Empties #3

28.4.14


It's time for another empties post. I've been collecting these products for so long so I'm finally glad I feel like I have enough to warrant a post so I can throw them all away.


The first of the lot is Strawberry Swirl shower gel from beauticology. I got this as part of a set for Christmas, the smell was very nice but a little too sweet and sickly. It smelt more like strawberry sweets than strawberries themselves. Although it did leave my skin feeling nice and clean and very soft. The product lathered up really nicely into fresh feeling foam.


This product I have been working through for longer than I can remember. It's the Collection 2 in 1 Strengthener and Base Coat and when I first go it it was amazing it coated my nails really well and stopped my nails yellowing and cracking, but as it got older it got really thick and stringy and made my nails look really ugly underneath nail varnishes because it was so gloopy and applied really unevenly.




If you have followed my blog for a long time then I'm sure you recognise this little pot of wonders. I stayed in love with Carmex from the very first time I opened it to the very last time I used it until it was totally empty. It works amazingly for transforming sore and dry lips into soft healthy ones. I 100% recommend this to all of you.


The Seaweed Mattifying Daycream from The Body Shop was an absolute god send when my skin went through the worst oily phase it ever had last year. I was able to feel it instantly making a difference to my skin every single day when I put it on and it kept my foundation from looking oily and gross all day too. As well as this it also moisturised my skin too as opposed to just drying it out. Although I tried to carry on using this after my skin stopped being oily and I definitely wouldn't recommend it for use if you have normal skin because then it did make my face feel quite tight.


I've always been a fan of the Pantene Pro-V range in particular the smooth and sleek edition because my hair can tend to be a little frizzy. However, this completely saved my scalp when I used a shampoo and conditioner that certainly didn't agree with me leaving my head feeling sore and itchy (which I'm sure you can imagine was not pleasant). After just one use of this my scalp felt instantly better and soothed! For that reason alone I love, love, love it.


A little bit of a random one now, and certainly not beauty related - although I still stand by the fact it has helped clear up my skin countless times. It's fruit tea. I really like the taste of fruit tea plus the fact I know it's good for me and packed full of anti-oxidants, this one in particular was the first ever fruit tea I tried. The Diplomat refreshing Berry Fruits. I've been through many a box of these and I just thought I'd share them with you because they're one of my favourites.

That' all for another empties post. Time for me to start collecting products up again, but until then I'll see you next time. I hope you enjoyed this post, if you did or if you have any recommendations or requests for me then I'd love to hear them in the comments. 

xxx

Naturally Fuller Looking Lips:

23.4.14

My lips are naturally quite plump anyway but sometimes I like to make them look even bigger but not too fake. To do this I just use two simple steps:


I've started with a matte lipstick so that you can really see the difference through the steps.


To add a naturally plump look you want to make it look like the light is hitting the larger parts of your lips. To achieve this apply a clear (or a similar colour to you lipstick) gloss on the very top of the top lip and blend outwards along the top of the lip line. Also add some to the middle of the bottom lip and lightly blend out along the middle line too. This makes the lips look much fuller from every angle.


As a final touch apply some highlight to the cupids bow and some bronzer underneath the bottom lip. This makes the top lip look raised at the top and the bottom lip look bigger because it looks like the skin under the lip is further away than it actually is.

I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know in the comments if you try this out with a make up look and how it worked for you.

xxx

Floral Spring Green Makeup:

20.4.14


Today is one of those looks that happen when you look at something and get struck by inspiration, this time it's this stunning floral head band. It finally seems to be getting a little warmer so I thought it was time I did some fresh and bright looks. 


The base is very low coverage and fresh, because when it's sunny you don't want to be caked in heavy high coverage makeup. The eyebrows are much lighter than usual for me too because I always lean towards lighter brows in Summer. As for my cheeks I did little to no contouring because I feel like it looks a little harsh come Summer, and the blush is a fresh and glowy one. I didn't add any highlighting because of the amount of shimmer in the blush. I added a fresh pink lipstick to tie everything together and to match the pink of the headband.



