Three Inexpensive Skincare* Favourites for Summer

(These products have been sent to me, however all opinions expressed are genuine and products I would completely recommend and purchase myself!)

For me, skin care is my primary concern and I'm quite happy to spend more on skincare if I get the results, but this means that I never get to try skincare products from brands that are readily available at lower prices. But recently I have found three inexpensive products that are most definitely ones to call home about!

Recently, my skin has been breaking out super badly and I have tried so many products in order to try and banish my break outs but nothing has worked! Until now! Neutrogena Clear Spot Clearing Facial Wash* is the only product that I have tried that I notice an improvement within minutes! It reduces the appearance of blemishes, and manages to clear break outs within a day or two - far quicker than any other treatments I have tried. For me this has become an irreplaceable product that I shall continue to repurchase!

Normally, my skin is very dry but during summer my t-zone has a mind of its own and is super oily! I  prefer a dewy base during the summer months, but recently that has been out of the question. The Clean and Clear Advantage Oil Control Cream Wash* instantly mattifies skin, so I include this in my morning and evening skincare routine. This prolongs the wear of my makeup, and extends the amount of time in which I have to blot/powder. Definitely a recommendation during this season!

The final product that has made its way into my skincare routine, is the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Wash*. It prevents and reduces breakouts and begins to work immediately. The clarity of my skin has improved drastically since using this product, and since then I haven't broken out at all! Its a gentle product that I would recommend to all skin types.

All of these products are inexpensive and readily available, and something I would recommend to all skin types, and are most definitely products that are worth a phone call home. I am super sorry about the delay of this post, I have had so many exams recently and my camera cable was broken but I am trying to get back to my normal update schedule; I'm super sorry!

Smashbox Step By Step Contour Stick Trio Review

Smashbox is a brand that for me is yet to do wrong by, their products reach holy grail status within a few days, and end up being repurchases. So after being in America a few weeks back, I was kicking myself for not buying these since they weren't available here in the UK! Until I saw them in boots last week and almost cried. But then again, my mascara cost £26 and I'm not about to waste THAT, let me tell you...

Initially I was really scared that these would be hard to work with, after reading that these are currently the most returned beauty product in Sephora... However, they are super soft on the skin, and have a really creamy texture and glide on super easily. I use all three on a day to day basis as they are so easy to use, and I blend them in using a beauty blender. The colours are all so flattering, and do not appear heavy or fake on the skin. All three of them are so heavily pigmented, yet blends to a beautiful finish without altering other products or enlarging pores! It has also meant that my contour/bronze/highlight routine is a much faster process and appears to be much more natural. You need a very little amount of product, and I can't see myself running out of these anytime soon. I would really recommend these if you feel a bit more confident with makeup but still want something very natural, or if you are looking to try out some cream products!

There will be another post (hopefully next week) featuring these products, and how to use cream products to contour so I would recommend keeping your eyes peeled for that! I would love to hear your thoughts on cream products to contour/highlight/bronze down below! They retail at £35 for all three and a pencil sharpener, and you can purchase them here if you so wish.

Anastasia Brow Wiz and Anastasia Clear Brow Gel Review

Brows play such a large part in many makeup tutorials and makeup trends and Anastasia is a brand known for their brow products, and being the bad beauty blogger that I am it has meant that up until two weeks ago I had not once purchased a brow product from this particular brand. It is also a brand that is famous for their brow wiz, and recently it seemed like I could not step foot onto a blog or a youtube channel without seeing this mentioned and adored by everybody, and there comes a time when you have to jump onto the bandwagon sooner or later! (As mentioned in my favourites)

The brow wiz is a product that has revolutionised my brow life. It is a small pencil that has the product on one end and a spoile the other in order to brush your brows prior to filling them in. The pencil itself is very small and allows you to fill in your brows far easier and far more precisely. It is quick, the pencil is soft and easy to use and the product itself stays on all day. The colour range is also fantastic, and everybody will be able to find a perfect match for their brows! Available here for purchase.

The brow gel is like hairspray for your brows. There is nothing to compare with this, it almost clamps your hairs down and does not let a single hair stray from its place. It does unfortunately leave a crunchy texture on the brows, but I can't say that I sit there touching my brows too often for it to be a noticable problem. Despite that it does not leave your brows looking fake, or crunchy and therefore this is quickly becoming a holy grail. It also does not alter other brow products like so brow gels and lasts all day. Available here for purchase.

