My thoughts on Topshop Make Up!

When I first heard that Topshop was coming out with a Make Up range I was really not very excited, I thought it was going to be another poor attempt for a clothes shop to widen it's product range with something that they really didn't have a clue about, for example: H&M, Primark and New Look. I know these shops are all on the cheaper end of high street shops  compared to Topshop but nonetheless Topshop is a high street shop and so I thought their make up would be just as bad as the others.

After hearing a few good reviews I thought I would go to Topshop and have a look. I hadn't actually seen the products in real life before because I don't really shop in Topshop as it's very expensive, it turns out it isn't just the clothes that were expensive either! The make up isn't department store expensive but it's definitely drug store expensive, this made me reluctant to purchase more than one thing but it intreigued me that it might actually be good (I stand by my favourite saying, you get what you pay for)!

Below are the products I purchased to review:

When I decided I wanted to purchase something to test I thought it'd be best to only get one thing and if it turned out to be good go back and purchase more. I bought this cream blush in the colour 'Head Over Heels' which is a really peachy pink, it was actually the softest, most pastel colour out of all the ones they sell (4 in total), I chose this because I'm not very daring when it comes to cheeks as I'm scared I'll look like a china doll! I love the packaging, I think it's great, it's plain and simple and it's really different from the rest of my make up, I love the spots and how the black box it comes in has the product drawn on the front. The plastic is also heavy which is nice because it feels good quality, there's nothing worse than cheap plastic that feels like it's going to crack when you pick it up. The only downside to the packaging is that it can get quite dirty, it has a matte effect which seems to attract make up that sticks to it so it constantly needs cleaning!

Now I never normally go for cream blushes, I like powders because simply I like applying them and I just feel like cream blushes are hard to get right and they get all over your fingers. I bit the bullet and bought this one though as it did look so nice, it's soft to touch and VERY pigmented so you don't need a lot which is great. It says on the back of the packaging 'dot on cheeks and blend' so I just pick a little bit up with two fingers and apply it to the apples of my cheeks, it's amazing, when it's on your fingers it feels like a cream but as soon as it touches your face it feels like it's turning into a powder! I wear this during the day and night, it's the perfect blush for literally any occasion and I would love to have it in every colour!

Here is Topshop description of this product: 'Lightweight cream to powder blush that melts into the skin giving a natural luminous, radiant finish.' It's exactly right, it really does melt into your skin and leave you feeling fresh and glowing rather than weighed down and oily. This blush costs £6 which really isn't a lot to pay for a product of this standard.

After having such great reviews for the blusher I decided I wanted to go back and get more and the next three products I bought at the same time. I chose this Kohl pencil in the colour 'Saddle', as I've said before I only wear brown eyeliner and this one really stood out to me. My favourite eyeliner is one from Urban Decay but I'm on a mission to find a cheaper alternative and this one is definitely a contender. I took a swatch of this on my hand and was amazed at the pigmentation, one swipe of the pencil and it's already so thick, it also has teeny tiny gold specs in which I LOVE because I wear a lot of golds and I do love a bit of shimmer!

The packaging for this is just as lovely as the blush, the cap on the pencil is in the same thick plastic and the polkadot theme is kept throughout. Whilst trying out all the different products at the Make Up stand in Topshop I was become more and more impressed with the quality of them. As soon as I tried out this pencil I knew I was going to buy it, at £4 it really is a must have product for people who, like me, love pencil eyeliners. Pencil is the cheapest and easiest eyeliner but I've tried literally every type going and pencils always stand out to me for their long lasting wear, value for money and really the sheer quality of them compared to some others. This eyeliner performs in all three of those areas and I will definitely be repurchasing it when it runs out (which won't be anytime soon)!

The next thing I bought was another 'shall I? Shall I not?' moment, I've never bought a lip marker before and from ones I've used in the past I wasn't too impressed, I like a lip product to be moisturising and a bit glamarous and I've found that lip markers just dry out your lips really fast. I tried this one out on my hand and it was surprisingly moisturising, I left it to dry whilst I browsed at other items and thought I'd come back to it.

