Avon Giveaway!

If May was a bad month for me then June was even worse! June saw me in hospital for over a week and having emergency surgery, I also spilt tea on my laptop so if you're wondering where I've been for the last month, you have your answer! Luckily, health wise I'm on the mend and am slowly starting to feel more and more like my old self. As for my laptop, the lovely people at AXA home insurance sorted me out and I now have a working laptop again! Horaaayy! 

Seeing as I've been away for a while, I thought I'd come back with a bit of a bang and do a giveaway!  I've been meaning to do one for quite a while and I'm so pleased to be finally doing it! I'll be giving away a few of my favourite Avon products, here's a bit more about them!

Avon True Colour Eyeshadow Quad in Mocha Latte (review & swatches here)

Ever since I bought this a few months ago it's been my go to eyeshadow palette, I love shade 3, a shimmery warm toned brown which looks brilliant washed over the lid. 1 and 2 combined make a great paired down everyday look and shade 4, a matte dark brown is great for smoking things up a bit and is also a great brow shade! 

Avon Naturals Dreamy Lavender & Chamomile Scented Spritz

A product that I will forever repurchase! I think I would definitely be very upset if this stuff ever got discontinued! I spritz it onto my pillow and into the air every night before bed and the scent makes me feel all calm and relaxed. 

Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner in Black

This is a great versatile eyeliner, the gel formula means you can get a really neat, crisp line or smudge it out for a smoky effect if you want to. Once it sets it doesn't budge and it really is the blackest of blacks. 

Avon Glow Bronzing Pearls in Warm

I've been using these for years! I think I bought my first pot back in my teens! The pot contains a nice mix of different tones to give a really natural look that warms up the face brilliantly. Whether you're going for a sun kissed glow or just want to bring your skin back to the land of the living these are great!

You can enter the giveaway using the rafflecopter below! Good luck and no cheating please! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW: Natural Collection Eye Lines Eyeliner

When it comes to eyeliners, I love those buttery soft ones which glide on really easily, but if you want quite a thin, crisp line they often aren't much good. Their butteriness means as soon as you sharpen them to a point and use them, they become quite blunt and wide again. Great for a smudged out, smoky look. 

Though I'm not much of an eyeliner wearer, when I do reach for it I often want a thin and crisp line. The Natural Collection Eye Lines Eyeliner is great for that, it's soft enough to not drag the skin as you're drawing it on but still hard enough to give you that neat look. Plus it's really pigmented so one swipe will do, there's no need to go over the line again and again to get the line really black. Did I mention it's only £1.99? I think I might need to go back for a few more colours!

Winter Makeup Bag

If ever there's a time to go a bit crazy with your makeup, the lead up to Christmas and New Years Eve is definitely it, it's definitely not the time for minimalism! I definitely like to take a more is more approach, especially when it comes to sparkle! Here's what I'll be stashing in my makeup bag!

I'll be using my Clinique Even Better Concealer in Honeycomb and Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal in Nude to brighten up the eye area as well as disguise any seasonally induced under eye circles. 

I find a good contour is essential with heavy eye makeup or a bold lip and Nars Bronzer Multiple in Malaysia is super easy to use, just swipe on and blend in. For highlighter I'll be upping the ante with my Sephora Illuminating Highlighting Powder in Golden, which is definitely one for the evenings.

For eyes I've dug out my Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In the Dark which I picked up in America over the summer. It's full of shimmer packed shades that build up really well, the mix of darks, lights and brights means all outfits will be covered. I also couldn't resist the temptation to throw in L'Oreal Colour Infaillible Eyeshadow in Goldmine, purely for being the most shimmery gold shadow ever to have been created.

Everyone needs a red lipstick over christmas and mine is an ever so slightly darker than pillarbox red. It's Avon Colour Lipstick in Chilli which I'll be sporting with a slick of black gel eyeliner. 

What makeup will you be wearing this winter?

Jen's Sleepover Makeup

There's nothing more fun on a girly sleepover than having a nose through your friend's makeup bag and giving makeovers, apart from  eating an extensive amount of chocolate and watching terrible movies of course!

To start with I smoothed Benefit Porefessional Primer all over Jen's skin with my fingers to create an even base and make the makeup last well (even though we weren't going anywhere) I then worked in MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC15 with my trusty Real Techniques Buffing Brush, which left her skin looking absolutely flawless! We skipped concealer and went straight onto the fun bits, colour!

