Barry M Liquid Chrome Highlighter Drops review

Liquid highlighters have been a pretty big thing for the past year or so, with Cover FX and Iconic London showing us just how far we are all willing to go to 'shine to the Gods', and now Barry M have pushed their way to the forefront with their own highlighter drops...

I have the pleasure of introducing Barry M Liquid Chrome Highlighter Drops!

I bought one shade, called At First Light, for just £6.99 from Superdrug and it's a super metallic-pink. It's a bit too pink for my skin, but my goodness, it is exceptional, and I will definitely make it work on my skin tone if it kills me, because my goodness, are these drops bright!

One drop goes a looong way (as you can tell from the pics), the texture is that of the high-end brands and it is super affordable for anyone struggling to find a good reason to pay £35 for one of the high-end brands. This is an amazing dupe for them. I will most definitely be buying more shades. These are absolutely excellent and I highly recommend them.

Have you bought any shades? What are your thoughts? Let me know! Xx

How to achieve dewy, highlighted skin when you have oily skin

Hello my darlings!

Do you, like me, have oily skin? Do you want to have dewy, fresh looking skin but just don't know how to achieve it without looking like a hot, oily mess? 

Well, here is how I go about it...
First, I use Milk of Magnesia...

I basically dip a brush handle into the bottle and spread it over wherever I am oily (my T zone).

I use a fairly generous amount if I am out in a warm climate, and less if I am going to work, as I work in a refrigerated area. Now, I leave this to dry on my skin completely, so I'll do my eyeshadow while it is drying.

Ooohh yeah, looking creepy and slightly disgusting, ha ha!
Once it is dry, it is time to use a shimmery primer. My favourite is Seventeen's Skin Wow primer/highlighter.

 I like to use a primer over Milk of Magnesia as they mix together and stop your foundation from going dry and flaky over the areas where the MoM is. A shimmery primer will help your skin look dewy through a medium coverage foundation. A full coverage might be too full on and stop any dewyness from showing.
So! Time for foundation! My absolute favourite at the moment is Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat in the shade BD50, which matches my fake tanned skin pretty well. I would suggest a medium coverage foundation, I reckon any will do, whether it is drugstore or high end (Bourjois do really great, affordable foundations, for example). 

This foundation has a fairly dewy finish to it, which is really nice, and allows the shimmery particles to shine through effectively. 

I use one and a half pumps of foundation on my entire face, which for me, is perfect. For anyone that likes a more natural dewy look, you can stop at this step, powder your face to set it and go about your dewy day, and you should be able to go about with minimum powder/oil blotting sheet touch ups. But for me, it's simply not enough! 

For me, the next step is bronze and then highlight with Iconic London highlighting drops in the shade "Original". 

These are the absolute bomb for my face shade. You could also use a lighter/darker colour, depending on your skin tone. I put two full drops on my hand, swipe them over my cheek bones, temples and over the top of the tail ends of my eyebrows, and blend them out with a Real Techniques blending sponge. 

Guuurl! Yasss, honey, that shine! I love it! 

Now to quickly fill in my brows with a pencil and set them with a brow gel... 

Now! One last thing! A good idea would be to set the centre of your face with a translucent powder, just so you can be the most matte while the rest of your face is shining for the Gods! 

This is a super affordable powder, a little bit goes a long way and mattifies really well. I powder over the exact same areas that I used the MoM - except on my forehead, where I powder everywhere except where the Iconic London drops are. 

Now you should be ready to glow all day! Let me know if this works for you! 

*Disclaimer* Using Milk of Magnesia is OK if you use it on your skin every now and again, but can alter the acid mantle of your skin if you use it too frequently. I do you want you oily skinned people to glow, but not at the expense of the health of your skin! 

Love you guys x

Bourjois Eye Primer 24H Long Lasting Eye Shadow Base Review

Phew! That is a seriously long title ^
Say that four times fast!

Hello my darlings, how are you all? My most sincere apologies for there being no posts for months; life has been hectic since the "split", and now that I am renting, I have less money to play with. It's just one of those things I suppose!

But today, I bring you an affordable drugstore eyeshadow primer that does the job of it's higher end counterparts! Bourjois eyeshadow primer is a very affordable £6.99 (around £8/9 cheaper than other higher end brands!)

Bourjois is a drugstore brand of makeup (don't be fooled by the word drugstore; Bourjois own Chanel!) that does amazing makeup at affordable prices. I am a rather big fan of almost all of their makeup.
Bourjois claim that this primer "... Enhances colour, extends wear up to 24hrs, and makes it waterproof". A bold claim indeed!

This primer bottle contains 6ml of product, has a doe foot applicator and is a light, flesh colour that - once patted in - dries down colourless (as far as I can tell; however there might be the possibility of women/men of colour having a slight cast left on their lids).

