My First Youtube Video!

 

 

 

Hey my lovely's!

So today I posted my first makeup tutorial! I'm very nervous so just bare that in mind!

If you have any suggestions of videos that you'd like me to do then please let me know!

 

 

 

 

Ezzie xox

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Pot - Christmas Palette

Hi guys,
It's been about 3 months i know! I've been super busy and i just haven't really bought any new makeup since my birthday so I'm making up for my absence now ;)

So yesterday was pay day and naturally that means I have to go out and spend all my wages on MORE makeup! 

I love this time of year when the weather starts to get crisp and cold and the shelves start to stock up with all the Christmas bits! 

When i went to Debenhams I came across Benefit's gorgeous new Christmas deals. I was going there to pick up Hoola bronzer as I've never tried it, when the sales woman came over and won me over with this "Cheeky Sweet Pot" palette! You get 5 blushers, one bronzer, a brush and a highlighter. Can we just take a moment for the packaging please! It is bomb! It's reminds me of a sort of gingerbreadesque styled house. I Blooming love it! 

The products include Dandelion, Bella Bamba, Sugarbomb, Coralista, Rockateur, Hoola and Watt's Up!
I already have Rockateur and I love it so so much, so the fact that I've got a backup now is awesome and i went in to try Hoola anyway, so for £26.55 I've got 6 blushers for the price of one!

Now they're not full sizes but most of them are 5oz and a full size is generally 8oz! 
This way i can try them all and pick my faves! 
It was originally £29.50 but Debenhams had 10% off which swayed me more! 

Overall loving this purchase and i feel that it's real value for money! 


Hope you enjoyed this post!
Ezzie xox

Birchbox UK beauty box subscription!

Hey guys,

So for a while now I've been wanting to try out a beauty subscription box but there is always just too many to choose from and then there's so many that get so much negativity!
So i wanted to make sure i was getting the right one for me and the right one to justify spending my dough on!

It was between Glossy box and Birchbox UK... And Birchbox won hands down! Glossy box always seemed like it used to be great but now it just seems like it's a lot of foil packets and perfume samples!

I wanted something that i could actually try out and see if i liked the products before buying the full sized items so Birchbox seemed like the best option. I have to say that the UK version seems to be on top of the US and i hope it doesn't slide down hill because so far i have not been disappointed.

So if you didn't know Birchbox is a beauty subscription box for £10 a month plus £2.95 p&p. You get between 4 and 5 deluxe samples a month and you sometimes get an extra.

So in April's box i got a cheek and lip cream from The Balm Cosmetics in the shade 'How Bout Them Apples?' It retails for £26 for the whole palette.

I then got the skin saviour waterless beauty balm from One Love Organics and this stuff smells like orange zest! I love it. Its really good as a moisturiser and cleanser however a full size is £30! So I'm unsure if i love it enough yet!

Then I got a full size i think Nail polish from Color Club. I don't like the colour of this because greeny, metallic blues don't really suit my nails. But it is £15 for a set of 4.

I got a protect and de tangle from Beauty protector and I've used this a lot when i decided to go ombre and the smell is so nice! I definitely enjoyed using that and a full size is £15 so i might re purchase that!

Then the reason i signed up was to see if i would get the Laura Mercier souffle body creme. This smells incredible! It's Shea butter and honey i think and it just smells so sweet and gorgeous. It's a really thick, rich and luxurious creme so you know you'll get what you pay for at £27!

Then my lifestyle extra was the propercorn in sweet & salty and it tastes amazing! I have a new addiction to this popcorn!

So after April i was really happy and couldn't wait for May!

May's box was really funky! Birchbox had teamed up with Harper's Bazaar and the box for May was epic!
Firstly i got a sample of Benefit's They're real mascara, which i already have but I've almost run out and i didn't want to re purchase it as it was £19.50 so i was stoked with that!

Then i got a Nail Lacquer from Soigne in a full size and it came in the cutest packaging ever! I got it in a really nice fuchsia colour and i love it. They do retail at £11 each.

