Topmodel Backstage Secrets Set - A Review

Hey Everyone!


So I have pretty much abandoned this blog over the last few months! A lot has been going on and for many reasons (which I won't bore you with!) this hasn't been a high priority for me. However 2012, new year, new start and all that jazz...I'm hoping things can only get better!..Anyways I received a  Topmodel Backstage Secrets set as part of a Christmas present and I thought it would be something worth posting about! I got the "Professional looks for Smokey Eyes" kit and it looks like this..

As a general overview I would say this kit would be perfect for a makeup beginner; some one who likes make up but maybe hasn't quite got the confidence to try "smokey" kind of looks yet; for more in depth info, read on! 


It has really nice packaging to start off with and it says it offers "insider know how" on how to create the perfect smokey eye; with instructions on the inside of how to use all of the products included. As well as written instructions it also has some diagrams on how to achieve your smokey eye look. That bit looks like this...

So on to the actual products. Inside you get three baked shimmery eye shadows, a white, a silver and a black; a purple shade of eye dust; a black/silver glitter eyeliner; a black mascara and an eyeshadow applicator. Not bad for (I believe) under £10. Here is a few pics of the products themselves..

So firstly the shadows, nice shades but not overly pigmented. They definitely are not the most pigmented shadows out there but at the same time they give quite a nice look. I created a look for a night out using them, and they lasted all night.They are quite forgiving in that you can play around a bit and still get a good look. Which is why I say perfect for a beginner. 

Next up the glitter eyeliner! I really liked this, gorgeous for a night out look and good quality. I find with liners such as this they can tend to kind of have colour or glitter, not both. However this is just a nice black liner with some nice glitter through it (which it obviously should, my point is products I have tried in the past which have claimed to do this have let me down!)..It also lasts quite well...Here are some swatches!

Next up is the eye dust and it is beautiful! Such a gorgeous colour and SO pigmented - I just love this. It goes perfectly with the other shades when used to blend out alongside the black, to give a bit of a different edge to your classic smokey eye. In my opinion the best thing about the whole kit. Some pictures....

 Then onto the mascara, this worst product in the kit in my opinion. This is what it looks like..

Fairly standard brush and wand but I found the formula to be quite dry and basically it just didn't do much for my lashes. Here are some pics to demonstrate..

No Mascara

One coat

Two coats

Three coats

As you can see it's not awful , but I felt it took a lot of work to get to that point. There are much better mascaras out there and I won't be reaching for this one anytime again soon..


So to sum up, it's a nice kit and was a lovely little gift. I think it makes a really nice present in general, I will be using all the products in future (except the mascara!) and also its really quite reasonably priced. If your looking for a gift for a makeup lover in your life,or just something for yourself, you can't go too wrong with this! :)


Karen :) x

Accessorize Baked Blush - A Review!

Hey Everyone!

This is going to be a little review of my latest favourite blush! It's from Accessorize, it is the "Merged Baked Blusher" in the shade "5 - Sensation" and I think it is gorgeous! It is £5, from Superdrug and looks like this!

I love love love the packaging of Accessorize make up. I think it's all really pretty and gorgeous and also really classy looking. (Classy might be the wrong word - but what I'm trying to say is it doesn't look cheap!) 

Now I've mentioned my love of baked makeup before! But I could actually just look at this and be happy I bought it, it's just so so pretty! The blush itself is a light pink shade with coral tones to it, as you can (hopefully) see. It's a gorgeous colour and nicely pigmented so easy to use and should last me a lifetime! One thing that I like, but others may not is that it's got quite a sheen to it. I like it because it kind of acts as a highlight as well a blush. If you prefer a more subtle look then maybe this might be a bit much but I adore it and I think it is perfect for nights out! Here is a swatch...

Crappy picture (as always Karen) so apologies, but I hope you can sort of see the results you get from this blush. I would definitely recommend it as I think it's gorgeous and it's only a fiver ;)

Hope you enjoyed this post :)
Karen xx

How I Highlight!

Hey Everyone! 
This is just going to be a little post on what I use to highlight my face and a miniature review! So what is it I'm talking about?....It's the Accessorize bronzer in Golden Sand and it looks like this...

I'm a sucker for baked products anyways, I love them and I always think they look so good! So obviously I couldn't resist this! Never mind using it I could just look at it all day!..But I do use it!..It's leaning towards a little expensive at £7 but it gives a lovely sheen. I don't like to use it all over my face, unless I'm going out, however I find this product is a perfect highlight for me and gives a gorgeous glow in the right places. Here is a swatch...

