Current Favourite Beauty Products

The month of May was a one of discovery, where I picked up a number of products which are already becoming staples in my June make-up routine. As much as I love the A/W make up trends, such as a berry lip, nothing quite beats going to town with a golden bronzer and enough highlighter that would only be acceptable in the warmer months. Which leads me in naturally to my first current favourite, the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Perfect Topping. This is definitely not one of their most talked about products which is seriously surprising considering how beautiful this product is both aesthetically in the pan and applied to the high points of the face. Don't let the colour of the merged, baked powder scare you, the deep purple-hues do not transfer onto the skin but instead just a subtle pinky-gold glow that adds a little life to a dull complexion. I will be uploading a full review on this highlighter within the next week so watch this space! 

Next up is a skincare saviour that I never now want to be without. I have struggled a lot with my skincare so far this year as I have had to deal with a gradual change in skin type. Although I am happy that I am no longer prone to breakouts with my old oily skin, I am not loving the annoyance of very dry skin either! The thing that has been the most irritating is having to completely change my whole skincare routine as each product I had currently been using only catered really for oily skin. Thankfully, the Clarins HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi Phase has been absolute god send. Not only does this feel amazing when applied to the skin as it's ultra-liquid consistency replicates the feeling of splashing cold water onto your face, it has also minimised the majority of my dry patches AND disguised the appearance of pesky dehydration lines on my forehead - amazing! If you suffer with dry skin, you need this in your life!

Next, is a holy grail product that definitely has its fair share of coverage in the blogging world. The MAC Paint Pot in Painterly has held holy-grail status in many peoples collections and it is understandable as to why. Although it does not look much in the pot, the pinky-nude matte cream is a perfect base for virtually any eye make up look and even looks pretty worn alone for just a simple day-to-day, natural eye. I honestly have no idea why it has taken me this long to purchase as now I find myself using it on a regular basis and surprisingly have nothing else similar in my forever expanding collection.

Another product that I have currently been loving is the Anastasia Cream Contour Kit in the lightest option. This has recently been made available on Cult Beauty and I was incredibly eager to get my hands on it as it has many controversial reviews and I wanted to make up my own mind. As you can see by the picture above, despite this being the lightest variation of shades, the hues are still somewhat dark and each have a warm undertone yet surprisingly this was not necessarily a bad thing. I have ended up loving this palette despite my doubts and honestly do not know how I have ever lived without it. My favourite shades are easily Banana and Cool Pink as both of these add a beautiful highlight to my face and also blur out any pores, creating a flawless complexion that lasts all day. 

Finally, the last product I wanted to publicise, is easily the prettiest out of the lot. This is the Stila Eyes Are The Window - Soul palette. A neutral palette that has a combination of matte and iridescent finishes that caters for multiple eye looks. This has quickly become one my all time favourites due to its flexibility and amazing quality of each eyeshadow. The pigmentation of each colour and finish is great and all of which blend like a dream due to their buttery formulas.  All of the 12 shadows are encased in a beautiful rose-gold packaging that isn't excessively bulky so will work well for travelling. If you are looking for a new neutrals palette, I seriously suggest checking this one out! It has only very recently been made available in the UK but random places like Look Fantastic actually stock them online.

I hope you enjoyed a run down of my favourite products!

Let me now what yours are in the comments below.

My Beauty Empties Menu

Urban Decay Naked Skin, NARS Sheer Glow, Estée Lauder Double Wear, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle, MAC Mineralice Skinfinish Natural in Light. 

Diesel Fuel For Life, Estée Lauder Modern Muse, Anna Sui Flight of Fancy, Lancôme Tresor Midnight Rose, Jean Paul Gaultier Classique. 

Chanel Hydra Beauty Gel Créme, Origins GinZing Moisturizer, Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch, Benefit Porefessional. 

NARS Creamy Concealer in Vanilla, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealler in 1 Fair. 

Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara, YSL Shocking Mascara, Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner.

I am fully aware that this is a lot of Empties for one post but I have been accumulating these products for a long period of time and have finally found the motivation to sit down and write this menu. I'm not going to mention every single product featured in the photos as otherwise we will be here all day. Instead I will pick out a few of my up-most favourites which will most likely be the products I will be repurchasing. So to get straight into it, I made my way through a number of base products, all of which I have been incredibly impressed with and would honestly purchase every single on of them again in the future.  I have a more in-depth post about my current base products here. I will also be holding on to the empty MAC products so I can qualify for the Back To MAC scheme. I have gone to town with fragrance usage in the past few months. Two of which are the Estée Lauder Modern Muse which is one of my personal favourites and I pretty much found myself wearing it everyday during A/W. I will be sure to purchase another again within the next few months as the smell is honestly to die for. If you would like to see a full (really old) review on this fragrance - check it out here. I also tried and tested a number of moisturisers and primers. I found the Chanel Hydra Beauty Gel Créme a little too overpriced for the quality of the product as it was far from outstanding. With the primers, I would definitely purchase the Benefit Porefessional again but as for the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch, I found the packaging size fairly impractical and the product performance slowly deteriorated with use. Concealer wise, there isn't a lot to say other than I love both these products and have already repurchased all of them multiple times. Finally, to add a few eye products in the mix, I love the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara and would definitely recommend it to anyone whose after a great amount of volume for their lashes. As for the YSL Shocking Mascara, I found this to be pretty average and the product dried up in a matter of weeks which was slightly disappointing due to the price I paid to have this product. As for the eyeliners, I am a big fan of the Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner and have already written a raving review here.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know what you think in the comments!

