Real Techniques Brush

After hearing such good reviews on the Real Techniques brushes I thought I would give them ago myself. The first one I thought I would try is the Strippling Brush.

I kinda got this for free really as I had enough Boots points on my card to buy it so it made my day. :)

I have been using the brush for about 2 weeks and all I can say is WOW. My foundation looks sooo much better. Compared to my other foundation brush I was using, this takes half the time to apply and the results are amazing.

I've been using the Real Technique brush to apply my Estee Lauder Double wear foundation. I've found that you only need to dab the brush into the foundation abit as a little goes a long way. The brush holds the foundation really well and you can apply the foundation to your whole face without having to keep on dapping your brush into the foundation to pick up any more. When I have used a traditional foundation brush, I usually find myself having to dip the brush back into the foundation as the brush seems to soak up all the liquid and isn't able to apply to in one go.

What I also think is great about this brush is that its really lightweight. Compared to the Sigma Flat Kabuki F80 Brush this is soo much lighter. While I liked the Sigma brush, my hand used to ache after I had applied my foundation. I found it too heavy. What also makes it a cut above the rest is that the bristles are not that long when compared to other Stippling brushes. By having shorter bristles you can really buff in the foundation, powder etc, where as when the bristles are longer your can't really blend and buff at all with it and the results aren't half as good.

This brush is just sooo brilliant. If you haven't got one then you need one in your life!!!

You can buy them from Boots.com and in Boots stores for £11.99 or from www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk


I'm now tempted to try the other Real Techniques brushes after having such good results with this one. Can anyone recommend what my next Real Techniques brush purchase should be? :) xx

Maybelline - Color Tattoo 24th

If your like me, I have always struggled to get my eyeshadow to last all day. Even if I use eye primer it never lasts. I can put it on in the morning and by lunchtime it has disappeared :(

I was very excited when I heard that Maybelline have release an  eyeshadow that claims to last all day. Unfortunately, every time i popped into the Superdrug and Boots near me they never seemed to have any in. All they had were testers. I popped into Boots on Saturday and to my amazement they had afew on the stand. I dashed over and grabbed the two colours that were available.

35 - On and on Bronze on the left and 05 - Eternal Gold on the right.


I have to say, when brands claim that "its lasts all day" I'm quite sceptical. But this does exactly what it says on the tin.

This has amazing staying power. I applied the 05 Eternal Gold shade in store to test and 8hrs later it was still on my eyelids. It looked like I had just applied it. Very impressed!!

I am now hoping that the Boots and Superdrug stores get some more colours in as I really want to try the other colours that are available.

What do you think of these new eyeshadow? Have you tried them? If you have what did you think? :)xx

Beauty Box - Update

Hey,
You remember last month I was thinking about subscribing to a monthly beauty box. I was having trouble deciding between two. There were the Glossybox and Carmine Beauty Box. Well at long last I have finally made up my mind. And the winner is......

Hopefully in the next few days I should receive my Glossybox. I cant wait!!! Keep a look out for my reviews on the products I received :) xx

Shopping In Leeds

Hey,

On Friday I managed to get the day off work and decided to go for a shopping trip to Leeds with my sister. The main reason for going is because I wanted to get my hands on the MAC MSF Natural powder. We don't have a MAC counter in York so as soon as we arrived in Leeds I headed straight to the Harvey Nic's  store. Unfortunately, when I got to the MAC counter and picked the shade I wanted I was told it was out of stock!! :( I think I will have to order it on-line.

Fortunately the trip wasn't a wasted journey. I did manage to pick up afew things. From Primark I got these lovely blouses for £8 each. I couldn't decide between the two colours so I got both! I already have this scarf in a black and peachy colour but I  loved the style in this colour so it went straight in my basket. £3

From New Look I got these great Toms style pumps. At £6.99 I thought they were a great price and their sooooo comfy.  

The best thing about the trip was I managed to get my hands on the Sleek blusher in Rose Gold!! I have wanted this colour for ages and everytime I had gone into my local Superdrug it was always out of stock. When I popped into the Superdrug in Leeds I noticed the SA filling up the Sleek stand. I must have pushed past people to see if there was any Rose Gold blusher and there was!!! I have a feeling this could be my new favourite blusher! :) xx

Estee Lauder Bonus Time

Somehow I always manage to time it well with me running out of my beloved Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation and a bonus time event.

This time it was Debenhams turn for the bonus time. There were two gift options to choose from. A make-up based gift and a skin care gift. I decided to go for the skin care gift set.

