March favourites!

This is a bit of a 'basics' favourites post, as I found up the five things that make my life pretty easily :)

Remington S7902 Wet2Straight Hair Straighteners

I've had these since October, and they're generally fab, but it was at the debating conference I went to that they came into their own. You see, I was really stupid and forgot to take a hairbrush (d'oh) - but I found that once I had straightened my hair with these you couldn't tell at all. Plus, since my hair is so thick, it would be impossible to fully dry it before straightening - with these I don't have to! I use Schwarzkopf's got2b Guardian Angel Heat Defence spray with them, which seems pretty good.

These have an RRP of £84.99 but retail on Amazon for £42.99

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick - Belle

(image from the fab Catherine's Loves blog)

I have been keeping this lipstick in my pencilcase for most of the past month, it's perfect for a quick swipe. The colour is fairly sheer, with lots of shiiiine and it's really pretty. That the colour is sheer means that you can just swipe away even without a mirror, as if you miss a bit/go off your lips it's not at all noticeable. 

Plus, the packaging is pretty snazzy too - it's fairly difficult to lose this bright blue tube in your bag.

It sells for £4.59 from Boots.

Elf blusher - Shy
(image from the fab Sugar Coated Muffin blog)
This blusher is a really good every-day blusher in my opinion, as it produces a soft pink which goes with everything and is really difficult to overdo. Plus it lasts really well to. Does what it says on the tin, really.
It sells for £1.50, either for 2g in its own thingy as shown or for 1.5g to go in their Elements system, from elf.

17 Solo Eyeshadow - Walnut Pearl (top left in this picture)
I love this eyeshadow - it's a lovely everyday basic colour, and goes with everything - basically the eye makeup equivalent of the blusher above. It's really long-wearing, too.
It retails for £3.89 from Boots.

17 BB Cream
The main reason I like this is that it is low coverage - it's really just a me-but-better look. I have been using it in Light, but I think I need to move up to Medium as I've started to pick up a bit of a tan. It lasts all day (always a bonus!) and generally helps me feel like a more polished version of me.
It sells for £6.99 from Boots.

Beautiful Spring palettes from 17

These aren't yet in my local Boots, but they are online, they sell for £5.99, and the two colours are called Hazy Days and Spring Brights. Personally I'm really tempted by Hazy Days, which is the one at the top of this post, as it has all the colours I like to use for an everyday eye in it.

Which is your favourite?

FOTD: It's Party Time!

It's my friend's birthday party tonight, which I'm really excited about

Products used (in order):

• elf Nail Polish in Purple Pleaser (mentioned here)
• elf eyelid primer (mentioned here)
• Hello Kitty Liberty eyeshadow palette (the white shade in the inner corners of the eyes, and then the dark reddish and the dark silver glitter over the eye)
• Collection 2000 Extreme 24H eyeliner (upper lash line)
• Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in Black (lower lash line)
• Natural Collection LashCurl Mascara in Black
• Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades in Blushalicious
• Natural Collection Loose Powder
• Benefit Watt's Up! highlighter
• 17 Ultimate Volume lipgloss in Very Berry

FOTD: Red Lips and Cat Eyes

Products used:

• Elf eyelid primer
• Elf eyeshadow in 'driftwood'
• Collection 2000 Extreme 24H eyeliner
• Elf blusher in 'shy'
• 17 Ultimate Volume lipgloss in 'very berry'

Two things Thursday - Hello Kitty, Hello Hogwarts

First up, I can't believe I forgot to do this last week. Well, actually I can. Let me paint you a picture: I got home from school feeling absolutely rotten, went straight to bed missing ballet. Then about an hour later my mum woke me up to tell me that we had a burst pipe... not fun.

The first thing I've been loving recently is this eyeshadow palette from Boots' Christmas gift range - I bought it in the January sale for £4.00 and you can see it swatched here. It has all the colours to create a nice range of looks, so it's quite good for everyday. Lily likey.

