March Favourites

I apologise for the crappy lighting, damn you weather

Top to bottom, Rimmel Scandal Eyes Bronze, MUA Blush shade 1, Maybelline On and On Bronze colour tattoo

What's this?! A post?! And not just any post, a post on time! I'm just as surprised as you. I've been ill the last week or so, and just generally haven't had any products worth blogging about, so I apologise for the lack of posts! I've been stuck in a rut this month with beauty products so it wasn't hard to pick these out.

Barry M Gelly High Shine Nail Paints, Lychee and Papaya: I jumped on the bandwagon buying these, at the start of the month every blogger and their dog was talking about them. Over all I haven't actually been that impressed with the formula.. They are pretty gloopy which I found makes them quite difficult to apply and although they may be high shine, you still need a top coat otherwise they chip fast. But the beautiful colours have made me keep coming back for more. This whole month I've been alternating between the two colours. It's nice to have a mix up of nude and something a bit brighter.

MUA Blusher, Shade 1: This fresh, light pink colour is all that's been on my cheeks this month, it brightens my face without looking too obvious, simples!

2True Clear Mascara: 2True isn't a brand I tend to use, but it was the only clear mascara I could find in Superdrug, and it makes a pretty good brow set! (hence the gross, murky colour). It has some pretty good holding power, and is cheap at £1.99.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer: Your average sort of YSL Touche Eclat dupe, this concealer gives light to your face and generally makes you look a lot more 'glowy' (it seems like we're forever seeking the 'glow'). When I'm having a no foundation day (they do happen, sometimes!) this is brilliant at just perfecting my face. I place it under my eyes, down the sides of my nose, mouth and cheek bones and somehow it just makes my face look better. 

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Water Proof Eyeliner, Bronze: I've written a more in depth review here, where you can see I loved the Scandal Eyes when I first got them, and several months later I thought I'd try some new colours. This bronze is just gorgeous. It makes getting ready quick and easy, I just messily run it all the way around my eyes and smudge out. You get a gorgeous look in seconds.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Cream Eyeshadow, On and On Bronze: I still remember the massive hype around these shadows when they first came out. I think most of the shades have been forgotten about, but like most people I'm still oh so in love with On and On Bronze. It's just the perfect everyday colour, so quick to apply and lasts all day. I've nearly used the whole pot, and will definitely be repurchasing straight away.

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner: Most days this month I've been lining my waterline, it makes my eyes stand out so much more. Pencils don't really do it for me, I find after an hour there's no black my waterline but lots down my face.. I can depend on this liner to last the whole day, with no need to top up.

I hope you're enjoying the Easter weekend, despite the awful weather :) xo 

Rimmel Apocalips: Big Bang

I'm sure you've all been waiting for them, this week the Rimmel Apocalips finally hit the shelves. The people at Rimmel clearly know what they're doing, by the time I'd seen several posts by the big beauty bloggers about these I was desperate to get my hands on them.

After trialing the Apocalips for a few days I've decided I love them, but every silver lining has it's cloud so there are some niggles I have with them. There's a lot of points to make so I've compiled them into a nice list for you all (let's face it, we all love a good list). 

The good!

v The colour is absolutely beautiful. It's a classic red which I find suites my skin tone well, and has a gorgeous glossy finish. After an hour or so it does lose the glossy look, and turns into a satin finish. If you so wish, you can easily top it up to get back the glossy gorgeousness.

v They are incredibly easy to apply. Whenever I try and apply any sort of bright or dark colour I end up spending forever putting it on, and then carefully wiping around the edge of my lips with a tissue for the next hour. Due to the smooth formula these glide on so quickly, you really have to try it to believe it. The doe foot applicator has a little well in it which holds a lot of product, so you're not dunking the wand back in the tube every five minutes.

vThe texture. I can't stand anything sticky or suffocating on my lips, which is why I hardly ever use lipglosses. When I first pulled the wand out of the tube I thought it would be a disaster, but once applied there is no stickiness and is very comfortable to wear.

v These have some serious lasting power. Like I said, they stay glossy for about an hour or so, but overall the colour lasts for a good 4 or 5 hours without topping up. When they begin to fade they can tend to go a bit patchy, but it's nothing a quick blend out with your finger can't solve.

      The not so good...

v Due to the liquid consistency, they can smudge. Unlike a lipstick they don't really set or dry, and although that isn't a problem with a normal lipgloss, these are so intensely pigmented so it can get messy. I also found it does bleed slightly.

v Now this can be seen as both a positive and a negative, but these stain, and they stain bad. Normally this would please me and stain normally equals more longevity, but when they smudge so easily it's not a great combination. You pretty much need to be accurate on first application, which isn't hard due to the wand, but it's nice to be able to wipe away any slips if you need to.

 v The smell isn't great. To me it smells quite sort of like artificial watermelon, but it doesn't bother me too much as once it's on you can't smell it. However if you're one of those people who can't stand anything scented near their face, then you may have a problem. 

Overall I can't deny I love the Apocalips, mainly down to the gorgeous colour and ease of application. I definitely think I'll pick up some other colours, maybe the nuder ones. What are your thoughts on the Apocalips? Did they live up to your expectations? Let me know!

