Friday, 10 May 2013

Inside My Makeup Bag: The Essentials

Hello! I think I should introduce myself again since I’ve been away for so long. I’m Sarah and you might remember me from our first blog ‘Get to know us’ from a while back. I’ve been naughty and neglected our blog while Becky has been holding the fort but now I’m back and here to stay. I promise!

The best place to start is with an introduction to my makeup bag which might be the first of a series of ‘Inside My Makeup Bag’ posts (I haven’t decided yet!) So today you can have a sneak peek into my daily essentials, the main products I couldn’t go a day without. Picking my makeup favourites is so difficult, they’re all like my babies and I love them equally but I’ve forced myself to choose three.



(Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes mascara, Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer in 51 Eclat Clair and Clinique Superbalanced foundation in Alabaster)

So there you have it. I just had to get my makeup bag in the photo too as I absolutely love it and want the world to know!

I tend to have a few basics in there that I don’t switch around much, like the Clinique Superbalanced foundation. After going through a phase of trying a different foundation every month or so to find the perfect one, I eventually settled on this one. I do believe that finding the Mr. Right of foundations is a lifelong task but for now, I’m happy. The formula of this foundation is beautifully smooth with great moderate coverage and it does exactly what it sets out to do – it balances! My skin can be a bit of a nightmare, calling it ‘combination skin’ would be an understatement, with oily and dry patches everywhere. So for me, Clinique’s superbalanced is the answer.

Staying with the theme of problem skin, another thing I use without fail on a daily basis is Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer in the lightest shade. This product is something I’ll even wear sometimes when I’m ‘not wearing makeup’ around the house or on the beach. It works miracles in covering up even the angriest of blemishes and it's quite soothing. The only trouble with this one is that it can be drying, which is great for healing spots but not so much on dry patches or under the eyes.

Last but not least, every girl’s favourite makeup essential – mascara. I love trying new mascaras as often as I can and this is the first Lancôme mascara I’ve tried. I’m using Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes mascara at the moment and I’m fairly impressed, but probably wouldn’t buy it again. The brush is thick on one end and tapers into a point which is ideal for bottom lashes, so it creates quite a fluttery-eyed look after a couple of coats. The downside is that it didn’t really hold up my curled lashes or do anything special enough to make me fall in love. Oh, but the packaging is so pretty and it even smells like roses which makes it even harder to give up!

I hope you enjoyed the introduction to me and my makeup bag. Let me know what your essentials are and if you’ve tried any of mine. Which product couldn’t you live without?

Sarah x

Sunday, 5 May 2013

Essie Nail Polish Review

Hey!
So here's a confession, this is my first ever Essie polish (where has it been all my life?) but yes, what a way to start off! So I finally found myself in Birmingham where the Superdrug has loads more brands than the local one I have and made my way to the Essie stand that was calling my name. I'd longed for Essie's Fiji for ages and it is easily now one of my favourite colours of all time!


The colour is a very pale off-white pink and perfect for spring/summer time, the formula is amazing, two coats and you have the prettiest opaque colour! The brush is large and makes it easy to apply and finally it rarely chips and lasts very well on my nails. So it is a massive winner for me.
Commence the long list of Essie colours I now most definitely need!
Let me know what you think of Fiji and what other colours you have or want.
Becky xox

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

I go 'balmy' for lip balm!

Hi guys!

First of all, who loved the pun? 

Today I thought I’d write a blog about lip balm, thatessential item every girl has wherever she goes. When I was younger before Idiscovered my love for lipstick, lip balm was my go to product but even now Ibelieve behind every good pair of lips is a good lip balm!


Firstly I have had a revelation… Wearing a thick lip balm atnight is the perfect remedy for chapped winter lips! I have found myselfreligiously piling on my ‘Strawberry Crush’ lip balm by Rose & Co everynight over the last month and each morning I wake up with soft, smooth lips. Ibought this years ago from House of Fraser and it’s been rather unloved as it’sso thick it lasts on the lips forever and doesn’t seem to ever sink in, that’swhy I began to use it at night which allows the time for it to work its magic!I love the packaging and it smells lovely and fruity so it gets a thumbs upfrom me!
Next is trusty Vaseline! I indulged in the cocoa butteredition as it just smells so delicious! However I am unpleasantly surprised (boo)because it just doesn’t seem to do anything for me! The texture is very oilyand thin so instead of sinking into the lips I feel it just rests on top ofthem, doing nothing… So it doesn’t hydrate my lips but I think I’ll get use outof it on those days when I don’t wear any other lip products.
Finally is a Body Shop lip product, I’ve kind of cheated as it's actually a lip butter so I plead guilty before you set the beauty police on me, it smells amazing first of all! It’s a trademark Body Shop smell as it’s very sweet and girly, it's really soft and nice on the lips and the colour appears more as a sheen than a white.

Let me know what you guys think if you have any of these and what your holy grail lip product is!
Becky xox