Peacock eyes

Hi Beauts.

I was playing about yesterday with some eyeshadows, as you do, and ended up doing a kind of peacock inspired look so I thought I'd share it with you. I'm all for bright colours no matter what the season and this is  a pretty wearable colourful look that I think anyone could pull off.

First things first prime those peepers. I just used the MUA eyeshadow primer all over my lid. Next, taking a matte light brown (I used shade 3 from MUA Undress me palette) apply this into the crease with a fluffy blending brush. This will work as a transition colour, will help the other shadows to blend and will warm the look up.

Choose your favourite green shadow (I used shade 7 from MUA's single shadow range) and apply this all over your lid. Taking the fluffy blending brush you used to apply the light brown, blend away any harsh lines.

Next, take a blue/aqua/turquoise shadow (I used shade 8 from MUA) and a liner or small angled brush and run this along your lower lashline, as close to the lashes as possible.

Last for shadow is highlight. Apply a shimmery champagne colour to your tearduct area and browbone (I used MUA shade 1)

To finish off the look, take your gel or liquid liner and create a winged effect, and run a white or skintone pencil along your waterline to help open up your eyes

And that is the finished look. What do you think? What are your favourite shades for summer?

Stacey x

Revlon Lip butters

Hi Beauts.

A while back I got requested (by Confessions of a makeupaholic ) to do a little post on the new Revlon lip butter that I picked up in Red Velvet. So my lovelies here is said post :)

I have another lip butter in Berry Smoothie so I thought I'd chuck that into the mix too and do a little comparison, because I find both formulas to be slightly different

Berry Smoothie is the more glossy of the two and probably the more wearable if you're one for a nice wearable every day shade.

Red velvet, in my opinion, is more matte and more of a lipstick than a gloss/balm. This is SO pigmented and I find it a little more difficult to apply than Berry Smoothie as it's a little drier.

Because these are a glossy balm (more Berry Smoothie than Red Velvet) I assumed that they'd give a nice wash of colour and maybe last around an hour or so. Well I was wrong. They're pigmented, glossy and last almost all day! The glossiness does wear off but leaves behind a nice amount of even colour, and they aren't drying at all. I'm not sure about the lighter shades, many people say that they aren't very pigmented and can be patchy, but these two are great.

The Revlon Lip Butters are definitely on to have in your collection, I shall certainly be adding more shades!

The lowdown

Price: £7.99

Shades: 21

Available from: Boots, Superdrug and some Tesco stores

Pigmented

Very moisturising

Glossy finish (some more than others)

Long lasting

What are your favourite shades?

Stacey x

MUA and FashionistA join forces

Hi Beauts.

Today's post is a bit of a haul, review and rave all rolled into one. Recently MUA have taken over the brand FashionistA and are now selling their stock on the MUA website. I've spotted FashionistA before in Superdrug and actually have three blushes from them, so when I found out that MUA were now selling them I had to place an order

When FashionistA were sold in Superdrug, I'm pretty sure the deal was you could fill a palette with four blushes/bronzers/eyeshadows for £10.00 or £12.00. MUA are currently holding the same deal for £7.00! Helloooo bargain. I'm not sure how long this offer stands so grab yours while the offer is on!

I picked a red quad (there's also a palette with 6 slots), a matte bronzer in LA, a baked bronzer in Barcelona, a matte berry blush in Blushing and a baked blush in New York

These palettes are great, especially for travelling. All you do is choose four products: Choose from eyeshadow, blush and bronzer, and then arrange them in your very own palette.

Each palette on its own is £2.00 (regular price £5.00) (£3.00 for the 6 palette - regular price £6.00) and the single eyeshadows/blushes/bronzers are £1.65 (regular price £4.00) So to fill a palette with the £7.00 deal MUA currently have, you're saving yourself some pennys!

The blushes and bronzers I chose are SUPER pigmented, and the matte bronzer -  LA is perfect if you have pale skin like I do. Barcelona is definitely more of a highlight, and it looks really pretty as an eyeshadow too. I thought that the baked New York blush would be pretty shimmery but it isn't at all. It's a really nice pink shade with a slight sheen. And last but not least is Blushing. An absolutely gorgeous berry shade that will suit everyone.

I'm so happy with the shades that I bought, I definitely recommend checking them out!

Have you created your own palette yet? What are your favourite shades?

Stacey x

My favourite face brushes

Hi Beauts.

If you've already had a peek at my 'Favourite blending brushes' post then you'll know that I'm bit of a brush hoarder. I thought I'd do a bit of a follow up post and share which face brushes I love to use.

First up, Foundation:

Beauty blender dupe 99p. Not a brush buy my new favourite tool to use to apply my foundation. A full review is up, all I'll say is that highly recommend giving this a go

Real Techniques expert face brush £9.99. This was my favourite brush for applying my foundation before I discovered the Beauty blender (I still use this a lot) This helps give great coverage, a flawless finish and is even great for applying concealer too. 

Powder:

e.l.f Powder brush £3.75. This is my holy grail powder brush. I just find that this picks up enough product and I prefer to pat on my powder as opposed to swirling it on. I also find that this works great for applying foundation too

Cheeks:

Real Techniques Stippling brush £11.99. This was my first brush from RT and I loved applying my foundation with it. Then I discovered the Expert face brush and changed up my brushes. Now, I use this for either applying cream blush as it gives an even coverage and flawless look, or I use it to apply contour powder because I find it's a great size and shape

MAC 168 £26.00.This was actually a gift, I could never spend £26.00 on a brush even though I love it. I prefer applying my blush with an angled brush because I think it gives a nice definition to my face and gives an even coverage

Avon Angled brush £7.00. Another angled brush this time for highlighting my cheekbones. I like using this for highlighter because it fits perfectly along my cheekbones and picks up the right amount of product

What are your favourite face brushes to use? Does anyone know of any dupes for the MAC 109? I really want to give it a try but would rather find a cheaper alternative

Stacey x

My favourite Soap and Glory products

Hi Beauts.

