March Top Three

I return with my latest top three, this time it's my favourites from last month.

3.) 17 Photo Flawless Face Primer

I knew from the first second I used this that it would be in my favourites for the month. I put it on underneath my regular foundation and noticed a massive difference in the coverage, texture and longevity of the face makeup. I am in awe, plus it is a steal at only £4.99 (Get it while the 3 for 2 on all cosmetics offer is still running at Boots)

2.) e.l.f. Cosmetics Studio Blush in Gotta Glow

As you can see, I have hit pan on this product after owning the thing for three months. I love it so much that I use it as a face highlighter, a browbone highlighter and an inner corner highlighter above all my other shadows/blushes. It has also been said that it is an exact dupe of the NARS blush named Albatross.

1.) Maybelline Eyestudio 24h Colour Tattoo

Well, what can I say. This product has been highly anticipated in the U.K. after its rave reviews over in the states, and when I found out that it was actually being brought over here I was so excited that I had to rush out to get some. If I had to reccommend only one it would be the colour Permanent Taupe which is known as Tough as Taupe in the U.S. Blog post to follow very soon.

February Top Three

First things first. Yes, I have been MIA in many months now. But I'm back and I've restarted my new YouTube channel. The first video from the new look channel is my February Top Three so I have decided to let you know here what they are, even though it's April and I just filmed my March Top Three.

3.) Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner Pencil

You've probably heard the Pixiwoo girls talk about this eyeliner quite a lot. It's black, it's blacker than black. It's smooth and easy to apply; plus it stays on your water line for longer than five seconds, and even longer when you set it with powder.

2.) Rimmel Vinyl Jelly Gloss Lip Liners

I managed to get these for 75p each!!! I know, they are discontinued but they are available on Amazon.com etc. These are a great thing to have as they are like lip gloss, lipstick, and lip liner all in pencil form, and they can be found for next to nothing.

1.) e.l.f. Cosmetics Complexion Perfection

If you have ever seen this you'll know what it looks like, and my sisters call it a battenburg powder, simply because of its multicoloured quarters. The different shades counterract different aspects of facial imperfection, such as redness and dark circles. I use it as an all over face powder due to the fact that my face is generally full of imperfections so I need it everywhere. It does set makeup but can leave the dewy finish on your skin if applied lightly.

Back to School Special: Complete Makeup Bag for £20

I'm really excited to share this with you guys. To start my back to school series I have researched and created a complete makeup bag for under £20. This is great for anyone who is about to start a school where you can wear makeup, or someone who just got into makeup, or even someone who just wants to refresh their look for the new school year. I haven't owned everything on this list yet but I have checked reviews and opinions of everything on this list. If you're interested, just keep reading.

1.) Concealer

For the concealer I have chosen Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection concealer, as this is my personal favourite. It's highly spoken of in the blogging and YouTube community and lives up to its good reviews. It is actually the most pricey thing in this bag and its RRP is £4.19.

2.) Foundation/ Tinted Moisturiser

For this I have chosen the Natural Collection tinted moisturiser which is available at Boots. I also own this and it is a staple in my makeup bag. The pigmentation on this is pretty good for a tinted moisturiser and will even out most discolouration etc. It works pretty well for me and I have dry skin and a bit of rosacea on my cheeks. It is so much lighter than foundation and it doesn't look cakey or heavy. This is priced at £1.95.

3.) Eye Primer

This is included in the bag because eyeshadow doesn't really last a full school day without it. The primer that I've chosen is the E.L.F. Eyelid Primer from the £1.50 range. I find that it its just as good as the mineral one for half the price.

4.) Eyeshadow Base

Cream eyeshadows work amazingly well as eyeshadow bases and often enhance the pigmentation of poor quality shadows. With a limited budget, this can make your eyeshadow looks alot more high end looking. For this I suggest E.L.F. Duo Eyeshadow Cream from the £1.50 range. The colour duo I suggest is Coffee and Cream as it has a white shade that can make all colours pop, plus a brown for deepening up the outer corner and crease in neutral looks.