So that was my opinion on some of the Anastasia products, have you tried any Anastasia products? If not do you want to?

Fragrance of the Month #2 - Michael Kors Very Hollywood

The fragrance that I am using for the month is 'Michael Kors Very Hollywood.' It is a floral fragrance with hints hints of mandarin, raspberry and jasmine. It is a very fruity yet sophisticated scent. Despite this there is also hints of 'earth like tones' including moss, and iris. The packaging is also very sophisticated, with the intricate design on the bottle, and the gold lettering on the lid. Overall, I really like this fragrance -espicially the packaging. It lasts a fairly long time for a fragrance (around five hours by my estimate) and the scent is fairly unusual but is still very fresh and sweet. I do believe this is a discontinued product, although I have found that it is available here if you wish to purchase.

April Favourites 2015!

Although it has almost been a week since the start of May, I decided that I would go ahead and write my April favourites - even if it is a week late! It's not often I have products that I love enough to mention however last month there were so many products that really stuck out to me and of course I wanted to let you guys know about them!

Smashbox Colour Correcting Primer - Green
As you know (since I moan quite a bit) I have a lot of redness and dry patches on my cheeks due to a skin condition and I have tried a number of products said to improve the redness and general clarity of my skin for it to do nothing! However, being a lover of smashbox primers - and smashbox in general I decided this was worth a try and I could not be more impressed. It reduces almost all of my redness and evens my complexion. The green colour disappears almost immediately as you begin blending and is also fairly moisturising to the skin and leaves a really soft velvet like feel to the skin. It is also one of the first primers I have tried that prolongs the wear of my makeup, so that is a huge bonus. This is most definitely a holy grail primer in my eyes and I shall continue to repurchase for a very long time.

Origins Drink Up Intensive Mask
Also due to the skin condition mentioned above, my skin is very very dry and due to that I often have a problem with my makeup sinking into dry patches and even some moisturisers just sink into the dry patches! No matter how many moisturisers I tried nothing would work and eventually I gave up - until now! Origins is one of the only skincare brands I completely trust will work and they did not disappoint! It is fairly thick and is something I would only use at night time in order for it absorb. It smells like peaches and although leaves a greasy residue at first it disappears after ten minutes. My dry skin has significantly decreased with each day I use this and for now I use it every night and my skin feels much softer, hydrated and my general complexion improved.

Anastasia Brow Wiz - Taupe
So many people talk about this product that I decided I might as well try it out and gain my thoughts on this product, and I wish that I would have bitten the bullet sooner because this has changed my life - or my brow life at least. For somebody who rarely did more to there brows than a brush and was yet to use an eyebrow pencil (EVER - shameful for somebody who has a beauty blog) this was surprisingly super easy to use. You can create anything from natural brows to bold brows, and achieve it in a very natural way whilst being super easy to use.

Anastasia Clear Brow Gel
Recently I found that using my benefit gimme brow my brows were an uneven mess at the end of the day and I needed something better to hold my brows in place. I was going to go for a drugstore brow gel however on youtube I noticed that many people compared it to hairspray for your brows and that it also means you don't have to pluck as often because this basically allows you to manipulate your brows. This holds brows like no other, it leaves a crunchy texture but still looks super natural. It is quick (seconds) and easy to use and also does not effect any other eyebrow products used.

Lancome Definicils Mascara 
Lancome is a brand I associate with the elder generation, but also associate with mascaras despite not once trying one of their products. My absolute favourite youtuber (Camilla - Link here) mentioned this in her mascara routine and her eyelashes go above and beyond goals, and when she said that this was the mascara she used I was instantly surprised but I trust her opinion completely so the next chance I got I bought this. This mascara is by far the best I have tried. It lengthens and separates lashes with a single coat, and a second coat goes above and beyond what you would expect from any mascara. I honestly don't think I will be using any other mascara for a long time. Leaves lashes looking beautiful, long and voluminous.

