Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Mascara is one product that I absolutely love experimenting with and I find that I am always on the hunt for a new thickening and lengthening mascara that packs a punch when it comes to bold, black lashes. I am lucky enough to have fairly long natural lashes but I still find myself obsessively layering product partly because I find it strangely therapeutic and partly because your lashes can never be too long, surely? I find that I never stay faithful to any one mascara but I think that is maybe about to change. I picked up the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara (yeah, let's ignore the hyperbolic name) in a Canadian Sephora. Although don't worry my fellow Brits, you can also pick this up in the UK  either online or in select Debenhams stores. First of all, I love the weighty, pink packaging that adds a twist of luxury to the aesthetics. The formula is super intense but surprisingly build-able and did not clump easily, an absolute dream quality. The formula contains collagen which explains the plumping effects which combined with the hourglass shaped, bristle brush, make for a dream paring. The formula didn't transfer at all, a usual pet hate of mine when it comes to eye products. In the words of the brand themselves, 'you'll believe in magic' after one use of this miracle product. Priced at £19, it fits snuggly into the higher end price tag but is extremely worth the money. If you are after a new mascara that focuses on more volume than length but still performs well in both, then check this one out.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What is your favourite mascara? 

Barmy about theBalm

So we're back with another cringey title so please excuse my latest excessive use of puns. TheBalm Cosmetics, for me, is a new brand in my collection and one that has a lot of 'talked about' products (*ahem* Mary-Lou Manizer) that are completely deserving of the hype. I have tried a selection of their products be it lip glosses, eyeshadows, blushers and highlighters - all of which have had great results. Yet, the Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner has easily been the most outstanding. I'm a liquid liner fanatic so I rarely go a day without lining my upper lash line to the point that I actually look 'incomplete' if I go without. So, because of this, I am always on the hunt for an easy breezy liquid liner that doesn't take my upmost concentration to apply. I recently wrote a raving review of the Benefit Push Up Liner (here) and have in the past confessed my love for the Lancôme Artliner (here) - both times claiming that these are the best eyeliners I have ever used. So clearly, I am not very faithful, but I am going to throw it out there and say now that THIS eyeliner is the best I have used! I picked this up on a whim, partly because I was overwhelmed to find a stockist for theBalm products in an actual shop and not online (easily pleased I know!) and partly because I never experiment too much with my liner likes so I felt like pushing the boat out slightly. I am now very glad that I did. TheBalm Schwing liner is blacker then black with incredibly staying power and an ultra fine nib that allows to you do a flick with no major casualties. The liquid formula allows for smudging time if this is the look you are wishing to achieve but also sets quick enough to avoid that black-on-upper-lid look that sometimes occurs with other products and is the bane of my life! With a bit of pressure the flexible nib caters for all your liner needs so if you like a thin line purely to accentuate the lashes or something a little thicker - this liner is the one for you! Priced out only £13.49, the quality is an equal match to its higher end predecessors or even slightly exceeds them in some cases. I strongly recommend you check this out and find out for yourselves! If you would like to this in action check out my Instagram (here)!

Let me know what you think.

What's your favourite fool-proof liner?

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| Estée Lauder Sumptuous Waterproof Mascara

 Estée Lauder, for me, is the go-to brand when on the hunt for good quality products in excellent packaging. I've been an avid lover of their Double Wear Foundation (review here) for years and have recently nominated their Sumptuous Extreme Mascara (review here) as one of my all time favourites. This is why it hits even harder to home when you find a product that is less then satisfactory in terms of quality and being cost effective. After being very impressed with their Sumptuous Extreme Mascara I decided to branch out ever so slightly and purchase the Sumptuous Waterproof Mascara to see how this performed. I've never really given many Waterproof mascara's a go because the forever-staying quality never acted as much of an attraction but I was eager to know what I might be missing which in this case, wasn't much!

This mascara promises to be 'bold and uplifting' a quality I definitely agree with. This really did give me lengthened, thicker lashes and performed in that area almost perfectly much like the original Sumptuous Extreme. Alas, there was already a negative surfacing at this point and this is the incredible amount of clumping that comes with the application. The formula is most definitely not build-able and often found myself having to give up and go out into the world with spiders legs for lashes - not my ideal look. It was hard to manipulate once the lashes had been coated which often led to even more clumps or one big monstrous eyelash which I don't think anyone really aims for. 

