Cosmetic Collection: Topshop Make Up

The Nails And Teapots Beauty Blog is back again with another Cosmetic Collection. If you read my post from last Monday (bonus points if you did!) then you would of seen a full rundown of my Benefit Collection, a long post but was fun to write all the same! Today I thought I'd share with you a more high street brand that is easily my most favourite on the scene for their amazing dupes, great formulas and good shade range. That is, of course, Topshop Make Up. My collection for this is no where near big but that just gives me even more of an excuse to expand it, right? Once again if you want a full review of any of the products listed below, tell me in the comments and I will get straight on that!

Cream Blushers £7

Afternoon Tea - A beautiful rosy, pink blush with a lovely cream to powder formula compacted into cute polka-dot packaging. Topshop cream blushers alone are what made me love cream formula colour products, (well them and the Real Techniques Stippling Brush!). I love the pop of pink this brings to the cheeks along with a gorgeous sheen which makes the skin appear flushed and slightly highlighted! 

Morning Dew (full review here) - A lovely pink blush with an orangey undertone, a perfect shade for Summer. This looks beautiful alongside a light dusting of bronzer for an effortless S/S look that really cannot be beaten. The pigmentation is incredible and the creamy formulas lasting power is impeccable for it's cheaper price tag. If you haven't already I highly recommend you go snap up some of these cream blushers from Topshop right now! 

Glow Stick in Spotlight

Made with the initial intention of being a pale pink, light reflecting cream highlighter in an easy-to-use bullet which also doubles up as a beautiful, sheer blush for paler complexions like my own. This product is convenient as well as pretty, gliding beautifully on the cheeks and with a touch of blending, creates an effortless, dewey complexion that will work wonderfully in these warmer months. 

Glow Highlighter in Polish £9 (full review here)

A beautiful cream (are you sensing a theme?) highlighter that has quite the little hype surrounding it in the blogging world. This has a great white-champagne hue that when blended onto the skin, creates a lovely natural highlight that emphasises and structures those cheek and brow bones, two attributes that I love. The only downside to this product being the petite packaging which is more then challenging for long-nailed girls, so detail brushers are required if that's you! 

Lipsticks £8

Rio Rio - A vibrant, bright red with a satin-matte finish that works great all year round. Dress up an everyday make up look with this bold bullet or go from day-to-night effortlessly with just one product!

Whimsical - A pink-nude with an orange undertone and a velvety-matte finish. Not too drying for a matte formula and a perfect everyday nude that suits a majority of make up looks on the eye. The pigmentation is excellent and the quality is no less impressive than more higher end brands such as MAC. 

Pillow Talk - A beautiful, baby pink colour that shares a resemblance with some of the MAC nudes (review here). I love this for a simple everyday lipstick that, although is definitely a comfort-zone cosmetic, still creates a beautiful, girly look once applied.  

Bronzing Illuminator in Reflect £12.50

A beautiful, trio of shades that once swirled together on a big fluffy brush create a beautiful bronzed, illuminated glow that gives you the Bronze Goddess appearance in a matter of seconds. Or if you want slightly more precision, use a smaller brush to pick a bit from each colour to contour and highlight specific points on the face. The formula of the powder is beautifully pigmented, easy to blend and have great wear time. 

Velvet Lips in Plush

A deep, vampy purple that works well in the Wintery months. This is a great colour to dress up an evening look, making one appear more edgy and bold, so if you're feeling confident, give this a go! The formula is very mattifying that although looks beautiful on, is incredibly drying on the lips so I do avoid wearing this regularly for this reason, a shame I know. The formula also seems to crack and flake after a few hours, the capital issue when it comes to mattes!

Nail Varnish £6 (full review here)

Venus Fly Trap - A beautiful pistachio green that looks bold after just one coat but perfect with two. The formula is ultra shiny and long lasting that doesn't chip and is a lovely colour for S/S. 

Imagination - A gorgeous, sparkly iced blue that apples well, looks opaque after just two coats but still lives up to the glittery nail varnish name of being impossible to get off! 