Using a Real Techniques Contour Brush I used the contour shade from the Sleek Contour Kit in Light to lightly accentuate Jen's cheekbones. This is such a great palette, we both own and love it, amazing really as we have such different skintones! Of course I had to be much more handed with it on Jen than myself. I then used a Real Techniques Stippling Brush to apply Revlon Photoready Cream Blusher in Flushed to the apples of cheeks and Benefit Highbeam to the tops of cheekbones, down the centre of the nose and above the cupid's bow. The light pink, pearlescent tones in this highlighter complemented Jen's skin perfectly! 


The main focus of the look was the eyes, we went for a soft neutral smoky look. I started by filling in Jen's brows with the Benefit Brows a go go kit and then adding the lightest shade (top left hand corner) from the MUA Undressed Palette under the brow bones and in the inner corners of the eyes. I then added the colour next to it all over the lid and blended out the edges with a Sephora Pro Blending Brush 27, next I used the bronze shade (bottom left) and worked that into the crease using the same brush, continuing to blend to make sure there were no harsh lines. I then added a really thin line of Clinique Quickliner for eyes in Black and smudged it across the top and bottom lash line for a softer look. Lashes were then curled and a generous amount of YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara was layered on, leaving Jen's already amazingly long and curly lashes look seriously stunning. This mascara is amazing, It's now been firmly placed onto my wish list!


To finish off the look we went for Clinique Almost Lipstick in Luscious Honey, it complemented the eyes perfectly while still being really subtle. Perfect! 

Highstreet/Drugstore Beauty Wishlist

Bourjois - Mineral Radiance Powder in 07 Hale

Botanics - Organic Facial Oil

Maybelline - Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Black

Sleek - Lip 4 Palette in Tease 

Una Brennan - Superfacialist Tea Flower Purifying Clay Mask

Real Techniques - Duo Fibre Collection

Yardley London - Peony Eau De Toilette 

Bourjois - Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in 58

What's in my Makeup Bag?

I've recently changed up what's in my everyday makeup bag so I thought I'd share what I've been using. Base starts with L'Oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer and MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NC45, both of which I mentioned in my Project Use Up post. The foundation is a bit on the matte and heavy side for my liking at the moment so I've been mixing it with a bit of my daily moisturiser. 

To bring a bit of warmth to the skin I dust on Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder, and pat in a bit of Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Flushed. I've also been reaching for Benefit Sun Beam, my favourite highlighter at the moment which gives skin a soft glow. 

For eyes I've mostly been keeping things pretty simple, a swipe of Avon SuperShock Eyeliner in Black, which is completely foolproof, and a quick curl and swipe of mascara on the lashes. For days when I want to put in a bit more effort, I've been using my Avon 8 in 1 eye palette in In The Nudes, which has some lovely neutral shades that I've been experimenting with. 

For lips I've been using Clinique Almost Lipstick in Luscious Honey, which is a tinted balm that leaves lips with a subtle stain or Avon Ultra Colour Rich Mega Impact Lipstick in Divine Wine (see it in action here) for when I want full on colour!

Also in my makeup bag I have Avon Glimmersticks Brow Definer in Soft Black, Sephora Eyelash Curlers and Avon SuperExtend Extreme Mascara. 

What's in your Makeup Bag?

Empties #3

Another month, another empties post, I honestly can't believe how fast I go through stuff! Anyway, here's what I thought of it all!

Soap & Glory Heel Genius is definitely a 'pedicure in a tube', it's a super rich, blue, foot cream which contains exfoliating fruit acids. I've been slathering it on in the evening and following it up with some cozy socks. Come morning feet are super smooth, no scrubbing necessary! Repurchase? Yes.

I've throughly enjoyed using Soap & Glory's Foam Call Body Wash, it's so fruity smelling and it really wakes you up first thing in the morning, plus, it leaves skin feeling nice and soft as it contains built in moisturiser. Repurchase? Definitely!

Yep, you guessed it, more Soap & Glory! This one is the Butter Yourself Body Butter, an all time favourite. It has the same lovely fruity fragrance as Foam Call Body Wash and also contains exfoliating fruit acids, meaning your skin is left feeling silky soft. It also sinks into the skin really quickly which is a great time saver. Repurchase? Yep!

Next is The Body Shop Vitamin E Sink In Moisture Mask, it has a light gel-cream formula, gives skin a huge moisture boost and applies clear. I've been using it overnight and waking up to plumped up skin. Look out for a full review coming soon! Repurchase? Already have! 

MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC45 is a foundation I've been using for years. It's a medium coverage foundation that can be mixed with moisturiser for a light finish or built up to a full coverage without looking heavy or caked on. It's a great all rounder. Repurchase? Already have.

Sephora Softening Facial Mist is a very lightly scented facial mist that I picked up in France this summer, it's a great skin refresher that adds a bit of dewyness to the skin, and it's so much cheaper that other alternatives. (I paid 4 euros for it!) Repurchase? Yes, when I next go to France!