Estée Lauder also state that the lashes will be 'virtually indestructible' which is another trait thats very accurate. Once applied there isn't much they will make this budge for a standard length of time. Come wind, rain or shine your lashes will be coated base to tip in this product. The same goes when trying to remove this product. No wet wipe, cleansing cream or balm will effectively get this off. I've put my most highly commended cleansers to the test and none of them have managed to rid me off the panda eyes look the following morning. This might be a quality some of you may look for but I personally like to remove my make up quickly and effectively, an impossibility with this. The main negative of this mascara was the fall out which became an ever-growing problem once the formula had gotten wet. If you were to be caught in the rain wearing this expect hard, clumps of mascara in your eye, a massive issue for something that needs to be effectively waterproof. It became a vicious cycle after a while. My lashes got wet, clumps fell into my eye, made my eyes water, more clumps fell - not great! I just thank the heavens it was fragrance free. 

One definite positive that comes at no surprise with Estée Lauder products is the packaging. A gorgeous metallic blue colour with the signature gold in a band along the top of the base. The only negative to this being that it's reflective and so taking pictures of it proved to be a challenge but that really is a minor set back. It feels classy and expensive in a decent sized tube that allows for plenty of product effectively making it last a long time.  I can't majorly fault the brush either. For something so thin it really was great at thickening my lashes and adding heaps of length and was good enough at getting the hard-to-reach lashes along the edges. I just think it could improve on its separation technique!

Priced at £20.50 it's expensive and almost not really worth the steep price tag. I feel there are many high street mascara's out there that are just as good if not better! All in all not an overly positive review on a product from one of my favourite brands. I am in no means trying to convince you out of buying this product as it does the job it's intended to do excellently and it seems for every negative review regarding this mascara there are a few positives but I personally will not be repurchasing this once the tube has eventually ran out. 

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What products have not exceeded your expectations?

Fashion| OOTD

Today me and a new fellow blogger, Katie from Black Trackk, went out to take a few snaps of what we were wearing. Make sure to check her blog out as her post will be going up later today and if you're lovers of gold jewellery and tartan, you won't be disappointed. 

I'll apologise now for the not-so-great lighting and muddy background but living in England, brightness and sunshine is a rarity, as depressing as that sounds.  This is just an example of a really casual, daytime outfit that ticks all the boxes when it comes to comfortable but confident. Some of you may recognise the jumper below as I won it in a competition on Hollie's blog, Give Me More. I was absolutely chuffed to win and as soon as the package arrived this morning I set to work trying to find some of my own clothes that would go along with the lovely jumper to make a cute outfit.

You can grab your own Ellesse Ski Jumper from ASOS for £40 and I'll tell you now it's cosy, warm and perfect for the blustery weather. I teamed this with a denim shirt from Primark which I bought last year for just under £10. I'm a massive fan of the collar look and thought the light denim colour, contrasted with the Navy blue on the jumper really help to do one another justice. 

I then added a Chunky Chain Choker with a block of gold at the centre to break up the blue as well as add detail. I purchased this from Topshop for £8, slightly excessive for something that feels plastic but it does the job. I also had my nails painted in Essie's 'Shearling Darling' a lovely deep browny-red  colour which, although I didn't apply for the purpose of this outfit, worked because of the deep, sultry colour. I will be doing a blog post soon on all my Essie Nail Polish's so watch this space! 

Last of all, I added a pair of black leggings from Primark and black leather boots from River Island, a  Christmas present but I believe they were priced at £60 on ASOS. Black knee high boots are a staple in my A/W wardrobe as I found them to be flattering yet diligent and most have lasted me ages. I especially love the gold detailing and I pretty much wear these with every outfit, boring I know but they just go with everything! 

Hope you guys like this post. I know this is different to my usual Beauty based reviews but may do some more OOTD's in the future.

Comment below what you think.

What style have you been loving?

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?