♡ Favourite Cosmetics of 2015 ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

2015 saw quite a few new cosmetics appear in my make-up bag, some have only graced it once, whilst others are now, permanently, stuck there. Not that's a bad thing... right?

Face

Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion in Mint is quite honestly, one of the best bases I could ask for. It helps covers my red cheeks, old acne scars and evens out my skin tone, whilst giving it a little brightness at the same time. On the same level, Etude House's Face Blur is another base/cream I can stick to. I love how that I can use this as a base underneath my usual BB cream (Skinfood Red Bean Cream) or I can use this for a (very) light cover - with powder over the top of course - and it can hide every.single.little.imperfection that my eyes can see. Pores, scares, redness you name it, it can hide it. Speaking of powder, Skinfood Buckwheat Loose Powder in Transparent is my loose powder love. There are days where my skin is oily beyond belief, and this powder is ah-mah-zing at absorbing all that excess oil, and leaving a matte finish on my skin. It smells lovely as well and feels super, duper soft once applied. I also use this powder after I've applied my moisturiser and before I apply my base/BB cream, as that helps keep those products on my face for longer throughout the day. Another powder love is Tonymoly's Cat Wink Clear Pact in Light Beige, and this compact is my favourite for bringing a teeny, weeny bit of colour on my face. Again, like the Skinfood loose powder, this one also helps with the absorption of oil AND it's handy to slip into my handbag. Heading towards the high end brands a little bit now, but the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Highlighter and the Yves Saint Laurent Concealer were impulse buys when I went to Stockholm back in May and boy, they were the best impulse purchases ever. I cannot fault these two products because they are fabulous in both their areas of concealing and highlighting, plus I feel a little bit like a Queen whenever I pull these out of my handbag because HELLO! Gold packaging!

Eyes

Onto my favourite eye products - Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara was a happy coincidence in trying from receiving a mini tube as a sample. I love using this mascara when my sensitive eyes do not want to play ball with false eyelashes. This mascara just gives the bit of a va-va-voom! Next is the MUA Elysium Eyeshadow Palette, another impulse purchase because the colours looks really pretty in front of me, how ever could I resist?! The colours are lovely and pigmented, which for a bargain £6 eyeshadow palette, that is amazing! I love all the different colour combinations I can produce with this palette as well. Even though the Etude House Drawing Eyebrow Pencil in Brown isn't something I've found recently - it's actually been in my make-up bag for over four years now! But this little beauty is, hands down, the best eyebrow pencil I could ask for and I always go back to this time and time again, without fail. The Too Faced x Vegas Nay Stardust Eyeshadow Palette was something I fell in love with the moment I laid eyes on it and I'm glad that I've got it. I've only used it about 4 times since receiving it - because I'm a little bit sad and am making it last for as LONG as possible. And the final product is Fairydrops Volume Burst Mascara that I purchased in a little shop in Chinatown in London and let me just say, wow. I love using this as a base under my false eyelashes as it is such a light formula but it helps with that extra oomph!

Cheeks

There's only two products here as using cheek products has only been a recent addition to my make-up routine. The NARS Blush in Orgasm was another product from Stockholm and I adore the sort of 'doll effect' cheeks this colour can create against my skin tone. Plus if I accidentally put a little bit too much on, it can easily be buffed out to give a lovely faded effect, ugh dream blush. And the NARS Illuminatior in Orgasm obsession of mine started as a little sample bottle I had received with my Sephora haul back in Stockholm, to getting the full sized version when I realised that I NEEDED it more than anything! I adore combining these two items together as well, giving my cheeks a flushed, yet healthy illuminating look! Perfection.

