January Haul!

Hey guys!

So at the end of December and the beginning of January I purchased some new items! Not that i need any more!

First if all i went to MAC and i have a huge list of things i want... it just seems to get bigger! I have always wanted to try fix+ so i purchased that. So far I'm loving it for refreshing my face during the day, you can set your makeup with it and make your eye shadow pigments stand out more and stick so there's less fallout when applying which is great for me as I'm a messy worker! You get quite a lot in a bottle and you really don't use that much so in my opinion its worth the money.

Then i heard a few good things about the MAC mineralised skinfinish natural, so i decided to give that a go as i get a very oily t-zone during the day. I don't really know how i feel about it yet as i don't tend to use powder on my dry patches and i just focus it on the oily areas. So i haven't used it much. One thing i would say is that it's a tad dark so I'll have to test it when i have a tan.

I've been wanting to try Maybelline's browdrama for a while now as i have quite bushy, thick dark brows so i wanted a nice tinted gel that would keep them in shape. Honestly, so far i can't really tell if i see much of a difference in them but that could just be because I'm so dark. So i would try it if you're fair. 

Then i picked up the MUA luxe velvet lip lacquer in reckless, I don't really wear red's much but i wanted to try something that i wouldn't have to constantly re apply. The pigmentation is incredible on these bad boys! the finish is matte but a velvet like feeling. It does feel quite drying after a while and it does crack a bit but its only £3 so it was worth a go!

Now every time i go into Superdrug i always love the look of the Accessorize makeup, so i swatched a few blushes and i picked up this one and its just a light pinky gold baked blush, the one i wanted was out of stock so i thought I'd try it and I've used this twice, i dropped it so it smashed!! :( 
However, it was only £3.95 so i don't mind so much as i can just pick another one up!

I was also intrigued by this dark purpley lip stick by Accsesorize as i love the whole dark berry lips for winter so i wanted to try that out. To be honest, i can't really say how i feel about it yet as I'm trying to wear it but it's just a really hard colour to work with. I'll keep trying though because i love the shade!

Also from MUA I kept looking at the Undress your skin highlighter which looks like a dupe for the MAC  Extra dimension highlighter as the pattern is so similar. The colour of this in the pan looks quite pink but when you swatch it, it's actually quite white. Which is what attracted me to it. On the skin it looks really natural and it was on offer so i think it was £2.50 which is a bargain!

So that is all i've bought so far this month. I've already broken my new years resolution of trying to do a post 3 times a week but hey... im only human!

Ezzie xox

The Best Eyeliner Ever!

Hey guys,

So today's post is on the Collection 2000 Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner.
This liner is the best liner I've ever used. It makes winged eyeliner so easy to do! It literally takes seconds. It's a really opaque black colour too so you don't have to keep building the colour up.

It's a bargain at £2.99! And i recommend this to everyone because even if you hate it, it didn't break the bank! I also think its on offer currently at Superdrug for £2.49.
It lasts a really long time too... I can put this on at 8am and by 11-12pm its still on without smudging or leaking down my face. Its not patchy either.
Seriously try it! I couldn't live without it and I need to buy more backups because i use it so much.

What makeup product couldn't you live without?

Ezzie xox

MAC Snob Review.

Hey guys!

So for Christmas i was given some money to buy what i wanted at MAC. So i went on the 27th December and I bought the best lipstick I've ever owned! Snob by MAC.

I have worn this lip stick non stop since i bought it and i love it so much! It's the perfect pinkie nude colour and it's really wearable. You can wear it with a smokey dark eye or a soft look and still look really put together. 

It is a Satin finish lipstick and  i would say that it is semi matte and its very soft and really pigmented.

The colour its self is a cool toned pink so it's got some lilac and blue tones in it which make my teeth appear whiter. It lasts around 2 maybe 3 hours if you're not drinking or eating.

I absolutely love it! Best MAC purchase, Best lipstick, Best product i own!

What's your favourite lipstick?

Ezzie xox

FOTD

Hey guys!

So today's post is going to be a FOTD (face of the day)... I'm always intrigued to see what other people are wearing, this has been my go to look since Christmas. I hope you enjoy!

The first thing I do is use my Nivea hydrating primer, I just dot a pea sized amount on the four parts of my face. I've got dry skin normally but this week it's been especially dry so this is perfect as it lets my foundation glide on flawlessly without it clinging to dry patches.

Then I take some of my Nars sheer glow foundation in Mont Blanc onto a real techniques expert face brush and dot my foundation around my face. I then blend all the foundation on my face in circular motions and stippling movements to make sure that there are no brush marks on my face. This foundation is so lovely! It's very light coverage but buildable. With one layer it looks like what my skin would look like without the redness. I then add a tiny bit more to the areas that need more coverage.

