Showing posts with label Benefit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benefit. Show all posts

It's Time for Makeup, Perfect Smile, It's You they're all Waiting For...

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Hiya!!
Whenever anybody asks "what do you blog about?" I always automatically answer with the standard "oh you know a bit of everything really, but mostly fashion, beauty and lifestyle" and this is true it pretty much sums me up. Although I will admit that more often than not it's lifestyle that appears on these "pages" which is a shame because I do LOVE beauty and fashion just as much. It was this thought running through my head when I decided to write a post about my going out makeup. I generally don't wear makeup unless I'm going out for dinner or drinks, or the odd Friday at work when I'm feeling like a pick-me-up, and my husband takes great pleasure in pointing out just how much more makeup I wear now, than when we first met, and that is purely the fault of the blogging community!! I've been introduced to such amazing products over the last year and you'll see my favourites in this post. 
FACE
It's all about that base! Turns out it's not just an awful judgy song masquerading as a body positive anthem...it is, in fact, an important mantra when doing your makeup. It's taken me years to get it right but these products give me the ultimate canvas for my makeup looks. 

Dermatique- Recuperating Cream (miracle product that I reviewed here)
Benefit- "That Gal"-Brightening Face Primer
Collection- Illuminating Touch-Brightening Concealer
ELF Cosmetics- Tone Correcting Concealer
Bare Minerals- Complexion Rescue- Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream in Opal 01
Freedom- Pro-Contour Shaped Stick
Rimmel- Natural Bronzer in Sun Glow 025
Stila- Illuminating Powder in 40 Watts
Benefit- High Beam- Luminescent Complexion Enhancer
BROWS
Who knew brows would become the most important thing ever! 2015 saw the rise of the Delevigne brow and I for one was bloody grateful. Personally, I've been rocking a bushy brow since I was knee high to a grasshopper (they are in fact a family trait)- I loved it when Brooke Shields originally made them a "thing", I tried my best when all of a sudden body hair of any kind was the enemy and we waxed, plucked and threaded any natural shape out of them, and here we are again where suddenly I'm uber-fashionable again and I don't have to drop £12 every month to allow someone to wax my face! Woohoo!!

Makeup Revolution- Focus & Fix- Eyebrow Shaping Kit (great for on the go but I mostly just use the tweezers if I have everything else with me)
Maybelline- Brow Satin- Brow Pencil in Dark Brown
Urban Decay- Naked Basics- Eyeshadow in Faint
L'Oreal-Brow Artist Plumper- Clear Shaping Gel
EYES
I'm a huge advocate of natural eye makeup, don't get me wrong I would totally love to carry off all these BIG makeup looks that some of you beautiful people are rocking but I think my face is too small and too much makeup overpowers my face. I prefer to just make what's underneath look slightly better than normal. 

Makeup Revolution-Iconic Pro Palette- Shades: Paper, Chase, and New Day.
Rimmel- Soft Kohl- Eyeliner in Jet Black 061
Dior- Diorshow Blackout- Waterproof Mascara
Max Factor- False Lash Effect- Mascara

LIPS
Now my lips are ridiculously dry because of this stupid cold weather so whilst I would normally be rocking a punchy/vampy deep purple or bright red lippy, I have been resigned to a much more natural look for this at the moment too. That being said the brands don't change just the colours so this is still pretty accurate. 

Carmex-Moisturising Lip Balm- Strawberry (now I'm kind of allergic to this but it's so good I can't stop using it lol)
MAC- Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Nice "n" Spicy
Bare Minerals- Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Spark Plug
Clinique- Chubby Stick in Super Strawberry 07
Bare Minerals- Marvelous Moxie in Hypnotist

As you can probably tell there is a lot of layering that goes on when I do my lips *haha*

ANYWAY!! I know you are all probably thinking "holy cow AJ that's a shit ton of makeup!" but I promise it is all needed and it doesn't look that much when it's done, in fact, see for yourself...
EXCUSE THE JUST OUT THE SHOWER REDNESS!
NO FILTER NO EDITING JUST GREAT MAKEUP

Hope this hasn't been too boring for you. Would love to hear if there are any products out there you guys think I would love. As always either leave me a comment or come chat with me on Twitter. 
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April Empties // Can't Live Without or Out With the Trash?

