Finding the Best Summer Lipgloss á la Blair Waldorf

Glo & Ray Makeup: Playing with Purple

Glo & Ray Shimmer Shimmer Lip Color Set

Glo & Ray's #SummerGlo Event

FOTD: Trying New Things #3

If you're anything like me then you'll love to experiment with new makeup. Each month I get the opportunity to try quite a lot of new makeup and it's always really fun to choose some of my favourite new discoveries to share with you. So today I've gathered together four new makeup products that I've been trying out this month and shared my thoughts on each of them. 

Docteur Renaud Apricot BB Eyes* | rrp £14.50

I'm always looking for natural beauty products that I can swap into my everyday makeup routine. Docteur Rendaud's Apricot BB Eyes is a colour correcting product that helps disguise the appearance of undereye circles. It only comes in one "universal" shade which is a light, slightly peachy-pink shade. It has a very thick consistency that makes it a little bit difficult to blend if you draw it straight onto your undereye area. I prefer to draw some on one of my fingers, rub two of my fingers together to warm up the product and then I pat it onto my skin. I find that the heat from my fingers really helps to make the product more blendable. It does a good job of colour correcting and really changes the appearance of my under eyes, but it isn't a straight up concealer so I'd definitely couple this with a light concealer for maximum coverage. However, if you have very dark, blue or purple toned bags under your eyes then this will definitely make a noticeable improvement. Docteur Renaud's BB Eye Cream isn't available online, but can be ordered from Skin Evolution by calling this number: 01452 864574

Glo & Ray Fumo Silky Eyebrow Pencil* | rrp £5.50

I started using Glo & Ray's Eyebrow Pencil in the shade Terra Brown earlier this month and it has pretty much been love at first application. It marries together so many good qualities - the product itself is really pigmented but when you apply it gently it creates really natural looking hair-like strokes. Once you've applied it, the product sets down and then doesn't budge throughout the day. For the price I really don't think you could find a better brow pencil!

Claudia Louch Compact Pressed Powder* | rrp £52.50

This pressed powder from Claudia Louch is one of those products that I didn't know I needed but now I've tried it I just couldn't go back! It's a talc-free powder that's pigmented enough that you can actually use it as a mineral foundation. The powder is incredibly finely milled and just glides onto the skin leaving behind a matte base. It doesn't give very high coverage, but it does create a more even and smooth canvas upon which you can apply other products. Personally, I'm not a massive fan of mineral foundations so I like using this powder to add extra coverage to specific areas of my face. It works really well to set your undereye concealer and add a little bit of brightening coverage. I also like using it across my t-zone as it not only mattifies but also helps to blur the appearance of my pores and imperfections. It's definitely an expensive investment, but if you're a fan of powder foundations or are looking for a really high-quality talc-free powder then this is definitely a good option to consider.

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pale Pink* | rrp £17.50

I featured Bobbi Brown's Pot Rouge in Pale Pink in a post earlier this month but I promised that I'd show what it looks like when used on my lips. As you can see in my photos below, it's a really pretty and wearable everyday shade and because the formula is so creamy it works really well on the lips. It doesn't last for ages and ages but because there's a big mirror inside the lid it's really easy to reapply - and it doubles up as a handy compact mirror.

What new makeup have you tried this month?

New Makeup from Glo & Ray

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Glo & Ray's makeup range. I discovered the brand on twitter last year, and I wrote my first review of Glo & Ray's makeup in December (link here). I can still remember just how surprised I was to be so impressed by a brand I hadn't read very much about. It's always so fun to discover new brands or new products that you really, really like and Glo & Ray did that for me last December. I like all three products that I was sent but I was particularly enamoured with their Le Amo Creamy Matte Lipstick in the shade Fallin* - it's just an incredible lip product that feels really lightweight despite its impressive lasting power. So when Glo & Ray got in touch with me again recently, asking if I'd be interersted in trying out some more of their makeup, I was incredibly excited. I've got a couple of new things to share with you today, as well as anoter Le Amo Creamy Matte Lipstick - but this time in a gorgeous nude shade.

