Product Reviews :-)

Indulge me while I talk about silly, pretty, frivolous, girly things.

While we were home, we attended the wedding I was stressing about an outfit for.

I finally decided on a dress I had in the attic from my days in Coast, circa 2009, Even after a week of eating and drinking in Ireland it fit! Hooray. 

Lux_Lashes

I had tan and nails done, and managed to get a last minute appointment with Shane's cousin at Lux Lashes to get my eye lashes done. Seriously, I can not recommend her enough, I was so impressed. Between them and the tan I didn't need to wear make-up for the rest of the week.






For the wedding I did need make-up though, it was a chance to finally use some of my new make-up, and brushes, I got for my birthday but haven't really had the chance to play with. The brushes are my new favorite toys. Who knew Wilko would do such amazing quality brushes, and the prices are even better!! £1.50-£4 per brush. I built a full 13 brush collection for under £40. This coming from the woman who often spent €40+ for one from MAC and Inglot. They're so soft, ridiculously full, and don't shed, even when washed.

These are my top 4

(shop on line here)

The Powder Brush £4 It's huge!And super soft. I love it, for everything!!
The Stippling Brush £4 I've got two, one for foundation and one for concealer. It's light and doesn't clump together like some other far more expensive stippling brushes I've used.
The Short Stippling Brush £3 It's super, super packed, perfect for powder contouring.
The Eye Liner Brush £3 The tilt in the brush is so clever. It makes it so much easier to get to your eye at the right angle.

The Make-up

Over the years I've sworn loyalty to so many different brands and products. These are some of my new favorites.

Kiko Milano Unlimited Foundation SPF15 £15
(shop online here)

I tried this on a whim while on my way to refill my MAC collection and I have to say I was very impressed. It smells like, goes on like, and lasts like Dior's Forever extreme wear foundation. Only half the price. It's light, full coverage, doesn't cake and lasts for ages. The only thing I was disappointed about was the pump didn't work, so I have to open the bottle each time, but the shop was WAY too far away to bother going back to exchange it. I'd presume it was just one faulty bottle, but still annoying!!

I wear Warm Beige 15



Smashbox Step-by-Step Contour Kit £35
(Shop online here)

This was bought for me as a birthday present, and I was initially disappointed that it was a powder, as I had never used powder to contour before. Once I tried it though, I loved it. At first the dark powder scared me, but once I ditched the brush that came with it and started using the super packed short stippling brush from Wilko and properly blended it out with the bronze and light colors everything came together perfectly. Having the little instruction card on the mirror was a nice touch, it would definitely be a help for beginners.


Soap and Glory Archery DIY Brow Bar £12
(Shop online here)

I've only recently started using Soap and Glory, beyond the annual purchase of their Christmas Gift Box, and I have to say, I'm always impressed with the quality of their cosmetics.
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this one. One one hand I hate the highlighter and have never used the darker colour, and the tiny little brushes are the bane of my make-up application existence, but boy do they work.
I love the wax, and the lighter colour, I love how compact it is. The instructions were perfect too, for someone who always wanted to but never ventured into eyebrow sculpting. (Seriously, how can you keep up with EVERYTHING?!)


Inglot Body Sparkles £13

These can technically be used anywhere, lips/ nails etc. but I've only ever used them on my eyes.
I literally can not do my make up without adding a dusting of sparkles to the inner eye, and Inglot do the BEST glitter there is. I find them lighter than any other glitter I've tried, so even with a lid full, it doesn't feel like you're wearing much at all.
Dust them on with a light brush for a subtle sparkle, or press them on to a lid prepped with Duraline for an intense spotlight.  I use 56 and 53, either by themselves or mixed and every time I love the result.