REVIEW: L'Oreal True Match Foundation

Funnily enough I bought this foundation by mistake thinking it was 'Match Perfection' by a completely different brand! I realised this as soon as I was home and it was a tad too late though! The reviews online were pretty negative on the whole, I'd read about it not being very long-lasting and how it highlighted oily areas of skin etc.

As you know I have been using the Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions for a while but at around £25 I thought I'd try and find something a bit cheaper (as good as that foundation is). 

When I first tried this the first thing I noticed was how watery the solution is, compared to Clinique's anyway! Using my new Real Techniques pointed foundation brush I blended it into my skin, for me I felt the coverage was pretty low but it is easy enough to build up and with a good brush it does do it's job!

 I always set my foundation with a pressed powder anyway but I think to make this last longer and to not go all 'weird' on oily areas of skin this definitely helps. 

The colour on me is really good, at first I thought it was quite orange-y but when it's properly blended in and with powder, blusher or anything else it is very hard to distinguish the foundation from my usual skin colour!

Overall, this foundation has taken some getting used to since my previous foundation and I do always have to check it's blended in well as it doesn't seem to blend as quickly into skin as my previous foundation, with a good brush and pressed powder I have made this foundation work for me - even if it was an accidental buy!

Abi :)

REVIEW: W7 Big Lash Mascara

Mascaras for me have always been a bit of a grey area, I tend to have oily skin around my eyes so a lot of mascaras smudge on me, but after spending a lot of time browsing W7's products I decided to take a gamble and try out their Big Lash Mascara.

Before

I'm really happy I did! For around £4 my eyelashes were a lot more defined - more so than any other mascara I have used - they were a lot darker and longer too. What I liked most about this product was the way it made my eyelashes fan out, even my bottom lashes looked visible which for me was a big deal!

Abi :)

REVIEW: W7 Brow Twister

Until recently I've never really bothered filling in my eyebrows, I'd used pencils in the past and they worked, but I never really felt like my eyebrows looked remotely 'okay.' 

Before

I bought this and instantly loved the consistency of it, it's almost like a wax and it sets my eyebrows in place as well as filling them in. I find that with this the best thing is light, short strokes because it can be built up to create the desired effect. 

After

The only thing I'd say about this product is that if you look closely you can see the difference between my eyebrows and the twister but unless someone is examining your eyebrows and looking really closely I don't think it's overwhelmingly noticeable!

Abi :)

REVIEW: W7 Automatic Fine Eyeliner

I really love eyeliner pens as it enables me to create a sharp flick and be very precise, however I do find it hard to colour in the skin where my eyelashes are!

I really like this product as the tip is so fine which I really love as I much prefer to build something up rather than have my eyeliner thick and not be able to do anything about it. 

The only real negative I have about this, but it applies to all liner pens really, is that it seems to dry up fairly quickly - I do use it pretty much everyday but I've only had it about 2 months and it's already beginning to dry up and come out lighter. 

Abi :)

Birthday Wishlist

I have been doing a wishlist series for several weeks now and as it is my birthday very soon I thought I'd do one for my birthday! I hope you like it!

Lush products (Twilight, The Comforter and Somewhere Over The Rainbow) - I have loved Lush for ages and am yet to try these products I'd really love to try The Comforter especially as it smells so damn good! Buy them HERE

Planetarium projector - I have a MASSIVE thing about all things stars and space and planets at the moment I don't know why or where it came from, but I'd love to have one of these lights in my room, it would look incredible at night! Buy it HERE

Denim jacket - As you may know from a few posts back I recently bought a leather jacket which I love, but as the weather is getting ever so slightly warmer I'd love a lined denim jacket to wear instead for the warmer months, I love this one! Buy it HERE

101 Budget Dishes - I really want to start cooking more for myself and I'd love this book especially as it's meals on a budget! Buy it HERE

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation - I really want to try this foundation out as I've heard lots of good reviews about it and need another one! Buy it HERE

Real Techniques brushes - At the moment I use Sleek's brush set which is good as a starter pack but I'd love now to have better brushes especially for my foundation! Buy them HERE

Galaxy bed spread - As I've said I have a THING about all things galaxy and really love the colours used in this one! Buy it HERE

Hope you liked this!

Abi :)

REVIEW: ELF Eye Primer

I really like this primer! It was the first eye primer I ever used and is so affordable (under £3) and does the job perfectly! My make up has always smudged in the creases of my eyes my winged eyeliner would make me look like a panda bear within a few hours of wearing it!

