My Current Top 6 Products for Under £10

I have realised that the Nails and Teapots beauty blog can often get a little 'high end heavy' at times. Which, although admittedly I do often tend to splash the cash more when it comes to my make-up. There are a lot of gems on the high street that need to be shown a little more love. I have previously done a post like this before (here) which was very popular so again, I am going to give a rundown of my six favourites items from the high street that will not break the bank. 

First up, is the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Lovely Pink (£8.99) these entered the drugstore earlier this year and were a beauty blogger hype. They aesthetically appear similar to the Hourglass ambient lighting blushers, a Space NK favourite that costs about the same as all of the products mentioned in this post added together. Max Factor is probably one of my favourite high street brands as I often find their makeup is comparable with a lot of high end brands and isn't ridiculously expensive. Many a times I have found a mascara of theirs that has almost reached cult status. Their Creme Puff Blushers kill it in terms of quality, pigmentation and shade range. I feel there is a shade for everyone and all of which can be easily dusted onto the apples of the cheeks for a naturally flushed look. Each shade can be easily builded meaning it is difficult to overdo it and simple to manage. I have done a full review of a number of their shades which I will link here. 

Next, is the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil in Hot Chocolate (£8) a product that is pretty much an identical dupe to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Whiz - a Sephora favourite. This product has been redesigned and previously had the brow pencil on one end and a tint on the other which although was nice, never really fitted well into my brow routine. So instead they replaced the tint with a spoolie brush which is perfect for styling the brow hairs before applying the product. I love it when brands listen to their buyers and this was definitely a case for that happening. The pencil is waxy but pigmented and applies easily with minimal pressure. The product lasts all day and the ultra-fine end allows for extra precision when aiming for that perfect brow. The only downside is the lack of shades that really only cater for blondes and brunettes. 

The Bourjois Velvet Rouge Edition Lipstick in Nude-ist (£8.99) is easily one of my most favourite lip products from the high street. It is the perfect 'your lips but better' shade that is super easy to apply with the handy doe-foot applicator. The formula is incredibly matte but is easily one of the least drying matte products that I have ever tried. Once applied this honestly feels like velvet on the lips, hence the name, making it one of my most comfortable matte lippy's. This shade is really opaque and lasts for hours so no drinking straw necessary. There are a variety of shades available in your local drugstore so do go check them out if you are after a marvellous, matte lip for day-to-day. 

The Rimmel Scandal Eyes Liners (£3.99) are some of the best eyeliners I have ever tried. I actually prefer to use their black liner over brands such as Urban Decay and MAC as I find the shade to be perfectly pigmented, easy to apply and most definitely stays all day. The shade I have been using  the most recently is Nude as I feel this is perfect to brighten up the eyes for a more Summer appropriate look. After each application I am always amazed about how much colour payoff this pencil gives without transferring. I seriously would happily never use another brand of liner again. 

I have raved about the Topshop beauty many times but I have seriously been loving the Topshop Lipstick in Nevada (£8) since their limited edition release of their most celebrated products from the past 5 years. Nevada is a perfect nude and reminds me a lot of MAC's Creme D'Nude but for almost half the price. The formula is ultra-creamy creating an opaque finish whilst feeling heavenly on the lips. I wore this pretty much everyday throughout the month of May and still love it now. It is one of those lip products that tends to always be in my bag ready for application. I have done a MOTD post where you can see me wearing this lipstick here. 

Finally, the L'oreal Colour Riche L'Ombre Pure Eyeshadow in Golden Nude (£5.49) is one of my all time favourite 'go-to' eyeshadows when I am looking for a simple make-up look that takes a matter of minutes. Each shade in this range has outstanding colour pay-off due to their pressed pigment formula. I own a number of the shades, some matte and some iridescent and I can personally vouch for the fact that they are seriously blend-able and pretty much the definition of a 'buttery' eyeshadow. These are some of those products that I would happily pay more for as they are that good in terms of quality and colour. If you are after an eyeshadow that you can wash all over the lids and go, then seriously check these out. 

I hope you enjoyed this post!

What are your favourite products for under £10? 

My Everyday Makeup Look

A quick run down of my current favourite, go-to make up look. I personally prefer to opt for dewey skin, a subtle smokey eye and of course winged liner! I used the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge for my liquid face products and Zoeva brushes for my eyes which I highly recommend! I am aware that my everyday make up may be a little full on for some of you but I genuinely enjoy playing around with different products and looks which I may as well wear somewhere! 

Face

Hourglass Veil  Mineral Primer

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Mont Blanc

Nars Creamy Concealer in Vanilla

(For a full post of all my base products click here)

Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 02

Topshop Bronzing Illuminator in Illuminated 

MAC Mineralize Blush in Dainty 

Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder in Candlelight

Eyes

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Dark Brown (review here)

The Balm Cosmetics Mary Lou-manizer over the lid.

The Balm Nude-tude Palette: Sultry through the crease

and Sophisticated blended through the outer third. 

MAC Nylon in inner corner. 

The Balm Schwing Liquid Eyeliner (review here)

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye-Pencil in Perversion 

Rimmel Wonder'full Mascara 

Lips

Dior Addict Lips Maximiser Gloss 

Let me know what you think!

What products do you wear everyday?