When I applied eyeshadows on top (all Makeup Geek), I immediately noticed that the colours adhered quicker than usual to my lid, applied darker than usual, and also required just a little more blending than normal.
I should tell you now that I have hooded eyes (for any nit-pickers out there, I'm still technically partially hooded but it won't be too much longer before it becomes a full hood 😛), with quite an oily crease, so without a primer, my shadows last less than a couple of hours before the disgusting coloured worm is lying happily in my eye crease, ha ha!

My eyeshadow lasted all day (a good 12 or so hours without fading or creasing, and came off easily with an oil-based makeup remover and a cotton pad. I wouldn't leave my makeup on for 24hrs because that can't be good for your skin, but I have a feeling it might work - so for those who like to party all night and leave in the morning, this might be the primer for you. I didn't check the validity of the waterproof claim; however, I did go out in the (typically) rainy weather that the UK is famous for (I swear! Ha ha), and when I checked my makeup after a quick walk in the rain, my eyeshadow still looked fine. To me, this primer certainly is worth the £6.99 price tag and I will definitely repurchase this in the future.

Maybelline Color Drama Intense Lip Paint in 502 RED-DY OR NOT

Hello my darlings! It has been a while since I last posted a blog, I have been very busy as of late with work and family.
I know these lip paints have been around since forever when it comes to lipstick trends, but I thought I'd have my say - y'know, because there aren't enough of us doing that 😉.

Aaaaand I have always been a sucker for reds. I don't know why, I always wear nudes, but there's something about red... I just get sucked in!

These are pretty cool, they have got a fabric-coated applicator with a hole in the middle so you can squeeze the lip colour out to apply it.

The lid has a little stick of plastic in it that stops the colour from squeezing out of the tube and into the lid when it is in your bag/pocket/wherever, which is fairly handy.

The application is smooth and easy and the pigment is impressive, although it has a dark pink undertone and it stains the skin. It transfers extremely easily as it doesn't set at all, so no kissing/messy eating or worse, going out with your hair down on a windy day - scream! Also due to the applicator, you can't get a crisp line on your lips but I'm not too worried about that. Another plus is that the colour doesn't bleed on my lips, which red glosses do a lot. 
I suppose the down side is that this is a high maintenance lip colour, it will need a fair amount of time and care to reapply, unless you're not eating whilst wearing it. And do not wipe your mouth or touch your lips and then your face, because it will not be worth the dark pink stains on your face afterwards!

Do I like it? Yeah, it's alright, but I won't be reaching for this very often, I have better, long-wearing red lip colours that don't transfer half as bad and are almost maintenance-free.

GOSH Foundation Plus Cover and Conceal Review

Hello my darlings! Today I am bringing you my thoughts on GOSH's new (well, it's new to me!) foundation. It is a foundation that boasts concealer at the same time. Let's put this to the test!

It comes in a rather small - yet soft - squeezy bottle. Mine, as you can tell, is number 008 which is called Golden I believe.

It states that it has 30ml of product in the bottle, but as I started to squeeze it, I started to doubt this, as you can see above, I've pressed the bottle to half it's size to get any product out.

When I managed to squeeze a little foundation out of the tube, I was pleasantly surprised to find the consistency was quite thick and creamy and doesn't run.

Here is the foundation blended onto the back of my hand. It smoothed out and blended easily with my fingers, giving a medium-to-full coverage.

Time to test it on my mug!

I dotted the foundation across my face and blended it out using a Real Techniques buffing brush, and let it sit on my face for a few minutes before taking the picture. It has a satin - almost dewy - finish to it. I like to keep my foundation on my skin as thin as possible; I blend a lot to make it look as natural as possible.

Just so y'all know, I have oily/combination skin. I used Milk of Magnesia on my T Zone, let it dry, then popped GOSH Primer Plus Illuminating Skin Perfector all over my face before foundation application. If I don't use MoM, my foundation will slide right off of my face in a matter of hours.

So I put the rest of my makeup on, used a setting spray and then a fixing spray (MAC Fix+ and Barry M Mist & Fix Matte Finish) and this was the end result. I am using a concealer, but only for highlighting purposes.

My thoughts:
At just £9.99, it's a reasonably priced foundation, contains no perfumes or parabens (YEESSSS!), is creamy and doesn't dry out the skin. It has good coverage, probably good for dry to combination skin (for combination/oily, a decent mattifying primer and/or powder to combat oil would definitely help longevity). I'd say the coverage on my face is probably medium, and I don't currently have any breakouts or dark circles under my eyes to cover up, so I can't comment correctly on  how good this foundation plus concealer is. Another thing is I can't say how much foundation is in the bottle, considering how much I had to squeeze to get any product out. Overall, I think this is a very good foundation, which lasts for hours, looks flawless and is small, sturdy and very portable, so will be great to throw in your bag on the go, due to the screw top lid.  I wore it for 7hrs before I blotted, which I only did once during the ten hours that it was on my face - but this is probably because of the MoM.

