♥ Leopard Print & Blusher

FOTD,Leopard Print & Blusher

Yesterday I reviewed my favourite blusher from Elf (link). This is the FOTD to go with it, again I'm trying to switch up my makeup a bit, hence the sudden love for blusher and not my usual bronzer. My biggest problem is hair, due to transitioning I can't really do a lot with it.

The usual curly fringy.. ah I'm so tired of it. For winter I might do braids or a full weave, but only keep it in for a few weeks. I've been weave less for over a year now I think, or more because I can't even remember the last time I wore it.

What did I use for this look:

• Foundation: UNE
• Eyeshadows: INGLOT
• Lipgloss/lipstick: ELF
• Blusher: ELF
• Mascara: Loreal Telescopic

What do you think of this look?

What do u prefer, blusher or bronzer?

x

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♥ My most used makeup brushes

My most frequently used Makeup Brushes- Real Techniques and Boots N7

Real Techniques Blush Brush: "Contour and define cheeks for flawlessly blended, high-definition results:" www.realtechniques.com. Except for my favourite blusher in the previous post, I don't really use blusher that often. However, I do use a shimmery bronzer As a blusher, and this brush is perfectnfor applying it. The synthetic bristles are incredibly soft and makes it super easy to work in or build up product. None of the RT brushes shed at all.

Real Techniques Shading Brush: "From subtle to dramatic, this brush is ideal for creating flawless high-definition results" - www.realtechniques.com. This is the only brush I have suitable for  applying above the crease, before blending it. I also use it to put shadow in the outer corner of my eye. Love it!

Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush (Comes in the Starter Set only): "Base shadow brush: applies a smooth, flawless foundation of color"-www.realtechniques.com. Even though I do use it for applying a base of shadow, usually just a bright base on the eyeshadow primer- I mainly use it for "soft" blending. What I mean by that is I use it when I want to blend, or smudge my shadows. Rather than harshly blending. 

Boots N7 Eyeshadow Blend & Contour: "The No7 contour brush is great for shading the socket line area and general blending"- www.boots.com. This blending brush is the one I use for blending out really harsh lines. It has hardly shed at all after several washes. Despite its white colour, it always goes back to white after every wash and there is no staining. They have now changed the brush in Boots and it is all black instead of the light metallic part on the brush.
Tips: By this for £2.75 when you have a N7 voucher.

Links:

• My Real Techniques Starter Set (Eyeshadow Brushes) review and close up pics.
• My Real Techniques Blush Brush & Shading brush review

What's your favourite makeup brush & have you done a post like this?

xx

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♥ ELF Palette Blusher Review

Elf Palette Blusher Review

I have been mentioning my elf palette quite often lately, thats because I've really enjoyed using it. When I bought it, I wasn't overly excited or anything but after trying it out properly I really love it.

Anyway, my newest favourite from the palette is the blusher. It's AMAZING. I love anything with gold in it, especially rose gold colours.. it's so pretty.

TWO IN ONE, HIGHLIGHTER But to me the most amazing thing is how the golden shimmers sort of come out as a highlighter.. look at this picture..No flash! No added brightness, no highligher and look at that glow!! I love it :)

SWATCHES Three pictures because I struggle to take a colour accurate picture. I'd say the first one taken with flash shows the colour the most accurate. And in all of them you can see the golden shimmers which causes the highlighting effect.

STAYING POWER: I've been using this the last few days, but I've set it with a setting spray (review will be up soon). It seems as though the red colour of the blusher will fade quite a lot, after a whole day of wearing it- but the highlighting golden shimmers are still visible. Which is fine with me!

Do you have any ELF palettes & what's your favourite product of theirs?

xx

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♥ Garnier Respons Shampoo Avocado Oil & Shea Butter Review

Garnier Respons Shampoo Avocado Oil & Shea Butter Review

I mentioned in this empties post featuring the conditioner that I bought these when I was in Sweden, because I travelled with hand luggage only and couldn't bring anything else. They are both silicone and paraben free which is great, however the shampoo does contain Sulfates.

