Does the price make a difference?: Setting Sprays

For four years now I have sworn by the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray whenever I have needed my makeup to last all day, or if its hot weather, or if i'm going on a night out. At £22 for 118ml its an expensive product, and I think most people will find as well as me, you get through it really fast. But with that being said I never actually minded spending the money on it as it actually works! I cant live without it in my collection but when I was browsing the makeup in Boots and I spotted Maybelline Superstay 24hr Setting Spray for £6.99 (75ml) I had to try it. At nearly £10 cheaper per 100ml compared to the Urban Decay setting sprays I was really excited to see a drugstore brand release a setting spray.

When I first got the product home I gave it a spritz just out of interest. I was slightly disappointed that the spray was far from fine unlike the Urban Decay setting sprays. It left my face feeling rather wet. Since using it more i've found it really hard to get an even application of the spray. A day later I was getting ready to go out with the girls for a few drinks and decided to set my makeup using the Maybelline setting spray. Once it had dried (quite a while later...) I had a look in the mirror to see what effect it had if any. I find the Urban Decay setting spray gives my skin a glow and really meshes my makeup together making it look like flawless skin, so I had high expectations for the Maybelline one. I was really annoyed when I saw it had dried in white dots all over my skin. It completely ruined my makeup, I could just about to rub it off my skin but I could hardly get it out of my eyebrows and lashes. 

Even though this really put me off the product I was determined to make it work. The next time I used it I gave it a really good shake before using, it did help a bit so the time after that I gave it even more of a shake and I didn't have a problem with white marks again. Next I wanted to test the actual setting and lasting power of the spray. I decided to take the risk and wear it rather than the Urban Decay All Nighter to a wedding party where I would be out all night. I was really happy with how it looked and made my makeup last. However I feel like the All Nighter smooths out and perfects my makeup more than the drugstore option.

All in all I do enjoy using the Maybelline setting spray as an alternative to Urban Decay's especially on a day-to-day basis as its so affordable. I will most likely use the Urban Decay All Nighter for special occasions as there are no risks involved and works like magic! The Maybelline setting spray is a great find at the drugstore and i'm looking forward to trying more budget friendly setting sprays.

Hope you found this helpful,

Kirsty xx

New Addition: Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Eyeshadow Collection

A few weeks ago I decided to splash the cash and invest in the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Eyeshadow Collection. The palette cost £36 which is just a little bit less than the Urban Decay naked palettes, and you do get four more shades for comparison. As you can see the packaging is pretty in pink, probably the cutest packaging going, and comes with a really good size mirror. One of the first things I noticed when I opened it up was the delicious chocolatey sent which comes from the cocoa powder formula, perfect for a chocoholic like me, but it could be a bit overwhelming for some people.

The eyeshadows are incredibly pigmented, I was really impressed by the matte shades as it is a struggle to find matte colours of such a high quality. They really rival the Urban Decay eyeshadows. The shadows glide seamlessly onto the eye and the blend-ability is perfect. The range of different colours and finishes allows you to create endless looks which always seem to turn out looking great. The bright pink shade (Totally Fetched) i'm not sure if I will ever manage to use but the rest of the shades are right up my street and are very wearable. My favourite eyeshadow is the blue/grey shade called Earl Grey, it's so unique and different to anything I own. It really makes blue eyes pop.

I have totally fallen in love with this palette its all i've been using since I got it as you can create such different looks for the day or evening. I think its definitely worth the money!

Thanks for reading,

Kirsty xx

Face of the day #1

This is a quick and simple makeup look that I have been doing a lot recently. I love it for just day to day life as it looks natural but like you have made an effort. In this look I used some of the products that I have been loving recently and I can't go without them when doing my makeup. 