October Favourites

I'm only five days late, it still counts!

The month has been so busy, today I started back at college after the glorious week that was half term. Sadly my Sunday was ruined with all the work I'd left till the last minute!

No7 Extreme Length mascara - I'd previously had a mini version of this and loved it, but until I recently purchased the full size I have forgotten how brilliant it is! I won't say too much as I have an individual review of this coming up soon, but it the wand makes it the easiest mascara to apply. It doesn't clump, adds length, and most importantly for me, a lot of volume.

Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer - Yet again I will do an individual review of this, it's too good to just briefly mention in monthly favourites! I decided my previous concealer just wasn't hitting the mark for under eye circles, so I picked this up. It has such a lovely, smooth texture, and blends seamlessly. I have shade 52, which matches me absolutely perfectly. It's pretty medium coverage, so I don't really use it much for spots, more for under the eyes and for any redness.

MUA Professional Eye Primer - It's been very, very occasional that I've used anything else to prime my lids with. It makes any shadow last absolutely all day. Also at £2.50 (I think) it's ridiculously affordable. 

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush - I'm sure you've all read numerous reviews on these beauties so I'll keep it short. Crush is a gorgeous, deep, plummy colour - perfect for autumn. It applies like an absolute dream, is very moisturising and the stain lasts for quite a while. Crush is quite dark for everyday wear, so I've been patting it in to my lips to give just a hint of the gorgeous berry colour.

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Liner in Nude - Just a lovely pencil for brightening up the eyes! Read my full review here.

MUA Heaven & Earth and Undressed palettes - I've gone on far too much about these this month! Gorgeous wearable colours, so wearable I've worn them pretty much everyday! Read the Heaven & Earth review here and the Undressed here.

I'm pretty excited for November, despite the fact I have several exams lined up! I just have to remember, only seven weeks till Christmas! ;)

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Eye Liners

If you read my last post, then you'll know how excited I was to see the new Rimmel eye liners had finally been released. I have pretty small eyes, and so a nude eye liner to open, brighten them up and generally make my eyes appear bigger has long been sought after. A pencil under five pounds and available at Superdrug and Boots is even better.

I picked up 'Nude' and 'Taupe' (such inventive names!). Vivianna recommended both, and as I sympathise with her small eye problems, I thought they would be good for me. I was possibly expecting too much from the Nude pencil. It's simply a completely matte peachy nude. I was expecting to look up and see a bambi eyed beauty, but alas that wasn't quite what happened. I think it does make your eyes look marginally bigger and rounder, but it does do a lovely job of brightening your eye and making you look more awake in general. 

The Taupe pencil is lovely. A simple cool toned taupey brown, which gives the most subtle definition to your eyes. It does have some shimmer, but this doesn't translate on to the eye at all. The pencil can so subtly add some dimension to your eyes without being too heavy and closing them up. Both pencils are creamy and long lasting.  A pencil can only last to a certain extent on the waterline, but this hangs around for a fair amount of time. On my top lid it lasts all day. They claim to be waterproof, I haven't tested this out yet but imagine they would last pretty well!

Have any of you tried out the new pencils yet? What are your thoughts?

Abbie

It's the simple pleasures...

After today I think it's fair to say that I'm easily pleased. I'd been having a bit of a crappy Saturday. Having to write out Biology flash cards surprisingly isn't all that fun. But then a walk into Superdrug changed all that...

You have to understand I live in a tiny, tiny town. A tiny town with a tiny Boots and a tiny Superdrug. For months I've lusted over certain MUA products but alas, the diddy MUA stand had nothing to offer apart from a few cracked eyeshadows. When in Superdrug today I glanced down to where the MUA stand normally stood, and shock horror, it had vanished. It's fair to say I must have looked like a lunatic, staring these bottles of nail varnish remover where the stand had once stood, with a look of pure disgust/horror upon my face. Until five seconds later I looked around and saw a gleaming, shiny, spinning stand of MUA products! Complete with eyeprimers, palletes and 'lip booms' (whatever they're called) galore. 

Happiness also came at the Rimmel section. I'm sure you will all have seen many reviews on the new Rimmel eyeliners, but unfortunately the large majority of us aren't bloggers lucky enough to try the products before they hit the shelves. The temptation to start fist pumping  in celebration was hard to ignore. I picked up the nude and taupe versions, after hearing Vivianna talk about them.

With the MUA products came a free lipgloss, and with the Rimmel products a free eyeliner! What with Superdrug's 10 points to a pound offer when using their loyalty cards, I left there a very happy bunny. What with all these new products expect lots of reviews soon! Six products came to a total of £13.48, which makes me feel slightly less guilty about spending money on non essential items... 

I'm sorry this was sort of a nothingy post, but the Biology revision is calling me back. Hope you're having a better weekend than me, if not pop into Superdrug for some retail therapy ;) Also, any Doctor Who fans, prepare your tissues for tonight! (nerd and proud)

Love you all!

Abbie

Rimmel Glam Eyes Eyeshadow

Rimmel eyeshadows have never really attracted my attention before. I usually buy eyeshadows in palettes but  this colour was too gorgeous to pass over. It looks like a plain old shimmery brown but somehow it's so much more... Maybe I'm looking into this too deep! Smokey Quartz just caught my eye.

