Current Foundation Routine With Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

My skin has given me a lot of trouble over the years. It ranges from being very dry to very oily and spot prone. To top it all of its also sensitive and very red. So needless to say I've struggled to find a foundation routine that suits all of my skin's problems. The last few months however I've found a routine that not only makes sure redness and blemishes are covered well, but also keeps oil at bay and doesn't disturb or show up any dryer areas. 

As you can see from the photo above - in which i'm wearing no other make up than foundation, concealer and a touch of powder - I end up with flawless skin and you really wouldn't know from the picture that my skin is awful underneath!  I thought that it was time to share my routine as it may help others who are unfortunate to have skin like mine!

A few months back, I bought myself a Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge as I have always wanted a Beauty Blender but could never in a million years justify paying €20 on a sponge! After reading reviews online and convincing myself that I really needed to try it I took the plunge and ordered the sponge and instantly I understood why other bloggers were raving about this Beauty blender dupe!

Top: Dry sponge  Bottom: Damp sponge - it nearly doubles in size!

It's perfect for use with all bases, and I use it with my foundation and concealers and I honestly can say my foundation has never looked so good before, I can honestly say this sponge is what has changed how well my foundation routine works for me.

The sponge seamlessly blends foundation and leaves your skin with a really natural finish and it's hard to tell if you're wearing any make up at all. There are different sides to the sponge which is pretty handy as it cuts out the need for a ton of different tools for your base. The rounded edges are great for all over application of foundation, the flat edge is great for concealing larger areas and can also be used for contouring, and the pointed tip is great for getting into small spaces like under the eyes and around the nose.

The way I like to use the sponge is by firstly applying primer if I'm using it, sometimes I skip this step, currently I'm using Nivea's Express Hydration Primer - a new purchase for me and one that I'm really enjoying! I then dot foundation on my face, I'm currently using Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in shade 51. Then with the damp sponge, I stipple (bouncing the sponge off the skin) the foundation into my skin, when i come to my jawline I use the rounded edge in a kind of rolling motion to make sure everything is properly blended. This step takes less than a minute with the Real Techniques sponger rather than 5+ with my hands or a brush.

Next I take my under eye concealer which is Maybelline's The Eraser in the light shade. I apply it directly from the tube to my under eye area then taking the angled flat edge of the sponge I again stipple the concealer until it has completely blended into the skin.

Lastly I take the best concealer in the world which is Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer and I place it over any blemishes or redness (which I always have around my nose) and again like the last two steps I just use the stippling motion until the concealer has blended in. I finish things off with a dusting of whatever powder I'm using and then apply blush and then do the rest of my make up. 

And that's all I do, it takes 2-3 minutes with the Real Techniques sponge, and I'm left with skin that looks pretty much perfect, which I have never had with any other method I've used to apply my base make up with before. I also find that wear time seems to be better when applying base products with the RT sponge over brushes, I get through the whole day only having to reapply powder to my t- zone if I get oily but everything else is fine. I'm so happy with the sponge that after the first few times I used it I ordered a spare in case my original wore out or got lost - I will always have a back up one of this ready to go!

I honestly can never see myself using my fingers or brushes again, and that is saying a lot as I loved my Sigma F80 and F84 for applying foundation but since this amazing sponge came into my life my old favorites have been shoved aside.

I have never tried the Beauty Blender so I cant compare the two to each other, but I'd urge you all to try Real Technique's version first as it really is a little gem and also it's a fraction of the price at between €5 and €7 depending where you get it from, it really beats shelling out €20!

Have you tried the Real Techniques Sponge yet? Or does anyone know how it compares to the Beauty blender?

FOTD #5: Under The Weather

I've been taking a break from wearing any make up the last week or two on account of my skin being awful and being ill and just not wanting to put any on - I think we all feel like this when we're ill! 

Today I got up, had a shower got dressed and decided that I was going to make an effort today, even if I wasn't going to leave the house, I thought putting something on my face may lift my spirits a little! Also I've bought a few things lately that I really want to try out and a few more products that haven't been getting enough love!

