EYEBROWS: SLEEK VS BENEFIT

Eyebrows. The last year or two the beauty world has gone eyebrow crazy. With the influence of the likes of Cara Delevingne, eyebrows are back to being big and full which is wonderful for me as mine have always been quite bushy!

With the help of the lovely Benefit girls, they tamed my eyebrows into a lovely shape that I love. Luckily I never did the whole "plucking until there was just the thinnest possible line of hair" so they just needed a little tidying. Benefit, being the self confessed Brow Queens, do amazing brow products for defining, shaping and setting the brows and a few of which I have tried and have been using for a long time. And then I discovered a new release from Sleek a few months back.
Let's see how they compare...

CHEER UP, CHARLIE

On a typical Sunday I will wake up, get out of bed an hour later, have bacon butties, put a onesie on and stay in bed with my laptop watching films all day. And that is my favourite kind of Sunday.
Yesterday, I did do that but I felt really rubbish all day and started on a self-loathing trip which is never fun. So today I decided that even though I was going nowhere, I would put some nice makeup and clothes on even though I'm just sitting in the house watching Game of Thrones.

Blouse; Dorothy Perkins | Skirt; Miss Selfridge | Cardigan; ASOS | Shoes; Primark | Vest top (worn underneath); Dorothy Perkins

I'm pretty much in love with this skirt right now. It's really difficult trying not to grab this everytime I go to get dress in the morning. I also dug out this blouse this morning. I got it from Dorothy Perkins last summer and I really don't give it enough love. The flowers on it remind me of a dress I had about 15 years ago that I was in love with.

I've had this cardigan a couple of months now but I've basically lived in it since I got it. It's from ASOS and it's so comfy. It kind of has the varsity feel to it with black outline down the front. It seemed silly buying it with summer coming up but of course England being England, we don't seem to be getting any nice weather.

The shoes are from Primark and they were £3 in the sale. My Primark had a tonne of them so hopefully everywhere is the same because I really like them. I didn't own any black everyday shoes which seemed silly and I stopped buying Primark shoes a while ago because they just fell to pieces but these feel a bit better quality than they have been previously. Although, after a 9 hour day at work in them, my feet are quite achy..!

Nivea Express Hydration Primer

GOSH Velvet Touch Primer

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation '51 Light Vanilla'

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer '010 Ivory'

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer 'Fair'

MAC Mineralised Skin Finish Natural 'Light'

Benefit Browzings 'Dark'

ELF Eye Primer

Sleek Au Naturel Palette 'Toast, Taupe, Bark, Noir'

Natual Collection Eyeshadow 'White'

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner '005 Nude'

Benefit They're Real! Mascara

Benefit Bad Gal Mascara

ELF Blush 'Giddy Gold'

ELF Healthy Glow Bronzer 'Matte Bronze'

ELF Matte Lip Color 'Coral'

I was really keen to use my new ELF products today, as you can probably tell. The lip colour is definitely more nude than coral but I quite like it. It's a bit too nude I think so I may have to mix it with a pink or something.

The blush is nice. I haven't really decided yet. I accidentally put too much on the blush and had to blend like crazy.

The bronzer doesn't seem to pick up much product on my brush but I think this is probably a good thing for just getting a subtle contour and not getting a brown line down my face.

I used the Flat Eyeliner Brush to line the lash line using the Noir colour from the Sleek palette. Really like this brush! Much easier to line with than the others I have.

As for my eyes, I really like this Sleek palette but I decided to play with some colours I don't usually use (besides 'Bark'). I'm very much a "matte makeup" girl but I used 'Toast' and 'Taupe' together to get a nice golden, shimmery look and then I put 'Bark' through the crease. I really like it actually. Definitely need to start straying from my comfort zone a little bit more. 

Also, did not realise what a good job this mascara actually did! Everyone and their cat seemed to have picked up ELLE magazine with the free mini sample in however, I bought the sample size from Boots a few weeks before I knew ELLE was doing this. Very annoying to say the least! Especially as I didn't think it was even that great before seeing this photo. It is an absolute pain to take off though and I get a horrible 'spiders leg' look if I put it on my bottom lashes so I have to use Bad Gal for those.

I feel a lot better today and I think dressing up may have helped. Well that tied with a brilliant Game of Thrones episode and buying Les Mis on DVD...

Hope all you guys are feeling fine and dandy!

xx

FEBRUARY FAVOURITES

I realise I always say this but apologies for the photo quality! I wanted to have this post up before we actually hit March so I had to race with the amount of daylight left when I got home from work and this was the best I could do. I think I may have to buy myself a new camera, this one is pretty old now.

So another month over and quite a few favourites for it...