Like a said before, a shimmery, cool toned brown. But what I love about this is that it is light enough to be worn all over the lid. At 7.00 in the morning when I'm getting ready for college, it is rare I can be bothered to  be blending multiple colours over my eyes. I can apply all over my lid and be done with it.

The shadow is buttery smooth, nicely pigmented, and easy to blend. All for the price £4.49, lovely! I always use an eyeshadow base, there's just no point applying them otherwise with my oily lids. Used over a MAC Paint Pot, my usual choice of base, it lasts all day.

As for the packaging, it's simple, strong, easy to store. Easy to see the product inside. There is a bit of unneeded plastic going on there but otherwise it's all good.

Have any of you tried Rimmel's eyeshadows? Do you prefer to buy single shadows or palettes?

Abbie

Rimmel Blush: Santa Rose

I'm very much a blush newbie. I have quite red cheeks so previously I've always stayed away from any sort of blush, wanting to take colour out of my cheeks rather than add it back in. Now I use a fuller coverage foundation (Revlon Colorstay for those interested) I can take out some of the the redness in my face. At first I thought this was a good thing, but now I think I need to bring back in some subtle colour and warmth to my face. Into the foray of blusher I go!

I've heard a few reviews about this Rimmel blush. It was quite inexpensive, and seemed pretty reasonable so I gave it a try. After a few weeks giving a go, I just don't think it's for me. It's a great product, but just not me. 

(I apologise for the odd angle and shadow, it was the best way to get an accurate representation of the colour!)

It has an okay pigmentation,  I did have to swatch quite hard to get the opaqueness shown above. In the pan it looks a little shimmery, but when swatched in Superdrug none of the shimmer seemed to show through. Sadly this isn't the case when applied, it is quite glittery. I am much more fond of matte blushes (the whole oily skin thing, I'm sure you're all sick of me mentioning it). On much paler skin I think this blush may work, but on me it just turns out with no colour and all glitter.

The packaging is pretty good for the price (somewhere in the region of £3.00, correct me if I'm wrong!). It is simple but strong, sturdy and slim. Perfect for travelling.

In summation, if you are pale, definitely give this a go! I think this may be one of the products that sits at the back of the draw unused, not because it's bad, but because it's just not for me. Maybe I'll give some of the darker colours ago.

Let me know what you think of the Rimmel blushes! Any colour recommendations, leave them below!

NB: I haven't been posting that frequently lately (not that I was brilliant before!) due to having started college. I have quite a lot of work and have to travel a lot which doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging! On Thursdays I finish early so I'm trying to post then. Hopefully I'll be able to do a few more posts than just that, but if I have a schedule I know at least one blog post will go up a week. I hope if you're back at school/college/uni then you're not getting too bogged down with work!

Abbie

Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil

I've never really done much to my eyebrows, I always pluck them, but aside from that I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to the brow area. Until a few weeks or so ago when I realised that actually, my brows are a little bit sparse at the front. Up until now any sort of eyebrow filling in has always scared me, I was always worried about ending up looking silly with too heavy brows!

Sammi always talks about this pencil, and seeing as it was so inexpensive (£2.99, correct me if I'm wrong) I thought I may as well give it a try. Oh how glad am I that I did!

This is just such a good product!

The shade (002 Hazel) matches me so well, which surprised me as initially I thought it might be a bit dark or too warm for my brows. It's a really soft pencil which makes it so very easy to blend. I think this is probably what makes it such an amazing product. I very, very lightly fill in the front of my brows and then blend it with my finger or the comb on the lid. This gives it such natural look. I don't feel as though my brows have been filled in, just given a bit of subtle definition. It lasts literally all day. When coming back from the paralympics I was so tired I only roughly removed my eye makeup, and by the morning my brows were exactly as they were at the start of the day! Impressive! The eyebrow comb is brilliant, it has very stiff bristles. 

And so the moral of the story is, try new things! But seriously, I'm surprised I'm getting along so well with this pencil after being so wary of anything brow related in the beginning. Now I actually feel like my face is incomplete without touching up my brows a bit!

Do any of you like brow pencils? Filling your brows in with powder? Or do you have a brow filling in phobia like I did?!

Abbie

Nail of the Day: Rimmel Green with Envy

This nail varnish has been a recent favourite of mine. I've worn it at least three times this past month, it is the perfect summer colour (even if the weather hasn't been consistently summery!). However I am so dissapointed with the photos! The colour isn't shown accurately at all, and I can't find a decent picture online so you'll have to take my word for it!

(Ignore the bubbles, it was the top coat!)

The polish shows up very blue in the photo, but in reality it hits the mark perfectly between green and blue. Occasionally it shows up more as a true green. It has a nice, subtle shimmer to it. As with most Rimmel polishes the consistency is good, not too thick nor too thin, and the wide brush makes the application quick and easy.


If Rimmel is accessible near you I really do suggest you take a look at in real life, it's a gorgeous colour!

What nail varnishes have you been sporting this summer?

Abbie