Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze Palette ~ Review and Swatches

I've already chatted about this palette a little bit on here, but I thought it deserved a separate post because it's so worth picking up. 

Let's just appreciate this amazing selection for a minute.

The only down side to this palette is that it's an entirely shimmery collection, so those of you who prefer your mattes might be disappointed. I love the shimmers, especially for the summer, its such a nice collection for a summer holiday!

These are one swipe swatches, so you can see how pigmented and shimmery they are. The light shade is really good, it just doesn't show up here because it's basically a creamy white...which is the colour of my skin.

My favourites are the second and fifth shades, which are very similar, but the second is a bit of a cooler tone whereas the fifth is warmer.

The only colour to not impress me so much is the golden shade, which is a little sheerer, but builds up really well.

This looks a lot lighter on camera than in person, but I basically did a wash of the palest colour, the golden in the centre and the fifth colour into the crease, just to create a soft daytime look. 

The shadows are so pigmented but easy to blend out so great to do both a day and a night look.

The shadows last really really well, each time I've worn them they make it through the entire day!

Overall, definitely pick this one up, it's such good value at £3.99 ( It was on offer at Boots for £2.99 the other week so I'm sure it will be again sometime), and the quality is amazing for the price.

This is the kind of palette I'd take away on holiday because of the cardboard packaging, and the lovely selection of shimmery bronzey shades. I will definitely be looking at the other two palettes...

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Budget Skincare ~ My Skincare Routine

I know that it's really hard to find skincare on a budget. Your skin is so important and it's really hard to understand what works and what kind of routine is good.

I've made a video on my budget skincare recommendations/ starter kit if you're just trying to settle into a skin routine, or you fancy a refresh.

Head over to 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZW4tzDFLhg

if you fancy a watch, I'm sorry about the open wardrobe in the background, it really annoys me too. Subscribe to keep up with my videos, and I hope you like what you find there :)

Thanks for reading!

Lou xx

5 minute make- up ~ Spring Pinks

Happy Easter!

So today I did this quick, fresh-looking Spring make- up. 

I do apologise for the edited photo, when I looked in the mirror, my face looked fine, but when I took a photo, I just looked horrible, so. Sorry.

I only used things from my previous post, so I took the Rimmel BB cream allover, concealer in the obvious places, a healthy dab of the Revolution Blush in Love on my cheeks, and the Technic highlighter dabbed on my cheekbones and on my brow bone.

The eyes were super simple. 

A swipe of the Bourjois 24 Hour cream eyeshadow allover the lid (in Petale), and a little browny eyeshadow swished into the crease- i used the second from the left shade in my Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette.

I've been loving the sans- eyeliner look recently, I think it looks really fresh, so I just went straight in with mascara.

For the lips, just a quick splash of the Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle for a nice natural flushed pink.

Voila!

Hope you've had an amazing day,

Thanks for reading

Lou x

The Weekend Edit ~ Travel Make-up Bag

 I find packing a travel make -up bag so much fun. I think I'm a bit weird, but I love challenging myself to cut it down to a small selection which offers me a wide range of options. So here's my latest edit, I'm at my parents' for Easter and the few days ahead will hold family gatherings, photo opportunities, and some trips out to see friends etc, so my make-up bag has to be quite versatile. I'll talk you through my picks so hopefully you'll get some ideas :)

Face

Three concealers I hear you say, well- let me justify it.

The Rimmel BB cream is a no-brainer, it's my absolute favourite at the moment. Light to medium coverage, brightening and flawless looking. Light enough for a casual day, but with a bit of neatly placed concealer, it can become a bit more flawless.

The Collection concealer is for blemishes which might rear their ugly head. Dotted onto bits-I-want-to-cover, this concealer is perfect for heavy coverage jobs. And everyone is bored to death hearing about this one, so I'll move on.

Maybelline Fit Me concealer is a strange one. It's looks darker than my skin tone but when blended in it's actually fine. I use the shade 15. I use this as an eyeshadow base to even out my pigmentation on my eyelids, as well as under my eyes to cover those dark circles.

The L'Oreal Touche Magique is for those days which I want a little extra summin-summin. Stripped over the top of the Maybelline under my eyes and down my cheeks a little, it can look really brightening, and on a really good under-eye day, I could just wack this on atop my BB cream for a really luminous face. Brill.

 Blush, Bronze and Highlight

Bronzing/ contour goes straight to my Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 Light Matte- perfect for both a chiselled cheekbone, and a sunkissed glow. 