Next I get my Maybelline Age Rewind concealer and I just place this under my eyes, bridge of my nose, chin and cupids bow so that when it's blended I get a nice natural highlight. Then I contour using my Sleek contour and blush kit... Dusting the rose gold blush on the apples of my cheeks and the gorgeous shimmer to my cheekbones. Then blend everything out with a clean brush so there are no harsh lines. I then dab my MAC Mineralised Skin Finish Natural in medium around my tzone. i never sweep my powder as it moves all the product around and i only need it on my tzone so i don't use much anyway.

Now onto the eyes... I prime my eyelids using my MAC Pro longwear Paint Pot in Utterly Becoming and take my Urban Decay Naked Basics palette and sweep Foxy across my eyelid, I then take the shade Naked 2 into my crease to just warm the look up and create some dimension. I blend this out until I get the desired effect and add Venus to my brow bone and tear duct as a highlight. I go over my eyebrows with Faint from the palette and use my Maybelline BrowDrama in dark brown to set my brows. 

Next I take my Collection 2000 24 hour extreme felt tip liner in black and draw my winged liner and apply my Rimmel pencil liner on my water line. For my mascara I have been using the L'oreal Telescopic Explosion mascara in black first as it covers all my lashes in product and gives me volume and to brush it all out so it's not clumpy I take L'oreal Telescopic Clean Definition mascara and add this to my top and lower lashes. The combination of the two together and in that order is incredible. My lashes look fake! I got both of these from TJ MAXX if you're looking for them, otherwise Amazon or Ebay sell them.

Once all my makeup is applied I then set my face with MAC fix+ and add my lip colour which is Snob by Mac and I absolutely love this lipstick. It's a very cool toned pinky lilac coloured lipstick.

What's your daily face?

Ezzie xox

.

The Tangle Teezer!

Hey guys,

So for a while now I've been wanting to try the Tangle Teezer but been putting it off because I couldn't really justify paying over £10 for a piece of plastic. However, after hearing so many good things about it I thought I'd finally just get it.

I know there are a lot of different colours but in my local boots they either had pink or purple with glitter. Although that one appealed to me I thought I'd just stick to pink. 

They also do travel sizes but they're more expensive. I actually think this is a decent size to travel with anyway.

The brush it's self is moulded in a specific way so that you can fit it in the palm of your hand which is very cool. It's definitely original as the packaging suggests! 

The Tangle Teezer claims that you can use it on both wet and dry hair without tugging our discomfort, that it will literally change your life and that you will see a difference in your hair. 

Buy here

Now I can safely say that all of these facts are true! I've had this brush for about a week and already I see and feel a difference. I used to dread washing my hair because my paddle brush would literally tug so hard on my wet hair that it just became a chore and I would leave my hair to dry naturally. The Tangle Teezer just makes it a pleasure to do my hair and it glides through wet hair getting rid of my knots without me feeling a thing! 

With in one day of use I could see a noticeable difference in my hair. It looked shinier, smoother and longer. When blow drying it straight I didn't see the need to go over it with a straightening iron as it just looked so nice and natural.

I've always been one of those people who malts hair all over the place and it's worse when I wash it. I have thin hair but I have a lot of it. Since using this brush I can already tell a difference when I wash my hair. I don't lose what seemed like clumps anymore and I just lose a normal amount. I know hair grows and sheds everyday but my hair seemed to be falling out a bit quicker than most.

I got new extensions yesterday so currently it detangles them like a knife through butter but I will do an updated review when my extensions have had more wear, as that is the real test for me. Anything that can bring back life into my natural hair should hopefully do the same to my fake hair. 

So far I love this brush and I don't know what I was doing without it!  Definitely a staple beauty product in my opinion!

Have your tried the Tangle Teezer? 

Ezzie xox

Top 13 in 2013!

Happy New Year Guys!

I can't believe it's 2014! Time is just going too quickly for me...

I've had a very up and down year... I lost 2 jobs, I discovered my passion for makeup, i joined a beauty course and I've met a lot of cool new people who will hopefully be long time friends. I didn't want to make a new years resolution this year as I never achieve them but I what I do want is to really focus my energy on this blog, start making you tube videos and get as much experience in beauty as I can.

So today I thought I'd do a yearly favourites post as the last time I did a monthly favourites, it was about October! Now I've narrowed these into 13 different categories so I guess its my top 13 in 2013... but I will feature more than 13 things as I've used a lot of products this year and it's hard for me to pick just one thing for each!