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Heeello wonderful people.

I've always wanted to do an empties post, to show what I've actually been using, as opposed to what I've been receiving and putting on my "to try" list. However I've never had more than one or two empties at a time, and one or two products does not a decent post make! Until now that is..

So without further ado here's what I've finished this month, and whether I'll be repurchasing or ditching for something else.





Okay bear with me here because I know this is going to sound weird BUT I use this on my face! I know you're now probably thinking "whatever possessed you to put this stuff on your face?" and honestly I can't remember why I tried it the first time! But I do know that it works. I guess this is because it comes from the maternity range, where all the products are made for extremely dry skin.
It is super heavy so if you prefer lighter moisturisers this one probably isn't for you BUT it is definitely in my Can't Live Without list.

Benefit That Gal Primer: £22.50


I got this little beauty as part of the "Do the Bright Thing" Beauty Kit from Benefit, so it is only a miniature version of what you'll get if you buy it separately. Don't let its size fool you though, this little tube arrived on my doorstep February 2014 and it's only just finished, that may be because I don't wear a full face all that often, but I truly believe it is because you really don't need to use that much product to achieve the brightening glow Benefit promise. I wear this under my BB cream and it instantly brightens my dull complexion and provides a smoother base for my cream. I have also noticed that my face doesn't tingle as much if I put this on before another product. (Disclaimer: My face is so sensitive that literally everything makes it tingle at first). Now this all sounds like I'm going to say Can't Live Without doesn't it? Well, it turns out I am in two minds about repurchasing this! Obviously I love it but £22.50 is an awful lot of money for a primer, so for now this one is going Out With the Trash, and I am on the hunt for a cheaper dupe...any suggestions or should I just suck it up and repurchase?

Batiste Dry Shampoo Tropical: £2.99


Who doesn't love dry shampoo??? This stuff is an absolute Godsend, I'm not even kidding. Have you seen my hair? It's exactly 28 inches long and so thick I resemble Aslan the lion if I shake it out...so obviously I cannot wash and dry my hair every day (I would literally have to give up work If I wanted to do this *pray face*) so I rely on miracle products like these. I have tried almost every dry shampoo out there, from the super cheap drugstore brand to the stupidly expensive "you're paying for the name" brand and I always return to Batiste (and always this flavour). This a lovely fresh scent and it really does the job of oomphing and refreshing your roots- which is exactly what we want from a Dry Shampoo, no? This product is so Can't Live Without that I have actually already repurchased it ;-). Oh and, by the way, the link above is for Superdrug but if you have a Savers store where you live it's only £1.49 there.

Batiste Smoothing Conditioning Mist: £3.99 from Boots (also only £1.49 at your local Savers store)



This is the ONLY dry conditioner I have ever used that actually appears to condition my hair! You remember above when I mentioned that my hair is 28inches long? Yeah well those of you blessed/cursed with long hair will surely agree that your ends get dry very easily (I'm sure this is something to do with the natural oils depleting before they reach your ends, but I could be wrong) so a dry conditioner comes in really handy for touch ups. This one has Argan oil in it which is probably why it works for me- my hair loves it some argan oil- and it smells lush. I spray this through the lengths and ends of my hair AFTER I've brushed through my shampoo. They really are a dream team. You know where this is going don't you? Absolutely, CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT.


There you have it...it looks like my empties have all been winners this month. Like I said the only reason I'm not repurchasing That Gal right away is because it's just a little too expensive for me right now.

Have you guys tried any of these products? Do you love them like I do? DO YOU HAVE A DUPE FOR THAT GAL?? Leave me a comment and make me smile :-).

Oh and shameless plug time...remember you can follow me on Twitter-Instagram-Facebook & Bloglovin' :-) it would make me super happy.

Much Love
AJ
xx