Shampoo- It is quite fragranced and lathers up quite a lot. If it dries my hair or not I can't really say because I always do a hot oil treatment before shampooing, especially if I for some reason use a Sulfate one. However after coming back from Sweden my scalp was quite itchy so it could well be from using a harsh shampoo. For someone who uses Sulfate shampoos and don't have a sensitive scalp, I'd say go for it. I will still use this for when I need sulfate shampoo though.
CONCLUSION: Use this once a month or so to remove hair product buildup or when you've used products containing silicones.


Conditioner- To start with, a ridiculously small bottle for a conditioner. You afro haired girls know that one wash requires the equivalent of this bottle lol. I guess for people with straight hair it's okey. Anyway the formula is a bit hard, by hard I mean it feels similar to when you put a protein treatment in your head. Not sure why since it doesn't contain any proteins. The ingredients are pretty decent and it contains Stearamido-Propyl Dimethylamine which is an antistatic agent that can also be used as a mild cleanser.
CONCLUSION: Great if you are a co-washer (a person who uses conditioner to wash their hair)! It contains nourishing oils at the top and a few gentle cleansing agents at the bottom of the ingredient list.

Have you seen Garnier's Shea Butter & Avocado Oil products? I've only seen them in Sweden.

xx

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♥ Neal's Yard & Remedies Face Wishlist

Neal's Yard & Remedies Face Pamper Wish List

Neal's Yard & Remedies Organic Face Wipes (get them here)- I was so excited to see these on NYR Facebook page yesterday, that I just had to make this little collage straight away. Made with organic cotton and a ton of calming ingredients like Aloe Vera, Camomille, Lavender and more. Personally I wouldn't have mind if they put some more oils in there since oils clean makeup the best. But they probably didn't because some people seem to mind oil in their face.

Neal's Yard & Remedies Kabuki Brush (get it here)- Well in my dream world I'll buy this too to use with the foundation I DONT actually have, lol. Synthetic animal free bristles (love synthetic brushes since trying Real Techniques brushes), bamboo handles & super fine for a professional finish.

Neal's Yard & Remedies Palmarosa Purifying Facial Mask (get it here)- A puryifying clay mask containing Raspberry extract, Hemp Oil, Aloe Vera powder and many more great ingredients.

Neal's Yard & Remedies Dark Cool Mineral Foundation (get it here)- A mineral foundation like no other I'd like to say. Not only is it a mineral foundation but it is filled with nourishing ingredients like Shea Butter & Almond Oil. I haven't tried it because it's a bit pricey. However I have the bronzer and I love that so next time I decide to splurge, I'll get it.

What's your favourite organic brand? I love NYR especially now that they do makeup too :)

xx

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♥ Natural Shades FOTD

Pink Shades.. FOTD

When I did this makeup I was still trying to go for something I don't usually go for makeup wise. I chose to use pink and bronze shades. However I wasn't too happy with the eyeshadows, therefor no close up. 

My lipstick is from my ELF palette, I discovered how nice this is a few days ago.. I hadn't actually tried it before despite having the palette for about a year now.

What I used for this look:

• Eyeshadows: ELF palette
• Mascara: Loreal Telescopic
• Foundation: Maybelline 24 hr matte
• Bronzer: Isadora
• Highlighter: NYR eyeshadow hibiscus (mentioned here)
• Liquid eyeliner: Company Magazine (review here)

What do you think of this look?

xx

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♥ Abalico Deep Purple Shade 17

Abalico Deep Purple NOTD

Here is today's NOTD. It's from the brand Abalico and the shade just has a number, 17. I would sat that it's a dark purple with hardly visible blue shimmers in it. A little similar to OPI "Grape Set Match" (link) nail varnish, even though that shade is a bit more cold.

This is the only picture without flash, colour wise it is more accurate. But the flash picture show the details in the shade better.