When I eventually pulled myself away from the other Make Up I noticed it had dried nicely and left a very pretty, bright colour on my skin, I decided to get it because it is a very versatile lip product which I was excited to try. I am so glad I did decide to purchase it because as soon as I got it home and put it on my lips it instantly gave them a lovely pop of colour, I chose the brightest colour out of the ones they stock. Again it has the lovely packaging, the cap clips on nice and tightly so I'm not worried about it drying out, I've had the products for about two weeks now to give me a chance to try them and test them out in order to give an honest opinion but it's still just as good as when I first opened it.

The beauty of this product is that you can wear it alone for a matte look (as shown in the picture above), with a bit of vaseline to add a nice sheen or with gloss to go all out. It's lovely and small so I just pop it in my bag whenever I go out as it's so easy to use on the go. I love the pen as you can't really smudge it and it even lasts after eating so a perfect lip product for going out for a meal. This product was a bit more expensive than the others, it costs £8 which is what I'd normally pay for a lipstick, I'm just hoping it has the same long life as a lipstick too! I can't rave about this product enough I really love it :)

I first heard about the good quality of Topshop make up because of their nail varnishes so I knew I definitely wanted to buy one when I went back. I spent a long time umming and ahhing over the golds and pinks but I really wanted to try something new so looked more carefully at the other colours, it was very daunting trying to choose because Topshops colour range is VERY impressive, there's so many different shades of literally every colour there is! I settled on this beautiful shimmery minty green, it's such a summery colour and the little silver specs caught my eye straight away. I love shimmery nail varnishes and when they're this pretty, bright and eye catching it's hard to resist not buying 10 of them!

I put this on as soon as I got home and was very pleased that it only needed 2 coats, it was very thick and has one of those wide brushes making it even easier to apply. It lasted a good 3 days without chipping but I had to take it off for work before I could really see how long it would last. This is where it all went wrong. It took me a good 30 minuted to remove this nail varnish. I used the same cotton pads and varnish remover that I always do it just wouldn't budge! It was really frustrating and put me off wearing it again so I'm yet to reapply. I will obviously wear it again at some point but I will be sure to add a base coat this time which will hopefull help to lift it off easier, it's the glitter that just sticks to your nails that is the problem! I've worn 2 lots of different nail varnish since and I still have some silver shimmer glued to my nails. Don't let this put you off buying it, just make sure you use a base coat and allow yourself enough time to remove it before you have to go to work! Their shimmery nail varnishes cost £6 compared to the normal ones which are £5. For a nail varnish this size and this quality this is a very good price.

Everything I've shown here can be found at www.Topshop.com or in most Topshop stores! I will be going back to try more products because I was so impressed with the high quality of them and they are actually very good value for money!

How to: Cheat a winged eyeliner!

A winged eyeliner is something a lot of people deem to be quite daunting when really it couldn't be simpler, here is a trick that I use all the time when either my eyeliner isnt going as planned. It's actaually usually because I'm being lazy or if I have a blunt pencil that I can't be bothered to sharpen. This tip is great for those days where you're in a rush and don't have time to look for a sharpener or mess around with fiddly liquid or gel eyeliner!

I love pencil eyeliner, I find it looks the most natural paired with neutral eyeshadows. I also find that brown pencil (I NEVER use black!) really brings out the colour of my eyes and so it's always my go-to eyeliner.

Below is a small and incredibly simple step by step of how this trick works.

All you have to do is get your eyeliner, draw on your upper lash line as thick or thin as you want. As you can see in the top row of pictures I do not have a wing, it's really just a stubby end to what should be a wing, this is what you get when you do it in a rush or with a blunt pencil. Then grab a make up wipe (look to the middle pictures) wrap it tightly around your finger nail, place your finger in your outer tearduct and swipe outwards and upwards in the direction you want your wing to go, this will take the bottom off the eyeliner and bring it out into a point. It takes about 2 seconds and as you can see from the bottom pictures, it really works!

So next time you're rushing around because you don't have enough time to do your eyeliner (which I used to do a lot) don't worry, just use this simple trick! :)

Favourites: Concealer!

