Saturday 11 June 2016

Drugstore Beauty Favourites Under £10

  1) Maybelline The Colossal Go Lash Mascara - £6.99 

 

 
I bought this mascara on impulse when I was in desperate need of a new mascara, without looking at any reviews of it as I usually would before buying a new beauty product. In the past, I've been very disappointed by drugstore mascaras, particularly Maybelline's Great Lash Mascara and L'Oreal's Extra Volume Collagen Mascara. I found that I disliked formulas and applicators and they never seemed to be long-lasting or waterproof; my two biggest requirements of Mascara. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of this mascara. Despite this particular mascara not claiming to be waterproof, it lasts all day and never creates 'panda eyes' as many other mascaras do, yet still comes off easily when I use micellar water to remove my makeup. Overall, I would say this is a good drugstore mascara for providing a good amount of volume and length without weighing down your lashes and is impressively long-lasting for the price.

2) Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner - £6.00


 
This was the first felt-tip style eyeliner I ever tried after I found gel eyeliners to be a little tricky as a beginner at winged eyeliner. This product performs exactly as I expected; it is easy to use, highly pigmented and long-lasting. My only criticism of this is that it has a tendency to transfer to my eyelids when I blink if I don't powder due to it not being waterproof. However, this is a very good budget eyeliner, particularly for those new to liquid eyeliner.

3) Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick in '03' - £5.49

 

 
After seeing so many other beauty bloggers say how good the formula of Kate Moss' collection of lipsticks for Rimmel were, I decided to try them for myself. My staple lipstick colour has always been nude/pink shades due to my pale complexion and dark hair, and therefore I decided to purchase the shade '03' which is a lovely light pink toned nude. The satin like finish is very comfortable to wear and moisturising and also lasts for a few hours before it needs topping up, unlike many budget lipsticks which tend to need touching up frequently.

4) Kiko Velvet Creamy Blush Stick in '01 Golden Sand' - £7.90


 


 
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I love this cream blush and although I have not tried many (others being Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush and Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge), this is my favourite shade and the easiest to blend of those I have tried. Although it is not as pigmented and long-wearing as Bobbi Brown's formula, the beautiful shade and easy to blend formula are great for the price, and performs significantly better than other blushers at this price such as the Revlon cream blush.

5) Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in '01 Fair' - £4.19


 
This may possibly be my favourite concealer ever. For such a low price, the creamy, easy to blend formula provides full coverage and immediately hides spots and dark circles. This concealer out performs any other concealer I have tried; both high end and other drugstore concealers. I'd recommend this to everyone!

6) Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - £3.99


Although Mac's Select Sheer/Pressed Powder is my favourite, I have finally found a really good drugstore dupe. Despite this powder not being as fine as Mac's (only slightly), it is still lasts all day and unlike other drugstore powders, doesn't look cakey on top of foundation and concealer, and as you would expect, keeps your makeup in place all day, an essential in the warm weather we are having in the UK at the moment!

7) Essie Nail Polishes in 'Hubby for Dessert', 'Luxedo' and 'Russian Roulette' - £7.99 each


 
I often find myself to be extremely underwhelmed by any nail polishes from the drugstore due to the thick, gloopy formulas and the fact that most chip on the first day of application. However, I've never been able to justify paying for high-end nail polishes either as I only tend to wear a shade a few times before becoming tired of it and wanting a new colour, and I tend to switch up my nail colour every week or so anyway. Therefore, when I first tried an Essie polish, I was extremely pleased with the formula and wide brush, making application a dream. The slightly more expensive price tag for a drugstore polish can also be justified due to how long the polish lasts. I found that when my nails are painted with Essie without a top coat, they tend to last 5-7 days without chipping and even longer when I can be bothered to do a top coat! These polishes are definitely a must-have for any nail polish enthusiasts like myself!

8) Rimmel Sun Shimmer Self Tan Mousse in 'Medium Matte' - £7.99

 
Due to my pale complexion, I have always been a lover of tanning products, however I am also aware that dark tans make me look ridiculous due to how pale I naturally am. Though this tan states 'medium matte', it still provides me with a healthy, golden glow and the mousse is extremely easy to apply with a mitt and dries almost instantly. The result is always as I hope for; a golden tan and the lack of shimmer helps make the tan look even more natural look. This is definitely one of the best tanning products out there for a low price.
 
What are your drugstore favourites?

Saturday 4 June 2016

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation Review


After running out of my Bobbi Brown Long Wear Even-Finish Foundation and MAC Mineralise Moisture Foundation, I decided it was time to try a new foundation. My skin has been quite dry recently however I still have an oily t-zone so I was looking for a foundation that would moisturise my skin whilst staying in place all day.

I had read several reviews about NARS Sheer Glow foundation and after reading about how lightweight and luminous it is, I decided to give it a try. When I visited London a few weeks ago, I visited Space NK and purchased myself a bottle and foundation pump in the shade 'Mont Blanc' which cost £31 for the foundation and £3 for the foundation pump. This shade was the perfect match for my skin, and I found it fairly easy to blend when using the Zoeva 102 Silk Finish brush to apply it, however I would recommend moisturising your skin first to make application easier, I use Lush's Celestial Moisturiser.
 

 
The foundation provides light to medium coverage, dependent on how much you use, which is perfect for me as I like to wear a light layer so that my skin still looks natural and not too 'cakey'. The finish is very glowing and radiant but is not too dewy and despite my oily t-zone, it stayed in place all day without powder which I was very impressed with!
 
Overall, I would definitely recommend this foundation to anyone who has dry skin or combination skin like myself as it is moisturising and dewy unlike matte finish foundations which tend to dry my skin out. Although this is a high end product and is quite expensive, I would definitely say that investing in a good foundation is advisable as it provides the base for your makeup and personally, I think, defines how your makeup will look.

Let me know what favourite foundation is!

Kathryn x

Thursday 2 June 2016

Spring/Summer Playlist

As a huge lover of music, I am always on the look out for new artists and songs to listen to, either on Spotify or SoundCloud. Throughout spring, I've really grown to love my new discoveries (which are from a bizarre mixture of genres!) and I've also recently come across some new releases that I'm certain will be on repeat all summer long. Here are my current music favourites:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Let me know what songs you have been loving recently!
 
Kathryn x