Itty-Bitty Beauty Haul & Reviews

I can't believe it's been over a month, where has the time gone?

About a month ago I took pictures for a blog post haul but decided to wait as I really wanted to review the products as well, so I'm sorry for the wait but I have some great post ideas coming up soon.

 Here is a little overview of what I purchased last month... but let's break it down...

 Skin care:

The Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser at £3.55     ***/*****
I bought this product due to some amazing reviews, and the fact it's pretty cheap. While the concept of not having to moisturise after showering appealed to me as a time and effort saver, I was pretty sceptical weather this would work. I am impressed with the size of the bottle, you certainly get a lot, which I guess is great as I found I needed a lot for each use. This product does work fairly well, not perfect by any means, my skin felt somewhat moisturised afterwards without extra nourishment, however if you suffer from dry bodily skin, I would recommend that you follow up with extra moisturiser afterwards.

Vichy Cleansing Gel at  £9.50 ****/*****
After running out of cleanser, I needed a quick fix, and decided to take a peak at the Vichy counter seeing as i've never bought a product from them before. Although I never normally enjoy gel cleansers due to them being fairly drying, I find that they remove make up better than cream ones, so picked this up on a whim without any research. I surprisingly like this, due to my oily skin this gel doesn't strip my skin of it's natural oils and actually does a great job of removing all make up traces and impurities leaving a clean feel with no residue.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water at £4.99 ****/*****
So, I've never owned a cleansing water, and although contemplating Bioderma for a while, I wasn't sure if I needed one, but when I saw this for half the price I thought i'd give it ago. The reasons for not picking it up before is I always have to cleanse with a fairly strong cleanser so I am sure all my make up is remover. But yes there are those times when you still have a smudge of waterproof mascara on, and this is really perfect for removing that, and I have found I love it so much that I now double cleanse with this, but because it's soothing and fresh and calming. I really recommend it, just try it out.

Vaseline Spray&Go Body Moisturiser at £4.99 *****/*****
Yep. it's easy to use, does the job, smells great, quick to dry, not a huge amount more I can say about this one really, It's just a very very useful spray and in those situations you can't be bothered to wait for a thick cream to soak in and dry. So useful for the holiday season.

 Make Up:

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in 001 Pink Truffle at £7.99 ****/*****
Really loving this lip butter, its fairly sheer but very buildable, a nice soft caramel colour, very very wearable and also nourishing, if you're having a dry lip day but want a splash of colour then this is really fab. Gives of a glossy/satiny finish and is just beautiful. This colour is also great for all year round as an ashy rose.

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in 230 Complex at £7.99 ***/*****
I thought I would like the look of a matte finish more than I actually did. I bought this as I needed a nude colour, and thought the concept of a matte finish would look great, and I guess it does, however the condition of my lips haven't been great, and any matt finish lip product needs to have a perfect base otherwise it will cling too those dry bits for dear life and that isn't a pretty site! I do however love love love the colour, a perfect nude for me, which is something i struggle to find due to my pale skin, It also carries an interesting mint scent, nothing great, but quite fresh.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 1 Fair at £3.99 *****/*****
Need I really say anything? This is probably my 6th pot. But honestly a great concealer.

Bourjois Cream Blush in 02 Healthy Glow at £7.99 *****/*****
This cream to powder finish blush is so beautiful, I love the shade a peachy, glowy, coral. It applies great due to its good blending power and  looks very natural on the skin, perfect for spring and summer really. It also comes in cute and small packaging. My go to spring cheek, also a perfect blush for people who aren't so confident with blusher as it's pretty hard to go wrong with this, as you can just use your fingers to apply and blend.

From top to bottom: Revlon Lip Butter,  Revlon Matte Lip Balm, Bourjois Cream Blusher.

I then used the Vichy Gel Cleanser to remove the swatches: 

Great right?

Then this is what I bought my Mum for Mothers Day. The Liz Earl Hot Cloth Cleanser, which I will review shortly with other cleansers (btw it's one of my all time favourites). And a nude/clear Revlon nail polish.


Hope you enjoyed this post, I promise there is more to come shortly,
Bye x x x

My Cosy Night In Natural MakeUp Look

Wow, what a crazy week!
Had such a busy time, with loads of exams and other bits and bobs on too, so I've only just found time to sit down and blog!

I went out on friday night, so this saturday I just had a quiet night in at the boyfriends house, so I thought I'd show you how I did my very natural, quick, not a lot of effort needed make up look

ENJOY 

So first off I prepped my skin with my all time favourite moisturiser, the AVEDA botanical kinetics hydrating lotion 

I then used the SEVENTEEN phwoarr paint in the colour fair and applied this under my eyes and on any blemishes, also over my cheeks as they were very red, so it evened the colour, and i blended this out with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, which I absolutely love for concealer and foundation.

I then used a small amount of my Estèe Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation in the colour INTENSITY 1, and used the same Real Techniques brush to buff this in... I spent a long time buffing to really get a natural finish. This foundation is great medium, buildable coverage, so I just blended for a while to get a natural finish.

Here you can see that my under eye bags are nicely covered and my colour has been nicely evened out and blemishes covered. 

I then moved onto brows, one of the most important steps for me, as I am naturally blonde, I have very very light eyebrows so I tint them this colour you see above or they would be invisible. To fill in any sparse areas I use my very well loved Urban Decay Naked Palette. For the brows i use the colour 'NAKED', the brush I use is the Urban Decay 'Good Karma' brush as I find this applies the product on really naturally, I use a spoolie to comb through then first, then push the product up rather than across to get a bolder effect.

As you can see this palette is very messy, and well loved...

I then took my MAC eyeshadow in 'SHROOM' which is a gorgeous pale creamy colour, absolutely wonderful at highlighting brow bones, and took this on a fluffy brush and applied all over my lid to even out and discolouration and on my brow bone to highlight.

I then took DARKHORSE from the same Urban Decay palette and on an angled brush applies a thin layer to the top of my lash line, I used a pressing technique to make sure the shadow would stay, this was to produce a natural eyeliner without the harshness of a black liquid liner.

After curling my eyelashes with my NO.7 curlers, I applied my Elizabeth Arden Maximum Volume Mascara in Black. It gives a full but not too overpowering look, keeping the lashes separate and looking longer.

Next onto Blusher, I wanted a natural flush so used my NARS Blush in DEEP THROAT, for that natural winter pinched look. I applied a small amount with the Real Techniques Blush Brush.

After I used my extremely old Dream Terra Sun by Maybelline, because it's great for contouring subtly, and then I dust it over the whole of my face for more of a glow. However it isn't very well pigmented, so even with extremely pale skin its very subtle! 

Then I used the same Blush Brush to apply a minimal amount of the Laura Mercier Translucent powder which i absolutely love for setting my make up!

Then possibly my favourite step is highlighting, on cosy nights in I just wanted a minimal highlight, so used one of my favourite products, the Yves Saint Laurent Touche èclait radiant touch in shade 2.

I apply this under my eye to cover any fall down and brighten and on the tops of my cheek bone, and down the centre of my nose. I JUST LOVE IT.

Lastly I wanted a simple colour and moisturising lip product so went for my Clinique Chubby Stick in 04 mega melon, which gives a lovely colour while being really hydrating for the winter time. 

and here is the finished look...

So I took some photos in different lights so you could see properly!

I really hope you like this look, I thought it was just right for a cosy night in, I apologise for the comfy hoody and terrible hair, I forgot to fix those before... oops

See you soon

Love Zoe xx