Eeek! Eyebags!

I saw Nivea's Express Hydration Primer on sale for a little over €4 instead of near €8 so I picked it up! I usually skip primer but my skin is like an oil producing machine lately so I used this before my foundation. I used my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge to stipple on my foundation, (Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum) I applied my two favourite concealers Maybelline The Eraser for under eye area (though it's helping very little on my really pronounced eye bags these days!) and Collection's lasting Perfection for redness/blemishes in the same way with the RT sponge. I dusted a little of MAC's MSF Natural all over my face with a large powder brush and finished off with Sleek's Blush in Antiqued.

I then moved onto my eyes. I primed my lids with Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer potion, then taking My Naked Basics palette (which I posted about here!) I applied the shade Faint on the outer half of my lid and into my crease, and blended the edges with Naked 2. I then dusted W.O.S from my crease to my brow bone and then placed Venus in my inner corner and on the inner half of my eyelid to brighten things and make me look more awake. I then lined my lower lash line with Faint and then applied L'ancome's Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara, I also used Rimmel's Scandaleyes eyeliner pencil in Nude on my waterline to make my eyes look less red - it works a treat!

Sorry for the not great photos guys, I can't find my camera and took these on my phone. The new design/layout of my blog makes the photos massive so the bad quality is super obvious! It also makes my large eye bags at the moment very obvious - so unflattering! Ha ha!

It's amazing how much more human making an effort when you're not well can make you feel! Not a complicated FOTD by any means, if you've seen any of my previous FOTD's you'll know I favour easy no fuss make up, though my choice in shadows is still on the neutral side of things I'm finding myself picking out the darker shades in palettes over the lighter ones these days - which is a massive change for me!

What kind of look do you go for when you're feeling under the weather?

Best Of 2013: Ultimate Make Up Picks Of The Year

For me personally, I think 2013 has been a really great year for finding new products that I love! I discovered a ton of things this year that I can't live without. Some of my choices may not be new to the beauty world, just new to me but they have none the less become firm favourites in my beauty stash this year!

Like every beauty blogger I have so many favourite make up, skincare and hair care items. So the way I'm approaching this to avoid a post as long as my arm is to break the list down into individual categories. For example there'll be categories for favourite foundation, favourite palette and so on, and I'm going to pick one stand out favourite for each category, so this will be sort of an ultimate favourites list for the whole year! Which is pretty tough to put together when you have so many things you enjoy using so much!

I'll also be doing other individual posts for other favourites, including hair, skincare and just other general favourites. I'm trying to break the different categories down as much as possible so you'll only see the things that you're interested in. So if you like the sound of any of the other posts I'll be doing keep an eye out for those in the next week!

Best Foundation

If you've seen any of my FOTD posts, it'll be obvious that the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum is my favourite foundation.I can't say enough good things about it. It evens, it covers, it brightens and feels and looks like your own skin. What's not to love?

Best BB Cream



I don't claim to be an expert on BB creams, having only tried 2 or 3. I did however fall in love with Vichy's Idealia BB Cream. It covers fairly well without feeling heavy, and it leaves your skin looking radiant and all done in a natural way that makes it look like you have nothing on your skin.

Best Concealer (Under eye)

Maybelline's The Eraser concealer is a godsend. It doesn't completely get rid of the look of my under eye bags, but it does a great job of hiding the blue discolouration I get in my under eye area. Really easy to use, only takes a small amount to cover an area well, if I could only use this concealer for my under eye area for the rest of my life, I'd be happy to do so.

Best Concealer (Redness/Blemishes)

No brainer here! Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. Amazing, holy grail concealer. I know all bloggers sing this concealers praises and I'm going to be no different. It really deserves all the praise it gets. Works on everything, under eye area, blemishes, scars, redness. I don't know what I'd do if they ever stopped making this stuff!

Best Powder

Powder is a weird thing for me, I choose it based on how my skin is behaving. However looking through the ones I have the best all rounder and the one i reach for the most (as you can see from how little is left!)is MAC's MSF Natural in Light. It keeps oil at bay, provided you're not really oily, and just leaves a nice matte, soft focus look to the skin.