Then there was a sample of Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning bath & shower oil retailing at £39! Which is insane for an oil! I tried this out and i have to say i hated the smell! i+It had pink grapefruit, rosemary and juniper and i just really didn't like it at all, so that was the flop of the box.

Then the Philip Kingsley One more day dry shampoo sample i got  i used up in a week! I am obsessed with this and when pay day comes i am totally buying it! It's £13.50 which is expensive for a dry shampoo but it's really lightweight and it doesn't leave that gross white cast that batiste does in my dark roots!

Then i got a sample of the Liz Earle Cleanse and polish with a mini muslin cloth which was so cute! And i was literally telling my mum i wanted it the day before and i got it! Insane!
I use this when I'm breaking out and it's awesome! Definite repurchase!
Full size is from £13.25.

So May was a Success! On to June...

June's box was back to a plain boring brown box but the box that it came in was bright pink so i forgave them! 

So June's box was associated with the World Cup which i suppose was a cool concept as we got things from different countries but football is lost on me! 

So as you can see i got the Original Beauty Blender!!!! When i opened my box nothing could make this box bad after seeing that! I was so happy! I've used cheap ones and they just don't compare. A full size is from £16.

I then got a mini sample of a limited edition world cup Brazilian OPI nail polish. I got the shade 'Kiss me I'm Brazillian' from the OPI Brazil Collection. I've used this twice and i love the colour! So bold!

The set is £14.50. 

I then got a good sized sample of the Korres Citrus Body Milk which I'm excited to try as i love to moisturise. Full size is £9.50.

I got a product from Caudalie and it is the Vinoperfect SPF15 Day perfecting fluid. I was really excited to try this out but when i tried to squeeze it out barley any product came out so i was really bummed as i couldn't even try it out to see if i liked it. It says it smooths lines, corrects skin tone and all sorts of magic! So I'm gutted about that. Full size is £38 and sadly i wont be buying it.

Then I got the Silk & Honey Shea Butter Hair Conditioning mask in like an awesome sized sample! I can try this like 4-5 times to see if i like it which i will do as it retails for £50! So it will be interesting to see what this does to my hair for 50 quid!

And then my little extra was a green and yellow Birchbox flip flop key ring which i gave to my brother as i don't really understand football! Such a girl i know!

So i hope you enjoyed this post! If you'd like me to write about my monthly box then comment down below to let me know and also feel free to recommend any other subscription boxes you think are awesome! 

Until next time...

Ezzie xox

Pay Day Haul!

Hi guys!

So i know its been ages since i last posted but i have just started a new job and haven't had much time.
I went to Cardiff on Sunday and spent waaaay too much money!
Here's what i got!

Of course i went to MAC! First i picked up the MAC face and body foundation. I've been wanting this for a while now so i thought I'd try it out. It's quite sheer and light coverage but i wanted it for days where i don't want to appear as though I'm wearing makeup. It gives a my skin but better sort of appearance! I got it in the shade N1 and it was £21.50.

I've been wanting to try MAC blushes for a while now and because i suffer from rosacea i didn't want a blush that was too red or pink so i picked up Fleur Power. It's a gorgeous coraly, peachy pink and i really love it on! 

I'm loving nude lips lately and i was recommended Myth by mac so i was excited to try this out. I've worn it once and i love it! It complements my skin tone loads. It's the perfect nude! 

I also went to E.L.F and i wanted to try the contour palette in St Lucia as its supposed to be a dupe for Nars Orgasm and Laguna. I've used this once so far and i do really like it. However it's quite shimmery so i wouldn't use it for contouring.

I'm trying to find a good way to fill in my brows currently so i picked up the Elf brow gel kit in Medium. So far i like it but i haven't had a chance to play around with it yet.

So Boots was 3 for 2! So naturally i had to buy things!
I picked up the Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquer in Nude Eclipse. Again as I've been loving nude lips currently, this is perfect as its like a glossy lipstick. I only wish they were long lasting. But i love it all the same!