Lips

It's no cosmetics list of mine without lip products. First off is Jeffree Star's Liquid Velour Lipstick in Celebrity Skin and Unicorn Blood and I freakin' LOVE the formula of this liquid lipstick. It doesn't dry out my lips, yes it shows the lines on my lips but not in a bad way. It's wearable, lasts an extremely long time throughout the day, especially after eating and drinking, and is able to be taken off easily. Not only that, one of my closest friends managed to get a couple of these lipsticks because I've been bugging her about getting them... HAH! Secondly is a collection of LASplash Liquid Lipsticks, and boy do I mean a collection of them. I have around 30 different colours over the range and I do not regret any of them. The formula is a little bit different to the Jeffree Star ones but, the pigmentation of the colours and the durabiliy of these lippies, I cannot fault. Next isn't a lipstick/gloss per say but a balm and it my LIFESAVER for my poor lips. The EOS Balm in Sweet Mint is a gorgeous balm that helps my dried, chapped lips become... well more lip like? I carry this little puppy around everywhere with me, and I use it as a base under ANY of my liquid to matte lipsticks, just to help my lips out that little bit extra. And the final lip product is a MAC lipstick in Pink Plaid. This one was a surprise for me in all honesty, I saw it originally in the Covent Garden store and thought the colour looked a bit iffy? But when I tested it out on the back of my hand, it's strange but you know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when something just feels right? Yeah, I had it with this lipstick and I haven't put it down since. It's my favourite vintage, rosy pink colour lipstick and I use it under LASpash's 'Rose Garden' just to give each colour a bit of a boost!

And there we go! No doubt 2016 will bring some other new products into my life, but I am so comfortable using these products and my skin loves them all as well, just because I'm not breaking out into rashes when I've come into contact with them. And I'm not going to lie, I've also been a bit of an influence on a couple of friends by being that initiator of MAKING them purchase certain products *coughs* You know who you are ♡

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Etude House Princess Happy Ending Lipsticks ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

After fffiiinnnaaalllyyy managing to drag myself into slapping some make-up on last weekend, I decided to test out the gorgeous lipsticks from the previous Etude House collection - Princess Happy Ending.

As soon as I saw this particular collection, I knew that I wanted every item no matter how long it took - especially the lipsticks, lipsticks are my main weakness in collections. But a problem occurred when I had the money (and when I remembered) I could not, for the life of me, find the Belle coloured lipstick ANYWHERE, until one of my closest friends managed to find one on Pretty and Cute (link) and so I, of course, purchased that straight away. Then, before I went ahead to buy the Snow White lipstick, I had received the information about Chloe's Christmas Giveaway to which I had one of these said lipsticks! Before I knew it, months had passed with these two beauties on my vanity table staring me down before enough was enough, I had to wear them and test them out. Boy, I was not disappointed with the results.

Snow White Colour (Apple Red)

This colour is such a "pow in your face" kind of red and it is bloody amazing. I actually don't own such a vivid red lipstick and I am thoroughly disappointed in myself for not having one until now. It is such a striking red - with no blue, orange, pink or purple undertones - it is just pure red. Like most Etude House lipsticks, the staying power of this one lives up to the past ones and as well as being a super creamy formula, it glides onto my lips so easily with and without lip liner/lip balm. One last point about this lipstick, it gives off a beautiful glossy finish and doesn't dry out my lips even after wearing it for a good couple of hours... complete winner.

Belle Colour (Purple Rose)

Again, like with the Snow White lipstick, the formula of this one is super creamy, glides on easily, doesn't dry out my lips and as well as lasting for a long time throughout the day... there are no complaints coming from me. See, when you look at the above pictures you'd think that the colour would be as "pow" as the apple red one but it's not in a way? It is more subtle but it does give off that different vibe that's not quite in your face but it is at the same time. I do love this colour as it is such a gorgeous shade of purple - with what I believe to be a pinkish undertone more than a blue? Don't take my word on that it's just the way it came across to me as I was wearing it.