 Best Bronzer

My choice for bronzer isn't actually a bronzer - it's a blush!
 I use Dainty Doll's Money Talks blush as a bronzer, it's ideal for contouring and just as a general bronzer for us pale faced girls. It's not muddy or orange and is just perfect in my opinion!

Best Highlight (Cream)

Benefit's high beam is such a gorgeous highlighter, and I don't use it as much as my powder highlighters but it is hands down the best and most beautiful cream/liquid highlight ever!

Best Highlight (Powder)

MAC's Soft and Gentle wins it for me in the powder highlighter category. It looks scary but is actually really subtle and flattering when applied. You can see swatches here.

Best Blush (Powder)

You're all probably sick of hearing me mention Benefit's Rockateur by now, I pretty much mention it in every post! Its beautiful and I posted about it here if you would like to see it!

Best Blush (Cream)

This one was difficult to pick because I prefer powder blushes over cream formulas but Dainty Doll's cream blush Orange County Girl is a stand out one here for me. It's absolutely stunning! It's coming off as being pink in the photo above, but it's actually pretty orange toned in real life. Sounds scary right? It isn't, its beautiful and actually really wearable.

Best Eyeshadow Primer

Urban Decay Eye shadow Primer Potion is the only eye shadow primer I use, and I love it! I can't see myself ever using anything else as this works so well for me, also I have a full size tube of this along with about 3 of the smaller tubes that come with palettes so thankfully I'm set up with primer for a while! 

Best Eye shadow Palette

This is the category I struggled the most with. I have a lot of palettes, and I love them all! I ultimately had to go with my Naked palette. I have Naked 2 also, and if I had Naked 3 that may have surpassed it but for now, the original Naked palette is still my favourite of all the palettes I own.

Best Eye shadow (Cream)

Maybelline's 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold is a clear winner here. I like all the colour Tattoos that I own, but this is just beautiful. You can see swatches here if you'd like to.

Best Mascara

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes is my holy grail mascara. It's one of those mascaras that gets better with age too, so I'm still loving it more each time I use it! I just wish this mascara wasn't so expensive as it leaves me with serious buyers remorse after purchasing it!

Best Eyeliner 

I have pretty much strayed away from liquid and gel liners this year, and I now reach for my Stila Smudgestick in Damsel whenever I want an eyeliner. It's easy to use, and doesn't budge from the upper lash line or the water line, and I now swear by it.

Best Brow Product

I've recently become obsessed with filling in my brows, and I'm loving MAC's fling brow pencil, it's just perfect!

Best Lipstick

MAC's Plumful is still my favourite lipstick of all time. Though it was hard to choose between this and Rimmel's Moisture Renew Lipstick in Vintage Pink. To see the post I did with swatches of Plumful, click here.

Best Lip Crayon

Catrice do really great Lip Crayons. Cheap, easy to use and the most moisturising formula of any I've tried yet. My favourite shade is this red that doesn't appear to have a name, but was part of a limited edition collection they had out this summer.

Best Lip Gloss

No7 High Shine gloss in Smile has been a great grab and go lip gloss for me. It's pretty on its own or over any lipstick, especially MAC's Plumful, winning lip combo for me this year!

Best Lip Balm

Nuxe's Reve De Miel is another holy grail product for me that I discovered this year. It's thick, hydrating and smells like Terry's Chocolate Oranges, why wouldn't this be a favourite? I apply this whenever needed and also a thick layer each night before I go to bed and I wake up with really soft, smooth lips!

Best Tool

The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge has drastically changed not only how long my foundation application takes, but has also blown me away with how good it makes the finish of any foundation or concealer. It seamlessly blends base products with your skin leaving your skin looking perfectly flawless - even if it isn't!