I'm determined to continue with this mini series, I'm back with my favourite concealer! I've chosen the Clinique 'line smnoothing concealer'. I've been very lucky in my teenage years that I've never really had a lot of breakouts, I get them every now and then and never more than a couple at a time so I don't really need to buy a concealer to do what it's meant to...conceal! I use concealer really just to smooth out the lines on my face that get a bit red, and in particular the horrible bluey-purpley area under my eyes, which at times can get very dark and make me look unbelievably tired even after 10 hours sleep!

Below is the packaging for the concealer, as you can see I've used a fair bit! This concealer is £15 which is pricey but with Clinique you know what you're buying is going to be good quality. I've had this for literally months and I use it every day and it's still not run out. When I say it lasts a long time, I mean it!

It comes with a classic doe foot applicator, I don't really like these as they harbour bacteria but it's better than a pump because you really need the tiniest amount at one time. The packaging is clean cut and smart and I like this as I hate packaging that has too much going on, I like products to be able to hold their own without a load of crazy packaging in the way. It also came in the classic clinique box (top picture) which I love. I love the way Clinique use the pastel colours and soft patterns because it emphasises their products purity. I've said before that I have VERY sensitive, dry, irritation-prone skin and I like that I can walk into Clinique and know that their products won't be harmful on my skin. I would happily pay the price for these products just because you know they're going to be good quality.

Above is a before (left) and after (right) shot of the concealer in use on my under eyes. I use this product under my eyes every day and when I need to around my nose and in the crease on my chin. As you can see from the picture it really works wonders, I'd used the tiniest bit and just rubbed it in under my eye, it doesn't completely erase the line but you don't want it to because then you'd look plastic! It just evens out the skin tone and gets rid of the nasty blue shiny part. Just rubbing this concealer in your fingers you can feel how thick it is, it lasts all day as well which is a huge added bonus. I really reccomend this product because I doubt you will get the same amazing quality in any cheaper products, I rave about this to everyone because it just works so well!

You can find it at most Clinique counters and online at http://www.johnlewis.com/37339/Product.aspx

:)

Review: Recent MAC purchases!

As you can tell by the title I've been buying a few bits in MAC and I wanted to write about them! This post is really just saying what's good for my eye colour and skin tone and showing you what kinda thing I do with make up (a small snippet) but i'm really just writing it because I have been so excited about getting these as I love MAC so much!

I bought these items at 4 different occasions but I've been waiting to write about them and now I feel I have a substantial amount that it's gonna be a long enough post!

Above is just an overview of what I've been buying, I've made it my mission to build up my eyeshadow collection because I love them and feel like they're a good investment! (The word I use for something expensive that I don't really need but buy anyway!)

I'll start with this, it's a Mineralize skinfinish AKA a set powder haha. I've been using The Body Shop's   loose translucant face powder for a long time but I ran out literally the day before holiday so set out to get a new one at the airport, when I saw they had a MAC duty free I literally went crazy, I would've bought more but we were in a huge rush so I just got what I'd intended to. Normally I don't like set powder as I have naturally dry skin and it enhances the dryness whereas with loose powders you can apply just the tiniest amount. I had a little go with the tester and was surprised at how thin and soft it was so I decided to get it, it was a very good decision because I now love this product! It makes my skin so so soft and has a really nice coverage. Normally £21 I got this for £17.50 and I bought it in the shade 'light', which even with my tan suits me nicely.

This was the first MAC eyeshadow I bought from the permenant collection, it's called 'Aquadisiac' and is the prettiest teal colour, it's really shimmery with tiny specs of glitter in it. I absolutely adore this colour, I'd been saying to myself for a long time that I would only allow myself to buy a MAC eyeshadow when I knew what colour I wanted and as soon as I saw this I instantly knew I had to have it! I don't think I'm brave enough to wear blue on my eyelids yet so I wear a little bit of this on my lower lash line and it really opens up and brightens the eyes. I wear it with neutral colours on my lid and it just adds a little pop of colour. A little bit really goes a long way and I'll definitely still be using this eyeshadow in years to come.

The second eyeshadow on my list was actually a present from my wonderful boyfriend but I did get to choose the colour, it was another 'see it and need it' moment, it's a really rich pink/gold combo, the name given is the eyeshadow in a nutshell, it just looks expensive and luxurious. I wear this colour in my crease normally during the day, it compliments my brown eyes so well but would look good on any colour. I wear it on my lid on a night out paired with a dark brown crease. It's the type of make up that makes you feel good when wearing it. I love it!