Pro's:
A little goes a long way, so a bottle should last quite a while.
Creamy and feels very lightweight on the skin.
Isn't drying, has a satin finish.
Suitable for dry, normal and combination skin types.
Good coverage.
Lasts hours without melting/sliding off when used over a mattifying primer.
Feels light and comfortable on my skin.
Costs just a penny shy of £10, so quite affordable.
Paraben and perfume free.
Small and portable with a screw top lid; perfect for travelling.
Has SPF 15.

Cons:
Might not hold up on combination/oily skin without a mattifying primer and/or powder.
Oxidized slightly, giving a more orange tint after an hour.
Not sure if there is definitely 30ml of foundation in the tube; I have a feeling it might be less (but I can't be sure, it's just a feeling, not a fact).

Phew! That was longer than expected!
Hugs x

FAKE Kylie Jenner Metallic Liquid Lipsticks in Reign, King K and Heir

I don't need to tell you who Kylie Jenner is - and good thing too as I barely know who she is myself - but she became famous almost overnight with her lip glosses and liquid lipsticks etc. A lot of girls in the UK are paying up to £30 odd for a liquid lipstick and pencil set - I don't know about anyone else, but I live in Cornwall, with a job that just about covers my car, rent & bills - and I simply cannot afford such a high price tag on a lipstick set.
So what did I do? I snuck around on Aliexpress.com and found cheap dupes. Because I'm skint ha ha!
So! I found three metallic liquid lipsticks, in the colours Reign, King K and Heir.
Reign:

This is a dark metallic brown with a red base colour, perfect for those who like a real statement lip, and will be perfect for Autumn makeup looks. It goes on a little bit patchy so does require a bit of layering, which makes it feel a little thick and uncomfortable on the lips. This wears off the insides of my lips quickly when talking or eating (I'm a lady, I don't do both at the same time!) and looks fairly obvious due to its dark colouring, and would probably look better on larger, plumper lips than my own.

And of course I have to show you what it looks like from far away as I love to creep out my readers with some scary selfie shots. I mean, why not, eh?
King K:

King K is a lovely light brown/champagne metallic lipstick. Out of all three, this is definitely my favourite colour and goes with a multitude of makeup looks due to the colour. This goes on smoothly, and dries down fairly fast. Wears off less obviously than Reign due to its colour, so it's a more suitable colour for going out for the day or going for a meal.

Yes! Selfie tiiiime! You poor, poor things...
Heir:

Heir is a less obviously metallic lipstick than the last two, but still holds its own; a lovely pink that, like King K, can go with a lot of makeup looks, from daytime appropriate to night time smokey eyes. Also, like King K, this applies smoothly, dries quickly and fades better than Reign due to its sheerer and more natural colouring.

And yet another selfie to show you what it looks like with a full face of makeup.

My thoughts:
These liquid lipsticks are an absolute steal at just £1.82 each; for all three I paid just £5.46. They took about 26 days to arrive in the UK, which isn't bad, considering they're from China. I also don't know what the original colours look like, so I can't compare their likenesses in that respect, but for anyone looking for a dupe for a very low price, and don't mind waiting around, these might be worth your while and your wallet.

I Have an Unreachable Dream...

MOAN ALERT! WHINGEING IS ABOUT TO COMMENCE!
For around 6 or 7 years, I have dreamed of
becoming a nail technician. I love applying acrylic nails and LED manicures (like Shellac but cured under LED lights instead of UV and takes much less time). When me and my husband were still together, I thought I had all the time in the world to follow my dream, so I relaxed, I did a beauty course in college as my first stepping stone... And then my marriage came to a rather abrupt halt, I moved out of my home of almost ten years, left my husband and my cats and started a new life elsewhere.
For the past 15 months I have been paying rent, and working overtime to make ends meet and so that I can live a comfortable life and not have to struggle.
Here lies my dilemma; with the divorce proceedings about to start and with no money to do a nail course (which are usually around the £1000 mark), I can no longer see my dream coming true.
I do my sister's nails, my own and a couple of friends and so far I have only recorded mine and my sister's results:

Above, my sister's nails the first day that I did acrylic sculpting on her nails, french fade. It was the first time I'd done french fade on more than one nail. 

Two weeks later, I did a basic infill. Her nails grow so quickly, she had around a month's growth in just two weeks!

Another two weeks passed and I rebalance her nails. They would have been slightly longer but she had filed them down a little before I got to them.

And finally, my nails. I have a different glitter accent nail on each middle finger because I like to be unique and it goes with my motto that "life is too short to find the matching sock", ha ha. 

 I don't know who will read this, but I was wondering if anyone else has faced this dilemma and what they did about it? Any help and/or advice would be lovely and really appreciated x