What do you think of this & what's your favourite autumn nail varnish shade?

x

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♥ Review Collection (2000) Shade 5, Passionfruit

Review Collection (2000) Shade 5, Passionfruit (£2.99)

This is the lipstick I used on my most recent fotd, I bought it a while a go searching for a coral coloured lipstick. I only wore it once or twice and then stopped using it because I didn't like the formula. Yesterday I decided to try it again, and I quite like it. 

As you can see above and in the swatch below it has golden flicks in it. I wouldn't say that they are visible when you wear it, but it still gives a nice effect.

This is what it looks like on, it looks a tad "flaky" I suppose in the pictures, but they are close ups. The formula is very creamy and super pigmented.

What do you think of this?

x

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♥ Major Bargain Alert

Major BodyShop Bargain Alert Guys

Since like every other of my posts contain a the Body Shop product, you've probably realised that I am a big fan. Today I went on to their website (which is amazing, yay for full ingredient lists) and as a true bargain hunter I was immediately drawn to the "Sale, under £3" section link.

I'm out of face wash and I haven't used a toner in a long while, so it's fair to say I'm in need of one. That's why I was super happy to find the Cucumber Cleansing Milk AND the matching toner.

So I placed my first online Body Shop order and it came up to £8 for:
Cucumber Cleansing Milk, Cucumber Water ( the toner), Deodry Fresh & Zesty & Watermelon Body lotion.

These are my picks, they are all 50%, and under £3 (click on the picture to get to view the item on bodyshop.co.uk)










The downside is this sale is online only, and they only ship to the uk. I have two voucher codes for you guys:

• Code: EXTRA || 40% Off. (does Not work on sales items) (Valid: 29th October)
• Code: Vouchercodes (click on it) || 30% off, Does include sales items (Valid: 28th October)

I used the voucher code one. It's my first time using them and I just found it through google. It worked wonders and I'm so glad I found it since I was slightly dissappointed by the £3 shipping. With my order, after the 30% voucher codes discount it turned out to be almost the same price as with no shipping. Enjoy guys!.. xx

Do you shop at the Body Shop?

What's your favourite product from them?

x

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♥ Shopping my stash FOTD

Shopping My Stash Colourful FOTD

So you might have noticed that I've posted quite a few FOTD's lately, but despite great feedback I kind of feel like I keep wearing similar looks all the time. So I decided to use eyeshadows, and lipsticks I don't usually use. Lipstick was more tricky since I actually use all & don't have that many.

I bought this Collection 2000 (Now Collection) lipstick from Superdrug quite a while ago, searching for a coral redish lipstick. However, I don't think it's coral anymore but it is definitely bright red. Initially I stopped wearing it because I didn't like the formula, but after trying it today- I love it! 

The eyeshadows are from a REVLON eyeshadow quartet that I haven't used a lot because the pigmentation isn't great.

Even though I like bright colours this is definitely not something I would wear every day out. I do think bright lips and bright eyeshadows are a bit much, but I wore it for the sake of "shopping my stash". If you really love colours though, it's okey for everyday looks since these eyeshadows aren't very pigmented and bright.

 In the inner corner there is a yellow shade, and above my crease up to my eyebrows is the orange shade.. so yeah you get the picture- not at all great colour pay off.

What did I use for this look?

• Eyebrows- Viva La Diva eyebrow pencil
• Eyeshadows: Revlon eyeshadow quartet
• Eye lashes: Loreal telescopic mascara
• Foundation: Maybelline 24hr matte foundation
• Bronzer- Isadora (I don't use this as often as I should either)

What do you think of this & what do you do to switch up your makeup?

x

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♥ EOTD: Autumn Fiery Red

EOTD: Fiery Red Vs. Pretty Turquoise

Here is a colourful EOTD autumn style. Again, I used shadows from my ELF palette. I am really starting to love it lately, talk about a product growing on your seeing as I bought it last autumn/winter.This is not a look I wore out, so I actually did this one at the same time as my recent Pretty Turquoise EOTD (link)

What did I use:

• Red, yellow & brown shimmery eyeshadows from my ELF palette (link)
• Yellow and red mattes as a base, from my INGLOT freedom palette (link)
• Liquid Eyeliner & eye pencil from COMPANY (link)
• Mascara from Natural Collection
• Eyebrow pencil from Viva La Diva

Which one is your favourite guys.. pretty turquoise or fiery red?

