April Favourites

Above are two of my favourite brushes for the month from Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman. The top one is the Contour Brush which enables a really great, well blended contour and bronze. The one below is the Deluxe Crease Brush which for me, is the best brush for concealer because it's just like a mini buffing brush which blends concealer under my eyes seamlessly. In a few posts time there will be a review all about these brushes and others in the collection so keep your eyes peeled :)

I bought this Bourjous felt-tip eyeliner a while ago on a whim but never really used it because gel eyeliner had taken over. However, I have found that the pointed shape means that you can just place the pen on the outer corner of your eye and pull inward to create a perfect mini wing. I am not a fan of long winged liner but I feel just a little stubby one can really make your outside lashes look much fuller so I have been loving that look this month!

On an every day basis, teamed with the eyeliner I use the No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara because it gives me full, thick lashes but nothing too crazy for the day time. The actual brush itself is really unique and I tried to photograph it but it just came out as a black blob. One third of the wand length ways are shorter plastic bristles, the next third has long bristles for more length and then the last third has sort of small paddles which really add volume. The tip of the wand also has bristles coming out of it like a ball so its great for building up the outer lashes. It's pretty hard to explain so I guess you'll just have to do and take a look at Boots but I really love this mascara for both the wand and the consistency as you can layer it without it looking clumpy or spidery.

I know what you're thinking...'Why on earth would you wear bright pink eyeshadow?' I thought exactly the same thing when I received this sample of one of the No7 Stay Perfect eyeshadows in Antique Rose No#42. I thought it would have been more of a blush colour however when you swatch it, the pink hardly transfers which leaves a lovely neutral golden shade which is actually really subtle and nice for every day wear. I will include swatches at the end of my this post if you really don't believe me :P

Lastly, this is the Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream in the colour Cotton Candy. I bought this last month because of the really opaque colour but once I got home I was hugely reluctant to wear it because of  the smell. It's a really sweet, sickly, vanillery, strong smell which some people may love but I think it just smells too artificial. I do love this thought because of the colour and the consistency. It applies really creamy then once it drys it doesn't transfer like a lipstick which I really look for in lip products because I don't want to have to check my lips and teeth every few minutes for colour. I want to get more of these but at the moment they only do two other colours. Do you know of any other brands which do a similar product?

As i promised before, here are a few swatches of the products I mentioned. The first is the eyeshadow and as the photo shows it's a great all over lid, sheer wash of colour which I love. The next one is the felt tip liner and the last in the lip cream. As you can see, the colour is so opaque and rich!

I hope you have enjoyed my second ever monthly favourites!

Hayley xxx

TAG: 7 Deadly Beauty Sins

GREED

What is your most inexpensive beauty product?

That would have to be my e.l.f. nail polishes. They are only £1.50 and I believe when I bought them, I had an amazing code for 50% off. Here are the colours Purple Pleaser (which is more of a raspberry shade) and Medium Red (which is errrr...a medium red :P ) Truthfully, they aren't the best quality nail polishes however with a good base and top coat, I can get them to last about four or five days without chipping which is pretty good for 75p :)

What is your most expensive beauty product?

I am assuming perfume counts as beauty here so that is my Miss Dior eau de parfum. For only 30ml, the bottle was around the £50 mark from what I can remember but I just adore the scent for in the evenings. 

WRATH

What product do you have a love/hate relationship with?

This one is easy and I am sure I will have a lot of people who agree with me on this one. The powder 'chocolate' bronzer by Bourjois is no doubt my go to bronzer for every day, however the pigmentation some days is awful. Some times I feel that is gives the right amount of warmth in my face but other times I feel that it is too orange, and not pigmented enough for it to be easily blended out.

What was your most hard to find product?

Generally, that would be avon products. My favourite is this lip cream of theirs which I use all through the day, every day. I am dreading the moment it runs out as  you can see by the packaging, it was limited edition to the christmas collection and I haven't seen it since. So if anyone comes across it, please leave a comment!

GLUTTONY

What are your most delicious beauty products?

I received the Marc Jacobs Daisy luminous body lotion as a gift and I just love it. The packaging is amazing and the lotion smells just like the Daisy perfume which is delicious in itself! To add to this, it has a tiny bit of shimmer to it which is great in the summer on a night out. It is just beautiful :)

SLOTH

What products do you neglect due to laziness?

