My Favourites for Fast Morning Makeup...

Hello!

I had a couple of early starts last week and over the weekend. As a consequence, I have kept my make up routine to a minimum, as well as making sure that what I do put on has a decent amount of staying power...

I thought that I would show you what I have been using, including some great brushes that help get me slap on efficiently.

Let's have a look:

As far as I am concerned, there are 3 basic eye needs apart from eyeshadow.

1) A reliable mascara
NYC High Definition Volume:  I bought this a few months ago, and like most mascaras that I buy, it requires a bit of maturation in the draw before it is usable. It's now 'ripe'.
This mascara is a repurchase. I like the plastic wand, which means that the mascara doesn't clump.
The formula does not smudge, flake etc, and is reasonably buildable...overall it's a great everyday mascara.

2) A easy to apply black liner
Primark Beauty Eye Liner Pen (£1.50):
Another repurchase for me. I love how blacker than black this liner is, but also it's so easy to apply and the tip doesn't splay after a few uses. It's also quite heavy, by which I mean that I think that there is plenty of liquid in the tube. Anyway it's so amazing, I'd buy two if I were you...

3) Eyebrow definer
ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Coffee:
I know that this is an eyeliner pen, but it's at the end of it's life now...too dry for the lid, sooooo I have been using it as an eyebrow defining pen. I like it because it is so fine a nib that I can create a natural bit of definition. It's a waterproof liner so it stays on...

 

Accessorize Merged Baked Blusher in 'Sensation':
I did review this many moons ago, which you can read about here.

A great blush is not always easy to find. I don't have that many blushes, but I have been wearing this one solidly for the last 3 weeks, because if I apply it correctly, it looks like I have used a blusher and a separate highlighter. It blends well over foundation, also it lasts on my skin most of the day and looks natural.

I did think that Accessorize make up was being discontinued, but there is still a stand in Superdrug near me.

Maybelline colour Tattoos :
These are the 3 colour tattoos that I own, I wish they would release some more neutral shades of these. Colour Tattoos need little introduction. Basically, I have been wearing them as a wash, paired with some liner top and or bottom.

L'Oreal Infallible in 016 Coconut Shake:
If you read the MUA reviews on this, you'd be seriously put off. I bought this on ebay for next to nothing, but it is my all time favourite blending shadow. You don't need masses on the brush and it will stay on your browbone even if you haven't put a primer on beforehand. The key is in which brush you choose. More about that below...

A Few reliable Brushes:
I love a good brush, don't you? These are the ones that I am reaching for at the moment...(from left to right)
Primark Beauty Foundation/Concealer Brush: I think this was £1.50. Unfortunately, I had to glue the top foundation part back on before I could use it,  then WOW! What a great brush. I use this for cleaning up and concealing only, rather than a full face application.
It's also amazing for sweeping over the concealed area later in the day, just to tidy things up if necessary. I wish I had a travel case for it, then I would pop it in my handbag.
It is easy to wash and hasn't shed a hair!!

Eco Tools Tapered Blusher Brush:
I was looking for a bigger blusher brush in Boots when I came by this a couple of months ago. I love Eco tools. This is a great brush for those baked blushers like the one I am using. Not a hair shed when washed either.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush:
I have been wearing different foundations, all liquid, but wasn't happy using the flat kind of foundation brushes that I own. I am a fan of the Real Techniques range, so I had a look at the website and watched a video, which describes the different kinds of foundation brushes, and their best uses...

This is another great Real Techniques brush, perfect for use with a light liquid foundation or BB cream...I purchased it on Amazon, it was a bit cheaper there than the Boots/Superdrug price.

MAC 217:
Again, little introduction needed, but I use this, or one of it's dupes that I have, to apply my Maybelline Colour Tattoos with. If I need any additional definition, say in the crease, then I will use the same brush to press some matte eyeshadow in the crease.

Random Blending Brush:
It isn't labeled so I am not sure where it is from, but basically it's a big, soft, natural hair brush, perfect for blending crease to lid with my Coconut Shake...I only use a tiny amount of shadow, but this brush blends everything out perfectly! I wish I knew the make, I will endeavor to look it up...

Do you have any faves for fast morning make up?

Hope that you are having a great day!

Bye for now

Your BBFF xxx

Review: Inglot Freedom Eye Shadows...Yay!

Hello!

I was soooo excited yesterday, because my very first Inglot order arrived, yay!!!

I don't know if you know much about Inglot. I remember that there was a store in my local mall about 6 or 7 years ago, but then it closed. I wasn't using much make up then, so I remember going into this store and being bewildered by all the crazy colours and I left the shop empty handed (was I mad?).

Luckily, Inglot did not stop trading completely! There are currently two stores in the UK, one in Westfield White City, London, and the other in Cambridge. Worldwide, their website informs us that are stores all over the world...