It comes in a variety of shades, I have the lightest one and it doesn't make my eyelids stand out anymore than they would without wearing any primer!

Have you tried any eye primers?

Abi :)

Review: St Ives Face Scrub

I have wanted an exfoliant for a while now as I never got round to replacing my last one which ran out a few months ago. I've heard a lot of positive reviews on St Ives products so decided to pick up this and try it out. 

I FUDGING LOVE IT. 

I got the Apricot one as you can see, the smell is pleasant - not too in your face - and I love how much 'grit' is in it. Personally, I don't like exfoliants which have minuscule little grit bits which you can barely feel on your face. This really makes my face feel as though it's getting a really good, deep clean, you don't need to apply it too hard either as the bits do all the work for you. I usually just dabble a bit (you don't need much at all, with this product a little goes a long way) on my forehead, nose, cheeks and chin and use circular motions to spread it across my face.

When I wash it off my face feels so soft and clean, I am so happy I bought this product I really love itt and will definitely be using it again when this one runs out!  

Abi :)

REVIEW: Simple Facial Wash

I have been using this face wash for a while now and the first thing that becomes apparent is just how gentle it is on your face, I often use it to remove foundation and it works so well. It has a creamy formula which becomes foamy once worked into the face. However, because it is so gentle I never really feel like my face is PROPERLY clean so I usually work the face wash into my face for a while to make sure it's not just sitting on my skin and then remove it with a flannel. 

This product is very affordable too being under £4 in most high street shops, Simple is known for being very natural, with no artificial colours or smells so is also nice to use instead of a fruity smelling orange paste! 

Overall I really like this product, I use it alongside a trusty face exfoliant and it's nice and soothing to use after my face has been exfoliated but I also find it works well when used before I exfoliate too!

What face washes do you enjoy using?

Abi :)

My 2014 Favourites

TV Programmes

Eastenders
Scott and Bailey

Waterloo Road

Holby City

Silk

Songs

Let It Go - Frozen

Hopeful - Bars and Melody

Outside - Calvin Harris ft Ellie Goulding

Don't - Ed Sheeran

Thinking Outloud - Ed Sheeran

Ghost - Ella Henderson

Rude - MAGIC!

All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor

Films

The Theory of Everything

Cuban Fury

Before I Go To Sleep

22 Jump Street
Paddington

Food

Apples

Green grapes

Mandarins

Cadbury's Chocolate

M&M's

Scents

Yellow Diamond (Versace)

Mist You Madly (Soap and Glory)

Makeup

Great Lash Mascara (Maybelline)

Anti Blemish Solutions Foundation (Clinique)

Makeup brushes (Sleek)

What are your favourites of 2014?

Abi :)

10 Annoying Things About Make Up

1. Generally, the best make up is the most expensive
2. It takes quite a lot of time to put on and take off properly
3. Not being able to wake up and go straight out whilst looking presentable!
4. Smudging your mascara because you've blinked or sneezed
5. Buying a foundation which makes you look like an Oompa Loompa
6. Poking yourself in the eye with eyeliner, mascara or anything else
7. Getting powder/blush on your clothes
8. Finding storage for it all!
9. Having too much choice in a shop and taking AGES deciding which product to get
10. You don't want to wear it because you should embrace 'natural beauty' but you don't want to scare anyone away!

Abi :)

Eye Makeup For Less Than £3

I don't use too much product on my eyes usually and hardly ever use any colour so I thought it was about time I bought some new products to 'liven' up my eye makeup collection.

I've wanted some natural false lashes (that sounds odd!) for a while now just to add a bit of length and make my lashes look a bit more even and as you can see in the photo above they do just that! I like how you can hardly tell I am wearing them because I just wanted a bit of oomph and that was literally it - I've tried 'proper' false lashes before and they were just too heavy on me and made me look very odd!

I've also really wanted some eye primer for AGES and this was so cheap from E.L.F. I thought it would do just the job for keeping both eyeliner and eyeshadow in place and so far it has worked really well, my make up doesn't even smudge when it rains!

I've had my eyes (har har) on some of the pencil eye shadow from Collection for a while but I was on Ebay and came across this beautiful gold coloured one from Barry M and a nice silvery/purpley/pink one from Miss Sporty. So far I love them both, they are quite pale when put onto the lid though but I don't mind this.

And that's it for my mini haul! All of these products were around £2.70ish, I bought the pencils and eyelashes on Ebay and the primer from E.L.F! Hope this was helpful for you!