I needed new concealers so i picked up the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in light 1. I love this concealer. It has amazing coverage.
I then wanted to try out the Maybelline Fit Me concealer as i heard that it was a dupe for the Nars concealer in Custard.

My free item was this new Maybelline Matte Maker powder. I thought it looked quite good so I'm excited to try that out.

Vichy's Dermablend was on offer so i wanted to try it out as i need to cover a lot of redness and wanted something that was suitable for sensitive skin. I will do a review when I've tried it out.

Then i picked up the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 115 as i have it in 125 and 130 and they're way to dark for me. I love this foundation. It's my favourite for a dewy look as its gel based.

I then picked up this Maybelline palette. I really wanted it for the burnt orange shade as I'm really into orange shades at the moment!

I love Revlon's lip products but i just find them way to expensive to try out. So i pondered for a while and i picked up the Revlon colour burst lip gloss in Orchid. It's a gorgeous sheer pinky purple shade with fine silver shimmer. I can't wait to try it!

I was obsessed with my Revlon lip butter in Candy floss so i picked up this one in Cupcake. I was going to get Candy floss again but i thought I'd try a different one. Cupcake is a lot brighter than Candy floss.

So that is my pay day haul! It doesn't look like much but i spent a small fortune! 

Hope you guys enjoyed and I'll try and keep the posts regular! 

Ezzie xox

Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24HR Review.

Hello there my lovelys!

Well i know i haven't posted daily yet but i said i would try! ;)
So today i wanted to do a sort of review slash my daily eye look...
I bought the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold about 6 months ago... maybe even longer than that and I've used it a few times but just didn't really know what to wear it with or how to wear it as most of my eye looks tend to be more neutral browns than pinks. That was until the Naked 3 came out and changed the game for me!

I wear this colour tattoo as an eyeshadow base or primer when I'm using the Naked 3 palette as it matches a few of the shades perfectly and it really helps the shadows last longer and stand out more. 

The base is a creamy consistency when you apply it and it has quite good pigmentation for such a light shade.  It dry's in about ten seconds and when it does it doesn't budge which is awesome!! 
The lasting power i would say is a good 10 hours maybe longer but i don't tend to wear my makeup longer than that. I just know that when i go to take my makeup off it's still there. It doesn't go patchy on me and it just looks lovely on the eyes. My eyes are brown so when i use it the gold flex bring out the gold tones in my eyes which i love! I would even wear this on it's own without the naked 3 on top and just blend a warm brown into the crease to make it warmer.

The Colour Tattoo's are very affordable and wont break the bank! They're about £4.99 in most places and I think they're comparable to the MAC Paint Pots but no where near the steep price tag! 

As it's spring I've decided to ditch the thick winged liner and I've just stuck to very fresh eye looks that make my eyes appear bigger and brighter. If i do wear eye liner i only line my water line and it's usually in brown as it looks softer and not so harsh or I'll smoke out brown liner on my lash line for a night look. 

The Naked 3 compliments this base so much that when you use any of the darker shades in the crease for some depth, it just looks really put together and like you tried hard when actually it took about a minute or two! Don't worry if you can't afford the Naked 3 tho! You don't need high end products to get the same effect. You can totally re create this with either the colour tattoo and any brown eyeshadow or you can mix your eye shadows to make a rose gold by using a pink and a gold together with a light brown. 

This simple eye look also makes your lashes stand out a lot as you're eyes look more awake and the attention is being brought to them. 
For a complete makeup look i use Rockateur boxed blush by benefit to carry on the rose gold theme and either a nude gloss or a colour close to my natural lip colour. 
Spring makeup is all about looking fresh and natural and i think the over done looks are just best saved for clubbing or darker seasons.

I hope you guys enjoyed! 

What are your favourite looks for spring?

Ezzie xox

Life Update.

Hi guys,

So i haven't really been having the best of times lately. I'm still unemployed and that is totally getting me down and I'm just feeling like nothing is going right or i cant move forward with my life as everything requires money. So i can't learn to drive, i can't move out and i can't have a social life or buy myself things. It's just quite depressing. So I'm trying my best to find a job and I'm getting the odd interview here and there but it's just not happening.