I started with the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Gel Cream which has been the only base i've used for the last month or so. Its comparable to a tinted moisturiser, and as my skin has been so much clearer recently I enjoy using this just to even out the skin tone as I don't need a lot of coverage. The finish has a glow to it and the lasting power is pretty good for what it is. Once I had applied a thin layer of this with my fingers I moved on to concealing under my eyes and a couple of pesky spots with the Rimmel London Match Perfection Concealer. I am now on my second tube of this concealer, thats how much I love it! It gives you a good medium coverage while brightening and slightly highlighting your skin. As I was going to be out for most of the day I powdered using my Bourjois Healthy Balance Unifying Powder- always a favourite! 

Next I used my Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Bronze and Glow palette to slightly contour and highlight my face. I used it very sparingly as it was just a normal day out shopping. For blush I used Benefits Rockateur. Since I went back brown with my hair I have been loving this blush because of its dark rosey pink undertones. 

At the moment I am growing my eyebrows because I really would prefer them to be thicker, but this takes time, so currently I am using MAC Charcoal Brown Eyeshadow to lightly fill them in as its too impossible to create a shaped brow in their current state! As for my eyeshadow I blended the No7 Stay Perfect Shade and Define eyeshadow stick in Cool Mink all over the lid and ran a bit of the shade Velvet Truffle on the outer half of the lower lash line. These are my favourite budget Eyeshadow sticks, they are so creamy and easy to blend. Once I had done this I decided that I needed a bit more definition around my upper lash line so I added some dark brown eyeshadow to it then blended it out. I ended up using the Jouer eyeshadow in Chocolate but you could use any dark brown eyeshadow you have. For mascara I used Benefits Roller Lash to give me so definition and length, and popped some of Clinique's Bottom Lash Mascara on the lower lashes.

To finish off the look I used Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker in Bashful to give a moisturising tint of pink to my lips.

Hope you enjoyed this post,

Kirsty xx

Hero Product: Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

I started using the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish three months ago now and I have never seen such amazing results from a cleanser. Although I had heard so many good things about this product I never went out to buy it as I was already satisfied with my current skincare routine. However I did end up picking it up from boots for £14 just because it was part of a three for two deal. The first few times I used it I didn't fall in love as it could never fully remove my waterproof mascara which is a must for me when I have a long day! I do often have to use my Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil on the eyes after to fully take off my mascara, but this is because I prefer using a cream or oil rather than wiping my eyes with makeup remover or wipes as my eye area is very sensitive.

Even though this does annoy me sometimes I still carry on using it as it is so much more effective than my old cleansers at deep cleaning my skin. Its a creamy cleanser, white in colour that you massage into dry skin. If I am wearing makeup I double cleanse to make sure that my skin is completely free of makeup and grime from the day. They suggest to then use a warm damp muslin cloth to remove the product, but most of the time I just wash it away with lukewarm water. Usually I only use this product in the evening as in the morning I like to just use micellar water. The sent is very natural with rosemary being the key sent but its in no way overpowering. At the end of the day the sent is perfect for helping you unwind and using it in the morning helps you to feel fresh and clean ready for the day ahead of you.

One of the key things which makes this a hero product is the fact that it doesn't strip the skin and leave it feeling tight, which I hate especially because I have dry skin but, the main reason its a hero product for me is because it has cleared up my acne which iv'e been suffering from for over four years. I have been taking antibiotics for about 2 or 3 years but they never fully got rid of it so when this product started clearing up my skin I was so happy. I still occasionally get the odd couple of small spots but nothing that is too noticeable, iv'e even pretty much stopped taking my medication which is great.

I highly recommend this cleanser to anyone with quite dry, sensitive or spot prone skin. It is worth every penny and I am not looking to try a new cleanser anytime soon!

Thanks for reading,

Kirsty xx

My Top Three Powder Highlighters

Highlighters are something I love to use if I am going for a glam look or even if my skin is looking a bit lacklustre. In one quick and simple step they can completely transform a makeup look. In this post I am going to talk about three of my favourite highlighters. Including the ever famous MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle, the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in the shade Apricot and lastly the Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold Skin Gilding Highlighter. You may notice that all these products can be classed as coming from high-end luxury brands. Although this can be annoying I think that they are some of the best and drugstore highlights cant quite match up to the quality for these three. Drugstore highlighters often contain chunkier glitter which personally i'm not the biggest fan of. However with saying that a really good budget option is the highlighter from the Sleek Contouring and Blush Palette in Light. But now back to my top three powder highlighters...