I have never wore two such beautiful lipsticks in such a long time and trust me... I wear a LOT of lipstick! These particular ones tick all the right boxes for me and I just love how they do "pop" out in the above photographs and I cannot wait to incorporate them into more looks in the future! I am also kicking myself mentally at how long it took for me to get these beauties... lesson learnt! I don't know where you can buy the Belle lipstick any more as the site I got mine from is sold out... but the Snow White version seems to still be available on ebay! One final note... I don't know if I look like one in the pictures but I legit felt like a princess wearing these beautiful lipsticks *sighs happily*

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ April Wishlist ♡

1. Plus sized pink and white striped jumper

2. Canmake Lip Tint Syrups in Cherry Tree Syrup and Strawberry Syrup

3. Dollywink Black Mascara

4. Rohto Disney TsumTsum Lipbalm in Arabian Daisy

5. Etude House Dreaming Swan Blush collection

6. Shiseido Perfect Whip Cleansing Foam

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Etude House Precious Mineral Magic Any Cushion in MINT ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I have seen the online raves about compact cushions and I can see why people want these little beauties in their lives so much! I won these wonderful compact in Chloe's Christmas Giveaway last year and ever since this arrived in my life... ugh just ugh where have you been?! 

This compact is just perfect in all aspects and angles it gives. As the mint colour claims to reduce redness and is for "ruddy" skin tone users to make natural / bright skin tone pretty much the three compact colours do the same 6-in-1 things; moisturizing + whitening + anti aging + sunscreen (SPF 50+ / PA+++) + foundation + cooling.

I can agree wholeheartedly with those statements hands down. I have (in my eyes) bad redness on my cheeks and I hate them... but when I use this compact it honestly helps tone down my redness and even makes my skin tone looks like one colour instead of all blotchy. Another point I find tricky when looking for a base cover / primer is sometimes it makes my BB cream look a little bit splotchy and un-even? I don't know if others have this situation either but this is one of the reasons I don't use primers in my make-up routine.

With this pact though, I can use it either on it's own and feel confident enough not to add BB cream on top and just go straight to the face powder as well as using it as a base like a CC cream... I wholeheartedly love this little compact I can even describe it properly. It is, by hands down, my Holy Grail base product and until the day is (sadly) gets discontinued, I will always use this.

I'm not going to do the pro's and con's I usually do when I review items as to me, this product is flawless and... well... yeah. Short and sweet blog post for today c:

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ February Wishlist ♡

1. 3CE Lip Lacquer in Backstage

2. 3CE Lip Lacquer in Pink Boom

3. 3CE Lip Lacquer in Desert Flower

4. 3CE Lip Lacquer in Dahlia

5. Nikon COOLPIX S9700 Digital Camera

6. 3CE Pink Lip Color in XXX

7. 3CE Pink Lip Color in Bella

8. BANDAI Sailor Moon Proplica Moon Stick

9. SHO-BI x Disney Japan Romantic Daisy Eyelash Set

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ January Wishlist ♡

1. Etude House Face Conditioning Cream in Light

2. Holika Holika 3 Second Starter Collection

3. Missha Green Tea Powder Wash with Baking Powder

4. Banila Co. Balancing Finish Cream

5. Public Desire Shay Black Faux Suede Cleated Sole Chelsea Boots

6. Public Desire Zara Black High Shine Brogue

7. 3CE Nail Lacquer in RD04

8. Banila Co. Prime Primer Pink Photo Layer Powder

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ December Wishlist ♡

1. SHO-BI Decorative Eyelashes in Play Sexy #6

2. SHO-BI Decorative Eyelashes in Play Cute #2

3. Dollywink False Eyelashes in no. 10 Sweet Girl

4. Dollywink False Eyelashes in no. 13 Baby Girl

5. K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner Pencil in Deep Brown

6. Canmake Brown Liquid Eyeliner

7. Etude House Princess Happy Ending Blusher in Rose Pink

8. Canmake Stay On Balm Rouge in #07

9. Canmake Just For Me Essence Rouge in #01

10. Canmake Perfect Brown Eyes in Sweet Brown

11. Canmake Perfect Stylish Eyes in Pinky Chocolat 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Etude House Color Fit Lips in 'Magical Fit Pink' ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

A small note; it's so hard as a person used to writing British English and not American English, to write "color" instead of "colour" in the title and tags of this post but that is what the product is called... so damn you Etude House *cries* So finally! An actual review of something that doesn't involve me stressing about how I look in pictures slash a cleanser or face wash style review! I intended to review a couple of colours from the range but decided on just the one for now... maybe in the future I'll do the others?