Tingle - A lovely, muted pink, sparkle varnish with speckles of silver that works beautifully painted onto the accent nail for a simple but pretty look. 

Plume - A beautiful, deep purpley-blue that is ultra shiny as well as slightly holographic that gives the varnish colour adapting qualities making it slightly more unique and edgy. I love this colour and feel that it would work well on year round.

Sweetheart - A lovely hot pick colour with the crackle formula that works super effectively when painted over a white nail varnish for a cute but edgy look. It last well but still removes easily when you want it to and is a great addition to anyones collection. 

So that's my Topshop collection! I hope you enjoyed reading this and finding out about the products I own and what works out best for me or possibly not that well. Come back next Monday for another post in my Cosmetic Collection series.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What's your favourite item from Topshop Make Up? 

Cosmetic Collections: Benefit

This is the first of a new series I've been eager to begin over the past month or so on my little blog. The Cosmetic Collection series will basically be a weekly upload of each and every product I own from a certain brand with brief comments outlining wether I like, love or loathe each product. I am in no way trying to brag about the products I own and I completely understand if some of you think this is nothing and others think that my collection is slightly excessive but as I have mentioned in previous posts, make up is a passion for me and I will continue to collect it for along as it still makes me happy. The reason I wanted to begin this mini-series is because I quite often found myself wanting to try out an unfamiliar brands products but never know which item(s) to opt for first, I felt if I make individual posts on each and every brand I own, showcasing the products I found to really work for myself, it may help some of you select products that you will be pleased with too. So without further ado, here's post number one..my Benefit collection! 

1. Whole Lotta Lovin' Limited Edition

A Christmas Beauty Kit, made up of the perfect products that will come in handy on a day-to-day basis. With both Benefit's award-winning mascara, They're Real and their perfect bronzer Hoola, you really cannot go wrong with this little beauty. Not to mention a decent sample size of their industrial strength concealer, Boi-ing, the perfect trio of eyeshadows eg. Kiss Me, I'm Tipsy, It's Complicated and one of their creaseless, cream shadow in No Pressure! This really is worth each and every penny. I know it's limited edition but I'm just pre-warning you just incase it's re-released this Christmas and you want to get your hands on it! 

2. The POREfessional (£24.50) (full review here)

Probably one of the most talked about primers out there. Benefit's Porefessional has taken the beauty world by storm which is really no surprise with its smooth to touch, pore-minimising attributes and long lasting formula that keeps that foundation in place all day. There is really little to disagree with when it comes to Benefit's Porefessional being one of the best primers on the scene and believe me when I say if you haven't tried it yet, you really need to. 

3. Rockateur Blush (£23.50) (full review here)

A rose gold blush laced with shimmer to not only add some colour and definition to those cheeks but highlight them too. The flush this blush gives is pretty and practical and I often find myself reaching for this little boxed blusher more so then anything else. 

4. Sun Beam (£19.50 full sized)

A golden highlighter that works perfectly in the Summer upon sun-kissed skin. The liquid consistency emphasises the subtle glow that really takes on the effect of sunshine in a minature gold bottle. If you are interested in this product definitely get your hands on it now to sport over this Summery months. You honestly won't regret it. 

5. BADgal Liner Waterproof (£15.50) 

Really an average product when it comes to Benefit. I have mine in the shade Charcoal, a smokey grey that looks fine on but the application process isn't as seamless as it could be. I find the formula almost too soft and the staying power nothing to get excited about. It's certainly not a bad product but one I wouldn't hurriedly opt to buy again. 

6. Realness of Concealness (£23.50) 

A cute concealer kit that's armed with some of Benefit's best products. Put together with mini's including Ooh La Lift, High Beam, Lip Plump as well as Lemon-Aid and once again Boi-ing this really is a great starter kit for people who are new to Benefit but wish to try a range of products. 

6. Posie Tint (£24.50 full sized)

A pretty in pink tinted lip and cheek stain. This is great for when you want to achieve a natural 'no make-up' make-up look. I love this product for days when I want to wear as little products as possible. Plus a little bit really goes a long way, so even though the price is high, it is slightly justified. 