From left to right: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle, Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold Skin Gilding Highlighter and the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact 

So starting with the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in the shade Apricot. I really adore the quality of this highlighter. Out of the three its the most finely milled silky powder which glides seamlessly onto the skin. The packaging is nice and sturdy and includes a rather big mirror which is perfect for on the go. Unfortunately this shade was limited addition in their summer collection but they have a very similar shade called Nectar along with many other shades such as pink, rose and bronze. What I love about these highlighters is that you can use them as a blush as well if you wanted and even eyeshadows, they're so multi-purpose! Each shimmer brick is made up of 5 shades which you can use separately or altogether, so for £33 I personally think this is really good value for money especially as you get 10.3 grams of product.

This is the Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold Skin Gilding Highlighter which, generally gets rereleased at Christmas time as a limited addition but you can still find it online at the moment. Its £32 which is very very expensive for the amount of product you get (4.5grams). However it is a beautiful warm toned gold which can be hard to find in a highlighter. Out of the three its the least pigmented which sounds bad but really I think that its a good thing. When applying highlighter it can be far to easy to put a bold straight line across your cheek rather than achieving the lit from within look and this highlighter achieves this perfectly. Another way I like to use this product is on the body. For a night out it works really well on the décolletage, shoulders and on the centre of your arms and legs. It makes your skin look super healthy and glowing, what more could you ask for? As far as the packaging goes I was a little disappointed that its made out of cardboard as it was so expensive but that doesn't make me regret purchasing it in any way.

Finally this is the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle. I had to pick this up after hearing so many fabulous reviews about it. For starters all I am going to say is that it is not natural looking at all. That however does not stop me loving it. I use it all the time for parties and on nights out when I am contouring. It has a silvery bronze look to it which looks fab in photos as well as in person. At £24 its the cheapest of the three and you still get an impressive 10 grams of product, and i'm sure its going to last me for ever. If you are really into highlighters this is one for you as its so eye-catching and brightening. Compared to the last two it does contain slightly chunkier glitter but its not too much if you are going for an all out makeup look. Although personally I think its too much for day to day wear as its so obvious you're wearing it. The packaging is nothing too exciting, just the normal packaging you would expect from m.a.c. but it does close really securely unlike the Bar of Gold. Really I think you could class it as an essential if you love glam makeup and love partying!

Thank you for taking your time to read this post,

Kirsty xx

Does the price make a difference?: Contour Brushes

From left to right- Bold Metals Collection by Real Techniques 301 flat contour brush, Real Techniques Sculpting Brush and the Charlotte Tilbury Powder and Sculpt Brush.

Contouring has become very fashionable and popular. Although it can be hard there are hundreds of products on the market designed to try and help you out. In this blog post I am going to review some of the brushes I have tried out. They all vary in price and give very different effects.

Starting with the Real Techniques Sculpting Brush. This is the cheapest of the three brushes at £9.99. I think that this brush is perfect for a day-to-day soft contour look. As it is quite big it doesn't give you the most defined look. With its angled shape its really good for bronzing up the face while giving a slight hint of definition. Therefore it would be a great brush if you are just starting to learn how to contour or for a more natural looking makeup. The brush is made with synthetic bristles which are super easy to clean and take care of. It is also very densely packed and being honest I think its too much as it means it picks up a lot of product and it can be hard to be accurate and achieve your desired look. With all this being said I actually love to use this brush for applying foundation, especially slightly thicker fuller coverage foundations which require more blending. 