Product info; this is a revolutionary liquid type lipstick that moistly glides onto lips with its vivid colour and finishes off with a weightless powdery texture. Directions: 1. Shake well before use, 2. Apply smoothly with tip. Lightly dab onto centre of lips for gradation. Delicately apply for full cover, 3. Apply a layer of Color Lips - fit WH901 after color for a moist gloss

I like this product. It kind of reminds me of MUA's Velvet Luxe liquid lipsticks - a.k.a a cheap dupe of Lime Crime's Velvetine's - as the product goes on wet and dries to get a matte finish. A couple of problems though; one being that if you have extremely dry/chapped lips, this product will show that and it's frustrating but if you wear a lip balm underneath it doesn't make the lines as prominent. The second problem is the lasting wear and even though I could drink/eat for a while before the colour smudged off, it just left an extremely horrible outline of colour that was very embarrassing... luckily it is easy to top up though.

I don't know why I was drawn to this particular colour more than the darker pinks my usual chosen colours from that colour range, but I'm a bit torn about it on my skin tone. On the plus side, it is a bright slash pale Barbie kind of pink that is good for a change of pace yet on the con side, because I am rather pale in the tone chart, I feel that maybe it is just a bit too.... OTT? Eh, maybe it'll grow on me in the future. Another thing I liked about this product, and something I tend not to talk about a lot during lip product reviews, is the packaging. I like it, a lot. Quite a few reviews that I have seen about the 'Color Fit Lips' seem not to like the packaging because, it comes across that it's not cutesy like their usual style. I can understand that but I like this whole new take of trying something new and the sleekness of the tubing just means that there is less fiddling and it is pretty sturdy as well so less breaking also.

Pros;

↑↑ a pretty decent wearing if you don't eat/drink a lot during
↑↑ dries matte
↑↑ sweet scent
↑↑ bold colours
↑↑ easy application
↑↑ interesting and different outer packaging

Cons;

↑↑ very powdery
↑↑ can expose cracks in lips if they are bad (not so much with lip balm underneath)

Overall Verdict; ★★★★☆
Who can notice the blusher on my cheeks in the above pictures now?! That aside, I do like this product and I need to wear it more often. The other colours appeal to me also (I have the red, two shades of orange and a beige colour) and it's definitely a line I would use again. Honestly, even though the formula (probably) is a close dupe of Lime Crime's Velvetine's it is definitely in the "saving you a pretty penny" category! And I must admit, the only reason I marked this product down a star is because of powdery effect it leaves once dried completely and the fact it shows obvious crack in dry lips... but luckily when wearing lip balm underneath it doesn't show as much and doesn't effect the matte outcome.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Pastel Cushion Blush in Rose ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I must confess, I'm not normally a blush kind of girl but recently I've been going on a blush hyper slash search to create 'dolly' style make-up looks? I've only had one blush in my life previously (a Benefit blush in a coral/peach kind of colour...) so I was a little nervous to go with a very 'pink' colour but I'm really glad that I did in the end.

This particular line of blush comes in five different shades; Rose, Coral, Plum, Pink and Peach. Also, I've noticed that is a past blush but has been re-vamped with a new outer box which, personally, I prefer! The whole package is very lightweight in general but it manages to stay in shape despite being in my make-up pouch in my handbag! 

Promotional picture slash colour schemes

Description: A cute powder blush that gives a cute & lovely doll like impression. With a soft & light touch, you can have young looking face. Its porous sponge keeps your face moisturised without oil.

This blush is extremely sheer. I had to apply quite a few layers before I felt happy with what I was aiming for but it is definitely a plus to have such a sheer blush. I'm glad that I can make the decision of a really light application or a really strong application and have the in-between stages without feeling like that I'm dressing up like a clown at a children's party. I must admit that I am slightly gutted that the amazing colour didn't show up as well in the pictures and I feel that they won't give the blush enough justice to how it actually was in person! This first picture is only of one side of my face to show the colour close up on the apples of my cheeks (and to see if it does actually show up on the picture...)