7. Bene Tint (£24.50)

A product that I believe to be Benefit's first ever cosmetic item. Similar to its neighbour Posie Tint but instead a rosy red shade that gives a natural flush to the cheeks and a 'your lips but better' hue to the lips. It's sheer but still has good pigmentation and once tried, it's easy to understand why this is one of Benefit's most hyped about products. 

8. Coralista Blush (£23.50 full sized)

A pretty, pigmented blush in a lovely, you guessed it, Coral shade. This blush is perfect for the Summer and is suited for ever skin tone. With a slight subtle shimmer, this product will look perfect for those Summer evenings or au naturel days on the beach. 

9. Dr. Feelgood (£23.50) 

Not one of Benefit's most talked about products but it's lovely all the same. The extra gimmicky packaging, finished off with the name was one of the reason why I was first drawn to the brand as a whole. A mattifying balm that works lovely under make up as a sort-of primer or above to blot away shine. This is a perfect product for oily to combination skinned girls like myself. Plus the extra bonus of it containing Vitamins A, C and E to help reduce the appearance of fine lines makes it a great multipurpose product that can't be argued with. 

10. Erase Paste (£20.50) 

A thick creamy concealer that camouflages blemishes and does a fine job of covering under eye circles too although the extra cream consistency has a tendency to crease after too long. This is a lovely product, not my go-to concealer but does what it says on the 'tin' all the same. The main downside to this product mostly being the limited shade range as unless you match the three melon-undertoned hues, you'd have to look elsewhere. 

11. Love At First Shine Ultra Plush Lipgloss Set (£19.50 £13.00)

Six mini lip glosses that come in an affordable set that showcases every shade from the Ultra Plush Lipgloss collection. This is a great kit as it allows you to try and test each and every shade before  splashing out on the full size product. Not to mention every shade included is ultra glossy and extra wearable. 

12. Lipstick in 'Finders Keepers'

I believe both the packaging and the shade have been discontinued to make way for the new swish lipstick designs from Benefit. Never the less, still a lovely pigmented lipstick in a mid-tone brown colour that saw me through many wintery months. I still have my fingers crossed that brown lips will be back in fashion this coming Winter. 

13. You Rebel (£24.50) 

Probably my least favourite Benefit product I've tried. A tinted moisturiser with SPF 15 with an extremely limited shade range of only two colours - You Rebel and You Rebel lite, both of which are very unusual colours that I cannot imagine suit a wide variety of skin tones. This came to be the first tinted moisturiser I used and for a long while after the only one, as the formula, consistency and application of this product put me off the idea as a whole. With the strong suncream smell, impossible blend-able formula and bright orange shade, this is a product I have struggled to get rid of for a while now. Alas, not all is failed as now Benefit have bought out a brand spanking new BB cream that claims to be bigger and better then anything else. I'll certainly be the judge of that! 

14. Watts Up! (£24.50)

A champagne coloured highlighting stick that works beautifully applied to a buffing brush and blended onto the cheek bones, brow bones and down the bride of one's nose. The cream to powder finish looks beautiful once applied and lasts a long while too, making this one of my favourite products from Benefit. 

Of course, I have used other Benefit products in the past that I have either used up or didn't have on hand during the making of this post but those products include multiple BADgal Lash Mascaras, multiple full sized They're Real Mascaras, Sugar Bomb Boxed Blush, "That Gal" primer, Brow-zings Kit, Hoola Ultra Plush Lip Gloss, the list goes on and on. If you'd like any information on said products, please let me know in the comments below and I'll get right on doing so. 

I hope you enjoyed the first post of this 'mini' series. Come back next Monday to find out the next Cosmetic Collection I'll be focusing on. Thanks for reading!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

What is your favourite Benefit product?

The Beauty 5-A-Day Tag

Today I'm bringing to my little blog my 'Beauty 5-A-Day'. 5 beauty products that I can't live without on a daily basis. Think the whole 'If you were stranded on a desert island what item would you take with you' but change one item to five and instead of life-saving components, it's just five fab items that I find to be 'vital' to my routine, much like your average 5-a-day. Now this isn't my typical everyday make up, this is basically just a quick rundown on all the products I would use to gain some normality to my face if ever I was limited to only five products (even thinking about this scares me slightly).