I hope you can see here the look it gives. I use this on me cheek bones and  tiny bit down the bridge of my nose. I really love it and if you are looking for a nice highlight I would definitely recommend giving this a try! 


Hope you enjoyed this post,
Karen :) xx

40 Beauty Questions Tag!

SKINCARE 

1)How many times do you wash your face daily?                              Usually twice, although if I'm being lazy when I get in from work I sometimes just take off my makeup with a face wipe.

What skin type do you have? 

Normal to dry skin. I'm lucky my skin isn't overly sensitive and I don't tend to get spots or breakouts often.

What is your current facial wash?

Currently I'm using the new Clean & Clear Morning Burst Skin Brightening Cleanser and I really like it, wakes my skin up when I need it!

Do you exfoliate? 

I do, I exfoliate both my face and body around twice a week.

What brand do you use?.

I love the St.Ives apricot exfoliating facial scrubs, they are amazing and leave my skin so feeling so soft! As for body I tend to switch it up and use a couple of different body polishes. 

What moisturizer do you use?

I don't moisturise much, terrible I know! But my skin is never too dry so I often just don't bother, but if I do I like Olay Beauty Fluid. I'm currently using a Body Shop body butter from the Dreams range for my body.

Do you have freckles? 

I have some freckles, but not a lot.

Do you use eye cream? 

I haven't yet found an eye cream that I really like, so I do use some but I haven't got a favourite or anything like that.

Do you or did you have acne prone skin?

No I have never had acne prone skin.

Did you ever have to use Pro-activ? 

Nope, never. 

MAKE-UP

What foundation do you use? 

Currently I'm regularly using Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. I also like Revlon Colourstay

How about concealer? 

At the minute I'm enjoying the Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer, but I also really love boi-ing by Benefit and I love their Erase Paste!

Do you know your undertone color?

I've never done an actual test but my skin has yellow undertones. 

What do you think of fake eyelashes?

I think they can look really nice when done well. It's a skill I don't possess unfortunetly! 

Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months? 

Yes! 

What brand of mascara do you use?

At the minute I'm using the MUA Pro Extreme Curl Mascara, it's amazing and only £2. I would say my all time most re-purchased mascara is GOSH Amazing Length & Build Mascara.

Sephora or MAC? 

Neither

Do you have a MAC Pro-card? 

Nope!

What makeup tools do you use in make up application? 

I have a scatter of different brushes! I mostly use my Eco tools brushes with some random ELF and No.7 brushes too.

Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? 

At the minute I'm using Catrice eyeshadow base and I love it, and I've recently done a review on it!

For the face?  

I'm currently using the MUA pro primer, still undecided on it though! I still think Benefit's That Gal' is probably my favourite face primer.

What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?

I use neutral brown/gold/cream shades most often

Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? 

If I have time I like to use gel, if I'm in a hurry I use felt tip eyeliner. Pencil eyeliner has always smudged badly for me.

How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil? 

Not very often thankfully!

What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? 

Great colours but too messy for my liking.

Do you use mineral makeup?  

No not really. I'm not blown away mineral makeup that much.

What is your favorite lipstick?

Oh that is a hard question!...In general I like pink tones most of the time. I think the Natural Collection lipsticks are quite nice, really affordable and some nice shades. I also really like The Body Shop lipsticks.

How about lipgloss? 

Same with shades, I use pinks most often. At the minute I'm using and enjoying the Essence stay with me lipgloss.

What is your favorite blush to use?

Another hard one! Currently I'm loving the Accessorize blushes. A review will be coming soon!

Do you buy your makeup on ebay?

No

Do you like drugstore makeup?

Yes absolutely, my makeup collection is mainly drugstore products.

Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets) 

No, just because I'm not near any :(

Did you ever consider taking make-up classes? 

No not really, I enjoying playing around, practicing and kind of teaching myself! Plus youtube is a great help, there are some great tutorials etc out there. I really love emilynoel83's videos

Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?

No not usually, if I'm feeling lazy and not wanting to concentrate too much I keep it simple.

Name a makeup crime that you hate? 

Bad mascara! Clumpy stuck together lashes do my head in, I don't know how anyone can think that looks good! I just want to attack them with makeup remover!

Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones? 