BBest Over all Brand of 2013

I think that most brands have outdone themselves this year, but for me there's one that stands out the most and I believe they deserve a pat on the back and an honourable mention and that brand is Bourjois. 
Bourjois released so many new products this year and there wasn't one item they released that didn't have me curious and dying to run to the nearest stand to swatch and try things out. There's not one item this year from Bourjois that I purchased and didn't like, which says a lot for me as Bourjois products have always been hit and miss for me in the past. So there you have it! It was tough to narrow it down to just one item per category, but if I hadn't done that this post would turn into a novel! 

What are your stand out Make up favourites of 2013? Are any of yours the same as mine?

FOTD #3: Fresh Faced

Quick FOTD for you all today! 

This has been my go to daily make up look lately, it's really easy to do and perfect if like me, you're rushing around doing last minute things in preparation for Christmas!
You'll have to forgive me for the not so great photos they were taken in a rush before I headed out the door this morning!

As usual my base consists of Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation, Maybelline the eraser concealer for my undereye area, Collection Lasting perfection concealer for redness/blemishes, topped off by a light dusting of MAC MSF Natural in Light. And Benefit's Rockateur on my cheeks. 

At this point I brushed my brows into place with Catrice's brow gel, then filled them in slightly with MAC's Fling brow pencil.

On busy days where I haven't much time to get ready, I tend to skip eyeshadow, but lately I've been obsessed with one shadow eye looks. Basically where you only use one shadow on your lid and pulled up into your crease. 

I'd usually use a taupe shade for this, but instead I have been reaching for a blush to do this!  Enter Benefit's Rockateur!

A closer look at eyeshadow

 My now all time favourite blush has become a staple for one shadow looks. I don't know what it is, but it just works - it shouldn't but it just does. 

So I've been sweeping Rockateur all over my lid then blending it into my crease. It takes seconds and I think the result is really pretty.

Top that with my Lancome Hynose Doll Eyes mascara and if I have time Stila's Smudgestick in Damsel, and I'm good to go!

I wore this look to a family Christmas party last week as I didn't have much time to get ready and I got tons of compliments on my make up and have pretty much been wearing it this way since, I think it just makes you look really fresh faced and like you've just come in from the cold - but in a good way! 

So what do you think of using Rockateur as an eyeshadow? Do you think it works or is it just me? 
Do you use other products for things they're not intended for? 

What's In My Make Up Bag #2

It's been a while since I wrote a "What's in my make up bag?" post - so I thought I'd get myself to the laptop and knock up a quick post for you all on what I'm currently using everyday.

If you want to see what was in my first Make up bag post you can do that here.

 From looking at that last post, the contents of my day to day make up bag have changed completely since my last post, except for one item I believe.

Make up bag contents - alot more in here than I originally thought!



Face/Base Products

Left - Right: Real Techniques Complexion Sponge, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in fair for blemishes and redness (HATE that the writing on the tube rubs off!) Maybelline The Eraser Concealer in Light for under eye area, Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation in 51 Vanille clair.

L-R: Benefit Rockateur blush, which I reviewed here. Sleek blush in Antiqued, MAC Soft and Gentle - click here for swatches, MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural in Light, for days where my skin is good, Maybelline Superstay 24hr powder in Ivory for when I need more coverage and when my skin is extra oily which is pretty much all the time now - stupid winter!

Eye shadow

Sleek Vintage Romance Palette

Lately I've been using Benefit's Rockateur on my lids, a light sweep of it looks so pretty don't over do it though or you can look like you've been punched in the face! 

I always like to have a palette in my make up bag though, and at the moment it's Sleek's Vintage Romance Palette - so pretty and has shades perfect for Christmas! So it's in here so that I'll use it more over the festive season!

Eyeliner/Brows/Mascara/Lips

L-R: Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara, this mascara is now holy grail status for me guys! No7 High Shine gloss in Smile, great for looking pulled together quickly! Catrice brow gel, Rimmel Scandaleyes pencil in Nude for my waterline, I'm looking tired lately and this really brightens my eyes up. Stila smudgestick in Damsel, again holy grail peeps, seriously amazing! MAC fling brow pencil, really into filling in my brows lately and this is so easy to use it's fool proof! Lastly, there's my trusty Urban Decay Primer Potion.