5.) Eyeshadow

For the best value, I suggest buying an eyeshadow palette as you get more shades for a small increase in price. The two I'd suggest are the MUA Pro Palettes and the Beauty UK Eyeshadow Palettes. They are both the exact same price which is why I have suggested two. The neutral palettes (BUK No. 4 & MUA Heaven and Earth) are the most suitable for school but obviously it's your choice. I personally prefer the Beauty UK one as there are smoky shades, olives and browns whereas the MUA one has just browns.

6.) Mascara

MUA Mascara is £1. It may not be the best mascara but that is an extra that you may chose to pay a little more for.

7.) Blush

The MUA blushes are pigmented and there is one to suit most skintones.

8.) Bronzer

The MUA bronzers are a little bit on the orange side, so I decided that the E.L.F. ones for £1.50 is fifty pence extra well spent and is within budget.

9.) Powder

The MUA ones seem okay, although there isn't much of a shade range.

10.) Lipstick

Once again, the MUA ones are fantastic value for money.

11.) Lip Gloss

There are two kinds of lipgloss by MUA to choose from, plus the pigmentation is good.

Battle of the Glitter Liners

Hey Guys, I'm here with a review/comparison of three glitter eyeliners that are priced at under £5. I will be comparing the E.L.F. Liquid Eyeliner in Copper, the Barry M Gliter Liquid Eyeliner in Gold and the Collection 2000 Glam Crystals Eyeliner in Hustle.


E.L.F. Glitter Eyeliner

• 5ml of Product



• £1.50



• Available at http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/



• Foam tip applicator



• Very liquidy formula



• Slightly patchy glitter distribution



• Long drying time (over 5 mins)

Overall I find that the E.L.F. one is reasonable, the long drying time and slight patchyness deter me from buying any other shade of this liner though. I also found that there's not really a shade range at all as they are found under the liquid liners on ther site and only two of which contain glitter. I would recommend this to anyone who is on an extremely tight budget and is okay with putting in the extra effort for this product.

Collection 2000 Glam Crystals Glitter Liner

• 6ml of product



• £2.99



• Available at Boots, Superdrug and some supermarkets.



• Brush tip applicator



• Tinted gel base



• Even glitter distribution



• Average drying time (Between 1 and 2 minutes)

I like the Collection 2000 glitter liner the best because it's packed full of glitter, but also has the right amount of gel base to make it a very good quality. There are fourteen colours to choose from so has the largest variety out of the three, and there are some really unique colours such as Hustle which is a lavender base with blue, green and silver glitter and is just beautiful.

Barry M Glitter Liner

• 5ml of product



• £4.99



• Available at Superdrug and some Boots stores



• Brush tip applicaror



• Very dry formula



• Patchy glitter distribution



• Quick drying time (under 1 min)

This is my least favourite liner, and also the most expensive. The dry formula makes it hard to get a decent line. On the bright side, it dries quickly and has a reasonable range of seven shades. However I still don't believe that it is worth the money.

Here is a comparison of the swatches. The were taken in poor light so aren't fully representative of the colours but it does show the quality of the lines, which is what the comparison is really about.

I Put This On Five Days Ago, I Swear.

I told you that I'd post the picture of my nails and here it is. E.L.F's nail varnish in fire coral is not only a beautiful coral colour, it also lasts such a long time. I'm super excited to try the other colour that I brought, and now I'm eyeing up the mint coloured one.

Product Rave/Cheap Find: 07/08/11

Hey Guys, so I ordered a TON of e.l.f. products during their 50% off period, including two nail polishes and their matte finish topcoat. The colours I brought were called 'Nude' and 'Fire Coral' and I bought them at 75 pence each (usually £1.50) at http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk.

I'll be honest I wasn't expecting that much from them as I've brought many different poor quality nail varnishes in the same price range, but I was pleasantly surprised by the polishes.

I've been wearing Fire Coral since midday on Thursday and it's now 10pm on Sunday and 8 out of ten of my nails have not chipped at all, they look exactly the same as when I put them on, the other two are hardily chipped though. I caught them with a knife while I was cooking. No harm done though, apart from to the nail polish. :(

I plan to post pics in the morning, once there is some real light in my house and then I'll try out Nude.

I hope that this has helped you to find a good nail varnish that can last you through your working week without having to worry about repainting your nails.

Thanks
Meg-Anne xxx