The Simple Moisture Boost Hydro Mist is basically the same thing as the sephora one, although not quite as nice because a single spray can be quite full on whereas the sephora spray produces a fine mist. Repurchase? Probably not.

Next up is the mini Jurlique Lavender Hand Cream that I took away on holiday, this stuff is amazing! Not only does it smell amazing, it really does your hands a world of good. As it's a balm like formula, you only need a small amount, it spreads easily and sinks straight into the skin leaving no residue. It leaves hands feeling lastingly moisturised so you end up using it a lot less often. Repurchase? Definitely at some point but not straight away as I got a few other ones stashed away already! 

I usually love everything by Chanel but unfortunately their Automatic Liquid Eyeliner was a huge disappointment! It has a pointed brush tip, you twist the bottom and the product is dispensed into the brush, sounds great right? But everytime I went to use it I found that the entire brush had dried out and the brush was full of dry, cakey bits of eyeliner. I would then have to wash it and dry it before I used it (every single time) and very soon the brush started to fall apart from all the wear and tear! Repurchase? Definitely not!

At the other end of the spectrum, I have another product by Chanel which I absolutely loved and was so sad to finish, as it's long since been discontinued! It's one of their old bronzers and the shade was just perfect for me, not too pale, not too orange, with the tinniest hint of shimmer! Repurchase? I wish! 

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?

My Top 10 Under £10

A lot of Beauty Bloggers have recently be revealing their top 10 under £10 ($15), so I thought, why not jump on the bandwagon? When I first decided to do it I thought I'd really struggle to come up with 10, but when I started jotting things down I realised it was going to be quite the opposite! It's been pretty tough trying to narrow it down from my original 20+ products, but here's what made the cut!

Coconut oil, standard, if I had a penny for every time I went on about this stuff! It's a brilliant hair treatment, moisturiser, makeup remover and cleanser, plus it's cheap as chips! (find out all the ways to use it here)

Caudalie Gentle Cleansing Milk is a recent discovery but a definite favourite. The 100ml size is under a tenner and they also do a 200ml and 400ml size. It's super gentle, removes every last scrap of makeup and grime and leaves skin feeling really clean and baby soft. I'd recomend this to anyone but especially those with sensitive skins, (full review here).

Schwartzkopf Got2be Oil-licious Argan Oil Styling Oil is a pretty strong contender against it's much more expensive alternatives. A rich oily serum which glides into the hair easily leaving it soft and shiny while giving it a boost of moisture. Just don't forget a little goes a long way! (full review here)

When it came to compiling this list, the Sleek Face Contour Kit  in light was the first product that came to mind. A bronzer/contour, a highlighter and a peachy pink blusher all housed in a single slim no frills compact with a full size mirror. The shades are flattering on everyone and it's brilliant for travelling, everyone I know who's tried this loves it. (full review here)

Soap & Glory's Flake Away body scrub is not only my favourite body scrub under a tenner, but my favourite hands down. Its packed full of different sized particles which leave your skin feeling super smooth, the butters and oils leave it feeling really soft and for an added bonus it smells like Miss Dior! 

Like pretty much everyone with a beauty blog these days, I love the Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butters, they are most definitely worth the hype! Soft, creamy formulas, buildable colour and an amazing shade range, there's at least one for everyone. Did I mention they're currently on buy one get one half price at Boots? 

Essie are by far the best nail varnish brand in my opinion, their formulas are really long lasting, the brushes are wide and flat making application fool proof and they have every colour you could ever want.   

Real Techniques do an amazing range of brushes, you might as well just forget about more expensive makeup brushes because these do everything you need. Most of then are under 10.00 and some come in sets that are brilliant value. My favourites are the Buffing Brush and Pointed Foundation Brush, both from the core collection kit.  


I have an extensive collection of Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliners (review here), they're a brilliant budget buy. The gel formula means they'll never drag on your eyelids, they just glide along smoothly and once they set they just don't budge. 


Lastly it's the Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara, another recent discovery, this completely blew my previous favourite Dior Diorshow Blackout out of the water. The wide, closely packed bristle brush gives volume, separation and length in a few quick sweeps, saving time and money. 


I hope you liked my picks, what are your favourites under a tenner?

FOTD #1

I've always loved reading Face of the Day posts but never felt quite brave enough to do one. Today I felt a bit brave so I said, why not? bit the bullet, and went for it! I thought for my first one I'd keep it simple and show you a look I've been wearing a lot lately. It's my version of an autumnal look with berry lips and cheeks.  

So here's what I used! I started with L'Oreal's Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer which I spoke a bit about in my Project Use Up post. It takes a bit of working in with fingers but smoothes out the skin and makes makeup last all day. 