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

First of all, I'd need the perfect base. Considering I would most likely sacrifice concealer, I'd need a foundation that offers enough coverage to still make my skin appear near enough flawless, well as good as it can look! I'd also prefer a foundation that gives a nice dewy glow to my skin as so to ensure that my overall complexion would appear more alive and healthy. 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette
Can we all just quickly take a moment to appreciate how beautiful this little compact trio is. I guess this is a slight cheat product as it's kind of a 3-in-1 job. With a beautiful all over radiant setting powder, a lovely champagne highlight and a bronzed shimmer to add some colour to the complexion, this is without a doubt a definite product in my 5-a-day. Plus just looking at how beautiful it is makes me feel slightly emotional (sad I know!). 

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush 
Once again, a slight cheat, 2-in-1 product but it's still really only one, right? A beautiful, sheer pink blush that can be added lightly for a quick pop of colour or built up more intensely for a bold, bright statement cheek. Plus, if you really want to get creative you can also dab a little bit of this pretty pink to the lips as so to save space for an whole extra product. Think Benefit's Cheek and Blush tints but  more affordable and maybe even better! 

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade 
Now I'm the kind of girl that can't leave the house without my brows being groomed and filled or else I just look 'half finished'. This is a great, easy-to-use product that gives the perfect brows without the need of multiple other products. This is definitely my 'go-to' brow product and I really can't see that changing anytime soon. 

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
Finally, my make up never looks done without applying a few lashings of mascara. I haven't picked this one for any particular reason other than the fact that its cheap and cheerful as well as the unique shaped wand ensures that those lashes will be looking as curled as ever without the use of any extra tools.

So that's my 5-A-Day in a quick, straight to the point(ish) post. There's of course a million other products that I would love to use alongside these but then that would completely defy the point of this post. I would love for all you to do this tag so I can see what your five would be and maybe swap out some of mine for some of yours!

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What is your Beauty 5-A-Day? 

HUGE Beauty Wish List Drugstore & High End!

                 

 
1) Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette 2014 (£32)
2) Mac Pedro Lourenco Nude Eyeshadow x 4 (£33)
3) Mac Eyeshadow Pan in Nylon (£10)
4) By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Blond Opal (£28)

1) Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette (£37)
2) Smashbox Full Exposure Palette (£36)
3) L'Oreal Colour Riche L'Ombre Pure Mono Eyeshadows 
in the shades 107, 200, 201, 204, 205 (£5.49)
4) By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock (£28) 

1) Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in The Golden Goddess (£38)

2) By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Brown Perfection (£28)

3) Mac Sharon Osbourne Duchess Eyeshadow Palette x 4 (£33)

4) Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara in Extreme Black (£17)

1) The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 (£13)
2) Mac Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade (£23)
3) Eve Lom Flawless Radiance Primer (£40)
4) Mac Lipstick in Kinda Sexy (£15)

1) Mac Lipstick Playland Collection in Sweet Experience (£15)
2) Mac Lipstick in Costa Chic (£15)
3) Mac Lipstick in Flamingo (£15)
4) Mac Kelly Lipstick in Strip Poker (£16.50) 

Are any of these products on your Wish List?
Let me know what they are in the comments below!

 

How Much Is My Face Worth Tag!

Today I have a a really fun but still beauty related blog post for you all that I have been thinking about doing even before I owned my little blog. The 'How Much Is My Face Worth' Tag was first introduced to me by a renowned beauty blogger and vlogger, Sprinkle Of Glitter who uploaded a similar post onto her blog about two years ago and it has stuck in my head since.

The aim of this tag is to total up the costs of all the products you use on your face, wether it be for a specific night out, a celebrity inspired make up tutorial or in my case just your typical 'face of the day'. Obviously, I know I don't use a whole bottle of foundation on my face at a time because that would just be both ridiculous and incredibly expensive as well as maybe slightly impossible but this is only a bit of fun and to be honest I don't even know how I'd go about working out the exact measurements and costings of each product I apply on a daily basis. 