Eyeshadow

My all time favourite beauty product of the year was by far the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. This palette is my perfect everyday eye shadow product as it has 5 gorgeous matte neutral shades and one beautiful highlight. Its a very nifty palette as its easy to travel with and this year i stayed out a lot so it came in handy. The mirror is a great size and it makes it easy for you to do touch ups or even pluck your brows! I've used it everyday since getting it and i haven't hit pan yet! (Touch wood)

At first i was dubious about spending £20 on something so small, but it was so worth it and i really got my moneys worth out of it. I will definitely re-purchase if i ever use it all up. I even bought my friend one for Christmas as i didn't want her to miss out!

 

Buy here

 

Now I know most people wont want to spend £20 on an eyeshadow palette and trust me I understand! However, I have found a perfect high street eyeshadow palette for a bargain price of £4 and that's the MUA Undress Me Too palette. It comes with 12 beautiful pigmented shadows. 3 matte shades and 9 shimmery pearlescent shades. The eye shadows are quite powdery and there is a lot of fall out when you apply them but for £4 you can't really complain. This palette is a dupe for the Naked 2, and even the names are similar. I would say that this palette is perfect for most skin tones as it is a very neutral palette. I love this product a lot and I forgot about it until I rummaged through my makeup collection, but I did use it for a good 7 months before my Naked basics.

 

   Buy here

 

  Mascara

 

I have 2 mascaras that I've been loving this year. The first one is a love hate Mascara in the beauty world and that's the Benefit they're real mascara. This mascara is so incredibly black that it makes your lashes look false. I have quite long lashes anyway but this gives a more volumized and lengthening effect. It doesn't clump, crumble or flake and it lasts all day! It can be a nightmare to remove but the N07 Beautiful Skin makeup wipes are amazing to get off waterproof or tough eye makeup. It is quite pricey at £19.50 but if you're having a treat yourself day then I would recommend it.

 The cheaper option i have been loving for 2013 is the Rimmel Lash Accelerator endless mascara. Its a great lengthening mascara and the applicator is nice and thin so you can get to all the hard areas in the corner of the eyes and the lower lash line. It doesn't clump and it's very long lasting and easy to remove.  This has been my go to mascara all year but I'm trying to branch out of my comfort zone this year and try new ones but it will always be re purchased and have a place in my makeup box. Rimmel is such an affordable and good quality brand that you can't really go wrong! 

 

Rimmel Buy here       Benefit| Buy here

 

Eyeliner

I'm so picky with eyeliners but I have 3 I've been loving this year! One pencil, one gel and one felt tip. The first eyeliner is the Rimmel soft kohl eyeliner pencil which I've been using since I was about 14! There's not much to say about it. It's just so black, lasts a long time and really inexpensive.

 

Next is the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Black. This eyeliner is so easy to apply and it lasts all day. It comes with a little brush too which is handy for travel but I use an angled brush to apply it and it just looks so clean, sleek and precise. I love it!

 

Then the Best felt tip eyeliner I have ever used is the Collection 2000 extreme 24HR felt tip liner in black. It is £2.99 and it's just perfect! I have no faults with it. So easy to apply winged eyeliner with, literally takes me seconds! Its so black and bold and it lasts ages! Its brilliant! 

         Rimmel | Buy here  Maybelline| Buy here   Collection 2000 | Buy here                       

Eyebrows

Brows! I have big, bold, bushy, black natural brows and I love them! They are what frame my face. So I obviously want to take care of them and give them some pampering too. I've tried powders, waxes, mascaras and pencils and although I have to agree with most people that powder does give a better application, a natural look and long lasting effect...The product I use most days for my brows is the MUA eyebrow pencil in Brunette.

I just find it so easy. My brows are tidied, tamed and full in literally 3 seconds and I'll usually only use powder when I'm going somewhere nice. The pencil comes with the comb to blend in the colour and tame the hairs into place. It's a creamy, highly pigmented pencil and it's only £1! So you can't go wrong!

Buy here

 

Foundations

This year I've tried, tested, purchased, loved and hated so many foundations. It's hard for me to really love a foundation because I always find something wrong with it. However I have selected 3 that I really recommend and like a lot. 

The first is the Maybelline Fit me foundation. The good thing about this foundation is that it has shades for yellow and pink undertones and it matches to your skin tone giving you a natural look. They also have other Fit me products that I want to try out! This foundation is a gel based foundation and it is perfect for dry skin as it gives you a nice dewy finish. It has really good coverage and I would say its medium coverage but definitely build able. I used this all summer as I found it so light and it just made my skin glow and breathe. However, if you have oily skin I wouldn't recommend this particular foundation as it will make you 'glow' in your problem areas! It retails around £7.99 which I would gladly pay for something that works on my skin! 