Blush was a hard one, I wanted to take my MAC blush, but I've not been giving my other blushes much attention, so I've thrown in this Revolution blush in Love which is really really nice and fresh. It is matte but it lasts well and is a perfect Spring-pink.

For highlight, I gave the Mary Luminizer a break, and threw in this Technic Highlighter (available on Amazon) which is basically an amazing dupe for Benefit's High Beam, and a tenth of the price. I've had this for years, and it's perfect dabbed on the cheekbones or under the brows.

I chucked in my Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Translucent for shiny days.

Eyes

I feel like this is such a condensed choice, I am so proud of myself.

For my brows, I went for my Revolution Aqua Tint in Fair which I love, and it lasts really well, as well as my Natural Collection Clear Mascara for combing them through.

I have two cream eyeshadows which are great for bases, and for quick washes of colour. I went for Creamy Beige from Maybelline because it's matte, and everything else I'm bringing is shimmery so I wanted the option. The other is Petale de Glace ( i think) From Borjouis- the name has rubbed off but it's a really beautiiful dusty pink which looks so fresh and pretty. 

I'm loving this Collection Eyes Uncovered palette in Nude Bronze, it's got a really good selection of shades, and the quality is amazing for the price. Also the packaging is so travel-friendly.

Mascara was an easy one- Va Va Voom from 17, my go-to mascara. Same with eyeliner- the liquid pen from Collection is the best. I threw in a pencil black eyeliner just incase, it's the Rimmel Scandaleyes.

Lips

Stuff happening this week will mostly revolve around eating, so no bold lips are welcome. The Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle is a nice balmy dark pink, the Rimmel Kate Lipstick in 103 is a matte mid pink, and the Maybelline Colour sensational in Glorious Grapefruit is an orange-y gloss. All fresh and spring-y but not high maintenance. Oh, and some Lip Balm from the Body shop which is chocolate smelling. Yum.

Other bits

Just a couple of extras. Baby skin primer in case I feel a bit pore-y, my lash curler because its an essential, and Barry M Topcoat, Basecoat and Nail Hardener in case I need to get rid of my current colour and I can't deal with naked nails.

So that's everything! Hope you enjoyed it and found it useful :)

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Top 5 ~ Spring Lust List

1. Benefit Roller Lash

The hype around this product has been on another level. However, since it's release, pretty much everyone has been praising it as a fantastic new mascara. I've watched my fair share of reviews, and I have to say I think it looks pretty good. Holding a curl is my number one problem with my lashes, so I am really excited about getting my hands on this (but maybe in a few paycheques time...)

2. Clinique Colour Pop Lipstick

I'm really really excited about these. Pigmented, moisturising, long wearing...isn't that the ultimate lipstick?! The colour range looks incredible, I've got my eye on Grape pop as a really fun, lilac colour for Spring.

3. Bobbi Brown Colour Corrector

This is in no way a new product, but my under-eye circles can quite often be quite a deep blue/purple colour, and I've been doing a lot of research, and this seems to be a lot of people's favourite for sorting that out. Definitely on my shopping list.

4.Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

Who doesn't want this? The colours are amazing, the reviews are glowing, and it smells like chocolate. I think this looks perfect for summer, with the lovely warm browns, but a splash of colour with pinks and peaches which will look amazing with a tan. 

5. Zoeva Rose Gold Brushes

Oh. My god. So beautiful. Zoeva are some of the best brushes around, it seems, and the rose gold ones are just to die for. Sadly, they are so pricey that these will have to wait until this year's Christmas List...

Thanks for reading, 

Lou x

The White Nail Game

The white nail thing is definitely happening for Spring/ Summer this year.

I love this trend, because it makes my nearly-white skin look more tanned, and the darker your skin, the better it looks. 

Theres loads of off-white colours around, I know the Nails Inc ones have been really hyped up, but they are price-y.

Check out Barry M, they have a really good selection, and I have my eye on a few of them.

The one I'm wearing here is Easy Going by Sinful Colours, and it's a slightly pink-white. Really opaque consistency, and a nice shiny finish. Takes a fair while to dry which is a bit of a pain, but if you have the patience, it's worth it.

Love this trend, I'll be on the hunt for more off-white shades and I'll surely update the blog when I find some

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Drugstore Haul Video

My first video is live on youtube at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVKUbBg8eJ0

Take a watch and please be kind, I'm new at this!

Lou x