Brushes

I have really only been using these 4 brushes lately, mainly because using the Real Techniques sponge has drastically cut down the amount of brushes I have to use daily. So L-R: Sigma F30 for powder, Sigma F40 for blush, Real Techniques setting brush for highlighting, Sigma E25 for eyeshadow application and blending - best eye brush in the world, really recommend it!

So I really am using a lot more products than I thought I was using, and I really do use everything every day - bar the palette! 

I was thinking of making these posts a more regular feature, let me know what you think! 

What's in your make up bag right now?

FOTD #2 : 5 Product Face

Recently I've been quite overwhelmed by the amount of make up I own. While I don't have a massive collection compared to other beauty bloggers, I really have a lot more than I even need. 
So I was looking at the products I own and thought of the idea for this post, which is if all my make up was taken away from me right now and I was only allowed to keep five essential items what would they be? 

So I've dug through my stash, picked out five stand out products for me and have decided to do a FOTD with them. 

I picked fairly basic items, I really thought if I was only allowed to use these 5 for the rest of my life, I'd be fairly happy. 

I choose Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, just because it's my favourite foundation EVER! My shade is the lightest shade 51.
 Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer because this stuff is seriously good, it's good for blemishes and also for the under eye area so that's both of those covered with one product. Again, my shade is the lightest, which is Fair.

My favourite mascara is Lancome's Hypnose Doll Eyes, I choose this because it's amazing, but also because even if I don't wear eyeshadow I always have to have mascara on or I feel odd. 

For my cheeks I choose Benefit's Rockateur, review here, I was torn between this and Sleek's Rose gold which you can see here. I ultimately choose Rockateur because not only is it a really beautiful blush, but it also doubles up as a really nice eye shadow, so it covers two bases with one product. If I had have chosen an eye shadow however, I would have choose Urban Decay's Sin, it's pretty much my go to eye shadow I use it on it's own a ton and also it's usually a base for a lot of eye looks that I do, such a pretty pinkish/rose gold shadow.
Obviously from this post it's very clear I'm all about the rose gold shades in everything!

For lips I chose No 7 High Shine Lip Gloss in Smile, just because on a day to day basis I keep my make up very natural and this is a perfect my lips but better kind of shade, it lasts well and isn't sticky.

Really Basic FOTD using the above products

So combined all these products just make a really basic look, probably as basic as you can get really, but if all my make up was taken away I'd prefer to look as natural as possible at all times and have all of my necessary base products to use rather than having more choice with eyes or lips.

So if you had to pick just 5 make up items to use for the rest of your life what would they be and why?

If you havent entered my giveaway yet you can check it out here, it's an international giveaway too so it's worth a look! :)

Haul: When Good Girls Go Bad...

I've done a few haul posts before, but they seem a bit pointless sometimes as they take a bit of time to put together yet all I'm doing is saying Oh! Look what I have! And not actually giving you, the reader, any useful information. 

So I try not to do them, but an impulse buy today made me look at what I've bought lately and I think I may have gone a bit mad, because I had myself convinced I really hadn't bought much lately, when in actual fact, I have been lying to myself and now feel so bad for the more expensive than usual mascara that I bought telling myself "It's fine! you haven't bought yourself something in AGES!" 

The point that I'm trying to get to here is that I need someone who loves make up and beauty as much as I do to help me justify what I've bought in the past few weeks, because I'm struggling to do so! 

I'm going to break this into categories to make it easier, so the first is make up, seeing as it's the most exciting category!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum I'm a fan of the normal Healthy mix foundation but I've really wanted to try this serum version for ages to see how it stacks up to the original formula, and I have to say I think I prefer it, will be reviewing this when I've fully made my mind up. The shade I have is 51 Vanille Clair.

Maybelline The Eraser Concealer I watch beauty gurus on YouTube day in, day out. It was killing me to see the American guru's that have had this for so long! I finally got my paws on it about a month ago when I spotted it in boots, I have the shade light and I have to say I'm in love with this. Such a good under eye concealer especially for those like me who have insomniatic tendencies, really covers up discolouration.