My friends bought me a ravenclaw jumper for my birthday! It's exactly the same as they wore in the films and I like it loads because it's so not obvious that it's Potter merchandise - nice and subtle. Plus it's 100% lambs wool so it's really warm - perfect for this weather...

FOTD: pretty in pink

Products used:

• Rimmel Colour Rush Quad eyeshadow in Urban Flower - I used the pale pink matte shade all over the eyeshadow as a base (reviewed here)
• elf Custom Eyes in Wisteria (swatched here). I found that I wasn't really using this shadow to its full capability, only as an interest point to lighten up other eye looks, so I wanted to use it as a focal point. And it's really pretty!
• Boots 17 Photo Flawless Eye Pencil in Carbon Black/ Copper.(reviewed here).
• Boots Natural Collection WaterGuard mascara in Brown/Black
• Collection 2000 ShimmerSquare in Blushalicious (currently with £1 off at boots.com, which means it's down to £3.19)
• Benefit Watt's Up highlighter
• Boots 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Belle

FOTD: it's Spring!

The trees mostly still have bare branches, but the grass is growing bright green and there were daffodils in the florist's shop yesterday. So it's spring! Yay!

Today's face of the day is a laid back look that took less than five minutes in front of the mirror - which is always good, really. Because it's Sunday and I like to let my skin breathe at least one day a week, I moisturised but didn't use foundation or BB cream today.

If you've read my blog before, you might know that I'm basically in love with my elf eyeshadows (on which note, they've got a free gift sale today and free shipping too, til 10pm). The only problem is that they have a lot of fallout. They definitely fall into the category of eyeshadows that you put on before your foundation. Today I decided to try and apply them with the minimum fallout possible. And I managed. The trick is to use your finger rather than a brush - somehow that reduces the problem hugely. It works because of how lovely and soft these shadows are - I've ordered another shadow and another blush, so there's now a queue of things to go into my elf palette (yes, all right, I forgot to include a second palette in my order...)

I used 'sage', a lovely lovely green, all over the eyelid, and 'wisteria', a pinkish lilac, above that close to the lash line. I really like the effect of that, and I think I'll team the colours up together like that again.

I used a metallic teal eye pencil - Boots 17's, though it's no longer in the range. It was a present from my lovely friend Philly (who runs her own blog) who had two of the Gift With Purchase that included the pencil (summer 09 as far as I can tell from the Internet) and gave me the second, because she's lovely like that. I guess the nearest equivalent now would be the blue eye version of the Photo Flawless Eye Pencil.

I used my elf blush in 'shy' which is a really pretty colour, as you can see on my cheek to the left of the picture - my camera isn't handling light and dark very well at the moment, as you can see, but the colours on the left of the picture are truer to life. Unlike the elf shadows, which are very soft and which I think I'll hit pan on very soon (especially sage), the blush is fairly hard, and despite having used it a lot I've barely made an indent on the top of it. I've ordered another elf blush as well, because I like this one so much. To finish off I used Boots 17 Mirror Shine lipstick in shade 'Belle' - which is, as others have said, fab. It's one of those your lips but better lipsticks.

Ta-dah!

Makeup from the poundstore!

Before you all cower in horror, I will give one bit of advice:
Only buy the brands you recognise - as well as the Rimmel stuff there were also some other brands whose names I didn't recognise, and you know what, their stuff might be worth less than a pound...

Anyway. On with the blog post. I had read on another blog (can't remember whose) that some pound stores have discontinued makeup for sale in them. So when I found myself walking past Poundworld on Saturday, I couldn't resist a look, and I found these really good Rimmel eye quads. These retailed at over £6 and are now only a pound each - bargain! There were a few different colours, but I picked up 016 - Urban Flower and 018 - Romantic Cool because I thought those were the shades I'd use the most.
And boy, are they good.
Here are the swatches:

 (urban flower)

 (romantic cool)

As you can see, the top right shade in each quad isn't particularly well pigmented, and the green in the urban flower one is also very sheer, but these are so smooth I almost don't mind. Also, a first for me: the applicators in the packs are actually not too horrific! Yay!