The next two shadows I bought at the same time when I really just went on a splurge, these weren't so impulsive though. This one, 'All That Glitters', I've wanted for literally years, ever since I got into make up and started watching 'allthatglitters21' on youtube. This is the most beautiful neutral colour. It's not a nude but really would go with anything, I've worn this so much since buying it, I bought this and the next one together so that I could wear them together and they go so well. This is the type of eyeshadow that really is a must have and will be on my 'repurchase' list for a long time to come. If I could only have one of the eyeshadows I've shown it would definitely be this one as it's so universal and gorgeous! Not only can it go anywhere on your eye but it would suit any eye colour or shape, it's a really good all-round product.

I got so excited buying this one, it's called 'Satin Taupe' and is a dark purpley/brown colour. I knew I wanted this one after watching Tanya Burr's 'Top 10 MAC eyeshadows' on her youtube channel 'pixi2woo' (check her out, she has the most amazing make up tutorials). This colour was in her top 10 and just seeing how beautiful it was on her made me really want it. She has brown eyes like me so I knew it would suit me and I absolutely adore purple colours on my eyes, so this one mixed with a little brown was like getting the jackpot. I probably never would've picked this up if it wasn't for that video which is why I'm so grateful for Tanya's channel! I wear this one in my crease, a little bit during the day isn't too dark but then add a little more and it's perfect for a night out. This colour makes me so excited, like 'all that glitters' it just goes with so much and really compliments my eye colour, if you have brown eyes then I really reccomend this colour!

You can find all this at www.maccosmetics.co.uk

Nail Varnish Review: Max Factor Mini's

I've been wanting to do this post for a while as I have a growing collection of Max Factor's Mini nail varnishes and wanted to tell everyone what I think of them! I have a total of 11 now and it's really mixed reviews, some of them have amazing colours but the consistency isn't great and others are a bit boring but only need one or two coats, I don't really see how one brand can range so much but that's why I wanted to do this post, to show you what's hot and what's not! Below is a picture of the ones I own :)

I usually stick to dark nail varnishes but as the trends have been changing recently I thought'd I'd go for a couple of pastel colours too! You will see when I look into each one in more detail that I stick to golds, pinks and blues for my nails, it's a coincidence but it made me realise that I don't really venture out much further than that!

Here are the first three, the top one is called 'Soft Toffee' and is a plain nude colour, it's pretty simple and I don't wear it much but it's a good colour to wear when you can't decide what mood you're in! This needs about 2 coats.

The middle is called 'Diva' and is one of my favourite colours out of the ones I have, I love shimmery colours and that's usually what I pick when buying nail varnishes but one of the let downs with this and the rest of the Max Factor Mini's is that they need 3 coats at least to look like the picture shown to the left. It makes me wonder how long they're actually going to last!

The bottom one is called 'Red Bronze' and is a beautiful copper colour, again I love this one as it's so shimmery and goes with a lot of different things. This needs 3 coats also.

Here are the more pinky tones out of the ones I have, I do own and wear a lot of pink nail varnish! The top is called 'Diva Pink' and is a really bright barbie pink, I rarely wear this one unless I'm going out as it is really sparkly and jazzy and a bit too much for every day wear!

The middle one is probably one of if not my favourite Max Factor nail varnish I own, it's called 'Hot Pink' and besides being a gorgeous bright summery pink it has a lilac irridescence that shines in the light and looks so pretty, it's really eyecatching and only needs 2 coats which is a bonus! I wear this one the most out of all the nail varnishes.

The bottom one is one of the only pastel shades I own and it's a lovely dusty lilac called 'chilled lilac' the one good thing about this colour is that it only needs 2 coats to look really thick and nice but I don't really like pastel colours in general on me so I have to be in the mood for this to want to wear it, which isn't that often!

Here are the blue/green shades, the top one is called 'cool jade' and when I bought it I thought it was going to be more pastel and a bit more minty but it's darker than I thought so I was a bit disappointed. It is pretty though but like the lilac I have to be in the mood for it. One bonus of this is that it only takes about 2 coats.