Benefit's They're Real Eyeliner

This is without a doubt a revolutionary product on the Beauty Scene. Slightly over dramatic, I know but Benefit really have pulled out all the stops when it comes to their new Ultra-Black eyeliner, one of the three components to the They're Real collection. I knew right from when I saw the product spoilers that this had to be mine. I'd previously been loving Lancôme's Artliner (review here) and I was convinced that my 'perfect liner' search was over but how wrong was I. I've been lining my top lashes for a good five years now and I'm willing to say that after years of practice, I'm not too bad at it. So I don't deem it necessary to find an eyeliner that's simple and foolproof but that's not to say that the Benefit They're Real eyeliner isn't an easy invention that everyone will be able to master after a small amount of practice. Yes, it really is 'criminally easy'. I personally love the look of gel liner more then any other formula but HATE the transfer it creates when it sweats onto the underneath of my brow bone after just a few hours. Not cool! Then there's liquid, I love the easy application and the no transfer guarantee but ultra-black liquid liners that stay black all day come far and few between and that's just something I couldn't deal with. Then the Benefit heavens opened and dropped down the perfect little partner for my eyes, wrapped up in all black, sleek, quilted-patterned packaging and my 'eyeliner life' changed forever. 

Here we have a gel formula liner in a pen contraption - Brilliant, I know. The easy to hold stick along with the accu-flex nib enables one to apply eyeliner with great definition as well as the nib allows you to really get right in to that lash line. Therefore meaning thin lines or fat lines, flick or no flick, whatever you want this pen can do it! Benefit claim you need one twist from the bottom of the applicator and thats enough to get you going. Here I have to disagree. I find two to three twists brings enough product to the surface to perfect one eye and begin the other. It glides on effortlessly, ultra-black (perfect!) and then stays put ALL DAY. It's almost laughable how good the wear time is, to the point where Benefit have actually brought out a They're Real eye make up remover to help get this bad boy off. As well as its fab neighbour the They're Real mascara, another gem that doesn't budge once applied. Put it this way, I went swimming with this liner on and by the time I got out the pool the liner was still perfectly in place. There really has only been one negative I have found with this product so far and that's how quickly the nib gets clustered with dry product after most applications. Yet, one quick swipe with a wet wipe and the ultra-flexible nib is back to normal again. Not a massive issue but I felt it needed to be said!

All in all, the Benefit They're Real eyeliner is a product I have really been enjoying using right from the first application. I honestly feel like everyone needs to give this a go. I would love to know about your personal experiences with it in the comments! Now I'm going to go through and count how many times I wrote the word 'liner'. 

Let me know what you think.

What's your favourite fool-proof liner?

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)

Make Up| L'Oreal Superliner Gel Eyeliner vs. NYX Gel Eyeliner and Smudger

Hi everyone!

Today I will be doing a product comparison review between the L'Oreal Superliner Gel Intenza Pure Black Liner and the NYX Gel Liner and Smudger.

I am a BIG lover of gel eyeliner as I feel my face doesn't look complete without me lining along my lashes. After trying and testing hundreds of different eyeliners from liquid to felt tip, having some that have worked better than others, I came to realise that gel was the way forward! I feel you get a more controlled effect and you can achieve a variety of different looks which usually wasn't the case with a liquid liner. 

These two have definitely become my clear favourite in the past year. I'll start by saying the packaging is very similar and both of them are convenient, travel friendly and come with no annoying problems (loose lids etc). I prefer the look of the L'Oreal Gel Eyeliner but thats really only because of the gold lid. 

I could not recommend the L'Oreal Superliner Gel eyeliner highly enough. It's very easy to apply and the actual product comes with a brush to assist you in doing so. I personally prefer to use one of my own fine liner brushes but this could be an added benefit for some of you. It's very similar to the Maybelline Gel Eyeliner but I preferred this one purely because my Maybelline liner seemed to dry out a lot quicker. Once the gel liner is applied it lasts well on skin, I wouldn't say the full 24 hours which the product claims to do as I have had bad problems with smudging but I usually set this with a black shadow to prevent this from happening. This being a common problem with most gel eyeliners! The superliner really has a glide on gel texture making it very easy to apply good looking lines, thick or thin! Priced at £9.99 it's definitely an affordable alternative to the Clinique or Bobby Brown Gel Eyeliners. 

Similarly, the Nyx Gel Eyeliner and Smudger has impressed me and my eye lids these past few months. The smudging quality of the product enables you to wear this also as an eyeshadow, I personally would rather use powder but for some of you this could be really beneficial. The colour payoff is amazing and it really gives a harsh, black colour which is exactly what I look for in eyeliners. Nobody has time for a dark grey like black! The first thing that I noticed about the NYX Gel Eyeliner which set it in front of the L'Oreal liner is how creamy and smooth the consistency of the product is. It glides on to the lids like a dream and is very quick drying meaning the smudging is limited (not gone completely but less in comparison to the L'Oreal Gel Eyeliner). They're also waterproof which is perfect! Especially when living in rainy England. Priced at £8 there is not a lot in it between this and the L'Oreal Superliner. It is definitely a product I would recommend all eyeliner lovers to get. The one main downside to the product is NYX is so hard to find in the UK, the only known place local to me who stock it is Next. 

Let me know what you guys think in the comments.

Have you tried either of these?

What's your favourite?