The next foundation is the Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr Foundation. Now I have pros and cons to this foundation, but mainly pros. The only problems I have with this foundation is that the lightest shade is 100 ivory and it's really light on my skin tone and also clings to my dry spots, The 200 is a touch too dark and I have to blend it down my neck to avoid an orange mask! Then the next thing is that I hated it in summer! It was such a thick heavy foundation and I found it cakey. So.. on to the good points. I used this for the whole of October, November and December and I haven't finished the bottle yet so that's a bonus. I do feel that a little goes a long way as it is such a thick formula. It's very hydrating for my skin and it gives me full coverage which I need with my redness and blemishes. I started working in November so I wanted something that would last through the day without me having to do many touch ups and this definitely held up! However, its not 25 hours as it states but I realistically got 10 - 12 hours wear out of it! Its such a bargain too!

The high end foundation I've been liking this year is my MAC studio sculpt foundation in NW20. Which in winter is actually too dark for me which annoyed me slightly. This foundation is again a gel based foundation. It's a very thick formula and it reminds me of a thicker, whipped cream. This foundation is full coverage and you really don't need much at all as I find it can be quite heavy on the skin if you try to build it. However, for a night out its perfect. It's also waterproof so if it rains or you sweat a bit, you wont have your makeup sliding down your face. It's very pricey at £27 a tube but it works!

Rimmel | Buy here  MAC | Buy here  Maybeline | Buy here

Cheeks

My second favourite product of the year has to be my Sleek Contour and Blush palette. I've used this so much! Almost everyday since getting it just like the Urban Decay eye shadows. I love contouring every day.. I never used to and now that I do I just feel strange when i don't. It's such an affordable product too at £9.99 you get a gorgeous highlight, a rose gold blush and a really good contour shade. The bronzer is so intense and dark that it gives a perfect shadow effect. However, you don't want to add to much otherwise you'll look like you've been punched in the face!

 Buy here

 

I purchased the Benefit Rockateur boxed blush by Benefit about 3 weeks ago and I've been using it non stop since I got it. I am so in love with this blush. It's a rose gold shade and it gives your skin a healthy glow.

 

Buy here

 

I use this on days when I can't be bothered to contour and I want to give my sleek palette a break. This is the perfect blush, bronzer and highlight in one! I tend to stay away from pinkie toned blushes as I suffer with rosacea and I don't want something that's going to attract attention to my problem areas but this is just PERFECT!

  

Concealer

Now concealers I have a lot of trouble finding ones that I love as they need to be full coverage, brightening and don't crease. However, I have found 3 that I loved this year.

My new favourite concealer is the MAC pro longwear concealer in NW20. It's long lasting,covers all imperfections, hides dark circles, doesn't crease under my eyes and a little goes a really long way! It's £15.50 and the bottle is small so at first I was dubious but now I see why! It's amazing...
The next concealer is a cheaper alternative for the Pro Longwear concealer and that's the Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer. Its a thinner formula in comparison to the MAC one. However, it's long lasting, doesn't crease and has great coverage. The only bad thing is the applicator is a sponge tip and I hate them as you don't get the most out of the product as the sponge absorbs the product and its really unhygienic. It's a great price at £4.19! 

The Maybelline age rewind concealer is my 3rd favourite. I've found myself reaching for this concealer a lot lately and I just bought a new one as I've run out. It's very brightening under the eyes and it's very creamy in consistency which makes it crease a bit but I don't mind as I really enjoy using it.
 

 Collection 2000 | Buy here  Mac | Buy here  Maybelline | Buy here

 Lips

 

Last year I made more of an effort to wear lip colours and lipsticks, as when I thought about it I really didn't take any notice of my lips and I would just mute my lips out with foundation and whip a nude gloss over. Which is fine but it just got very boring and I love my lips so why would I want to hide them?

I've bought so many over the past year and it took me a while to figure out what shades I liked on myself, what suited my skin tone and what made my teeth look white and not yellow!

My favourite Lip Balm type thing this year was the Revlon Lip Butters. The one I have is in Cotton Candy and its a very sheer baby pink with glitter. Its so gorgeous on the lips and they feel soft and just lovely. I loved it so much I've only got a tiny bit left so I need to buy more!

Then I tried the Maybelline Superstay 14 Hour Lipstick in Infinitly Fuchsia. Now first off this lipstick doesn't last 14 hours. It lasts about 1-2 hours. It's very bold and vibrant and really true to colour. There are tiny bits of glitter and it is a gorgeous colour on the lips. I find it goes on quite creamy but then it becomes quite drying on the lips. I like that feeling though... I could just be weird. After the lip colour wears off it leaves a tint so I quite like that. I'm not sure if it would do the same for lighter colours. I have worn this lipstick for most of November and December and I really like it. It also smells like sweets!