Base And Face

Origins GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturiser £23

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch £26

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation Mont Blanc £31 

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer Vanilla £22

Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Light £22

                             =  £124

All About The Eyes 

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade Dark Brown £15

By Terry Ombre Blackstar Frozen Quartz £28 

Lancôme Artliner Liquid Eyeliner Noir £20

Estée Lauder Pure Colour Duo Pencil Eyeliner Blackened Black/ Blackened Cocoa £16

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara Black £7.99

                              =  £86.99

Compliment And Colour That Complexion 

Mac Alluring Aquatic Extra Dimension Bronzer Aphrodite's Shell £24

Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Soft & Gentle £23

Mac Limited Edition Highlighting Powder Crew £14 (from Cohorted) 

Dior Addict Gloss Venus £22

                         = £83

The Grand Total = £293.99

The total actually made me feel a little sick at first sight and I know my everyday make up is a little high end heavy but I truly love every single product I use/own and even though I do like to change things up every now and then, these all always seem to be the products I always end up crawling back to. To  justify the incredibly high price tag I feel I need to explain that make up is my absolute passion and I'd rather sacrifice other materialistic things like clothes, accessories etc. for cosmetics. I can also vouch that the majority of the high end products I own often last a considerable amount longer then a lot of my drugstore products due to their long-lasting formulas and amazing pigmentations. 

I may do some more of these in the future (especially a drugstore version!) as I do change up my products quite often especially during different seasons, for events or just for the hell of it!

I would love to know how much your face is worth, especially if it is as costly as mine as then I may feel slightly less guilty! If you do end up doing this tag please notify me in the comments below. 

Let me know what you think of this post and if you to would like to find out anymore about the products above, leave your questions in the comment section and I will get back to you!

Did you enjoy this tag? How much is your face worth?

Beauty| Born Pretty Store Product Review

Born Pretty Store, an American based online cosmetics website, was not a company I was familiar with until I was contacted by a lovely lady, Alicia, asking if I would be willing to review a couple of products from their store. Of course, I accepted and was delighted to pick from a massive selection of products on their website, ranging from eyeliners, make up brushes and eyeshadow palettes to name a few. I decided to try two products that I found to be unique to the Born Pretty company as both of these items I have not found anything similar elsewhere.

XXL Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Blue 

The first product I had chosen was the Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in the shade blue. The thing that drew me the most towards this product was the unique packaging and the beautiful, bold colour, a shade that would be perfect for these brighter months. I would say that the formula of the liner was more waxy then gel but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The product didn't create too much of a colour payoff in my waterline due to the waxy texture but worked nicely once applied to my bottom lash line and blended across my top lashes for a colourful, smokey eye effect. If you're someone who loves a pop of colour in the Summer season definitely give this a go and for only £2.72 it's hard to find a reason not to. 

3 Colour Eyebrow Powder Compact with Applicator  

This has come to be my favourite product from the package. A trio of powders that make up the perfect team for big, beautiful, bold brows. I was a bit hesitant at first when I saw the black powder in the palette as even though I do have very dark brown brows, I was worried that the use of this could end up with me sporting the dreaded 'scouse' brow, a look I most definitely could not pull off. Yet, to my relief and surprise I found that when using the brown shade with a hint of the black, the colour matched my brows perfectly and has quickly become one of my 'go-to' brow products. I think the specific element that I love about this product the most is the white powder that acts as the perfect matte brow bone highlight and really is a pleasure to use, I've even opted to use this over some of my other more high end products. The long wear of these powders is what really impressed me as even after a full day at work, the products didn't budge and my brows still looked groomed and filled, exactly how I like them.  There's no reason for why you shouldn't give this a go, especially for all you brow beginners as for only £2.58 a palette, which come in a variety of shades, there really is little to be argued with. 

If you have enjoyed reading this post and would like to try out some products from the Born Pretty Store, head on over to their website and make sure to enter the discount code below to get 10% off your shop. 

What product do you like best from their website?

(This post was created in cooperation with Born Pretty Store but all views and opinions are my own)