What do you think of this look?

Do you use ELF or INGLOT eyeshadows?

x

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♥ Working Out: At the gym

Today's Exercise

My gym and health post have been completely neglected lately. When I was in Sweden I went to the gym a few times and took these pictures to write a fitness post in my blog, it's way overdue!

When I work out I tend to focus and legs (thighs) and glutes (bum). This means I have such weak arms, but I kind of don't mind a long as they don't look skinny.

Today's Legs & Glutes Exercises at the gym

• Speedwalking on the Treadmill for 30 min. Inclined Level 6.5-7 (Means you are walking uphill, great for your bum) at speed 6.5-7. Don't be lazy here guys, it's called speed walk for a reason.
• Stair Master (not to be confused with cross trainer): 15 min. This is great for your bum, however, quite tricky to master and I hadn't used it in a long while so I only did 15 min.
• Leg Press: 20x3, 80 kg. Again, don't be scared to do heavy weighs here. The absolutely heaviest your are capable of "pushing", that's the weight you should do. 

This is an easy, quite quick and effective leg and bum work out. I will share in a coming post how to exercise all these muscles at home instead, if you don't like going to the gym or don't want to spend money on it.

What exercises do you do at the gym?

x

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Please note I didn't do this exercise today, but I track all exercises I did so it is accurate to that day.

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♥ Chanel Joues Contrast Blusher Shade; Reflex

Chanel Joues Contrast Blusher Shade; Reflex Review

"Offers effects from very natural to very sophisticated. Used as a simple touch of colour, it gives your complexion a healthy glow. As a professional tool, it shapes and models your face (cheekbones, browbones, forehead, chin, along the nose). 

Manufactured by a process exclusive to CHANEL, the compact and silky texture of JOUES CONTRASTE gives easy application and subtle blending. The brush is made of natural hair."- www.chanel.com

You might have noticed that I don't wear blusher that often, but if I do, it will definitely be a rose gold shade- I just think it's so pretty. I would still use a bit of bronzer with it though.

Result?
I actually used the brush it came with and that worked pretty well. The pigmentation is average I would say, but you don't really want a heavy coverage with a blusher. When I wore foundation with it it lasted more or less all day, so thumbs up for that.

Shade?
This shade red/pinkish with gorgeous golden shimmers in it. Personally I think it might suit darker skin tones, as light skin tones look great with pink & matte blushers. So I have to say that personally I love this shade!

Availability & Price?
From a quick googled search I found that it is quite readily available. You can buy it in all department stores, and it should we available in the Boots counters as well, which is great! In all of those stores it goes for around £31 but I found one online store who sold it for £24.8.

Have you tried CHANEL blushers? 

What's your favourite blusher?

x

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♥ Miss Bargain Hunter

Miss Bargain Hunter- Leave in conditioner, two conditioners & body milk for £10.5

So I bought some goodies yesterday when I was out and about with my boyfriend. They weren't wasn't actually spontaneous buys at all. My leave in conditioners have all run out, and with this afro hair growing out of my head I just can't be without one lol.

LOVE PEAVE & THE PLANET by TIGI Leave in Conditioner, £3.99 (original price: £10). My plan was to have a look in TK MAXX (American TJ MAXX) because they have loads of good brands for discounted prices. And what did I find? One, only one of TIGI's organic / planet friendly brand Love Peace & Planet leave in conditioner.

