Shop The Stash

Hello Readers,

 

I was recently looking through my make-up collection when I realised just how many products I have that I just don't ever seem to use. I'm not by any means the worst for hoarding make-up, however I do go through phases where I'll buy a few products all at once and some just seem to never get used as I get overwhelmed having so many new things to try out. I've decided to "Shop My Stash" in other words, instead of going out and buying more unnecessary products I'm going to use some of the ones that I've neglected. I've chose a good range of products some which I have used, others which I have not. I aim to review these products in the near future and hopefully I'll have some new favourite products to share with you all!

 

The products that I've challenged myself to start using are;

Dainty Doll Concealer Shade 1
As you can see I've used this product a few times but not enough to have fully formed an opinion on it. I'm starting to run out of my beloved Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer so it's perfect timing for me to give this one a go.

Rimmel "Stay Blushed" Cheek Tint in 004 Sunkissed Cherry
Okay, I know I got this a while ago but I'm pretty sure I've only used it once. How terrible of me! I was meant to try this out so I could review it for my blog however I just never seemed to reach for it. It's very intensely pigmented and I think that might be what scares me!

  MaxFactor Xperience Foundation in the shade Light Ivory.
This actually used to be my go to foundation before I came across my Gosh BB Cream. I've used this since I was about 15 years old, (not this exact tube of course) and really like it. It really does live up to it's claims and can't wait to start using it again!

Collection's Work the Colour Eyeshadow Pencil in the shade Vanilla Sky.

 I've used this quite a few times and it's a great product, particularly for highlighting the inner corners. However as I don't actually bother doing anything exciting for my everyday makeup. I find that I don't reach for this at all which is a shame.

Urban Decay Cream Shadow in the shade Suburbia.
Again, I've used this a few times however because I literally don't bother much with eye make-up, I've found that it just doesn't get the use it deserves. It's a beautiful little product which I'm going to start using more often.

 ELF HD Blush in the shade Superstar.
I featured this in my ELF haul post back in November. In which I said I was yet to actually try the product, but from swatching it, it looked promising. Well I'm a bad blogger and haven't used it at all since! I really need to give it a go and hopefully will be able to review it for you all very soon.

That's all for this post. I hope you're all well!
I shall report back to you on my findings some time soon.

 



Best Products of 2013

Hello Readers!

Today I will be doing a round up of my favourite products that I've used throughout 2013. 2013 has been a year that has just simply flown by and during this year I've found some products that I really do swear by. I'll just say now as a little disclaimer that actually a lot of these products are ones that I seemed to have picked up towards the end of 2012, however they have been consistently used throughout 2013 which is why I included them in this post. The title may be slightly misleading but basically this post is just me showing you my favourite products that I used throughout last year.

 

 My first favourite product of 2013 is the Real Techniques buffing brush. I'm pretty sure I got this in the core collection towards the end of 2012, however it wasn't really until 2013 that I really realised just how good this brush is and I've not used another brush to apply my foundation since. I use this pretty much everyday and no other brush compares. It applies my foundation really evenly, quickly and just overall helps to create a flawless finish. I've never experienced any problems with it shedding, even after being washed multiple times. It's a fantastic brush and has truly revolutionized my make-up routine forever.

Next up is a product that really surprised me with just how much I grew to like it and it's this ELF Lipstick in the shade Gypsy. I ordered this lipstick on a whim back in November when ELF reached 20,000 followers on twitter and gave everyone a 50% off code with all orders over £10. I ordered a bunch of stuff and decided whilst I was at it, I would pick up my first ever ELF lipstick. It was only £1.50 so I thought I might as well pick up a colour I wouldn't typically go for and if I didn't like it then ultimately it wouldn't matter as it was so cheap. Gypsy is a slightly pinky / purple raspberry colour - although in the photos it doesn't look like that at all. I typically go for nudes, reds, orange shades or burgundy so this really isn't something I would go for, however it's actually become one of my favourite and most reached for lipsticks! The colour is really flattering on my skin tone and I just feel like it compliments a lot of the clothes I wear also. It just seems to go with everything I put on and is a lipstick that isn't too bright and in your face so it's appropriate for everyday use. It has a slight shine to it however I don't mind as this makes it feel more comfortable to wear on the lips, the only negative thing I could possibly say about this lipstick is that it's not as long lasting as some of my other lipsticks but other than that it's amazing, and for £1.50 you really can't complain!

