*BOBBI BROWN* LIPSTICK COLLECTION

Hello again

I'm aware my last blog was very 'venty' so I'm veering away from that vibe and doing what I do best, Makeup blogs!

Anyway, I recently purchased the 25th anniversary Bobbi Brown 10 Bestseller Lipstick Collection.

If you're anyone who knows me, you know (much to my husband's dismay) that I am obsessed with lipstick. I hadn't till this point bought a BB lipstick and was happy to see this mini lipstick collection launch. Especially since they were her bestsellers!

Now as said, these are minis, hence the price tag of £80. But to be fair, who really finishes any lipstick? I have inserted below a few pictures of the lipsticks which are stunning. They come in a leather box, which has a maroon velvet lined interior which is luxurious in itself.  Inside the box, is a laminated card which has a photo of all ten lipsticks (see photo below) with the colours explained.

I saw these advertised on Facebook, and immediately jumped on the bandwagon. I bought these directly off the BB website as she does some great deluxe sample give-aways as well as daily changing offers which you can apply to your order too. I got so many freebies with my order it was great! So I would recommend purchasing directly from the BB website. Delivery is free too.

However there is no loyalty scheme with the Bobbi Brown website so right about now Debenhams have their Christmas Spectacular event where they have 10% off beauty for Loyalty customers. However if you do register with BB, you can subscribe to the newsletter which has offers on all the time.

Anyway, moving on  to the lipsticks, they are tiny enough to not take up to much space in a little clutch bag when on an evening out and aren't too small where you feel you've been robbed for your money.

As advertised these lipsticks are mini versions of Bobbi's main lipstick line. They're not matt, or sheer in application. They sit in the middle and leave a semi matt finish.  A full sized version of the lipsticks costs around £24.00. In this collection you get 10 mini lipsticks at 2grams each, I believe the full sized lipsticks are 3.2grams each. So you're getting more than half of the original product.

The lipsticks are long lasting and leave your lips quite moisturised. I am very happy with my purchase and believe this would make a lovely Christmas/birthday present for anyone. I believe the collection is limited edition so get it whilst stocks last.

The colours are a good mix of reds, nudes, browns, pinks and oranges. A good variation in my opinion and if you do find a colour you'll never wear, mix it with another colour or give it away! Simples.

I have also swatched the colours on my arm, not the best of lights but you get the picture.

Anyway guys, I'll see you in my next one.

Cheerio!

The lameness of Maria B

Hi all

Long time no blog.

I have been quite busy lately, getting married and adapting to  married life and all the challenges it brings, and the challenges are aplenty.

I've upped my shopping with regards to asian clothes, it seems everything you wear is put under a microscope so it has to be perfect. Now for a girl who used to more or less wear pyjamas on weekends and basic wear on weekdays after work this is a task and a half.

I see what people mean when they say its better being single....SOMETIMES. Anyway I recently bought an outfit from the Maria B Pakistan website and received delivery of my purchase via the post 3-5 days later which was amazing!
However the clothes themselves which on the website appeared somewhat OK for home wear were horrendous when delivered. The black kameez was as described, however the main feature being the tulip shalwar was far from good. It was, I imagine once a black colour but because of exposure to too much sun or being left to rot in the warehouse had lost the colour and looked almost brown in light. So the two pieces didn't go together well at all.

Now when you've paid a fair bit of money on a brand you supposedly trust this is highly disappointing, I have emailed Maria B customer services but I'm not very hopeful I'll get a satisfactory response from them.

It is now 1 week since my email and still no response. I think we can safely say some Pakistani designers are ust after your money, customer service be damned!

Contouring Tips & Products

Hi guys

I know most of you probably have heard of the term contouring by now. Anyone who knows Kim K will concur with that fact!

Anyway I wanted to share with you an item I have been extensively using to contour. I’ve recently realised that my actual foundation doesn’t match my skintone *covered monkey face*. What a rookie mistake. I am so in love with the foundation formula itself I forgot to check it actually matched my neck colour etc etc.