Beauty Formulas Australian Tea Tree Deep Nourishing Conditioner £1- Oh my god. I went to Poundland (discount store where everything is £1, obviously) and I saw a new conditioner. After having a look at the ingredient I was just sure it would be great. I just washed my hair with it and it was amazing! Review will come soon.


The Body Shop Moroccan Rose Body Milk Spray £4.5 (Sale from £9)- I've been looking for a body lotion spray for so long. Well I haven't really been looking but I've been wanting one, and didn't know where to find it. So guess if I was happy to find this on sale at body shop. Such a pretty bottle :) And plus for super friendly staff at the Body Shop in Hammersmith.

Have you tried any of these?

What's best bargain buy?

x

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♥ The Body Shop, Curls, Garnier .... Empties!

Here comes my second ever EMPTIES post :) 

Quite a few, but they are not only over a month or so. Some of them I forgot to mention in my previous one, and some have been empty for long and I've just been to lazy to throw them away.

1. GARNIER Respons Avocado Oil & Shea Butter Shampoo- It says Balsam on it, which means Conditioner in Swedish. When I was in Sweden I got this from a cheapish Swedish Supermarket. You know one of those that might have some not so common products sometimes.I've never seen these Garnier products before but the conditioner was alright. It feels a bit "hard" on the hair (like it can feel when you do a protein treatment, not sure why since it doesn't contain any protein. Decent conditioner but nothing special.

2. OLIV Haircare Detangling Spray £6- Says "Balsamspray" on the bottle which is Swedish for moisturising spritz/detangling spray. LOVE this. I actually bought this twice during the 18 days I spent in Sweden. This is the perfect detangler for my transitioning afro hair! It contains no silicones, mineral oils or parabens. I would say that it is moisturising enough for afro hair, but still not heavy enough for straight/Caucasian hair. A bit to pricey considering it last me about 2 weeks though.

3 The Bodyshop HEMP Body Butter- Love this stuff too. I keep raving on about their HEMP range, but it really is the perfect products for dry or sensitive skin. Perfect for winter days to make sure your skin isn't feeling dry. Great ingredients with loads of Shea Butter. Bought it in a gift set.

4 The Body Shop Coconut Shower Cream- A great everyday shower cream. It contains sulfates I think, but it isn't very drying. Smells amazing (when it's not out of date, which I think mine was lol).. if you like coconut that is.

5 Aloe Pura 99.9% Pure Aloe Vera Gel- Pure Aloe Vera gel. Bought this brand because it was cheaper than Holland & Barett's own brand (health store). Love using this in my hair instead of a hair gel to slick my hair back. I would say it has a light hold and it never leaves any residue in your hair and is easy to comb out when you wan't it gone.

6. Garnier 2-in-1 Wash Scrub Mask- This is great as a daily wash or a weekly face mask. It's cheap (£3-£4 or something) and lasts for long. It's a clay based wash and works well in fighting impurities. I wouldn't say it's great as a scrub since there is hardly any scrubbing effect to it. Reviewed here.

7 Jamaican Mango & Lime No more relaxer detangling/transitioning cream: This stuff smells amazing guy. Decent ingredient list with Shea Butter as 2/3rd ingredients. You can get it for £2.99, but the downside is it doesn't last for long. I mean if you use it for transitioning hair, even just on your new growth- this won't last long. Lovely for softening and detangling afro-y roots though.

8. Curls Coconut Sublime Conditioner- Love this stuff. Semi natural with a lot of organic ingredients. Smells amazing of Caramel, which lingers in your hair for quite a while. It doesn't provide great slip (makes your hair silky and easy to detangle) and if you have afro hair, it won't last long considering how much conditioner our hair needs. So at £12 ( or was it £9) I won't repurchase this often. (Mentioned here (hair care regime post) and here (recent buys post) )

7. Gilly Hicks VELVET CASSIA Body Mist- A body mist from Gilly Hicks (Abercrombie and Hollisters other shop). Smells really really nice and lasts forever! I really enjoyed it, but as any body mist it doesn't exactly stay on forever.