In the above photo I'm wearing: Glo & Ray's Fumo Silky Eyebrow Pencil in Terra Brown*, Glo & Ray's Eternity Eyeliner in London* and Glo & Ray's Wonderland Lipgloss in Pumpkin Night*

Glo & Ray Fumo Sily Eyebrow Pencil in Terra Brown

available online for £5.50*

I really, really like this eyebrow pencil - and it's without a doubt the best one that I've tried so far, especially at such an affordable price. It's an interesting product because it looks and feels more like a gel eyeliner than an eyebrow pencil, and it has a creamy/waxy consistency rather than the more traditional dry-formula eyebrow pencils. However, it's easy to apply very lightly in realistic hair-like strokes. These can then be built up to create fuller, thicker looking eyebrows that don't really look like you've drawn them on! The formula is just fantastic and I'm disappointed that it doesn't come in more than two shades - Terra Brown and Ultra Dark. Terra Brown is a reasonably good colour match for me, but it is quite dark and warm toned and definitely leaves my brows looking a bit more bold than normal. That being said, I'd repurchase this in a heartbeat as I think that it's absolutely great value for money.

Glo & Ray's Le Amo Creamy Matte Lipstick in Venus

available online for £12.00*

Venus is probably the lightest and most "nude" lipstick shades that Glo & Ray offer - it's a pale, milky  pink-toned nude and I don't have anything like it in my collection. It's a lipstick that's reminiscent of a very specific sort of "look", think along the lines of Mac's Myth lipstick only Venus feels a bit more wearable because of its peachy-pink undertone. The formula of the Le Amo Creamy Matte Lipsticks seems to vary as Venus is far creamier than the other shade I own, Fallin. Venus swatches opaque and it's very easy to apply from the bullet and incredibly comfortable to wear (you can see lip swatches at the end of this blog post). I'm utterly impressed with Glo & Ray's Le Amo Creamy Matte Lipsticks, in my opinion they outdo many of Mac's formulas, and although the shade may not be everyone's cup of tea I'm personally really impressed with how Venus feels and looks on my lips. I really love this lipstick and I'm definitely going to play around with it more, I might even do a FOTD or some makeup look ideas on how to style paler nude lipsticks. 

Glo & Ray's Wonderland Lipglosses in the shades Pink Pearl, Flamingo Dance and Pumpkin Night

available online for £10.00*

I didn't really know what to expect from these glosses. In the tube they look hella sparkly - and in most circumstances this would really put me off. However, I recently picked up a new Mac Lipglass in the shade Oh Baby which is incredibly "sparkly" and it does things for my lips that I *love*. If you've ever wanted plumper, juicier, kiss-me-quickly looking lips then a little bit of glitter - so long as it's micro glitter that you can't feel, which is the sort that Glo & Ray's Wonderland Lipglosses are packed full of - then you needn't be afraid of glitter. Unlike my new Mac lipgloss, Glo & Ray's Wonderland Lipglosses aren't sticky at all and they just glide onto your lips leaving them with an incredible sheen. Although the microglitter is visible in my lip swatches below it isn't really that noticeable on my lips, it just adds that extra lip-plumping dimension that I've really been enjoying recently. All three shades are really wearable, and although Pink Pearl and Flamingo Dance are very similar there is a slight difference on the lips - especially when they're layered over other lip products. I absolutely adore how Pink Pearl looks over the top of the Le Amo Creamy Matte Lipstick in Venus, it works perfectly with on-trend nudes to add a beautiful glossy finish. Whereas Pumpkin Night and Flamingo Dance offer enough colour payoff to be worn alone. Pumpkin Night's muted orange colour is perfect for the upcoming spring/summer and will look gorgeous alone, or paired with coral lipsticks. I'm a big fan of the formula as it's really comfortable to wear and doesn't slip and slide like other glosses often do. In my opinion, the Wonderland Lipglosses are another winning product.  

As I've said before in my previous post on Glo & Ray's Makeup, the only thing that disappoints me about the brand is their relatively expensive shipping costs. However, every single product that I've tried so far from Glo & Ray has really impressed me. The brand is definitely one to watch and I'd highly recommend all of the products featured in today's post! 

Makeup Favourites from 2014

It was quite hard to narrow down my makeup favourites of the year because I discovered some incredible new products, especially over the last three months. I've basically just included the things that I reached for the most as well as a couple of newer products that I just really, really love.