Inglot sell a full range of cosmetic items from innovative breathable nail varnish, to false lashes, but naturally, it was the eye shadows that I really wanted to try out.


Of course, like most modern businesses, Inglot have an online store. Luckily there are lots of swatches of all their eye shadows online to help you decide on what shades you'd like!

Their freedom system is what most beauty fiends, like myself, are interested in.
There are dozens of eye shadow colours to choose from (158?) in a range of finishes...matte,shine DS (Double Sparkle) AMC (Advanced Makeup Component) Pearl (no glitter) etc...with the square pans, you get between 2.5g to 3.2g of product, dependent on the finish. Currently these refills are £4.50 each.


The matte shadows are fast becoming known as some of the best mattes available. I did a lot of research and decided to choose 9 shades that would give me a comprehensive mix of neutral shades, which would be wearable every day.
Because I already had a pan to put them in, I bypassed the idea of getting an Inglot Freedom System palette itself, though I may get one at a later date...

Enough banter, here's some pics...

Here's some swatches:
I took them inside, in daylight, swatched dry over a little Silk Naturals Stick'em eye lid primer.

351M, 402, 420

30. 409, 391M (n.b 391 this is a completely matte black , I think some sparkles seen were left from the previous swatch!)

31. 423, 326M

I think that these shadows are to die for!
They are pigmented enough, but a little primer makes them perfect for me. I love the texture of these shadows, not too soft and not too dry.
Wear time is fabulous. I mostly use just TFSI as a base, but these work perfectly well if you like to use Pixie Epoxy over your primer for longevity.

The word on the web is that these are better than MAC. Well, I haven't got that many MAC eye shadows to be honest, so I cannot compare them. However, the MAC colours I do have, I would say are really mixed in terms of quality i.e pigmentation, blendability and wear time.

 I think that all of these 9 shades rock. The quality across my selection is superb.

Oh let's show you what I have put them in!

It's a cheap case from ebay (£2.19 inc p+p), which I forgot I had until the other day...I ripped out the foam, and then cut and stuck in a sheet of sticky back magnet from ebay (99p +50p p+p) on the inside if the case...the pans are metal and stick to the magnetic sheet. Easy, cheap, simple! I can fit lots more Inglot in here too!

Thin, but strong and very light.

This comes out very easily...

So, I can see a trip to Westfield is on the horizon....I would like to visit the store and add to my 9 new babies!!

Have you tried Inglot Freedom System eye shadows? What are your favourite colours?

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Bye for now

Yor BBFF xxx

Depotting MUA Single Eyeshadows / EOTD # 49

Hello!

As I mentioned the other day, I have been on a depotting mission, so I thought that I would share another one of my depotting projects with you!

I loved the MUA single shadows when I first had them. Sadly, they have been cast to the back of my makeup draw for too long now. From memory, I liked these MUA shadows because of their creaminess, plus I found them all to be highly pigmented and long wearing.

I depotted into a cheap 36mm palette from ebay (here), which holds 15 shadows. It cost me £2.85 including postage, and it's sturdy and thin, yet light. I decided to depot using the oven method, which I used to depot my The Body Shop shadows, which you can read about here...

I didn't remember to look for the little hole under the sticker on the MUA shadows, but used an old manicure tool to prize between the metal palette and the plastic case.

Because these shadows are so soft, and because the metal palettes that they are pressed into are relatively 'flimsy', I have to admit that I found it more difficult to depot these larger shadows than I had smaller ones...therefore, the job was a little bit more messy than I had expected...!

I also found that the shadows that had big dips in them (from heavy use) were very fragile...however, I managed to mend all the mishaps using isopropyl alcohol and I used a clean empty metal pan to repress all the shadows, hence the swirly marks!

Lets have a look:

I think the numbers are correct, I chucked away the plastic pots as I wasn't really worried about the shade numbers until I came to write this post! I have had to do a bit of searching, so if the number looks wrong then please let me know!!!

The thing I like best about using a palette, is the speed at which you can apply your make up and mix up the colours, layering and generally getting the most out of ones collection.

Another thing I like about making ones own palette, is organizing where to put the shades. In this palette, I only have two matte shades, #16 and #17 as they are the only two I have of the MUA singles, though there is a dark brown available, which would be good to have in here. 

Here's a look I created with my new palette:

 

I used: 

• TFSI
• MUA # 1 - tear duct area
• MUA # 29 - inner lid, 2/3rds way across
• MUA # 17 - in crease
• MUA #11 - outer lid
• MUA # 12 - layered over #17  to deepen crease and blended over outer lid
• MUA # 15 - as liner upper lash line only.
• MUA # 16 - lightly to blend out, crease to brow.
• Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara, black.

I would never have bothered to layer so many colours at once before I depotted these!