I could go on four ages on the products I neglect. Some days I just opt for some moisturiser and mascara but the products I really rarely reach for are lipsticks and lipglosses. I love wearing them for short amounts of time but I hate having the hassle of reapplication. I do wear lipstick way more than lipgloss in saying that but for every day, I usually just reach for a lip balm. I am thinking that maybe the Revlon lip butters will sway me. Anyone else excited about their release in the UK next week? 

PRIDE 

What product gives you the most confidence?

I have pretty good skin but dark blue/purple tones under my eyes so I would say a corrective concealer would give me the most confidence. In saying this, if I was to walk out the house with just concealer on I would never feel complete without mascara. I feel that mascara just makes me more awake and ready for the day when used with eyelash curlers so I think it would have to be mascara :)

LUST

What attributes do you find attractive in the opposite sex?

As everyone has been saying, this is such a random addition tot he tag. However I do like a man who can make me laugh (cliche I know, but so important). Physically, I like a nice smile and someone with a nice upper body to hug me and keep me safe :)

ENVY

What products would you like to receive as a gift?

Oooo where do I begin?! I would love to receive MACs harmony blush becayse it sounds great of pailer skins. I would also love the Bourjois highlighter as well as maybe a few essie nail polishes thrown in for good measue :)

My Every Day Make-up Bag

So, what is in my everyday make-up bag? I thought I would do this post to give you a little insight into me and what I put on my face every morning all bleary eyed and half asleep :) This is one of those if-you-buy-many-no7-products-then-you-get-a-free-make-up-bag-filled-with-make-up bags and as you can see it is fit to burst. I switch up the content from time to time but this happens to be what is in there now.

First of all I start by giving my face a good moisturise which the Olay day cream with SPF 15. I have incredibly dry skin, especially in the winter months, and i find it really helps my foundation to glide on as well as giving me a little bit of sun protection. The foundation I am using at the moment is Bourjois healthy mix serum in the colour Vanilla and it describes itself as a semi-matte finish. I find it is perfect for a nice light coverage used with my elf powder brush. In conjunction with this I use the healthy mix correcting concealer which really helps to cancel out the blue tones under my eyes. I seem to always neglect powder which I probably shouldn't do. I haven't found one that copes well with dryer skins to help set my base. Any suggestions?

To the right are the tools I use. The elf powder brush for foundation, the elf stipple brush for a light dusting of bronzer (as I am so pale I find this brush really helps to deposit a small amount of product) and the elf complexion brush for blusher. The one item I could not live without are my eyelash curlers (RED at Boots) which just help to give me that wide eyed, fresh faced look.

You've all seem this bronzer before. It's the Bourjois powder bronzer aka the chocolate bronzer. I have been using this for years and some days I love it but some days I hate it as it can look a bit orangey on my skin tone. As i said this before, I use it will a stippling brush to apply minimal product. I often skip blusher as I get very very rosy cheeks and I don't like to emphasise it. However on that odd occasion when I do reach for it, I usually go for more peachy/coral colours such as the elf mineral blush in coral.

Up to now my daily make-up routine is very similar, however when I get to the application of eyeliner, it changes daily as I never seem to be satisfied. One day it is no eyeliner, then its just eyeliner on the top water line, then its Kohl smudged into both top and bottom lashes. For the water line and winged liner I love the elf cream eyeliner as it glides on effortlessly and hasn't dried up in the four or five months I have owned it. For pencil, I regularly use the Bourjois eyeliner- black with purple reflections. I find the hint of purple really brings out my brown eyes.

Lastly is mascara. If there was only one product I owned it would be this. Maxfactor masterpiece max is the best mascara I have found to date. It really volumises whilst holding curl which I really look for. For my bottom lashes I need something more waterproof so at the moment I am using Loreal waterproof telescopic. I really don't rate this mascara for top lashes because I find they go spidery however it doesn't budge, even when I use make-up remover which can be quite frustrating. To finish my face off I use the MUA clear mascara just to brush through my eyebrows as they don't really need any filling in.








I love to read blogs about a persons daily make-up as it gives me inspiration to use different things. Comment if you have any views on any of the products I use or if you have any recommendations :)