Face of the Day

I haven't really made much of an effort with my appearance recently because I've been quite poorly and I really missed experimenting with my make up! I had a bit of a rummage around in my make up drawers today to play with some make up I haven't used in a while!

Face 

Gosh Xceptional Wear Foundation in Porcelain - Review here

Rimmel Stay Matter Powder

Accessorize Highlighter 

17 Blusher in Nude - Review here

Eyes

Mua Heaven and Earth and Undressed Palettes - Review here

Blink + Go Mascara

MUA Brow Pencil in Brunette

Lips

MUA Lipstick Shade 9

I really like the combination of the Nude Blusher paired with the Accessorize Highlighter and it's a combination I will definitely be using more often in the future and I completely forgot I had this mascara until this morning so I will definitely be using this a lot more often too! 

What have you been wearing recently? X 

17 Blusher in Nude

Up until recently I always steered away from Nude tone blushers as I always assumed they would be too 'dark' for my naturally pale skin. Instead I opted for pale pink shades but I never really found anything that 'wowed' me. 

But whilst browsing the 17 make up stand in my local boots I was instantly taken by Nude, it's a more neutral tone than I usually go for but I felt for going for something a bit different without spending too much money in case I didn't like it, so this Blusher seemed ideal for me! 

This is the second 17 Blusher I own, the other being China Pink, which is a very cool toned pink, so I was familiar with the formula of this product beforehand, but decided to experiment with a shade I would never usually pay much attention to. 

This blusher has become a staple in my make up bag as I feel it is incredibly versatile. It is quite pigmented so a little goes a long way for a nice natural looking flush, yet can be built up for contouring without looking like it's been caked on! 

17 Blusher in Nude is available in Most Boots stores and Boots online for £3.49, and Boots are currently offering a free gift when you spend over £5.99 on 17 products! 

Have you tried any 17 blushers? What do you think of them? X 

Second Thoughts on 17 Wild Curls Mascara

Last week you may remember my raving review on the 17 wild curls mascara, as I was so pleasantly surprised with it I decided to integrate it into my make up bag, so I decided to use it again for a day at work.  Now I wasn't 100% sure if I was happy to publish this post as I never intended to be negative on my blog, but I felt it's important to update you all on how I got on with this mascara. Admittedly a typical Saturday for me is typically at least 12 hours so I was interested to see how it would last against one of my busiest days, and it ended up looking a lot like this.... 

As soon as I'd it on I had a feeling something wasn't quite right, but it was quite early this morning so I just ignored it and carried on my day, but I did notice it get progressively worse over the first few hours. Originally I just assumed that I was suffering effects from hayfever but after spending the day at work I didn't think this was the case. Throughout the day people mentioned that my eyes looked slightly puffy but it was not until I got home that I realised the extent of what had happened. When I got home I resembled a depressed panda. I had flakes and smudges of mascara all around my eyes and my eyes were puffy and watering. 

Please excuse the appalling pout I appear to have in the above picture, I have poorly eyes so it's completely justified! This picture was taken about 45 minutes after I removed the mascara and my eyes were still puffy and irritable. Fast Forward a few hours and the puffiness has slightly gone down but it feels as if I've spent the day crying! 

I'd like to point out that I have never had any problems with mascara or any cosmetic products before this incident. HOWEVER I'm not 100% sure if it may be an ingredient within the mascara that's caused this as when I wore it before I had little trouble with it and I've never had any problems with other 17 cosmetics. I'd also like to point out that this problem has not altered my view on 17 products overall, but from now on I intend to be a lot more careful over what products I use, especially in delicate areas such as my eyes! 

17 Wild Curls Mascara in Wildest Black

As mentioned in friday's haul post I purchased 17's Wild Curls Mascars in 'Wildest Black' for £1 as part of their 'say yes to summer' voucher promotion. I was quite skeptical of this mascara to begin with. Usually when products are priced so cheap I assume that they're not the best quality, yet I was pleasantly surprised with this! 

First off I have to mention the gorgeous packaging of this mascara. Many people find leopard print cheap and tacky but I adore it, and with the metallic gold I think it gives it a really fun edge. It's a traditional cylindrical shape in comparison to other 17 mascaras such as Falsieye, which has a more rectangular shape and I personally found that to feel a bit weird when I first tried it.  

One of the things I was most surprised about with this product is the brush, with my usual preference for mascara brushes bring big and wide, so I thought it may be quite difficult to get the hang of applying this but I found no problems at all, which was pleasant. The small uneven bristles on the brush makes it easy to reach every lash and I feel makes it a lot easier to apply the mascara. Another problem I usually have with mascara's is that they feel quite wet and 'gloopy' when new but I didn't notice this at all with Wild Curls, as having anything too heavy or uncomfortable on my lashes is a definite no-no for me and I wouldn't consider anything I felt didn't 'feel' nice on my lashes. 

First of all I apologise for my incredibly blotchy skin, I think I've had a bad reaction to a mask I used this morning :(! Instead you can just look at my gorgeous wallpaper :)  But above is a picture with one coat of Wild Curls, and this is how I'd usually wear it for an everyday look. As well as curling my lashes it also spread lashes. 

Overall I think this is a permanent fixture to my makeup routine. As well as lengthening my lashes it also separates and  doesn't clump at all. I have been wearing this mascara for approximately 9 hours now and there is no sign of clumping or smudging at all. I feel this would also be a great mascara for a night out as well with a few more coats! 