I then worked The Body Shop's Extra Virgin Minerals Cream Compact Foundation in 408 Rose Caramel into my skin using a Real Techniques Buffing Brush, this foundation is quite thick so I always remove any excess from the brush first. It gives a good finish and moisturises dry skin.

Next I hid dark under eye circles using the tiniest bit of MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC45, a little goes a long way with this concealer so use it sparingly under the eyes, too much and it will just crease. I apply it with the Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush, which is perfect because you can really get into the corner under the eye where most of the darkness is. 

I then dusted on some of Benefit's Dallas Blusher onto cheeks and into the cheekbone hollows, it's a dusky plum colour so it really brightens up the face as well as bringing out cheekbones. I then added a bit of Sephora Highlighting Compact Powder in Golden onto the tops of cheekbones and along the centre on the nose, all using the Eco Tools Blusher Brush and that's face done!

I kept eyes simple by filling in any sparse areas of my brows in with Avon Glimmerstick Brow Definer in Soft Black. I then added a touch of the highlighter to my brow bone using the Sephora 27 Pro Blending Brush, put on a quick swipe of Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense in 01 Intense Black and lashings of Avon Superextend Extreme Mascara. 

To complete the look I applied Avon Ultra Colour Rich Mega Impact Lipstick in Divine Wine. I'm really loving this colour at the moment, I've been wearing it constantly as the formula is really comfortable to wear and it has good lasting power! 

What do you think of this look?

My Avon Eyeliner Collection

I knew that I had a few Avon eyeliners, but it wasn't till I got them all out to photograph that I realised quite how many! They have two main ranges of eyeliners, the Super Shock range and the Glimmerstick range.

My favourites are from the Super Shock range, they are a buttery soft gel formula in a pencil form that set when they dry, and just do not budge! They look really good blended out with a cotton bud (Q-tip) but make sure you work quickly as they dry quite fast. They also look great as a clean neat line and the colour range is brilliant with more limited edition shades coming out every now and then.

The colours I have are, (from left) Aqua Pop, a rich, vibrant peacock blue that adds a great little pop of colour to a simple look. The next one along, Flash, I bought thinking it was a plain matte nude eyeliner like the Rimmel Scandaleyes one but in fact it's a champagney pink shimmery shade that looks lovely in the inner corner as well as in the waterline. In the middle is Blackberry, a limited edition shade from last year, it's a lovely deep, shimmery, purple-brown that is my most used shade of the bunch, I'm really hoping they bring this one back before I've used mine up! The next one along is Khaki, the shade is true to it's name with a very shimmery finish, I haven't quite found a way to make this one work for me yet but I'll keep experimenting with it! The last one is Steel, a dark grey with a full on metallic finish that looks great smudged out along the top lash line, it's a great alternative for when you feel that black 'might be a bit much'. 

The other range that I want to talk about are the Glimmerstick eyeliners, they are more of a waxy, traditional eyeliner formula that come in a super convenient twist up pencil, no sharpening required. The colour range is also more traditional with shades of browns and blacks and a few very dark jewel tones. First up is night star, which is part of the 'chromes' range, as you would imagine, all the colours in this range have a chrome finish! This one is a deep, dark blue that seems to make eyes look brighter. 

The next one down is from their 'diamonds' range, in the shade Brown Glow and is the  newest edition to my collection, it's a perfect shimmery bronze. Just shimmery enough and just dark enough, it works amazingly well scribbled messily along the upper and lower lash lines and softly blended out with a finger, it adds just a hint of definition to the eyes and somehow brings a lovely warmth to the face. It also works brilliantly with a just a bold lip and a swipe of mascara. 

Ok, so the next one down isn't actually an eyeliner, it's an eyebrow pencil but as it sits within the Glimmersticks range, I thought I'd throw it in! I have the shade Soft Black, which is in fact more of a dark brown, but a very dark brown, so only go for this one if you have naturally very dark hair (unless of course your going for the Scouse-brow look!) 

Last up, back to eyeliners, of course everyone needs a true black and this one's mine. It's the shade Blackest Black from the regular Glimmerstick range and it's completely matte and very pigmented, a classic really, what more can I say?

Overall I would have to say my favourite range is definitely Super Shock, as the gel formulas are just amazing, super creamy, no drag, incredible pigment, blend well, dry and stay put! That combined with an amazing shade range. What more could you want from an eyeliner? Since trying them I definitely don't think I'll be buying any high end eyeliners anytime soon, these ones outperform all the ones that I've tried and are a fraction of the price. They are all £6.00 but are currently half price so only £3.00!

Which is your favourite of the lot?