Time for another favourites post, this time Soap and Glory. This is one of my favourite skincare brands on the highstreet, their products smell amazing and leave my skin so soft and moisturised. 

A lot if people consider soap and Glory to be on the pricey side, but when you work out how much product you're getting for your money it works out almost the same as any other brand.

Without further ado, here are my faves:

It's about prime eye primer £8.00

I love this primer, especially for wearing shimmery shadows. It's a shimmery champagne shade and kind of reminds me of MAC's Bare study paint pot

Lid stuff in 'What's nude?' £10.00

This is the perfect neutrals palette and great for travelling. The shades will suit everyone and this quad consists of a matte cream colour highlight, a perfect shade for transition and the choice of a medium tone matte brown and a shimmery taupe shade. Each shadow is smooth to apply, super pigmented and very easily blended

Hand food £5.00 

This is one of my all time favourite hand creams. Apart from the fact that it smells amazing, it is so moisturising and sinks in pretty quickly

Righteous butter £10.50

This is a thick, moisturising body butter that has the gorgeous well know Soap and Glory scent. It isn't greasy at all and soaks in pretty quickly, leaving your skin still feeling moisturised the next day

Smoothie star £10.00 

I wasn't sure that id like this at first because it doesn't have the Soap and Glory smell, which is pretty much what first attracted me to the brand. However, this smells good enough to eat! It smells of vanilla and cookies, and just yumminess! This is, again, a thick body moisturiser not as thick as the righteous butter but just as moisturising

Clean on me £5.50 

This is the first thing I ever bought from Soap and Glory and what got me addicted (I need to repurchase pronto) Again it has the typical S&G scent but what I love most is that it also contains moisturiser so it cleanses and moisturises in one, so if you're feeling lazy (like I usually do) there's no need to moisturise

Scrub of your life £7.00

I've never really been one for body scrubs because ones I've used in the past have been quite harsh. However the particles in this scrub are quite small, so it doesn't feel like I'm scraping my skin off...always a plus right? 

Well that's it folks. What are your favourites? I'm always on the lookout for new things to try

Stacey x

Beauty blender dupe

Hi Beauts.

A popular make up tool that everyone has or wants is the Beauty bender. I for one definitely wanted to get my hands on one, and whilst in Selfridges I almost bought one. However my thoughts pretty much went along the lines of ' £13.00 for a make up sponge?! Nee chance' So I held off, and I'm so glad that I did because I found a little dupe on eBay for 99p

I can't compare this to the original beauty blender as I don't have one, but I can tell you that this gives a flawless finish, even coverage and allows me to use less foundation than I would with a brush. 

All you have to do is run this little beauty under the tap then squeeze out the water. The beauty blender will then expand and you're ready to start applying your foundation. I like to apply dots of foundation all over my face then start to bounce it into my skin rather than pour a blob on the back of my hand. I just find this allows me to get all of my face without missing any patches.

Because of its shape, the more pointed end makes it easy to apply and blend foundation/concealer under the eyes and around the nose so you don't need a separate concealer brush. 

The only downfall with this is that it stains after one use, I've used brush cleaner and baby shampoo and those stains ain't budging. However for 99p who am I to complain?!

If you've been after the Beauty blender I'd say give this a go first, I promise you won't be disappointed

Stacey x

My favourite blending brushes

Hi Beauts.

Some girls like to collect shoes and others, bags. Me? I like to collect make up brushes. I don't intentionally buy loads and then keep adding to my collection, I just have a little bit of an obsession....Just a teeny tiny one.

Anyway a girl can never have too many brushes really can she? One type of brush that I seem to have a fair few of is the blending brush. Harsh lines are a big no no for me so having a blending brush or 10 is essential. Today I wanted to share with you all my favourites. 

Let's start with the more expensive first:

MAC  217 £17.00. This is a great brush for both blending and applying colour to the outer corner and crease (mine got stained from a bright purple eyeshadow! *sad face*)

S.B.C Contour brush £6.00. I actually got this in my brush set for college and it's the only one I use. It''s supposed to be for contouring (the eyeball) but I find it too big and fluffy so I use it for blending.

Emily 224 £3.19. This is supposed to be a dupe for the MAC 224, but I don't have the MAC brush so can't compare the two. This is larger and more dense than the MAC 217, so I find this is great for blending out the crease and applying a transition colour

Crown  C200 Deluxe crease £3.19. This is of a similar shape to the Emily 224, however this one is a little softer and fluffier which makes it perfect for blending

Crown C139 Stiff tapered crease brush £3.09. Again another dupe for the MAC 224 but unlike the Emily 224, this is softer, fluffier and smaller. I like using this to apply colour to my crease as well as using it for blending

Crown C218 Blending fluff brush £2.69. This is the largest and probably the fluffiest of the bunch. It's a similar shape to the S.B.C only smaller, and again this is great for blending out harsh lines and for applying a wash of colour all over the lid

I love using all of these brushes but if I had to choose tow, I'd have to pick the MAC 217 because I'm able to apply shadow to the outer corner and blend, and the Crown C200 because for me this is the best blending brush out of the above.

What are your favourites? 

Stacey x