17 Wild Curls Mascara is available in Black, Brown, Wildest Black and Black Waterproof from boots and boots.com for £6.29, or £1 if you've received a voucher like mine!*  This is the third 17 mascara I have tried and I am extremely impressed with all of them!

*Despite not paying full price for this product, I feel my opinion is 100% honest as always, and the price has in no way swayed my review in any way, and I would gladly re-purchase this for full price. 

17 and Nails Inc Mini Haul

Having received a Boots 'say yes to summer' advantage card points leaflet not too long ago I realised they were offering a 17 Wild Curls mascara for £1. I'm a big fan of 17's Faliseye Mascara and also own their Peep Show I was excited to add another 17 Mascara to my growing collection. Now I walked into my local boots with every intention of picking up a Wild Curls and nothing else, yet when I walked in and saw that 17 were offering a free 'Fest of all' kit with every purchase of over £6 worth of their products I knew I had to grab one. I added a blush in 'Nude' and a Lasting Fix nail polish in Orange Soda. 

Within the 'Fest of all' kit includes another Lasting Fix nail polish in Tropical Island (Just my luck to pick up a colour which is nearly identical to the free one!) A kohl eyeliner in Oynx and a mini Instant Glow Body Bronzer in medium matte. Although it is a small sample I am really looking forward to using trying it out. With my £1 mascara voucher and the free kit the total in boots came to £7.48 which I think is fantastic value for the amount of products I got.  

(L-R) Nails Inc in Fitzroy Square, Silver Glitter Caviar Top Coat, Buckingham Street, 17 Orange Soda

Bottom Row: Nails Inc Edinburgh Gate, Montpelier Square, Clifford Street, 17 Tropical Island

Now I have a confession to make. I like glittery things, and I like nail polish. So when my parents declared they were going to have a look in TK Maxx, I wasn't too excited. Personally I'm not a huge fan of TK Maxx and only really look at their cosmetic section, but when I saw their Nails Inc gift sets I was like a kid in a sweet shop. They had a huge selection (*cough* for once) of gift sets and I had to really hold myself from buying them all. In the end I couldn't choose between two (top row and bottom row) so I bit the bullet and got both, and I'm sure my bank account is going to hate me for it. I haven't tried any of them out yet as I'm still wearing my princess nails but I know I'm going to struggle on which ones to wear first! 

Have you taken advantage of the Boots say yes to summer vouchers yet? As well as my £1 Wild Curls one there is also 2 for £12 on Essie polishes (which I can't wait to use) as well as fantastic offers on electricals and self tan. 

And does everyone ever find nice things in TK Maxx? I've heard so many stories but with the poorly stocked ones in Milton Keynes i'm beginning to think they're all myths! X 

What's in my makeup bag?

Bird Print Makeup Bag - £5.99 - H&M 

For my everyday makeup look I rarely tend to mix things up at all, I much prefer to stick to carrying around a few essential items so I can quickly top up on the go without having to worry about having a million different products cluttering up my makeup bag. For the bag itself I fell in love with the design the second I saw it. It's quite a bit bigger than usual bag up makes, which makes it great for throwing in any extra products if I'm travelling, and the bird print instantly did it for me. 

'Everyday' make up 

Above is everything I usually carry in my makeup bag, as you can see I've got most of the essentials and as my bag is so spacious it comfortably fits my Real Techniques Core Collection brushes which is always ideal for touch ups throughout the day. 

 Face - Benefit The Porefessional Mini, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 001 Transparent, Accessorize Blusher in Scandal, Vivo Baked Bronze in Shade 2, GOSH X-ceptional Wear in Porcelain, Mememe Flawless Concealer in Porcelain, Accessorize Highligher 

First of all a huge sorry for not cleaning my makeup brushes! Although I can promise you they were cleaned on Monday so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! As you can see from the shades of both my foundation and concealer, I have extremely pale skin and I really struggle with finding a good quality foundation which isn't going to leave me with an unrealistic skin tone. By itself I don't rate my GOSH foundation too highly but since teaming it with The Porefessional I have noticed an improvement. I don't use the bronzer and highlighter everyday but use it on a 'need to' basis, using either when I feel like it. 

17 Falsifeye Mascara in Black, Natural Collection Liquid Eyeliner in Black, Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara in Black 

My 17 Mascara is my ultimate go to mascara, I am obsessed with it and it gives me amazing lashes all the time, and I'm sure it's a mascara I will repurchase when I'm finished with this one. I also use my Soap and Glory Thick and Fast as I'm trying my hardest to fall in love with this too, at first I wasn't too keen on it but over time I'm beginning to warn to it, and it gives my lashes a more longer look in comparison to 17. I don't often use eyeliner so I never really feel the need to spend a vast amount on it (and when I do use eyeliner it's usually part of my Front Cover Rainbow Eyes) and admittedly I use this eyeliner more as a replacement nail art pen rather than for it's proper use but every now and then I decide to use this so it's nice to keep it on hand. 

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake, Vaseline Lip Therapy, MUA Lipstick in Shade 7 

Since the Revlon Lip Butters have been released in the UK I have been obsessed with them, I did have one in Peach Parfait as well but I seem to have lost it, which I am heartbroken about as I did prefer that colour to Strawberry Shortcake. I suffer from really dry lips so I tend to swing towards lip products which aim to keep my lips in top condition and Vaseline never disappoints me. Shade 7 is probably my favourite shade of the MUA lipsticks for the daytime as it's a gorgeous rosy pink shade which is really versatile and I feel I can wear it with most things. 

Are any of these products in your makeup bag? And is there any products that are your makeup must haves? Let me know!