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers
Eyelash curlers were something I was completely against after hearing quite a few horror stories, and never noticing a difference when I used them. I decided I wanted to try these (also thanks to Camilla's recommendations) and not wanting to pay £20 for some eyelash curlers I found them on amazon for just under half price, and are genuine. I clamp my lashes and lift them up pointing towards the back of my eye (don't worry its not painful) and squeeze shut twice and hold. After that simple fifteen-second process my straight lashes have a beautiful curl that hold all day! A definite must have!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation and Airbuki
I do not believe there are words to express how in love I am with this foundation. It creates an even, brightened, and radiant complexion. Whilst still offering concealing properties, and leaving your skin looking beyond flawless. This foundation offers the most coverage I have found in a foundation, and yet it takes seconds to apply and any touch ups are quick and easy. It does not leave a cake-y texture or look to it, and looks natural. Ive also had quite a few compliments recently on the appearance of my skin when I have been wearing this so therefore cannot recommend it enough.

So those were my favourites of the month, what are yours? Let me know in the comments below!

Drugstore Alternative #3 - MAC Paint Pots

I know this is a dupe talked about by many, and quite the obvious one; however I really wanted to give my opinion on which is a better investment.

So, although I have two completely uncomparable colours, I'm going to compare the formulation of the products. The MAC Paint Pots are far wetter than the Maybelline Colour Tattoos however due to this apply and blend much easier and of course are also much easier to build up. Althought the pigmentation in the MAC Paint pots really lets me down as you have to apply way more than one layer to receive a decent amount of pigmentation. However, with the Maybelline Colour Tattoos I apply a quick layer and the pigmentation is insane and the colours are so vivid! The colour tattoos also last throughout the whole day without touch ups and are a perfect primer/base for eyeshadow. The shade range of the MAC Paint Pots is much larger and of course better than the colour tattoos. In terms of packaging, I do much prefer the paint pots since they look really elegant where as the maybelline packaging looks slightly cheap. Despite that, you really can't complain since they only retail at £4.99 (used to be £3.99) and the MAC Paint pots retail at £15.50! Therefore I completely recommend the Maybelline Colour Tattoos!

Verdict: SAVE

The Benefits Of A Powder Foundation

The word "addicted" does not even begin to translate my love for powder foundations,  I have gone above the classified terms of addicted when it comes to powder foundations. Being quite the makeup lover, I always love having a good old chat about our must haves and I always end up recommending at least two powder foundations although I am pretty much met with either look of disgusts or total confusion. So many people fail to see the benefits powder foundation have to offer, or even the difference between a powder foundation and a setting powder, and today I'm going to try and rectify that!

A setting powder is a powder designed to use over either foundation or concealer in order to keep it in place during the day and can also be used in order to combat oiliness. Traditionally these are either translucent or very sheer coverage, however more recently there is availability for medium coverage concealer. Where as a powder foundation is a traditional foundation in powder formation, and is widely available in different colours to match different skin tones. They offer coverage ranging from low to high coverage and come in loose or pressed formation. Typically, you wouldn't use them together but I am aware that some people choose to. For me, powder foundations offer the versatility that liquid foundations don't even begin to offer. If applied using a damp brush they can offer a far more dewy and luminous complexion,if applied with a kabuki they offer high coverage in one layer, and if applied using a powder brush they offer a sheer to medium matte complexion; all of which can be created without having to purchase more than one foundation. Whilst they give you the coverage one can only long for, they also set the remainder of your makeup. Powder foundations offer a range in coverage, that is easily buildable but unlike liquid foundations you can apply upwards of one layer without it becoming heavy and cake-y. They are far less time consuming, and are much easier to carry around with you for touchups - and most powder foundations come with a handy mirror in the compact. If you have oily skin, powder foundations are a dream as they absorb oil, whilst if you have dry skin you'll also love powder foundations as they don't sink into dry patches. They're also far easier to blend into your skin seamlessly (and easier to color match) and easy to remove. Powder foundations also have better ingredients that are less irritant to your skin, and less likely to cause spots. Some even contain ingredients designed to improve the appearance of your skin! However, my favourite benefit of powder foundation is how they don't clog your pores nor do they enlarge or draw attention to pores. Powder foundations for me, are non exchangeable go-to products, my absolute favourites being the Tarte Amazonian Clay Airbrush foundation (which I recently reviewed - which you can read here) and the Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Powder Foundation! I really hope I have converted more of you to using powder foundation!