For my Eyes

There's only been one eyeshadow palette that I've been reaching for throughout the year, and that's The Balm's Nude'tude Palette. My favourite shades are definitely 'Stand-offish' and 'Selfish', but all the shades are really wearable in a gorgeous buttery formula. My other eyeshadow favourite is Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze which I've used so much that I've nearly finished it! Honourable Mention: Wild About Beauty's Eyeshadow in Eva 

For my Face

My most used foundation has definitely been Revlon's Colorstay Foundation for Combination/Oily Skin in the shade Buff. I've just finished my bottle and have repurchased it in a slightly darker shade so that I can wear it next summer. My favourite concealer of the year has definitely been Seventeen's Stay Time Concealer, it's so light and blendable and gives a really natural looking finish. Honourable Mention: Real Techniques' Makeup Sponge

For my Cheeks

In terms of blush, the only powder blush that I've been wearing pretty much all year is Green People's Powder Blush in Peach*. However, the competition for my favourite cream blush has been fierce, but I think that I've definitely reached for Stila's Convertible Colour Trio in Cool the most out of the blushes in my collection. But my favourite new discoveries of the year by far have been from RMS Beauty - I have completely fallen in love with their Living Luminizer and Buriti Bronzer, I've been wearing them everyday since I discovered them. Honourable Mention: Benefit's Highbeam

For my Lips

I've discovered some incredible new lipsticks this year and I've picked a couple of my favourite formulas and shades. Hands down my favourite formula is Glo & Ray's La Amo Creamy Matte Lip Colour*, it's lightweight but offers opaque colour and it lasts really well. I've also been loving Ilia's Lip Conditioner in the shade These Days*, a really beautiful frosted bronze in a creamy and moisturising formula. Colour wise, two other favourites of mine are from Oriflame and Wild About Beauty. Oriflame's The One 5 in 1 Colour Stylist Lipstick in Fuchsia Hype* is an absolutely stunning, bright pink. Whereas Wild About Beauty's Nurtrilips Balm in Hannah* is a gorgeous, easy-to-wear, sheer berry that seems to work with everything. Honourable Mention: Living Nature's Lipstick in Summer Rain*

What have been some of your makeup favourites this year?

Makeup Multi-Taskers

My friend Candy inspired this post when she sent me a tweet saying that she'd used tinted lip balm as a blush and I just went "why have I never tried that before". I was sent into a spiral of new ideas of using my makeup and I discovered that almost anything cream based presents delightful opportunities to get creative with makeup. If you saw my post over the weekend about cream blushes then you'll know that enjoying makeup, and having fun with makeup, is something that's on my agenda this month. 

My makeup look above relied on using a whole bunch of products either "unconventionally" or using them as multi-tasking products by applying them in more than one way.

 I began by applying my new Monu Illuminating Primer* as a primer, but once I'd finished my makeup I also used it as a highlighter. It's an absolutely gorgeous, champagne-toned highlighter that wakes up skin like nothing I've tried in years! It reminds me of L'Oreal's Lumi Magique Primer which I used to love, but Monu's primer feels so much more luxurious and hydrating - a lot more like skincare than makeup. And yet it works really well as a highlighter too! You just have to be sure to not use too much, or if you do then you just have to blend, blend, blend. Alternatively, for a more natural look, you could also use a highlighting concealer as a highlighting product. I've tried using L'Oreal's Lumi Magique Concealer in Medium which offers a very natural way to add some radiance to your skin.

I popped on some of my Glo & Ray Mirage Mousse Eyeshadow in Caramel Candy* but I only used it as an eyeliner to give my eyes a bit of definition. It works surprisingly well like that, and the colour really makes my eyes stand out without any of the fuss of eyeshadow. 

On my lips I applied a healthy dose of my Illasmaqua Blush in Crush, which gave me a deep berry coloured lip. The Illamasqua cream blushes work really well on the lips as they have a thin, creamy consistency which means they're not too drying but they also don't slip. Inika's Rosehip Creme Colour* is another gorgeous multi-purpose product that looks gorgeous on both the cheeks and the lips. I'm not wearing it in my photo but it gives a lovely dose of terracotta that's an absolutely pleasure to wear. I'm going to be sharing my full review of this soon including some pictures of me wearing it on my cheeks and lips.