Have you tried any of these? Any recent EMPTIES posts.. link them? 

x

Link: My first empties post

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♥ Pretty Turquoise

EOTD: Pretty Turquoise

I bought an INGLOT freedom palette not so long ago (here) with loads of bright pretty colours. I've already tried the bright red  (eotd here) and yellow shade (fotd here). However, I had yet to try this turquoise one.

Here is what I came up with.

What did I use for this eotd?

• NYC Primer (seen here)
• ELF white shadow to "set" primer
• INGLOT turquoise shadow (seen here)
• ELF, two different dark purple shades
• NYC white eyeliner on water line
• Natural Collection Mascara
• COMPANY liquid eyeliner (review here)
• Viva La Diva eyebrow pencil (seen here)

What do you think of this?

xx

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♥ Your favourite look?

The picture speaks for itself, which one is your favourite look? These are all looks I've done within a month and a bit.

Click the numbers to view more pictures of look number: 1,2,3,4,5,6 or 7

Which one is your favourite, and why?

x

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♥ How to: Elongate your eyes

How to: Elongate your eyes

Here is a super easy way of elongating your eyes. The eye look was inspired by beautiful Meagan Good's makeup, google her and you'll see what I'm talking about. For this kind of look I would stick to neutrals because you have quite a harsh eyeliner going on.

What did I use for this look:

• COMPANY Liquid Eyeliner (review here)
• ELF eyeshadows (the brown ones)
• Isadora eyeshadow (the bright one)
• Isadora bronzer: Orangy shade above crease
• Viva La Diva: eyebrow pencil

How to?

• Apply a bright colour in the inner corner of your eye and on the tear duct
• Apply a dark brown shade to the outer corner of your eye
• Apply a orange/brown shade above the crease
• Apply a really thin liquid liner, with a thin flick that is in line with your bottom lash line.
• Draw a line with a black eyeliner on half your crease line- starting at the middle of your eye, running towards the tear duct. Use a thin detailer brush with a bit of dark brown eyeshadow on to go over the line, smudging it and blending in the brown.

What do you think of this look?

Any tips for elongating eyes?

xx

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♥ OPI Pretty Rally Pink

OPI Pretty Rally Pink NOTD

I have actually shown this shade before but I thought it would be pretty for autumn, which is why I decided to wear it today. It's also super hard to catch the shade on camera, I didn't manage to get any truly focused pics this time either, but here you go. Here is a link to the old post.

It's not super sheer, but you still needed three coats for it to be fully opaque.. it also took quite long to dry which is a minus.

 This pic is probably the most true to what it really looks like.

Have you tried this shade? Or its dupe Zoya Faye?

x

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♥ A curly FOTD

Now that I am transitioning (growing out naturally curly hair from relaxed (relaxed=chemically straightened) hair ).. Yeah I put a bracket in the bracket lol. Anyway, it is hard to find ways to style your hair since you are dealing with thick tightly curled afro hair at the roots, and dead, straight relaxed ends at the bottom.

Mainly I'll just keep my hair up in a bun as you can probably see in my fotd, or just plait the fringe to make it wavy, or plait & curl as I've done in this pic.

My fotd is a great everyday look. Minimal eyeshadow, I've only put a (to me) nude eyeshadow from my ELF palette all over the lid. I put a tiny bit of dark brown shadow in the corners and really blended it out, for a soft shadow. Finish off with bright lips from Sleek!

What I used on my face:

• Viva La Diva Eyebrow Pencil (see here)
• Eyeshadows from my ELF palette (see here)
• Mascara from Natural Collection
• Foundation from Estee Lauder (tester, woho first tester that isn't a match with Snow White's skin only)
• Neal's Yard Remedies Organic Powder Bronzer (review here)
• ELF rose gold blusher from my ELF palette (see here)
• Lip paint from Sleek Pout Paints (see here)

What do you think of this look?

Whats a good everyday look to you?

x

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