Maybelline Baby Lips Another one that took ages to get to this side of the world! If I remember correctly, it must be a year or so since these started popping up on US blogs and YouTube videos? I literally only got this two days ago, the one I have is Cherry Me, it gives a sheer hint of colour to the lips and smells and tastes divine! I literally want to eat the stick and anyone I've made smell it says the same thing.

Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Palette While not my favourite palette Ive ever owned, theres some pretty shades in here and I've enjoyed playing with this, review to come soon!

Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon I picked up peach on the beach, which is the shade I knew I wanted most from seeing these on blogs before they launched. Haven't had it too long but its comfortable to wear and the colour is beautiful.

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara is the reason for this whole post. I've wanted to try this for a while, and I was feeling miserable today and in need of cheering up, so I went and bought this mascara that costs €28! How I justified it at the time I don't know, because I cant now! However, I did use this for the first time today and I have to say I'm really impressed, I think its all down to the brush which I'll give you a closer look at now.

Only draw back to the mascara is it smells like roses, which is weird I don't like products that are going on my eyes to be scented. You can actually smell this for a while after you've put this on, so if anyone asks what perfume you're wearing and you have to explain "umm, no its my eyelashes." i think that's going to sound kind of weird. I don't like the smell at all, but I can get over it if it seems to be as good a mascara as I think it is.

Next category is body products, not as many in this one but still didn't need any of them!

My boyfriend bought me two perfumes this week, technically they shouldn't be in here as i didn't buy them but they're both lovey and I had to include them , they are Honey By Marc Jacobs Its not a secret that I adore Marc Jacob's perfumes, they are the nicest and also the most long lasting that I have ever come across. I really love this new scent from him and its fast becoming a firm favourite in my collection. Ive also been after DKNY's Golden Delicious for as long as I can remember but couldn't find it anywhere. This was one of the first perfumes I owned as a young teenager and I loved it then and still love it now, finally stumbled across a bottle of it and I'm glad to have fallen in love with an old favourite again.

Sanctuary Body Moisture Spray is something I've looked at loads while I've been browsing in boots, but have never gotten because I've always had some big pot of some moisturiser to finish, but after realising I needed moisturiser the other day I literally - raced to get this. Its great! it makes moisturising your whole body quick and easy and leaves your skin unbelievably soft. 

Soap And Glory Hand Food I have quite bad psoriasis on my hands and wrists, and I'm not supposed to use any perfumed moisturisers on them because it dries the skin out worse and aggravates the condition so all I'm supposed to use is thick, foul smelling creams on my hands. I was getting sick of it and walked past this and saw the word Marshmallows on the tube, I immediately thought I don't care if it makes my skin worse I'm getting it! 

I was actually surprised that I've had no worsening of my psoriasis from using this, even though its really heavily perfumed it leaves my hands really soft and smelling amazing. So I will probably be buying this for the rest of forever now!

So that's everything I've bought recently, I feel so guilty, how do you all handle shopper's guilt? Or do you even get it or is it just me?

Monthly Favourites: The Best Of October

The Best Of October

Hello! Hope you are all doing well! So I have never done a monthly favorites post before. I have always had it in my head to start doing them but for some reason I never have. Also, before anyone tries to tell me that November 9th is too late for me to post an October favorites post - you're wrong! : )

Face Products

L-R: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation and Concealer, Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Bush, Benefit Cha cha Tint, MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder

This month I've been trying to use up foundations because I have a drawer full of them. I have been making myself use the ones I don't like too, but in doing this I have actually grown to like one of the ones I didn't like before. I know everyone raves about Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, but for some reason when I first got it I really didn't like it, it made my skin look bloody awful and didn't last any amount of time on my face at all, though now I think that was because my skin was in awful condition when I first got it and now its improved drastically. So needless to say it was thrown in the back of my foundation drawer and that was that. Until I pulled it out again a few weeks ago and decided to give it another chance, and i'm pleased to say that I am now in love with the stuff! It makes my skin feel and appear so much smoother, even and brightened up and pair it with the matching Healthy Mix Concealer and my skin has pretty much been looking flawless, amazeballs!