With lipsticks and eyeshadows I tend not to be too wild with my colour choices. Personally I think natural looks suit me best. 

Which celebrity always has great make up?

I'm not sure but the person who springs to mind is Jennifer Lopez on American Idol, when it was on. I loved her makeup looks!

If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item, what would you use?

Probably mascara

Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?

Yea I'm not overly conscious about that.

Do you think you look good even without any makeup on? 

I think I look ok! But I prefer myself with at least concealer, because I get terrible eye circles and have some scars.

In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?

I don't think there is one. I've found lots of good bits from lots of different brands.

What do you think of Makeup?? 

A great way to make the best of what you have, and to get creative and have fun! :)

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Karen :) xx

George Flawless Creme Foundation - Review

Hey Everyone!

So recently George at Asda have come out with a new makeup range including a much wider range of products of seemingly higher quality. I thought it looked interesting and wanted to try some so I picked up the Flawless Creme Foundation. It is £4 and looks like this..

It is quite nice packaging, it has two compartments, one with a nice size mirror and the other with sponge for application. 

So the foundation itself? Terrible! I've tried it a couple of days now and I actually can't use it anymore, I think it's horrible. I've applied it using the sponge and my fingers, neither made any difference as it's the actual foundation that is so bad. The first thing is that it is incredibly greasy, I have normal - dry skin and it felt awful on. It was like having a layer of oil on my skin, just disgusting. And as for the "flawless" coverage? Non existent. It turns to a slightly tinted almost clear coverage. Here is a swatch..

Can you see it?!...This is a couple of swatches and you can barely see anything. This might be ok for a really light coverage look but the foundation itself feels anything but light so it's actually not much good for that either! 

Overall I don't like this product and would definitely not recommend it! (I'm still wishing NYC didn't get rid of their cream foundation, boo!) Have you tried any good products from the George range?..Let me know!

Hope you enjoyed this post
Karen :) xx

Essence Stay With Me Lipgloss - Review

Hey Everyone!

It has been ages since I last did a post! If you follow me on twitter you probably know why but I won't go into it now! This is a review of a lovely little lipgloss I came across recently by Essence! It looks like this..

So to start off it is a bargain as I bought it for €1.99. It has really nice packaging, nothing too fancy but it's a nice size and I quite like the design. It has a strange little applicator, not the usual doe foot type, it looks like this.. 

I can't really see any particular benefits to this applicator, it's not awful but I think a regular doe foot would be fine if not better. So on to the actual gloss, I really like it! I was so impressed with the pigmentation, it's not something you get with a lot of cheaper glosses. Often they are pigmented in the packaging but not when they are applied, this wasn't the case with this though! The quality is definitely more reminiscent of what you would expect from more expensive gloss. Here is a swatch...

As usual my picture taking skills are letting me down but I hope you can see the kind of result this lipgloss gives! As well as this it also lives up to it's long lasting claims, something that also doesn't often happen with cheaper glosses. It stayed well for me while drinking and eating and didn't need reapplication for about 2 hours. 

So overall I was really impressed and would definietly recommend it! Such a fabulous gloss for under €2!

Hope you enjoyed this review!

Karen :) xx

The Easy Way to Fix A Broken Lipstick!

Hey Everyone!


So it's happened to us all at some point, your favourite lipstick breaks, disaster! :( But fear not, there is a ridiculously simple, easy cheap effective way to fix them! First of all I don't claim to have come up with this method, after some researching blogs, youtube videos and all that, this is the best and easiest way I have found and it doesn't involve the use of lipstick molds or any complicated stuff! So this is what you will need!...

You will need: A Hairdryer, your broken lipstick, some baby wipes to clean up and a fridge (not pictured!)

The first thing you need to do is take the tube that has a little product left in it and stick the hair dryer on it on a high heat setting. Do this for about 15-30 seconds or however long you find it takes to slightly melt the remaining product in the tube. 

Once this is done simply press the lipstick back into the tube on top of the the slightly melted lipstick. Press it down to your desired position and leave it in the fridge, upright like the following picture, for approximately 30 minutes.

And voila! Your lipstick will be fixed! This worked perfectly for me, no wobble or anything, my lipstick was back to normal! Also the lipstick I used in the pictures in Rose Pearl from Natural Collection, and this has happened me three times with Natural Collection lipsticks!


Anyways I hope you enjoyed this post! :)
Karen :) xx