In my photo I'm actually wearing Lanolips Lip Ointment with Colour in Apples* on my cheeks. I dotted a healthy amount onto my cheeks and then blended the product out with my stippling brush. It works well because these lip ointments have a very thick consistency with a sheer dose of colour. Although the finished result was a little bit stickier than normal the colour lasted well on my cheeks and gave a very natural looking flush. Alternatively, I've also tried using a bright lipstick as a blush. My pick was Bourjois' Rouge Edition Lipstick in Fuchsia Graffiti, it's a really bright pink with blue undertones and it sheers out when blended to give the most beautiful colour. If you've never tried this before then I'd definitely recommend it!

Party Makeup: Glo & Ray

Although there are party occasions year round, during the Christmas season I love nothing more than getting dressed up and donning some party makeup. With everyone wrapped up in coats and jumpers most days, there's something extra special about glamming oneself up during the winter. Last week I met up with some friends for a midweek mulled wine and I used the occasion to put some of Glo & Ray's makeup to the test! They're a new brand on my radar but I've been really impressed with the quality of the products and I'm going to talk you through the three items I've been testing out over the last couple of weeks. 

Glo & Ray Mirage Long Wear Mousse Eyeshadow in Caramel Candy

available online for £11.00*

This shade is looks really beautiful contrasted against my blue eyes. Caramel Candy a deep, slightly warm-toned brown that reminds me a lot of the colour tattoo On and On Bronze, but it's less metallic which I find makes it more wearable. The formula of the Long Wear Mousse Eyeshadows is really unusual, it's incredibly thin and surprisingly not at all mousse-like. When you swipe your finger across it, the formula melts into a sheer liquid texture that's really easy to blend and layer. You can wear it as a sheer wash of colour or build it up into an opaque brown. It does dry and set down, making it pretty budge-proof. However, I found that without a primer it does transfer and crease (but all eyeshadows do this on me). Although this isn't my perfect eyeshadow I do really like it. I'm impressed with the shade and I love the unusual texture - it's easy to work with, especially if you like wearing colour under your eyes à la 'the soft underline'.

Glo & Ray Eternity Eyeliner in London

available online for £9.00*

I can't remember the last time I owned a retractable eyeliner but holy moly I love them - they're so much handier than normal pencil liners. Glo & Ray's Eternity Eyeliner has the feel and look of a gel eyeliner but in a handy retractable tube. When I first received this I did a test on my hand; I drew a line, waited a minute or two and then tried to wipe it away. With most non-gel formulas the line is easy to move, but the Eternity Liner simply wouldn't budge until I used my makeup remover. Since then, I've used it on quite a few occasions (including in my party makeup featured above) and I really love it. It's a wonderful deep black colour that's great to use all around your eyes. I like using it on my top lash line - you can get a really fine line and blend it into your lashes to make them look fuller and thicker. It has the best lasting power of the three makeup products in this post and I'd highly recommend it. I'm really keen to try the colour Redstingy next, which is a really beautiful warm brown shade.

Glo & Ray La Amo Creamy Matte Lip Colour in Fallin

available online for £12.00*

I've saved the best until last! Not only is Fallin a really pretty colour (it's a coral pink that's unlike anything I've owned before - it's not blue based and leans quite orange-red in photos) but the formula is dreamy. It's a creamy lipstick but with a relatively thin consistency, and the colour is completely opaque  in just one swipe. When I apply this to my lips the colour looks positively juicy and then it settles down into more of a stain-like finish. You can't feel it on your lips at all and yet when you look in the mirror you'll still be rocking a completely bright, opaque colour. I love that it doesn't feel drying or uncomfortable, and although it doesn't have a traditionally matte finish it has relatively good staying power. It lasts a couple of hours when I don't eat or drink but I'm happy to compromise on serious longevity for such a comfortable and easy to wear lipstick. I'm really happy with it and it's one of those lipstick formulas that I know I'll reach for over others (including my Mac Lustres and Cremesheens!) so I definitely want to pick up some more "everyday" shades - Muse and Freeze both look incredibly beautiful. If you're a lipstick lover like myself then I'd say that this is definitely a formula worth trying!

All in all my first experience with Glo & Ray makeup has been a complete success and I think they're a brand to contend with. My only concern is that their shipping costs to the UK seem really high, and that's something that would definitely put me off ordering individual products to try out on a whim.