The eyes are the main focus of the look. I used one of each colour in the headband. Starting in the inner corner I highlighted using a really bright shimmery yellow colour and really packed it on to make it last. The rest of the lid was a bright green which I stopped just before the crease, I blended it all out using a very bright pink colour. I added a thin line of black along the lashes to intensify them, and added lots of mascara to open up my eyes a bit in competition with the amount of product on them.


Alternative to Lipscrub:

17.4.14

Lip scrubs can be a girls best friend at times, when our lips are looking a little worse for wear and we want a nice smooth looking lip to apply lipstick over the top of. There is a totally free alternative though which works at smoothing out the lips nicely.


When you've finished brushing your teeth run you toothbrush under the warm tap and (gently) buff away at your lips in circular motions. When you've finished apply a thin layer of lip balm and your lips will be noticeably smoother and softer. Just make sure you don't brush too hard or do this everyday because you could end up making your lips even more sore.


That's all for another post if you like these little tips then let me know in the comments and I'll make some more posts like this. I hope you enjoyed.

xxx

Review: Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer:

13.4.14

This spray on toner is quite possibly one of my favourite things for my skin ever! It claims that it "revitalises, soothes and tones for instant radiance" and I have to say it does exactly that. 


I put this on at night and I can feel the product soothing my skin as well as the lovely relaxing smell that sends me to bed ready to fall straight asleep. I spray this all over my face in a fine mist as the instructions say and you can feel the affects instantly. You'd think that by spraying your face you wouldn't be able to cover your face but it leaves an nice even mist over the face. 

The product contains organic aloe vera, calendula, cucumber and natural vitamin E. This explains why it helps soothe the skin so much and I can always really feel it sinking into my skin and working its wonders.

All in all I would recommend picking this up no matter what skin type you are. There are no harsh chemicals, it's suitable for dry, or oily skin as well as having really beneficial qualities for the skin. 


xxx

Warm Brown Smoky Eye (Using the Naked Palette):

8.4.14


I think the trick to any smoky eye look is to start small and with light colours then slowly but surely layer up and add depth. It will do you no good just slapping on loads of dark eyeshadow and hoping for the best. In this case I used al colours from the Naked palette because hopefully a good number of you will be able to follow along with it. 

I started with Sidecar all over the lid to the crease line and put on a good few layers until I was happy with the colour. Next I used Smog on the outer half blending very slightly farther out and higher up than before. I then did the same with Darkhorse but making sure I left enough room for each individual colour to be seen. As you go make sure to blend each colour into the next to make the colours look like they naturally graduate into each other. I also pulled Darkhorse down onto the lower lash line. Lastly I took a tiny bit of Creep on a really tiny eyeshadow brush and used it to add a little depth to the upper and lower lash line but very gently because I didn't want it to be noticable. When it comes to smoky eyes (and most eyeshadow looks for that matter) it really adds to the intensity of the look to repeat steps and keep going over things until you're happy with how it looks. To highlight I used Sin on the brow bone and in the inner corners of the eye.

As for the rest of the face I kept the warm theme going using a dewy light coverage foundation, bronzer, warm toned blushers and highlighting and a warm lipstick with a brown undertone.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it helped you out a little. I'd love to know in the comments if it did. I'm also thinking of doing more of a Classic smoky eye look so let me know if you'd like that.
xxx 

How To Dry Your Nail Varnish Instantly:

4.4.14

And for free too! 

 This one's going to be another one of those quick tip little posts that seem to go down really well. I can't remember where I read this but a few years a go I discovered that if you immerse your hands in cool water after you've painted your nails then they will instantly dry.


That's right all you need is a little bowl of water. Although usually I just fill up the sink, but for the purposes of it looking a little better and not having to use the dodgy lighting in my bathroom I've used a bowl here. Because all you need is water it means that this tip is totally free. 

After you take your hands out of the water be careful drying them because if you drag them around on a towel then it will disrupt the nail varnish and look ridiculous. Also make sure you're using completely still water with no bubbles in it because the bubbles will settle on your nails and when they come off the nail they will leave a strange pattern of dimples along the nail.


I hope you enjoyed another little tip and if you did or if you try this out please let me know in the comments. Also if you've got any beauty tips then please feel free to leave them in the comments it would be nice to get a bit of a discussion going.

xxx