 Next up is Sleeks face contour kit in Light. This is a fantastic little palette which I love to bits! I picked this up whilst I was in London in December 2012, and since then I've used it a multitude of times however I'm yet to even make a dent in it! This is the perfect bronzer for my skin tone, it's easy to work with, it's not orangey at all, it's really blendable and best of all can be easily layered. I love using this all year round as it helps to add a bit of colour to my otherwise very pale face. I also really love the highlight as it too is really buildable, blendable and suits my skin perfectly. I love using this to highlight my cupids bow in particular as it just looks so pretty! This compact can easily be used on the go due to the large mirror inside and it's small and sleek packaging. I love this duo and highly recommend it to everyone!

 Next up is a product that I rarely ever seem to shut up about but it's just so good so you'll have to forgive me! Surprise, surprise it's the GOSH BB Cream in the shade Sand. This is now my second tube of this product and I absolutely swear by it! I use it everyday and prefer it over any foundation I've ever used. Let me start off by saying that the colour is the perfect match for my skin tone, which I really didn't expect considering the name of the shade. I find it really difficult finding products that match my skin tone as I'm so incredibly pale so it was really did surprise me. This product has a really light, creamy texture which blends into the skin beautifully. It has a light to medium coverage, as you would expect from a BB cream. It sits lovely on my skin, not drying, cakey, or greasy at all. This product is also quite long lasting, I find that I can put it on in the morning, go work a 9 hour shift and come back with it still on, looking more or less the same as it did in the morning. This product just creates a your skin but better look, which I really like. GOSH is a brand that I so regularly overlook as I thought it was so overpriced however I really need to give more of the products a go if this is anything to go by!

Next up is a skincare product, now I'm not exactly the best person when it comes to skincare, I don't really know a lot about it and I don't really have a routine. Whenever I do have one I actually seem to find that my skin gets worse so I just use whatever and hope for the best. (Bad blogger alert) This is a product that I really love using when my skin isn't doing too well. I've been using it for about 2 years now and have gone through many tubes of it now. This is Simples Spotless Skin Spot Zapper. It's basically a roll on Spot Zapper which is really kind and gentle to the skin and helps to gradually get rid of any spots that you may have. It contains Zinc, Chamomile, Witch Hazel and Lavender. Zinc PCA absorbs excess oils and helps to heal wounds, Chamomile acts as an anti inflammatory, Witch Hazel helps to tone and tighten pores and Lavender calms and soothes redness. This doesn't dry your skin out like some other spot treatments do and it also doesn't have any off putting scent to it. Simple is a skincare brand that I really trust, I do really like the idea behind their products and haven't disliked a single product that I've tried from them. At first glance you wouldn't expect this product to last you a long time, however just one of these tubes lasts me for months! I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I picked one of these up as it was so long ago. This product has a roll on applicator which means application is simple (no pun intended) easy and clean.

 

That's it for this post, I hope you have enjoyed.
If you haven't tried any of these products then I highly recommend giving them a go!

I hope you're all well.

Photography | Twitter | Instagram

 

 



Elf Cosmetics Haul

Hello Readers,

Today I have a ELF cosmetics haul to share with you all. Now if you didn't know ELF were recently offering 50% of all orders over £10 on their website if they hit 20,000 followers on twitter. Now naturally, if you tempt a bunch of girls with a 50% off code they will do anything to get their hands on it so it didn't take long till ELF had hit their follower target and had released the code. So with that being said I decided that it was the perfect time to treat myself to a few products on ELF that I'd been wanting to try. I don't believe the offer is still on now however ELF regularly do great deals on their already really cheap cosmetics so just keep an eye out!

 

 The first thing I picked up was this ELF HD blush in the shade Superstar. This retails for £3.75 and comes in 5 different shades. I have had this product sitting in my shopping basket for a few months now, I've always been curious about it but for some reason never picked it up. However the 50% of code was more than enough to push me into finally picking this product up. I was a little disappointed when I opened the product up to see that it appears to have separated in the tube as aesthetically it doesn't look very nice. However after shaking the bottle up and pumping a little bit of the product out on my hand the product came together in the tube again so it looks much nicer now. The product itself is a beautiful poppy pink colour which I think will look very lovely on the skin. I'm yet to properly use this product but from the swatch I did on my hand, I can already see that this is an extremely pigmented product. A small amount goes a long way with this blush which is amazing considering it's so cheap.