I LOVE the next one, it makes me feel like I'm in the sea it's a beautiful shimmery/glittery/sparkly greeny/blue called 'graffiti'. I don't care if I'm wearing all black or something really bright I will wear this nail varnish, it's gorgeous! It takes about 3 coats.

The bottom one is a sheer dark blue/purple colour with silver and glitter running through it in the prettiest way, it is stunning in the bottle but sometimes doesn't go on as nice as you'd hoped, it takes about 3 or 4 coats to get it right but when it's dried after that many it does look so so pretty.

Finally I have two very controversial ones. The top colour is pretty amazing as you can tell, is it purple is it blue? You will never know because it's both, I love wearing this and just moving my hand under the light to see the different irredesences shimmering. This colour is called 'Fantasy Fire', when I bought this colour it was the last one there and the cashier said it had sold out time and time again so I thought wow I have to try this to see what all the hype is about. I was severely let down. This nail in the picture still isn't finished but I think that's either 5 or 6 coats, it's pretty ridiculous how thin the nail varnish is, is there a way to thicken them? I think this colour is stunning but usually opt for other colours because I find the consistency so hard to work with.

The picture underneath is of my newest nail varnish, Navy is my ultimate favourite colour to wear on my nails, I've been using a Barry M one for a long time which I adore but it's started to go clumpy and it's running out so I thought I'd get a new one, I'm wearing it now and the colour is beautiful, it's dark but has a slight hint of electric blue in it underneath the light. I wish the consistency was better because it did take 4 coats to get it looking good!

I love the colours Max Factor have created and I haven't seen a range this good in a long time but the quality and consistency of their varnishes is really bad, I wish it was better because besides from that I can't fault it, they don't chip until the 3rd or 4th day and the colours stay shimmering the whole time you wear them. I will continue to buy them because I like to sit down and take my time doing my nails so it's not really that much of a problem for me, if like me you don't really mind applying lots of coats then I really reccomend this brand, however if you're looking for a quick fix then this really isn't for you.

Max Factor Mini's are £3.99 and can be found at Boots where there is often deals for Buy 2 get 1 free.

*since writing this post I have bought another one called 'Deep Mauve', I think it's the rainy weather forcing me to buy winter colours but I don't care it's so pretty! The fact that I've bought two in a week shows how addicted I am!*

Favourite: Eye Shadow!

I'm back again with another in this mini series, this time it's eyeshadow and much like the mascara choosing, it was a no brainer! The eyeshadow I chose is called 'Snow Season' which is from the 2011 winter limited-edition collection by MAC, I've had it for about 7 or 8 months now and I use it soooo regularly. It is my ultimate favourite eyeshadow I own.

As you can see below I have barely made a dent in it and it is my go to eyeshadow pretty much every day that I go to work, have to rush out the house, or even if I'm being a bit lazy (which is very regularly). It's a beautiful swirly mix of silver, blue, brown, grey, gold and a tiny bit of lilac. Normally I would steer clear of most of these colours as having brown eyes I'm usually drawn towards the browns and golds, the more warmer colours, however as you can tell by the name of the product this is the exact opposite! This eyeshadow was a 100% impulse purchase online, I think it was around the £16 mark so quite pricey however I really felt like I needed to treat myself so I splurged on this on http://www.maccosmetics.com/! £16 is the most I've ever spent on an eyeshadow but it was totally worth it. I looked at this eyeshadow online and just knew I had to have it, it's proved to be one of the best make-up purchases I've ever made! It's also about double the size of the regular MAC eyeshadows and it has a lot more detail in it compared to some of the other more plain or shimmery colours, so really if you think about it £16 is a bargain! (This is what I tell myself anyway).

The pigmentation of this eyeshadow is amazing, the bottom right picture above is me literally just doing a quick swatch with my finger, I don't even bother applying this with a brush as it goes on so easily and so well with my finger, this is unlike me as I love my brushes but that's the beauty in this product, it is so simple to wear and just sooo gorgeous. The pictures below are of my eyes wearing this eyeshadow accompanied with a small amount of 'naked' (a very light nude brown colour in my crease), a brown eyeliner and my favourite mascara. I will apologise for the photo quality, for some reason it will focus on objects but doesn't like focusing on my face!