What products have you used up recently?

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| Breaking the Spending Ban with a Drugstore Cosmetics HAUL!

The spending ban is officially over! I took to Boots with my Debit card and some serious damage  was definitely caused. I thought I'd do a quick run down on what I bought as I love haul posts and if you are as nosey as myself, you may do too!

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo +

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch

'Happy Beauty Day!' Benefit Mini's Set

L'Oreal Colour Infallible Eye Shadow 

Soap & Glory No Clogs Allowed Self-Heating Face Mask

Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 Wash Off Deep Purifying Cleanser 

I will be doing a full review on all these products over the next few weeks! If you, yourself have tried any of the items above please let me know you thoughts and opinions in the comments!

Don't forget I'm hosting a giveaway where you can be in for the chance of winning three Essie Nail Varnishes! Clink in link to be directed to that page.

Thanks for reading!

What have you bought recently? 

Beauty| Clarins Blush Prodige Illuminating Cheek Colour

If any of you have read my previous post on my favourite Mac Blusher (here) you would know that I am a Blush fanatic so it's no surprise that this little beauty has become, to me, one of my all time favourite cosmetic products. The Clarins Blush Prodige Illuminating Cheek Colour has everything a blush needs to make it perfect for whom ever chooses to wear it. Clarins themselves describe it as the The Perfect Blush and I definitely don't disagree. It's a powdered blush, with a silky, lightweight formula that applies to the skin beautifully to give that added bit of extra colour. 

I have mine in the colour Rose Wood 05 a subtle pinky-red which I find to be the exact, perfect colour for mine and many others skin tone. When doing other's make up this usually happens to be the blush they pick which comes at no surprise with its amazing quality and excellent performance. It's not too pigmented which is perfect as it's easy to apply, build and blend to get the exact finish one desires. 

The mosaic pattern of the product adds a variety of different tones along with smaller blocks of shimmer that are perfect for adding that bit of highlight. This is great at enhancing the apples of your cheeks, really brightening the face and creating a healthy looking glow, perfect for those who need to fix a dull complexion! The product comes with a good sizeable amount of product making it worth the high end price tag. I've had mine for coming up to two years and as you can see I have only just about dented the 'oh so perfect' surface. 

It's no surprise that Clarins didn't disappoint with the beautiful packaging considering they're a brand who never fail to make their products look classy and luxurious. The reflective, gold exterior is what had drawn me to this product in the first place and when I saw it was repeated on this inside I knew it had to be mine. I like the added touch of the Clarins logo imprinted onto the blushers which, unlike some powdered products from other brands, hasn't disappeared easily with use, something that is always a nice touch. The gold-coloured compact also came with a brush to match which I never intended to use but may be an added bonus for some of you. 

The best thing about this Blush is the variety of colours in its sister products that will sure be mine in the near future. There is literally a colour for everyone in the collection with a colour scale ranging from soft, baby pinks to spicy red-browns. Priced at £26 they're expensive but most definitely worth it, with it's long-lasting quality and beautiful finish. It's definitely a product that every Beauty blogger can't go without!

Let me know what you think in the comments. 

What's your favourite Clarins product?

Make Up| Everyday Make Up Look

Hi everyone! 

This is just a quick photo post on my usual everyday make up!

I'm currently loving a eyeshadow combo of Half Baked and Chopper from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (review coming soon!)

Liquid or gel eyeliner is a must in my everyday make up routine. I feel naked without something lining my eyes! 

I like to go for a dewey finish which is usually achieved with the help of my Urban Decay Illuminator (review here) and Clarins primer (review here).

Let me know what you guys think!

What product do you wear everyday without fail? 

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Make Up| Clarins Eclat Minute Instant Light Complexion Perfector

Hi everyone!

Today I thought I would do a review on a newer product that I've been using this past month or so and it's the Clarins Eclat Minute Instant Light Complexion Perfector. This is basically a primer which also doubles up to be a highlighter as the cream has a slight shimmer that gives a radiant look once on the face. I have mine in the colour Rose Shimmer 00 and I find it gives me a healthy, glowing look and a perfect finish, especially in photos! (I'm wearing it in my FOTD blog post which you can see here) It makes my skin tone appear smooth and even as well as illuminated. What more could you want? 

It definitely helps my make up stay on for longer and because of the silky consistency of the product, it glides onto your skin easily and helps foundation do the same! This can be used alone, just to give your skin a boost on a dull day, underneath foundation (which I usually do) or mixed in with your foundation to make the overall finish appear more dewey. 

I absolutely love the packaging! I don't know why but I got really excited over the fact that it was both a tube AND a pump! I don't think I've had/seen anything like it before. 

This is definitely one of those products were a little bit goes a long way. I've put a couple of pumps on my hand so you could get an idea of the colour and you can even see here how nicely it begins to dissolve into the skin. Priced at £26, it is definitely a high end primer but it's not too dissimilar in price to Benefit's Porefessional (review here)

Perfect for people with aged skin who would like to achieve the fresh, younger look.

It's a miracle in a tube! 

Have you tried it? What did you think?

Comment below what your miracle product is!