This is ELF's Mineral Foundation in the shade Porcelain. I've used this product before and I absolutely love it. It's a great mineral foundation which provides good coverage, it's fairly long lasting and it retails for £5 which is amazing as most mineral foundations tend to be quite expensive. I can't wait to get back to using this product and hopefully I'll be reviewing it sometime soon. Also, am I the only one noticing the web address typo on the product? Eyesliopsface? Haha. 

The next product I picked up was this ELF Blush in the shade Tickled Pink, which is a beautiful light pink colour with a slight shimmer to it. I decided to pick one of these blushes up as I really like the packaging and thought they had a great colour range to choose from. These blushes are very reminiscent of the NARS blushes due to the style of the packaging and I quite like that. I love the packaging of the NARS blushes however I personally wasn't really impressed with the product itself due to the poor pigmentation and transfer. (You can read the full review of the NARS Blush here.) This ELF blush was £3.75 and I'm hoping that it doesn't disappoint, however if it does then I don't mind as it was far cheaper than the NARS one!

 

Next I picked up ELF's Daily Brush Cleaner which retails for £3.75. I'll admit now that I am terrible when it comes to washing my makeup brushes. It's a beauty sin I know but it's just too much effort to wash them! I need to start making more of an effort so I decided to pick this daily brush cleaner up. All you need to do is spritz some on your brushes, a few minutes before use, give them a little wipe and they're good to go. Quick and easy! 

I decided to pick up my first ever ELF lipstick with this order. I went for the shade Gypsy which is a mauvey pinky purple colour. I don't normally go for shades like this however I decided to break out my comfort zone and try something new and for £1.50? Why not! I've only briefly swatched it so I'm yet to form an opinion of it but so far it seems like a really nice, well pigmented product. 

The final items I picked up were these 2 eye brushes. One is a concealer brush and the other is a smudge brush. Both were only £1.50 which is a fantastic deal! I already have 2 makeup brushes from ELF, one being a foundation brush and the other being a crease brush and I really like them. The crease brush is one I use on a regular basis and I really love it so hopefully I get on with these just as well!

My order should have came to £23.70 (including delivery) but using the 50% discount code I managed to get all these product for £13.32 which is brilliant!

That's all for this post. I hope you've enjoyed!
Have you used any products from ELF before? What products would you recommend to me?

Let me know!

I hope you're all well.

 



My Makeup Brush Storage.

Hello Readers!

 

 

Now today's post is a follow up to my recent makeup storage post, however this time it's all about my makeup brushes instead! Once again this will probably be a short post as there really isn't a lot I can say about my makeup brushes. Let it be known now that I actually don't own very many makeup brushes at all. When I was a bit younger I used my hands to apply my foundation, I used the tiny little eye shadow applicators to put on any eye makeup and I didn't wear any blush till I was a bit older so for a while there was no need for me to have brushes.

I'm pretty sure my nan was the person who gave me my first makeup brush. She made up a little makeup bag for me which was full of old makeup that she no longer used. This makeup was for me to play about with when I used to put on fashion shows in her living room. Inside that little kit was a big all over face / blush brush which is actually pictured above! I began slowly buying makeup brushes over time, I didn't ever stick to a specific brand, it was just whatever I could afford at the time. Some of my brushes I acquired through makeup sets, others were from a brand called Eco Tools, some were from H&M, some from ELF and the rest are Real Techniques.

I keep all my brushes in this little white bucket which I picked up from a store called The Range. I got this in the sale for about £2.50. I think this is originally meant to be a tea light burner however this little bucket is just so cute to ruin with wax and it holds all my makeup brushes perfectly. I really like the see through heart detail on either side, as this allows me to see my shorter makeup brushes such as my kabuki's or little lip brushes that I keep in there.

 

Sorry this has been such a short post!

I hope you find it somewhat enjoyable.

Paige.