The next two pictures are... well they are pretty self explanatory with the close up and the wide shot so I won't explain too much here;

OK, I can see a little bit of the colour in the last two photographs but can you? It has given me a 'healthy' appealing look, but it's not an overpower of colour on my cheeks and I enjoy that because, remember, I am not a blush person but I have been swayed indeed.

Pros;
↑↑ very soft, silky powder which makes it easy to 'puff' on my cheeks
↑↑pretty scent
↑↑ build up of colour
↑↑cute packaging and handy puff ball included

Cons;
↑↑ needs more colour ranges

Overall Verdict; ★★★★★
Honestly this little blush is perfect for me. It feels strange to admit it but from the fact that it's sturdy enough to survive my handbag to the build up of colour, I feel like I have found the blush for me. It's a super steal as well - ranging from $5 to $8 on various websites - and I love the few colours they have so far, but I definitely want to see a few more shades in the near future!!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Holika Holika Miracle Real Skin Finish (Combination/Dry Skin) ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I think I have come out of my little slump... kind of. If you follow me on twitter you might understand why I have been in a blogging slump recently but I am going to slowly ease myself back into blogging instead of diving head first into a crazed, make-up whirlwind. Sometimes, slow and steady really is the best pace.

So today's post is about a product I was extremely confused about when I first received and still am, to this day, slightly confused over it. At first, I believed that it was a face cream hence the purchasing but upon arrival (and some reading online about it) I have now come to believe that it is face, like a CC cream slash primer... cream... thing. Out of the two versions you could choose from - normal skin (pink) and combination/dry skin (purple) -  I went with the combination/dry skin version, as that is my skin type at the end of the day.

The packaging for this product is super pretty though. I love the butterfly on top of the outer box and with the fact that you can pull the wings up to create a 3D effect, gives it a whole new edge. The packaging containing the cream is a pretty basic plastic container, but when you want to carry it around with you it's pretty sturdy and won't break easily. Also the lid has a pretty pattern around the edge of it as well as Holika Holika's signature butterfly crest.

After working out that this product wasn't, in fact, a face cream I did notice differences with my skin after application. It helped tone down the redness in my cheeks as well as make my skin tone look even and dewy as well as moisturised it instead of drying it out like some primers can do. One of the major pros about this cream for me, was the fact I could just use it alone without putting BB cream over the top of it. It helps for work as I tend not to have time to create a whole made up face in less than ten minutes and working with children, well they tend not to care about appearances so recently I've slacked. It, luckily, hasn't affected my skin but some days I just felt so dull but after applying the cream I honestly felt a little bit like my old self again, it sounds crazy I know.

The mixture is a little thick so you have to be careful not to apply too much to your face(as a little does go a long way) but otherwise you're left feeling like you've got a film of... well grease I suppose on your skin and that is such a nasty feeling just blurgh! It also looks a little weird when you first apply it but it does adjust to your skin tone/colouring etc, trust me. 

Pros;

↑↑ not a watery mixture yet not overly thick like a clay mask

↑↑ actually makes your skin look more dewy/bright

↑↑ whitening effect

↑↑ sun screen for protection for when you want to go out

↑↑ can use on its own or as a primer/CC cream with other make-up

↑↑ pretty packaging

Cons;

↑↑needs more product/bigger pot for price

↑↑ unhygienic conditions as it's not a pump pot

Overall Verdict; ★★★★☆

I like this product more now that understand what it is actually for. I enjoy how I can quickly make myself go from a minus fifty to a decent three slash four in 0.5 seconds. I also like how moisturising the product actually is as well as how it makes my skin glow - in a non-weird way. I would, quite gladly, repurchase this item again as well as tell others about it as it is definitely my cup of tea. I think this little pot of cream is going to become one of my holy grail products over time... Also I will get some actual pictures of me wearing this product in the near future, I promise!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo