The Touch Up Kit

To start I'm going to give you guys a summary of what my skin is like. I have oily, acne prone skin with scarring around my cheek area and a VERY dark eye area, and although there are products I use and steps I take to make my makeup last as long as it possibly can and look as good as when I first applied it (more on that in an upcoming post), a touch up once throughout the day is a must for me.

So around 6-7 hours after first application I do get quite shiny, particularly through my T-zone and I've often gotten the "You're looking sweaty" comments from people whose skin is a lot better than mine and are not above judging (you know the ones). So I get my travel mirror out and I'll use blotting tissues to remove the layer of oil thats sitting on top of my makeup. This does sound a bit disgusting but trust me when I tell you it's well worth it and will stop any possible caking that can happen when you go in with your powder. They're fairly cheap and any will do the job, I'm currently using the Swisspers ones.
After that I'll take my Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair and swipe this under my eyes and around my nose and mouth which are typically where my makeup tends to disappear. I like this one because its great coverage, easy to apply on the go and easy to blend out with fingers.
To lock that all in and get rid of any shine that the blotting tissues didn't take care of I use the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder in 52 Vanille, which is one of my favourite powders I have ever tried. It locks my makeup in place without making me look too flat and absolutely never cakes up. I apply this with a Real Techniques Retractable Kabuki Brush because again its easy to use on the go and comes with a lid to keep it clean.

Finally I tackle lips and if I'm not using lip balm I go for the NYX Butter Gloss in Vanilla Cream Pie, its a beautiful warm pink shade that is seriously creamy and makes your lips look nice and full. If I'm not feeling that one then I go for MAC Patisserie lipstick which is my favourite pinky nude in the world. 

Top 5 Summer Nail Polishes

When Summer rolls around, I can't wait to get some bright colours on my nails. I think they make your hands look really feminine and pretty and when it comes to polish, drugstore brands are the way to go. Most high end polishes are not worth the hype and end up chipping after about three hours, while you come to the realisation you've just spent half your weekly food budget on a dud.

The Salon Pro line from Rimmel is a serious winner. They have so many different shades to choose from but the most summery in my opinion and my go to is their polish in Hip Hop, which is a very bright orangey red.The formula is extremely opaque and they have a handy rounded brush which makes it so easy to cover your entire nail in one swipe. 

For something with a little bit more punch I like the Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy in Full House, a very bright sky blue, which leaves your nails super shiny (without a topcoat), and lasts ages.

Purple nails will always have a special place in my heart, and I find myself wearing some variation of purple for most of the year. Essie is one of my favourite nail brands, and this one in Play Date is seriously dreamy. Its a beautiful bright lilac thats not too pastel or neon, and probably my fave of the bunch.

Now the Maybelline SuperStay 7 Day Gel Nail polishes I think I have in every shade. They are so good! For a polish thats more on the cheaper side of things, you'd expect it to be mediocre at best, right? Wrong! The colour above is called Rose Poudre, it has that mauve-y pinky brown thing down pat and makes your hands look very royal family-esque.

Lastly, I've thrown in an amazing travel friendly nail option and this is the L'oreal Infallible Gel Nail Polish in Fuchsia For Life, it's again bright and a really opaque formula. The top coat and the individual colour separate from the middle making it perfect for the girl who is always late (me).

Beach party nails- sorted.

#strictlydrugstore

Hey Everyone! 
I know its a bit late in the month and I do apologise, sometimes life gets in the way of the awesome plans you make at the start of the year. This month I'm featuring only products that are from the drugstore and affordable using the hashtag #strictlydrugstore. So everyday, until the end of January there will be a post everyday at 9am, on everything from makeup, skincare and haircare. 

The first post will be up later today, in the mean time please comment and tell me what your holy grail products are from the drugstore, Im always open to enabling!

July 2014 Favourites

Hey guys! A little delayed I know, but here are my beauty favourites for the month of July. 

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet foundation: A natural finish, skin like foundation perfect for oily skin. Its watery formula makes it easy to blend, keeps oil in check and the finish is velvet indeed.

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer: The best concealer I've ever tried. Covers dark circles, blemishes, acne scars, you name it. So easy to apply and blends beautifully.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural: A gorgeous setting powder that never looks too cakey or powdery on the skin, no matter how heavy handed you are. Keeps oil at bay and gives a nice glowing finish.

Maybelline Brow Drama: One of the better brow products from the drug store, a mascara like gel that keeps hairs in place while adding a touch of tint to them. Quick and easy, perfect for natural makeup days. 

Revlon Brow Fantasy: Another brow product I have really been enjoying. The pencil on one end is firm and allows you to fill in and shape your brows exactly how you want and the setting gel on the other sets everything down while adding little bit more colour.

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette: The first palette I ever owned, and used it to death so of course I had to pick it up again. Too Faced shadows are up there with some of the best. Buttery soft, pigmented, and blend ridiculously well. Theres not a shade in here i wouldn't use and I'm in love with the sleek tin packaging.  

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet: One of the best liquid lipstick formulas around. They came in a range of different shades but for me the brights are where its at. Not at all drying on the lips, even though they are matte and when they dry the colour sticks around forever. No touch ups required

Maybelline Color Elixir: I need these in every shade. A balm/gloss/lipstick hybrid that make your lips look nice and full. 

Garnier Micellar Water: The Bioderma dupe. Read my post here.

The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil: Literally melts makeup off your face. No need to fuss with cotton pads and remover. Just rub into your makeup and wash off, perfect for when you come home from a night out. 

A Rimmel Affair

Rimmel have been a stand out drug store brand for me over the past six months. I tried some of their products years ago and they never wowed me, and ever since then I had no interest in trying anything from the brand.

The first thing I picked up was the Match Perfection foundation, after seeing it in a lot of Tanya Burr's videos. It feels really lightweight on the skin while still giving a decent amount of coverage and blends very easily. The shade range is quite large compared to other drug store foundations. I have the shade 100 Ivory which is perfect for me and for girls with oily skin this dries semi-matte and will last all day. Ive been enjoying this so much I think it has become my favourite drug store foundation ever!

The Wake Me Up concealer also became another favourite. I love this for under eye circles especially on mornings when you can tell Ive spent too long in front of the computer the previous night. I blend this in with fingers and it never creases or looks cakey on me.

I hit pan pretty quickly on the Stay Matte powder in Transparent. I use this with a big powder brush, swoosh it around in the pan and then I stipple it on my face to set everything. Again, never looks powdery and has gone on the 'Must Always Repurchase' list. 

Finally, the Scandaleyes kohl liners have been a standout to use. They're probably the smoothest pencil liners I have ever tried, they never tug on your eyes or look too heavy. I love using the nude colour in my waterline because it doesn't budge and makes me look more awake. 

I'm looking to try more from Rimmel but every time I go I can never decide. Let me know what you guys have tried and what other products you recommend. 

October Favourites 2013

I am a bit delayed as we are already nearly two weeks into November, but I did have A LOT of faves this month. It was my birthday and I did get a tiny bit spoilt which only enabled my makeup addiction (YAY!).

I said I had a lot of favourites, but I'm only gonna focus on skincare, because I want to go over the others in a bit more detail with swatches and things like that. 

Firstly, the L'oreal EverCreme Nourishing Leave In Spray saved my hair. I have quite thick hair and I haven't cut it in a while (hairdressers are scary), and it was starting to look very dry and dull. I used this after I shampooed and conditioned with the products of the same line and it is impressing stuff. It smells heavenly and left my hair feeling very smooth and looking shiny. It also made it much easier to blow dry and straighten. I would recommend being very light handed with this and combing it through your hair to avoid it weighing your hair down.

Origins is a brand I've wanted to try for ages and I'm so glad I started with these two. The Ginzing Moisturiser is really light, hydrating and sinks in really fast and makes my skin glow. The High Potency Night-A-Mins has a super cute name and feels great when you use it at night. It's thicker than the Ginzing and leaves your skin so soft and refreshed when you wake up. They both smell like oranges which is awesome and they do exactly what they say on the tin. A little goes a long way with both.

Lastly, the Clarifying Clay Cleanser by Ren I'm also so glad I discovered. I use it at night and you can really feel it deeply cleansing the skin and getting rid of all the junk from the day. I wet my hands and take one pump of this and massage it into my skin for a minute or 2 and it has cleared my skin dramatically. It does smell like clay which I'm not overly fond of, but once you wash it off it goes away.

Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo

If you read beauty blogs you will know that almost everyone who features the Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo adores it, and of course I am no exception.

Amongst the drug store brands there really isn't a very high variety of cream eyeshadows. I have very oily lids so finding one that will stay on is a bit of a mission. And I believe it has ended.

This eyeshadow is the most long lasting shadow of tried in cream form. It comes on very opaque and I just use my fingers to apply it and it dries within about a minute. I had it on from 7 in the morning till around 11 in the evening and it still looked the same as when I put it on. YAY.

I got the shade 'Bad to the Bronze', it kind of looks smoked out when you apply it alone and that appeals to my laziness when I have an early start. 

Mood: impressed 

Essie Chinchilly

During the week I head to Priceline  to look for new products to feature on my blog. It's conveniently close to where I work which I'm starting to realise is a bit dangerous for me. 

The other day as I was searching through the aisles on my beauty mission, I almost peed my pants with excitement when I noticed a stand full of brand new Essie nail polishes. 

Finally! After I calmed myself down I was looking through and they ALL looked cute but I opted for 'Chinchilly'. It's sort of like a deep grey/mauve/purpley colour thats looks a bit different in certain lights. It's very sophisticated and a nice change from my usual pink-red-black rotation. 

They're not available to buy online yet so if you've got some spare time, I'd recommend going into a store and having a look.

Now the question remains: exactly how many of these will I accumulate before the years end?