What was included in the set;

• Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser
• Perfectly Clean Fresh Balancing Exfoliator
• Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator
• Daywear Advanced Multi-Protection Anit-Oxidant Creme SPF 15
• Advanced Night Repair Eye
• Pure Colour Long Lasting Lipstick
• Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara
• Cosmetic Bag

Of course I picked up another bottle of the Double Wear foundation in Fresco. I have mentioned before how much I love this foundation so I won't go on again about it.

Now this is where the hard part comes. I can never decide what my second purchase should be to get the lovely gift set. I didn't know if i should get another foundation, concealer, blusher or lipstick. Unfortunately, there wasn't a proper SA on the counter so i decided to play it safe and picked a concealer brush.

What really made me fall in love with this gift set was a sample bottle of the Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator. I was so excited. I have wanted to try this for ages but as the bottle ranges from £46.00 - £62.00 it was abit out of my price range. Keep a look out for a review of this soon as I will be definitely trying this!!

What do you think of this gift set? What would have been your two purchases? Let me know :) xx

Help!!!

For my birthday two months ago my kind sister got my £25 worth of River Island vouchers. The problem i am finding is what do i spend the vouchers on!!! When I think i've decided i change my mind. There's just so much i want.

After looking on the website I have managed to cut it down to 7 items.

Which one of these items do you think I should get? Or have you seen anything else in River Island that you would spend the vouchers on. Let me know :) xx

Beauty Haul

Today I thought I would treat myself to afew treats from Boots and Superdrug.

From Superdrug I picked up;

MUA Eyeshadow Palette in Heaven and Earth - £3.00 - I have been wanting this palette for ages but everytime I popped into Superdrug they were either sold out of the few they had in were all open and had been tested :( So i when I was in there today and saw they had some on the shelf, unopened I popped one straight into my basket. It also had a pound off so I was even more happy. I have bought other eye shadows from the MUA range and think their great so I can't wait to try these.

MUA Lipstick Shade 3 - £1.00 - I've always been tempted to try the lipsticks from this range and after reading good reviews from other bloggers I thought I would give one a go. I love all the pinky/red shades that they do and at £1 I think these are a great bargain. I will be trying this for the next week and if its a winner I will be definitely be going back to get some more. 

Sleek Blush in Sunrise - £4.29 - I currently use the Sleek Blush in Pomegranate and I love it. It definitely my favourite blush ever!! I thought I would try out another shade as I feel I needed abit of a change. The Sunrise shade is a lovely bronzey colour so should give me a nice bronze glow. Could this be my new favourite blusher??

Nivea Creme - £1 - This is currently on offer in Superdrug so I thought i would stock up as I'm running low on my current pot. I absolutely love this creme. I have mention in a previous post that this is my life saver moisturiser when I find I have dry skin. Pop abit of the moisturiser onto the dry skin and watch it disappear. I always carry a little pot with my just in case. I will never be without this!!!

Neutrogena Visible Clear Pink Grapefruit Cream Wash - £2.99 - Again another bargain i picked up in Superdrug as its currently on offer. I sometimes use the Facial Wash from the Pink Grapefruit range but because recently my skin has been awful i thought I would give this a go instead to see if it improve my skin. 

From Boots I picked up;

Real Techniques Stippling Brush - £11.99 - Im sure I don't have to talk about this product much as you've probably read all the amazing reviews on other blogs. I had £14 on my Boots card so I thought I would treat myself to this brush. Really can't wait to try this out. I use the Sigma F80 brush and alot of people have said how they would choose the Real Techniques brush over this one. Will I be a converter too? Keep a look out  for my review of this brush soon!! 

Have you tried any of my beauty haul products? What have you thought of them? Let me know :) xx

February Favourites - Part Two

Make Up
Benefit The Porefessional -  I bought this awhile ago and used it once, wasn't too impressed so i put it to the back of my make-up drawer. Then after reading various blogs and found how people used it i thought i would give it another go and im glad i did. I use this as a primer to even out my skin and to provide a good base for my foundation. I put a pea size amount onto the pads of my fingers and apply all over my face. I then leave it to settle on my skin for about 5 mins then apply my foundation. My foundation goes on easily and evenly. As its oil free i free it keeps my shiny skin at bay and my foundation seems to last all day. I would recommend this 100% to anyone who is looking for a foundation base/primer. This is definitely at the top of my list.

Garnier Roll-On in Light -  I don't really suffer from dark circles but when i do think i need to apply under-eye concealer i turn to this. I dab 3 spots of the concealer under my eye, pat it in into my skin and the dark areas disappear. I have tried afew of the high end under-eye concealer but I've found this does the job so much better and at under £10 i think its a bargain.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Fresco - This is really my holy grail foundation. I don't know how i've coped before i've discovered this. Im sure you've read other reviews and blogs about how great this foundation it and their not wrong. It really is sooooo wonderful. Its last all day, no need to reapply during the day, covers blemishes and provides amazing coverage.I find that using a normal foundation brush to apply this works best for me as i feel that it covers my blemishes better and i prefer the finish when compared to other make-up brushes. If you haven't tried this foundation then get down to your local Estee Lauder counter and ask for a sample. Once you've tried it you won't use another foundation.