Anyway that’s a blog for another time. I have used many items to contour in my time. I mainly concentrate the contour underneath my cheekbones, but on YouTube you’ll see girls (and guys) contouring to the extreme. Unless it’s a special occasion or you just love sculpted, chiselled cheekbones; a natural contour can still be achieved without looking streaky or caked.

I’ve gone through cream formulations and powder and to be honest I use both. When in I’m a rush I reach for my Bourjois Bronzing powder to set my Becca Radiant Skin Satin Foundation in the Colour Mink. This is more of a liquid formula but I cheat and use a foundation instead of a normal creamy contour.

But whatever you use it’s important you use the correct technique regardless of the colour. As long as the colour is a few shades darker than your own skintone you’re good to go.

I use the Becca foundation because it just blends seamlessly into the skin, doesn’t leave streaks and it’s so easy to work with. A little goes a long way. I bought it in the Space NK sale; it must have been a colour people weren’t buying often so it was mega reduced to like £3.00 or something ridiculous. I understand normally it’s around the £20.00 – £25.00 mark.

I am not a great at advising how to contour, so I suggest you watch beauty bloggers on YouTube as it’s become almost a part of nearly everyone’s routine as part of a regular tutorial.

There are so many contouring products out there, when I first started out, I had to get my head round the idea that most makeup companies don’t actually product special contour products, its mostly bronzers and mattified powders. However here is a list of some common ones:

Laura Mercier Contour Kit - £34.00
Mac Mineralise Skinfinish Natural - £24.00
Anastasia Beverley Hills Cream and Powder Contour Kit - £39.00
Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate, Cream – I have a blog about this.

The Bourjois setting bronzing powder I use is under £10 from Boots and I think it’s just one universal colour as oppose to different shades. It is also available in different variations; it can come with a highlighting powder or with two blocks of bronzer and its packaging is pretty neat too.

And remember, if you ‘over contour’ you can always just go over it all with a little bit of your regular foundation and start again. Also if you have amazing contoured cheeks already why are you bothering??!!

Hehe we all love a bit of contour!

Ciao for now

*REVIEW* LA Girl Pro HD Concealers

Hi guys

I feel like I've completely abandoned my blog of late. I am so lame, I blame my short attention span for my lameness.

Anyhow you're not here to read about my incessant lameness, you're here to read about my take on all things beauty.

Today I'm talking about the LA Girl Pro HD Concealer. This is a concealer like no other. Incredibly affordable, super full coverage and it doesn't budge!!! 

I have been pretty lazy with concealer and just using the one that came with my foundation. I was using the Mac Moisture Mineralise concealer for an age...I wasn't as happy with it as the foundation as it just sat in my lines and was just, too light coverage. 

So I decided to experiment, I've seen other bloggers go on and on about this concealer and saw it mentioned on a friends Snapchat recently which prompted me to buy my own. Now I couldn't be bothered paying shipping costs at places so I just bought my tube off of EBay, the seller is called jewelry_fantastic135...

I know the name sounds dim and dodgy, but the products are far from it. I bought two shades to find my true match and then another for contouring purposes. They were £3.44 each which is great to be honest. 

The shades I bought were Fawn, Warm Honey and Chestnut. Fawn was too dark and Chestnut was my contour colour, however Warm Honey matched perfectly.

I find with these concealers you don't need much to conceal, a little goes a long way. It has a brush applicator which looks convenient at first but in time would be a cesspit of disease, so I steer clear of using it and apply the product on the back of my hand and use a brush to apply.

Also guys, if your looking for stiff packaging or if you're expecting what you're used to with the high end brands, don't! You're getting what you're paying for here, the packaging is cheap and functional.

I also found with these that they don't require powder to set, which is convenient because I hate powdering, bane of my existence. 

You don't have to purchase a few shades to get your perfect match if you don't want, do some research look online at swatches and compare. I'm NC42 skin tone and Warm Honey went perfectly.

So yeah, go check it out, I'm sure there are official stockists somewhere but hey at eBay shipping was free hehehe.

See you soon x