For setting my foundation I usually use MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in Natural, but I had my cousin's wedding last week and wanted something with a little more coverage. So I bought MAC's Select Sheer Pressed Powder and I'm really liking this. It's great for those days where I want a bit more coverage without looking plastered in make-up. That being said, I think this may be the cause of some breakouts lately. 

Blush wise, I found a lovely one a while ago in Essence's Cherry Blossom Girl Collection. I picked it up when I bought one of their double ended eyeliner pens, reviewed not so long ago here. I hadn't really used this until the last few weeks, but this is a lovely peachy/coral blush that goes on lightly for a lovely subtle flush. Its a great multi purpose product due to the two shades in the compact, I swirl them both together for blush and then use the lighter shade as a highlight which works really well.

I've been pairing the Essence blush with Benefit's Cha Cha Tint underneath if I want to add a bit more oomph to the blush. The two look really pretty together and it's been my favourite way to add colour to my face recently.

Eye Products

L-R: UD Feminine Palette (Old Version), Eyelure Katy Perry Lashes, Benefit They're Real! Mascara, UD 24/7 Liner in Perversion, Revlon Precision Lash Glue

I know the version of Urban Decay's feminine palette that I have is the old version, but honestly I prefer the colours in the one I have to the new one, hence why I won't be buying the newer one. I've been reaching for this most days, it has the perfect shades of shadow in there for putting together a quick and easy eye look that still makes you look put together.

Inside UD Feminine Palette

I wont say too much about my next favourite, as I will be posting about it in the next few days, but I've been really liking Benefit's They're Real! Mascara. It's pretty amazeballs!

When I bought my UD Smoked Palette, it came with a full sized 24/7 Perversion liner. Holy cow! It's amazing! It's the blackest black pencil liner I have ever seen and the lasting power with this is amazing, it lasts most of the day before I have to go near it to re-apply, it's really something else and I think everyone needs this liner in their life!

Now i'm not a big false lash wearer, but for my cousin's wedding I picked up a pair of Eyelure's Katy Perry lashes and they blew me away. I got the most natural pair called Sweetie Pie. They're so beautiful, they really opened up my eyes and I got tons of compliments when I had them on. Will be doing a post on them soon as I was so impressed I think they deserve their own post!

With the Katy Perry Lashes I used Revlon Precision Lash glue, as I hate the stupid little useless tubes of glue that come with eyelashes. The Revlon lash glue is in a league of it's own when it comes to lash glue, its so easy to work with and I had no problems with lashes falling off, it's fantastic!

Lip Products

Top: Strawberry Carmex, L-R: Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart, 17 Lipstick in Barely Blush

I love Revlon's Lip Products, my favourites being their Lip Butters, which I posted about here. Lately I've been wearing Sweet Tart non-stop, you can see swatches in the link posted above.

When I want something a bit calmer than the bright pink of Sweet Tart, i've been using 17's Barely Blush Lipstick. I really love this lipstick, it's been a consistent favourite of mine for a while now, I always get compliments when I wear it so that could be why!

Also now that it is winter, I've been breaking out the lip balms more than usual and my main pick every time is my Strawberry flavoured Carmex. My lips are pretty chapped at the moment and this is doing wonders for them.

Other Favourites

L-R: Nivea Happy Time Body Lotion, Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

I absolutely love the smell of Nivea's Happy Time Shower Gel, to me it's pretty much the best smell in the world, so I was so happy to see that they do a body lotion now! It's the same delicious orange blossom smell, and it leaves my skin unbelievably soft all day long, its brilliant!

Another long time favourite item is my Sigma F80 brush. It's a flat top synthetic kabuki brush that is used to apply liquid or cream foundations. I got this last year from Cloud 10 Beauty and it's been a firm favourite ever since. It flawlessly buffs foundation into the skin, leaving a smooth, streak free, airbrushed finish. Apologies for the dirtiness of the brush in the photo, it's in need of a clean! 

So that's it for my favourites for October, i'm already looking forward to posting November's favourites!

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