Abi :)

Review: LUSH Blackberry Bath Bomb

I used this the other night and it was sooo relaxing! It turned the bath a beautiful, vibrant purple and the smell was so nice and refreshing yet relaxing at the same time! I'd really recommend this bath bomb, I will definitely be getting it again, I love the way the smell of the bath bomb stays on your skin for hours afterwards and leaves your skin feeling very soft too. 

The Bergamot and Frankincense oil are one of the reasons it's such a relaxing bath bomb to use especially in the evening before you go to bed! These cost £3.25 which I think is a really good price because the bath bomb is very big - about the size of a fist - meaning it fizzes for quite a while and dyes the water quite a lot, but don't worry it doesn't stain!

Abi :)

FESTIVE LUSH HAUL!

CAN YOU TELL I'M EXCITED?! I've waited for what seems like ages to finally get my hands on these festive treats LUSH have provided for us all! 

After a lot of browsing and searching of reviews I decided to get these six...although to be honest I think I could have bought pretty much everything!

So the first thing I got was Candy Mountain which I really love the smell of - it's pretty much a different shaped version of Creamy Candy and I loved that - it's a very sweet smell (it has vanilla in it). It's a Bubble Bar and I can't wait to see all the bubbles it forms!

The next thing I got was The Christmas Penguin Bubble Bar which is my favourite looking thing I got, I think it's so cute! It smells quite citrus-y, it has Bergamot oil in and Orange Flower in. 

This is Northern Lights and I think it is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L, I will most definitely be using this on Bonfire Night as it's meant to represent a firework with lots of fizzes! I love the shape of this - it's so different to any other bath bomb I've seen! If I'm honest I don't particularly like the smell of this it's quite a flowery smell with Jasmine in and Yling Ylang oil in.

This is Luxury Lush Pad and is the most Christmassy smelling of all the products I bought! I love all the pretty colours and I'm sure my bath will be very colourful when I use it! It has Lavender in it and Tonka Oil so is meant to be nice and relaxing too!

Dashing Santa is next, apparently it's called this because it literally does dash up and down your bath which I'm VERY excited to see! This is another fairly citrus-y scented one with Mandarin and Bergamot Oil in.

This is my only Halloween product I got and also the only glittery product I got although I was tempted to buy a lot more! This is another Bubble Bar called Sparkly Pumpkin which is a perfect name for what you get! I really like the smell of this one it has Lime and Grapefruit oil in which I think will be nice and refreshing!

And that's it chums, what are your favourite festive products from LUSH?

Abi :)

My Make Up Bag

I thought I’d give you an insight into my make-up bag just for fun, I don’t class myself as a beauty blogger and my make-up collection isn’t high end or very big but I thought I’d show you it anyway! Also these are my main products I use on a day to day basis not every single product I have!

So this is my bag I got for free for spending a certain amount of money in Clinique, I don't really like it if I'm honest but there we are haha it's something to keep my make up in!

I've always used this moisturiser I really like it as it's not too heavy but does the job!

This is my best foundation everrrr! I have been through SO many foundations from Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse to Maxfactor Colour Adapt to Bourjois Healthy Mix. I finally found this one and I am so happy! It hides blemishes well so I don’t need to use concealer and it matches my pale skin so well! HERE’s a review I wrote on it. 

I also use this foundation for days where I'm not doing much - maybe going to town or something, does anyone else have a cheaper low quality foundation they use on down days?

This is the powder I use it’s not particularly fancy or anything because I just use it to set the liquid foundation really and I don’t want it to add any extra colour to my face as I'm naturally quite pale.

I’m loving this Urban Decay Eyeliner recently, it’s long lasting and I love the fine tip as it enables me to thicken the line if I want to rather than using it and it being a thick line whether I like it or not! HERE’s a review I did on it. 

I also got this Eye Mousse free at Boots and I lovee it! This is what it looks like on - such a nice Wintery look!

I also have the Collection gel liner, I used to have the Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama, but I haven't noticed much difference between the two brands and Collection is cheaper! I mainly use it for lining my tight line so it lasts me quite a while too!

I recently bought this mascara and at first I didn’t like it, there didn’t seem to be much product in the tube and not much came out on the wand but after about a month of using it I really began to like it! It doesn’t smudge or leave black marks under my eyes like some other mascaras seem to and it seems to be an old time favourite for many!

Hope you enjoyed browsing my make up!

Abi :)