I mainly use this eyeshadow to add a bit of shimmer and sparkle to my eyes because I am known for being a lover of make up and am rarely seen without it, not because I don't like not wearing it, but because I love putting it on! This colour really just brightens and opens up the eyes and it's very feminine. I am a lover of MAC eyeshadows in general and am slowly growing my collection, I love that this was my first MAC eyeshadow because it's really set the bar high.

I know for a fact you can no longer buy this exact eyeshadow but I've seen lots of dupes around which may be worth giving it a try (see below). The beautiful thing about this eyeshadow is that it will pretty much suit every eye colour and can be worn for literally any occasion, on it's own or paired with other shadows. I reccomend this type of colour for a go-to day-to-day eyeshadow.



Try the Eyeshadow in 'Forgery' by MAC, £12

-OR- L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in 'Flashback Silver 15', £6.99

-OR- Natural Collection Duo Eyesahdow in 'Frost Shimmer', £1.99

Favourite: Mascara!

Hello! Long time no speak! I've been on holiday hence the lack of posts. I've decided that I want to do a few mini posts about some of my favourite products and I thought I'd start with mascara!

After being away and using a new mascara (waterproof, for the pool!) I've realised how much I really love a certain mascara and never want to use another one ever again! I've been using L'Oreal Telescopic for a long time now, I've had one or two tubes of the original and I just bought my third tube of the False Lash Telescopic which is my ultimate favourite. I've said it before that I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for, I still stand firm on this with the exception of mascaras, I really rate drug store mascaras and do believe you can get a really decent one for under £10. I've tried so many mascaras and normally I like to get a different one every time I run out but I think I will stick with this one for a long time to come, I love it!

This is what the mascara looks like, the packaging is really pretty, the normal telescopic has a gold tube and the False Lash has a silver, I prefer this one! I love the brush with this mascara and I do think it's a brush that really makes a mascara brilliant, it's shaped so that it captures all the lashes instead of just the central, more prominent ones. I really like that the tip of this brush the way it's slightly pointed captures the outer lashes and really extends them quite easily making the eyes look a lot bigger. I prefer combs to brushes as well as I find you can work much better with them and really get the result you are looking for. Since the comb mascaras really took off, with things like Rimmel Sexy Curves which at the time I thought was a revelation, this has definitely got to be the best I've tried. 

The picture above, left to right on top then left to right on bottom, shows the stages of applying more layers to the eye using this mascara. I hate mascaras that you can only apply one layer with, where they dry quickly or become clumpy, it's a huge pet hate of mine. This mascara is so build-able, top left is a picture of my eye with no mascara on, I do have naturally mid-long lashes but it doesn't show too well in this picture unfortunately. They are also light brown in colour so I use a black to really make them stand out. As you can see from the top right picture one coat makes a big difference and sometimes if I'm not feeling great or really don't have time for make up, this, and a pump of foundation, are my go-to products. This mascara really opens up and brightens the eyes and just makes them look a lot more feminine. The bottom left photo is two coats of mascara, I usually do one coat on one eye then alternate, and the time it takes me to do one eye is enough time to let the mascara on the other eye go a bit tacky and the right consistency to add another layer, too wet and you'll just make them too thick and spider like and too dry and your lashes will clump and I hate that! It's approximately 10-15 seconds but I've never counted! I think two coats is a good day look, in the picture I am not wearing any eyeliner but when I am this makes my eyes look a bit darker and more defined (and more awake!) which is just what you need getting up at 7am to go to work! The bottom right picture is my eye with three coats of mascara, I don't apply a lot in one coat as I like to make the mascara last me a month or two but I would choose to wear this over false lashes any day, they look dark and big and I love it!

I honestly rate this mascara so much and want everyone to try it! Another great thing is that it comes off so easily, something you would't think about when buying a mascara but something that is also a huge bonus, I hate mascaras that stick to your lashes like glue and take a half hour of tugging to get it off, this comes off in the shower with just water if I use enough of it, but don't be put off, it'll withstand a few tears. If you're looking for a new mascara then try this one, it's THE BEST!