The Bold Metals Collection by Real Techniques 301 Flat Contour Brush at £22 is great for a super defined cheekbone. The density and shape of the brush allows you to create a perfect line where you want your shadow to be. However what really lets this brush down is the fact that its near impossible to blend the product to make it look close to natural and you must apply the product with a light hand. It definitely requires a fluffy brush or the excess on your foundation brush to blend the product out. As well as this it is only really good for contouring the cheeks as its a little too big and flat for anywhere else on the face. Although these things let the brush down it is really good for creating makeup looks for special events or going out, especially if you want to cheat some killer cheekbones!

Lastly, and definitely my favourite, the Charlotte Tilbury Powder and Sculpt. When I brought this brush I was very apprehensive as £35 is an awful lot of money for a brush when you can find such good budget options. I already had the bronze and glow palette by Charlotte Tilbury which I constantly use and I was desperate to try the brush that went with it. After debating whether to get it I finally gave in and it was 100% worth the money! I use it most days I wear makeup as you can change how dramatic you want your contouring to be, just by changing how heavy handed you are with the brush. The tapered shape to the brush means unlike the others it blends the product at the same time as applying. To me this is saving a step every morning when applying my makeup while making sure it doesn't look super fake. The point to the brush allows you to apply product directly where you want it making it so effective and easy to use. If you have the spare money and contouring is something you would like to perfect I think its worth the investment.

Thanks for taking your time to read this blog post,

Kirsty xx

New Additions: Charlotte Tilbury Lip Products

I recently made an order of some Charlotte Tilbury lip products. As a student this was a splurge of money I should be spending on reading material but makeup seemed more exciting to me! I ordered the Matte Revolution Lipstick in Glastonberry, the K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick in Bitch Perfect and the Lip Lustre in Red Vixen.

As the price tags of these lip products are rather large I had high expectations. Mostly they did live up to my expectations and I would say that they are worth the money. Starting with the Matte Revolution Lipstick in Glastonberry which featured in my last blog post. I really do love this lipstick. The colour is the perfect dark berry with gorgeous purple undertones. For a matte lipstick it applies so easily and is so long lasting without being super drying on the lips. This is what makes this formula stand out to me. I have tried numerous matte lipsticks but never have gotten along with them as I suffer from rather dry lips which is why this is now my favourite formula and i'm excited to try more from this range.

Onto the K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick in Bitch Perfect. This is a beautiful nude shade with pink undertones rather than brown, I think this makes it more wearable. With nude lipsticks I thin that its important to add a bit of colour to the skin to make sure you look healthy and alive! This formula has a slight shine to the finish making it comfortable on the lips. For both of the lipsticks they do require topping up throughout the day as the matte shade is so dark (for a lighter colour you wouldn't have to worry so much) and the nude shade hasn't got a matte finish. Bitch Perfect is a lovely lipstick but being honest I feel you can find just as nice options at a fraction of the £23 price tag.

The Lip Lustre in Red Vixen is the only lipgloss i've tried from Charlotte Tilbury. I chose this bright red colour as I thought it would be perfect for christmas. I think Charlotte Tilbury has nailed the formula of this lipgloss as its actually long lasting and not extremely sticky. This is rare to find in a lipgloss! The one thing I did feel let it down was the pigmentation. I was hoping that I would be able to wear this alone but it was too patchy in my opinion. This was a let down for a £16.50 lipgloss. I found that it was best to wear a red lipliner or lipstick underneath to create a more perfected look.

Overall I have really enjoyed using these products so far and would definitely recommend them if you wanted to treat yourself to some high end goodies.

Thanks for reading,

Kirsty xx

Season Changes: Winter makeup look

In winter I like to go for a warmer makeup look. This season I have been loving dark berry lips with a warm toned golden smokey eye. What I love about this look is you can make it as dramatic or as subtle as you like. 