I hope to get more wear out of these lovely shadows.

Hope you are having a good day!

Bye for now

Your BBFF xxx

 

Review: MyEyeshadowConsultant.com

Hello!

Long time no blog? Well I have finished all my studies, 2 weeks ago today...and I have been super efficient with my time, spring cleaning and clearing all the detritus from this now clean and pleasnt abode!!!

Make up wise, well I had a spring clean of that (which you can see here) a couple of months ago. I have been good, as the top of my vanity still looks tidy and organized, I just have a different makeup bag on there...

I have also been on a depotting mission. I decided to depot some of my single shadows to see if I could make better use of them, in one large palette. I found a couple of MAC eyeshadows, that have barely been used, and so I used the internet to see if I could get some inspiration on how to wear the colours...

In doing so, I came by a website called 'MyEyeshadowConsultant.com'. This site is run by the lovely Zabrena, a gal from Florida,  previously known as 'macshadowcombos' on You Tube.
Zabrena has some great 'how to' and  'monthly favourites'  videos which are as fun to watch as they are informative!

It's not just the MAC shadows that Zabrena considers, also the UD naked palettes, other UD palettes and an increasing number of other brands.

Most of the content is free, but I decided that I would support Zabrena in her work. I also decided to join because I no longer pay for any magazine subscriptions and essentially I enjoy the way that Zabrena presents her work and wanted to gain full access to the looks.

For $12.95 (the subscription rates change at the end of this month) you get a years subscription to the MyShadowConsultant.com site. Alternatively, you can join on a monthly basis, currently $1.30 per month.

I think it's a great resource, so I thought that I would 'spread the word' so to speak, in case you hadn't seen the site and would like to know more...

Let me know what you think of MyShadowConsultant.com in the comments box...

Hope you are having a great (long) weekend.

Bye for now

Your BBFF xxxx

Debenhams discount alert!

Hello!

A quickie post to tell you that Debenhams are having a summer spectacular event at the moment...

If you order beauty items online, you'll get 15% off and free shipping.

If you click through topcashback, you can get an extra 5.05% cashback, so both these deals add up to just a tad over 20% off your favourite high end cosmetic
items!

Don't forget to use the code  BB72 at the check out...

If you didn't know, Debenhams stocks more brands on line than you might see in your local store, like Urban Decay MAC and Chanel.

It's a bit like shopping at duty free prices, without the expense of buying an airline ticket and the hassle of the airport lounge!!!

Happy shopping!!

Bye for now

Your BBFF xxx

Review: Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya

Hello!

I have been putting the final touches on my dissertation...nearly there, hence the lack of bloggy time, I have spent so much time at this desk staring at this screen....

I have never had a 'gel  manicure' or used any of the new home 'gel manicure' systems that are available, so this is not  a comparative review.

I was interested in trying the Barry M Gelly nail polish range because the colours looked so pretty and well pigmented. I have to say that I have been rather taken with the two I have tried so far...

Here's the latest shade which I thought I'd show you:

It's a gorgeous spring / summer colour called papaya. The colour looks a bit faded on my monitor, but it's bright without being neon and I love it!

The review:

Colour: The colours in this range are lovely. There are dark shades and bright ones, like this 'papaya' and 'grapefruit' a pretty pink, which I have tried.

Application:
I have found that these polishes apply really well.
The brush is just the same as the other Barry M polishes that I own, slim, and on the long side, but easy to use.
The polish covers well with one coat and 'levels out' quite well.
I always use two coats, and this gives perfect coverage, with no streaks.
I love how shiny and 'thick' the polish looks on my nails.

Dry time:  These polishes dry quite quickly. I used Orly's 'in a snap' straight after the second coat and it finished it off nicely.

Wear : This is the deal breaker for me with a nail polish. This shade papaya, was only applied last night, but the two occasions I have worn the 'grapefruit' shade, I have got 4 days good wear without chipping, just wearing away on the tips. Fingers crossed this wears the same...

Cost: I bought these on a 2 for £6 deal in Boots or Superdrug, so a great price for a quality nail polish in my opinion.

I will probably buy some more of these...

Have you tried any of the Gelly Nails by Barry M?

Have a great day!

Bye for now

your BBFF xxx

BLOG SALE on Fleurs de Lisa

Hello!

I just wanted to let you know that my dear friend Lisa is having a blog sale on her site, Fleurs de Lisa

Click here to get straight to the blog sale!

Lisa is having a spring clean of her cosmetics and has an awesome amount of Aromaleigh on offer, as well as some other mineral brands.

What's more she is doing a BOGOF on all the blog sale items, as a special gesture of human kindness...

I have done lots of swapping with Lisa and she is a great gal to deal with, so please take a look over at her site and see if anything takes your fancy...!

Good luck!

Bye for now

Your BBFF xxx