I wore the pale pink from 'urban flower' as an eyeshadow base yesterday, and it lasted really well so I'm happy about that.

FOTD: It's Showtime!

So tonight I have my first poetry gig in quite a while, and I thought I'd do a FOTD for it. It's in a pub, so fairly dark, and I need people to be able to see my face.
I started with my new Boots 17 Blemish Balm, which had £2 off and so was only £4.99 - Boots 17 seem to have an offer on all the foundation-type-things at the moment, by the way.

Next was eyeshadow, and I used my much neglected Max Factor Smoky Eye Effect Eyeshadow. It's what I bought as a present to myself in early December, at the end of Oxford interviews, and I love it. Apart from anything else, it's fairly foolproof, as the colours have been selected to go together perfectly. Then I lined my bottom lash line with my standby Photo Flawless Eye Pencil, and a thin line of liquid liner across the top lash line, as it'll be dark and I need the definition. Last for the eyes was mascara - Natural Collection's is all I have at the moment.

Then what has become my standard blusher, e.l.f. elements in 'shy', and to finish a swipe of Mirror Shine Lipstick in Belle - it really is a 'your lips but better' finish.

FOTD: Simple green eye

Originally I wasn't going to post this, but today at school one of my friends said she liked my eye make-up, which I took as a go ahead to share the look.

So here it is, and you have Sarah to blame if you don't like it, haha.

I think this took less than five minutes to do in total, which is always good for hurried school mornings. Another thing about it that was good for it being a school morning was that it only used three products, so there was no scrabbling around, and walking back and forth from my makeup shelf to my bathroom sink.

As always, I started with this moisturiser. I put it on as I got out of bed to let it sink in while I got dressed - this was a key time-saving thing. If I'd worn foundation today I would have paused halfway through dressing to put it on, to let that sink in while I finished getting dressed. This dramatically reduces the amount of time spent at my dressing table, and increases the amount of time I get to spend having breakfast!

First was my trusty Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil, this time in shade 031, Jungle Green. It blends so well. Love it. I put this across the top lash line, and halfway across the lower lash line, from the centre outwards. It then smudges slightly as I put the eyeshadow on.

Next was eyeshadow - I used my e.l.f. elements one in shade 'sage' - top left in the palette in this picture, and centre of the swatches - across the whole eyelid. Simple but nice.

I then used the blush - 'shy' - from this palette too, which I have really loved using over the past week, as it's just pigmented enough, but not too brash, looks natural on, and blends well.

And ta-da, the finished look! Those of you who've seen previous Faces Of The Day will notice I've had my hair cut. I decided that cost would win out, and went to Supercuts, and I'm actually really impressed. The stylist was efficient, nice, etc, and always asking if the cut was okay. She was chatty but not too much, and the salon was nice and clean. So yeah, good.

I then decided to add some lip colour, and I used Boots 17's Lasting Fix lipstick, in the shade 'Chocolate Eclair'.

It's alright, but I don't think it will be a repurchase. It has a tendency to go bright pink after a few hours...

But here was the look totally finished:

e.l.f haul and unboxing

I ordered some brushes and a custom palette, for a total of £12 including postage.

When the order arrived I could see it was well packed in a good - but not oversized - box. It was well sealed but not impossible to get into - I just used a biro to open the sticky tape. The box seems really sturdy - I'll probably keep it, it will be good for presents or storage.

When I opened the box there was lots of bubble wrap (so I know what I'm going to be doing for therapy for the next week!) and a packing note on the top, and then the brushes on top of the custom palette and the elements I ordered for it, with some wrap between the brushes and the makeup to protect it all. I like the care that's gone into this packing.