I feel like i neglect my blog a lot so i thought i would try my absolute best to do a daily blog. I need to take my mind of the bad things and try and stay positive. 

I'm not sure what things you guys want to read so i am completely open to suggestions. I also think that my blog will be more like a lifestyle, beauty, fashion and hair blog now as then i have more range to talk about and also so i don't get writers block. It should keep me doing the daily blog! (I hope)...

So i suppose this post is like a life update. I am currently in slimming world as I'm unhappy with the way i look so I'm trying it this way instead of fad diets and diet pills. I've already lost half a stone in 4 weeks so I'm feeling more positive. 

I joined the gym today as it was free for 2 months so until i can get money i don't have to worry about an extra expense and it should help me shift the weight as i really want to lose 5 stone!

I'm also looking for a new hair cut. My hair is just awful. I've been trying to grow it out for about 4 years now and it's just in a really drab and dull stage. So i either want to chop it off or re style but can't decide what look to go for. I also want to go blonde. As soon as the sun comes out i feel myself reaching for the bleach! I can't help it. I've always been dark and always wanted to be blonde but every time i try i give up!

I've just finished my beauty course so I'm finding i have more time on my hands and it's just very tedious doing the same thing everyday.

So i hope this post didn't put anyone in a down mood... I just feel like sometimes i have to rant and let people know how I'm feeling even if no one is listening.

Write your thoughts on future posts!

Ezzie xox

February Favourites

Hello my lovelys!

Today's post is going to be my February favourites as im sure you can guess from the title!

So as i said in last months favourites i'd been loving the Nars sheer glow foundation but i'd been using it too much and i didn't want to waste it on everyday use. I was reccomended to try out the Revlon Colour stay foundation. So i did.

This foundation is very comparable to the Nars sheer glow foundation as it gives the same finish, it lasts all day and it's full coverage. Now this one is thicker than Nars but when i use a beauty blender with it, it goes on like a dream! It covers up all my redness and blemishes and it has great lasting power. I'm in the shade Buff and it's a great match, however it does have a slight yellow undertone to it and my skin has pink undertones. It's quite pricey at £12.99 but I am happy to repurchase it as it works so well on my skin!
I did buy the one for oily skin by accident and i noticed a lot of the foundation started to cling on my dry areas so i make sure i cleanse, tone, moisturise and prime well before using it and then it's great. But next time i will be picking up the right one! Really like this product!

For Valentines day i got the Naked 3 pallette and i have used it everyday since! I in LOVE  with this pallette and it works so well on my skin tone and eye colour. I was woried about it being pink but it's amazing and each colour seems to adapt to your tones. I've already done a post on my thoughts about the Naked 3 so i wont ramble on! But it's the perfect palette for spring in my opinion!

Now that spring is coming i'm no longer feeling the heavy black thick winged liner and im going for a more subtle smokey look. So for this effect i've just been lining my lash line with the Maybelline Eye Studio Master Smokey pencil in either black or brown depending on the eyeshadow used and then smudging it out to make the lashes appear thicker and to make the eyes look softer. 

I've found myself reaching for my Benefit Rockateur blush recently as it gives a healthy glowing look and it's a gorgeous rose gold blush that compliments the Naked 3 palette well. I love the smell of it too!

I've also started loving glossy lips and put away the lipsticks and just stuck to the gloss as i feel like it makes any look more fresh and not so heavy.
I want to start toning down my makeup looks so i've been trying different techniques.

There is one brush i've been adoring this month and that's the real techniques blush brush. I really like this brush for bronzer to warm up the face and for blush as i feel like they go on so much smoother without scratching my foundation off.

I've obviously still been loving previous favourites like my Sleek contour kit and Maybelline age rewind concealer but I'm trying to use different things each month so it's not monotonous!

Hope you enjoyed! 

What are your favourite products?

Ezzie xox

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