MAC Select Cover-up Concealer in NW20 -   I've used this concealer for afew years now and love it. I find that its the only concealer i've found that covers my spots they best. I can keep on applying the concealer until im happy with the coverage and it doesn't leave my skin looking cakey, where when i've tried other concealers and applied the concealer afew times my skin looks worse than before I had applied my make up. Its so light and easily to apply. I know that this will always feature in my make up bag.

Benefit Boi-ing in 01 - After the MAC concealer this concealer comes in a close 2nd place. I mainly use this to cover the redness round my nose as i find it provides that bit more coverage than my MAC concealer. Easy to apply and blend. I wouldn't recommend this to cover blemishes as i don't think it covers them that well as sometimes it appears cakey but to cover the Rosacea i have it does the job well.

TOPSHOP Blush in Neon Rose - I use this when i need to apply some colour to my cheeks quickly, I love cream blushes and out of all of them this range is my favourite. The coverage is great and lasts nearly all day. Too add a quick touch of colour during the day this is the best.

RIMMEL Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 005 Silky Beige - I first heard of this after reading afew reviews on a number of blogs. I decided to try it for myself and it has now replaces my MAC powder. It sets my make-up amazingly, doesn't make my powder look like I've applied it using a trowel, keeps my face shine free all day and best of all when I apply the powder at 8.00am and check my make-up at lunch time it still looks fresh, like I've just applied it. I can't recommend this product enough. If you haven't tried it, you must!

Sleek Brow Kit in Dark - After over-plucking my eyebrows I needed something to help fill them in and make them look normal again. I've always been tempted to try out a brow kit but was never too sure but when I saw that the Sleek did a brow kit and for under a tenner I thought i would give it ago. After following the instructions on the box I found it so easy to apply. I'm really happy with this product and even more happy that my eye-brows are close to being back to normal.

Have you tired any of the products I've been using in February. If you have, what have you thought of them? Let me know :) xx

February Favourites - Part One

Skin Care

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish - I feel I have been a late comer to the fab cleanse and polish. I bought a sample version from the Liz Earle website to see what the fuss was about and all I can say is WOW. After the first couple of days of using this my skin appeared glowing, pores appeared smaller, it completely dissolved all my make-up and the overall condition of my skin improved. I still suffer with afew blemishes but I think that since I've been using this I have not gotten as many. Im impressed that much that even my boyfriend has bought the male version of the C&P. Believe me that says something as he never usually bothers with skin care!! I will definitely be repurchasing again. 

Avene Cleannace Toner - After reading such good reviews about this range I decided to try it out for myself. As the Liz Earle C&P and Moisturiser seemed to be doing a good job I thought I would try the Toner from the range. It refreshed my skin and dealt with my oily skin well. I also found that as it's designed for blemished skin it improved the existing blemishes I had and stopped any more from appearing. I've tried other toners in the past that have been designed for blemished skin but alot of them have left my skin dry and sometimes my skin felt like it was burning after using them!! But this one didn't. Its now a firm favourite of mine.
Liz Earle Skin Repair Light Moisturiser - Again I bought a sample version of this on the website to try first. I suffer with oily/combination skin and thought this would be perfect for my skin as its designed for oily/combination skin. The fragrance of it is amazing and when I applied it to my face it melted into my skin. It has kept the oil at bay and has improved the dry areas of skin that I had around my nose. I have since repurchased this but the full size version. Would definitely recommend for oily skin/combination suffers. 
Special mentions 
Two special mentions to the Nivea Cream and Oilatum Natural Repair face cream. Sometimes after i have applied my spot treatments to my blemishes it leaves my skin really dry. These two creams have been life savers in dealing with the dryness. I apply a tiny amount of either cream to the blemished/dry area, leave it to soak into my skin and after the dryness has disappeared. If your looking for face creams to deal with dryness then I would 100% recommend either of these two. 


Skin Care Treatments
Sudocrem - This has been a lifesaver when I have been dealing with my spots. I apply a thin layer of the white cream to the blemished area and leave it over night. By the morning the spot has dried up and appears smaller. I've used all types of spot treatment but always come back to this. A must have.

Simple Rapid Action Spot Treatment - I first used this awhile ago and it seemed to make my spots disappear. After my skin started to play up again I thought I would give this another go. At first it made my spots disappear but then I think my skin must get used to it as it seems to have stopped working. I might have to look into another spot treatment for this month.