I've swatched these bits later, but I thought I'd write more about them here. The compact is a really good size, and you can see why I like the versatility. The elements are packaged well, though slightly overpackaged - within the cardboard boxes there is a plastic frame keeping the element safe. Again, care despite the fact they only cost £1.

The brushes also seem really good; I haven't had a chance to try out the total face brush, but the blusher/bronzer/blender brush is really good, and I like the angle cut across the top of both of the fuller brushes. They're also lovely and soft! The lip brush I haven't had a chance to properly experiment with, but I had a quick go and it seems to work...

Here are swatches (top without flash, bottom with flash, I know, I need hand cream) of the elements I got for the compact. From right: 'sage' eyeshadow, 'wisteria' eyeshadow, and 'shy' blusher.

Sage is a lovely colour, a definite repurchase when I run out.

Wisteria is more purple and less pale than I expected, but I can see it being useful when I figure out how to incorporate it into looks.

Both of the eyeshadows have a lovely creamy (but still powder) texture. LOVE them.

Shy is nice and sheer, which will help to avoid the clown look.

Overall I love these!

Oh, and there is a free postage offer code that lasts until 9.30am GMT on Monday morning when you spend 10 quid - the code is SHIP24FREE

Swatched: 17 Solo Eyeshadows

So, I had these eyeshadows lying around, which are actually really good quality for the £3.89 you pay (it's the same price for normal and glitter shadows, the only difference being that they say '17 Glitter' on the lids rather than '17 Eyes')

Clockwise starting in the top left, the shades are Walnut Pearl, Night Sky, Regal, and Green Glimmer. The Night Sky is glitter and the others are standard shadows, though as you can see even in the non-flash photo (the top one of each pair) the Green Glimmer is fairly light-relective, and in the flash photo all four shades are shimmering.

The Walnut Pearl is one layer of colour; the other three are two. It's easily the most pigmented of the four, but it also sheds - when using this eyeshadow it's definitely a good idea to do it before the foundation.

New Years Eve look.

Right, so I had the joys of spending NYE with my parents this year, so this is a special family dinner kind of a look.

I wore a navy blue Miss Selfridge dress with a cream collar and trim, so I decided to go for a navy eye.

Picture 1 - my 'before' face

The first thing I did was moisturise with my Neutrogena Multi-Defence Daily Moisturiser. I started using this in the summer and I love it. Then I put some Boots Natural Collection ShineAway Foundation (I use shade 'porcelain') on my cheeks, to de-pink them a bit.

Next was a thick line of Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in shade 021, denim blue, along the top lash line and halfway along the lower lash line. This will smudge easily as I add the rest of the eye make up.

Then I swept No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow in shade 69, Starry Night, ( another freebie from the gift I mentioned in my lipgloss review) across the whole eyelid as a base and to blend with. Next was Boots 17 Eyeshadow in shade Regal, a lovely blue, which I put towards the outer edge of my eyelids and blended with my finger.

Last came mascara (Boots Natural Collection in Brown/Black), lipgloss (No7 High Shine in Whisper, reviewed below) and blusher (Natural Collection cream blusher in Rosy Pink).
Then I was done :)

Picture 2 - the products I used, in order from left to right

Picture 3 - the 'after' face

In hindsight, looking at the photo, I could probably have done with a tiny bit more blusher. I also made a duff choice with the lip gloss which, while it was great that it didn't leave marks on my drinks glasses, did get lots of hair stuck to it on the walk into town for dinner, when it was quite windy. I can report, though, that the lip gloss has quite good staying power - nearly four hours after I put it on, after eating and drinking, while it's not as glossy as it was, my lips still look fairly shiny and glossy with a faint bit of the shimmer. The rest of the look seems to have held up well, though, and the foundation has done as promised and kept shine at bay.

Picture 4 - the 'hours after' face.

NB: you may notice that these photos are better quality than up to this point - that's because I took them on my proper camera rather than webcam for once.