In the summer I was obsessed with the Bourjois Paris Colour Boost Lip Crayon in On The Beach. This lip crayon is so creamy and glossy I love it. It applies really smoothly and lasts for a long time, keeping the lips soft. The colour is quite sheer as I went for a lighter shade. Its a Coraly orange colour and I really love it and want to try more.

Revlon | Buy here  Maybelline | Buy here  Bourjois | Buy here

 

 On to glosses... Now these are quite similar. They're both Nudes but the Rimmel Stay Glossy in Non- Stop Glamour is a shimmery pinkie nude and the ELF Glossy Gloss in Ballet Slippers is a more brown nude with no shimmer. They're both very sticky, I think the ELF is stickier. They both last as long as a gloss tends to taking in consideration that I will eat or drink through the day, they always need to be touched up. Really gorgeous colours though.

   ELF | Buy here   Rimmel | Buy here

 

Hair Care

 

In 2013 I was obsessed with (and currently still am) the V05 Styling range. My favourite hair spray is the V05 styling hold. This bottle has lasted me so long! I absolutely love it, it doesn't make my hair crunchy and stiff. It holds my curls in all day and although they drop out they still look amazing.

 

Then there's the V05 heat protect spray. This stuff smells incredible! I don't know what it is but I just love it. I've gone through so many of these bottles and its so cheap and always on offer so i will always repurchase it!

 

And finally for hair care I'm loving the Batiste dry shampoo range. My favourite one is the one for brunette hair or the original but I ran out of that one so I just have a mini one for my handbag, which is so handy because I stay out a lot. Really good product and couldn't live without it. My hair gets really greasy after 2 days so this comes in so handy. I tried a few cheaper ones but they just don't compare. They leave a horrible white cast where as the Batiste just blends in after you brush or rub it in.

 

V05 | Buy here  Batiste | Buy here

 Perfume

 

My favourite perfume of 2013 was the Flash by Jimmy Choo. It comes in this gorgeous glittery box and the bottle is just so glam! I love this so much and I was obsessed with it before I got it in June!

It's a very sweet yet sophisticated scent and it's just really lovely.

It's quite pricey though and I've had to stop using it as I don't want to run out of it. I have the 60ml and I think it was around £65.

 

Buy here 

 Skin Care

 

In 2013 I'm ashamed to admit I only just started to take care of my skin. Before I used to just remove my makeup with a makeup wipe and be done with it.

The L'Oréal Paris Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution is by far my favourite Cleanser and toner. It's so cooling on the skin and it removes makeup so well. It doesn't last very long though. I find myself having to buy a new one every 2 weeks but its usually always on offer for around £3 so I don't mind so much. I still use makeup wipes to remove my makeup but then I go over my skin with this solution after I cleanse to make sure I have no excess makeup.

Sudocrem is a long time favourite product and it always will be. It is so amazing and it helps so many things, it's not just for bums! You can use it on acne and rashes too and I find that when I'm having a bad skin day, I just put this on my face before bed and when I wake up my skin is so much better.

I've been using the boots Botanics Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask for a few months now and I love this. It makes my skin really soft and helps my t-zone be less oily, and its just fun to pamper!

Loreal | Buy here  Sudocrem | Buy here  Clay Mask | Buy here

Nails

 

I have really started enjoying painting my nails so last year my nail polish collection grew and I have been loving two polishes.

 

The first one is the Maybelline Colour Show nail polishes. My favourite colour for autumn/winter was Burgundy. It is such a gorgeous dark cherry red colour with a hint of black. These polishes are so good and really cheap too!

 

Then the colour I was loving for spring/summer was the 17 Lasting Fix nail polish in Parma Violet. I have worn this so much and it's not even empty yet! It's just such a gorgeous shade. They dry quickly and the finish is glossy. They're about £2.99 too.

 

17 | Buy here     Maybelline | Buy here

Brushes

 

And last but not least is brushes. 2013 I really just discovered makeup so I'm still building my brush collection. However, the best brush I have ever used is the brushes by Real Techniques. My favourite brush is the Expert Face Brush as I feel like it creates such a flawless canvass. It makes my foundation blend in so well. It doesn't shed and it keeps it shape after washing. Its a very dense brush so the product doesn't get lost in the brush. The real techniques range are really good quality and affordable brushes.

 

 

Buy here

 

I hope you enjoyed my favourite beauty products of 2013.

 Ezzie xox