Here I have gone for a more dramatic look using a bold matte lipstick with a golden eye look. To me its important to balance out the makeup so here I kept the skin rather natural using the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream. What I love about this base is its not drying at all on the skin which is ideal for winter. It contains three pigments, apricot to hide any tiredness in the skin, green to disguise any redness and lastly white to conceal any dark spots. Normally i'm never a fan of CC or BB creams as I find they don't last or actually do anything for my skin. However, this CC cream I can't live without. It actually provides a decent medium coverage while feeling weightless on the skin. No its not as long lasting as a less dewy foundation, but it will get you through the day with a couple of light touch ups of powder. Before powdering I like to conceal any imperfections or darkness under my eyes. Recently I have been trying out the Rimmel London Match Perfection Concealer. I like how this concealer is in a squeezy tube so you can use every last drop, it also has a brush applicator attached. This concealer claims to be "skin tone adapting" however i'm not sure how much I agree with this. With that being said though I have still really enjoyed using it. It has a beautiful glowy finish which is perfect for under the eyes while providing just enough coverage for imperfections. Even on top of foundation this concealer never looks cakey which is great for such a good priced concealer. For powder I have been enjoying, again from Bourjois, the Healthy Balance Unifying Powder.  For a drugstore powder its great. The powder is so finely milled that it looks perfectly natural on the skin with a glowing finish but mattifying at the same time.

As I mentioned before I like to keep the skin rather natural with this look so it doesn't look too over done. Therefore I haven't heavily contoured my face instead I lightly dusted Benefit's Hoola Bronzer over my skin concentration on the cheeks and hairline, which warmed up my complexion and gave a slight bit of definition. Blusher wise I used Max Factor's Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve. This is one of my all time favourite blushes. It gives such a natural flush to the cheeks making you look super healthy. Personally I think this range of blushers are great dupes for the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes. To match the golden glitter in the eye makeup I decided to add a small amount of Charlotte Tilbury's Bar of Gold. This highlighter perfectly lifts the cheekbones and gives a gorgeous glow to your skin.

When going for a bold look I prefer to have subtle brows  so they don't take the attention away from the lips and eyes. I used the Soap and Glory Brow Archery in Blondeshell and set them in place with the Maybelline Brow Drama in dark blonde. For the eyes I went for a light smokey eye to add to the drama. Using Charlotte Tilbury's eye shadow quad in Dolce Vita I took the prime shade which to me is the perfect champagne colour all over the lid and then blended the enhance shade, which is a red toned brown though the crease of the eye to create a shadow. To make this eye more smokey perfect for a night out you can add the dark brown smoke shade to the outer corner to add even more definition, and a pop of glitter to the center of the eye. What I love about these shadows is their blend-ability and how buttery they're. Again to make the look more smokey I added Soap and Glory's Smoulder Kohl in Cocoa Bean to my lower lash line and I also used the eyeliner to tightline. I avoided black eyeliner for this as I felt like it would be too much along with the dark berry lip. On the upper lash line I used MUA's glitter eyeliner in Malt Chocolate it is honestly one of the best £1 I have ever spent! My favourite mascara of the moment is the Maybelline Lash Sensational in black waterproof  I pair this with my trusty Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara. Together these mascaras give great definition and volume without smudging onto my skin and eyeshadow throughout the day. The mascara also holds a curl all day!

Lip Products and Eyeliners

Finally for my favourite part of this look, the lips. When going for a dark lip colour its important to get the shape right and the lines neat. An easy way of doing this is by using a lip liner which also makes the lipstick last longer. I started with the Gosh Velvet Touch Lipliner in  Raspberry Dream. It is a stunning dark red with purple under tones. Finally for the star of the show the lipstick. I applied Charlotte Tilbury's Matte Revolution Lipstick in Glastonberry straight from the bullet. The square tip of the bullet makes it super easy to apply. I think this lip colour is what makes this makeup look so exciting and different. It is also such a long lasting colour as its got a matte finish. If you would prefer to go for something not quite as bold you could try the Boujois Shine Edition lip colour in shade 23 or the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in Parisian Passion.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this blog post,

Kirsty xx