDAY PAMPERING #1

So I've officially left London and have returned up to Leeds for my final year at University, it totally could be a freak out moment if I wasn't in the middle of a serious pampering session! In order to chill me out I've arranged to have the most scrumptious smelling bath imaginable courtesy of the Body Shop's Raspberry Ripple Bath Gel. I've used this before and it foams up just the right amount and the sweet smell of raspberry really does linger.

While I'm soaking in the tub I'm also going to be pampering my hair with a good healthy dollop of Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Intensive Mask (what a mouthful!). This is a product which I always buy when I see it on offer because its a good cheap staple and it really does leave my hair very glossy and moisturised.

To top it all off, once I'm all nice and relaxed from all of this, I'm planning on painting my nails with a varnish which I actually got as a freebie with a purchase I made on Friday. I've been almost exclusively wearing muted toned nail varnishes (greys and light pinks) so to change things up a bit I'm going to attempt to rock this bright blue shade from MaxFactor. I think its perfect for all the freshers' week parties coming up this week.

What do you think about wearing bright varnishes in Autumn? And how are you pampering yourself this week?

Angelica