Boots Tea Tree Facial Scrub | Sleek Au Naturel Palette | ELF Maximum Coverage Concealer | Topshop Lipstick 'Beguiled' | ELF Blush 'Peachy Keen' | Avon Nailwear Pro 'Romance' | Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo '40 Permanent Taupe' | Rimmel Apocolips 'Big Bang' | L'Oréal Telescopic Mascara | Maybelline Color Show Nail Varnish 'Latte' | Ecotools Eye Shading Brush

I was dying to get the Au Naturel Palette for so long and finally managed to pick one up and I've been using in pretty much all month. Particularly loving the colours Nubuck, Bark and Regal and also been using Noir a lot instead of liquid liner for a softer look.

I did a review of the ELF concealer which you can read here. Cannot recommend it enough. Cheap and great quality!

The ELF blush is such a pretty colour. I couldn't get any swatches that show up on the camera because it's a very light colour but it has a lovely shimmer to it and I wear it more so as a highlighter or when I'm having a lazy make up day.

My mum gave me the Avon nail varnish and I've never used one of theirs before but I was so impressed with the amount of time this lasted before it started chipping. I used Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri top coat on top which is supposed to be anti-chip but because of work this isn't really the case for my nails. But this really lasted, very impressed!

I picked up the Maybelline Color Show polish after reading Fleur de Force's blog here. I love nude nails and I didn't realise how cheap these polishes were. I'm pretty sure it was £2.99! It does make you seem like you have mannequin fingers but I really like the look. I tried to do the blue tips that Fleur did but I was less successful with that..! I picked up the majorly hyped Colour Tattoo because Maybelline was on buy one get one half price when I got the nail varnish. I got the shade 'Permanent Taupe' because I thought it'd be most neutral. Not sure about the 24 hour part but with primer it lasts me a full 9 hour shift. It's great for blending with other eyeshadows or on its own. Been wearing it alone when I've been rushing to work and with it being more cream based, there's no fallout so I don't even have to tidy up my face; just run out the house so I'm not late!

I think the Tea Tree scrub from Boots own range is my absolute favourite of the month. Can't remember the price but it was very cheap. I was having a bit of a spot nightmare so I panic bought tea tree stuff. Very impressed! It's left my face feeling fresh and smooth and I am just so pleased. I also bought the toner from the same range but I'm trying to force myself to finish my current one before starting that.

The Topshop lipstick is something I've had for going on a year, I think, but I've found myself reaching for it a lot this month. Topshop lipsticks are brilliant. They're pigmented and they last. The colour of this one is very similar to the Kate Moss from Rimmel one in 107 however Beguiled isn't a totally matte shade. I'm wearing it in this post.

The Apocolips featured on most people's favourites last month but with them only coming out the very end of January I didn't think that was long enough to make up my mind. When I bought it I thought it'd be sticky like a lipgloss but it really isn't. You do need to make sure you do some good blotting or you end up with it all over your teeth! The applicator has a dip in it that collects the product which means you get more than enough and don't have to keep sticking it back in the tube to fully do your lips.

The Telescopic mascara... I am in love. I've always been ever faithful to Maybelline Falsies but that hasn't had a look in since buying this. I actually used the Falsies the other day and I don't think I like it anymore! Although the Telescopic doesn't make my lashes seem as thick it feels and look lighter and doesn't go clumpy if I accidentally put on too much. I have bought the False Lash effect version of Telescopic but I will try hold off til I've used this one up. Also, love the packaging. So clever!

Finally, a new brush. I've been wanting a good fluffy blending brush that doesn't cost the earth for ages and I saw the Ecotools in Boots. I love this! Blends everything together so nicely and is really soft. Also washes really well and I've not had any fallout from it either. Tempted to look into more Ecotools now..!

What have you been loving this month?

SLEEK MAKE-UP REVIEW

First off, huge apologies for how long it's been since there's been a post up. I work in retail so this time of year is a bit mental and I'm always too tired when I get home. Plus, I'm pretty ill and run down at the moment  and lacking a bit of inspiration. Keen to get more "Dress Like..." posts up soon though so let me know if there's anyone you'd like me to do them on.


Okay..!

This year I've got a lot more into make-up and beauty than I ever have previously and I've tried out so many new brands. My favourite of those though has to be Sleek. Sleek is an online brand and also found in some Superdrug stores. It's so affordable and good quality and I really love it. I only have a small handful of their products currently but I'm itching for more.

Most of these are only very recent purchases but I'm very in love with them all. I absolutely love the packaging of Sleek make up. It's so, stating the obvious, sleek and simple. (Although one of my blushes seems a bit trickier to get in to and I've ended up with a fingernail print in it because of it... Guessing it's just a dud one though!)
So, I've been after a new liquid eyeliner for quite a while and this "Dip-It" one was only £4.49 so decided to try it. The applicator is quite small compared to the usual liquid eyeliners which I like as it seems to make it easier to get my cat eye flick just right.
Next up is the contour kit that is highly raved about in the beauty blogging world. This was the first Sleek product I bought around summer time. I got it in the shade light because I am ridiculously pale but I was a bit worried still about how dark the contour powder looked. It blends in very nice though and gives nice definition. The contour powder and highlighter are really pigmented too so you really don't need a lot of product at all. I think this cost about £6.50 and it took ages for me to actually find a store that still had it in stock.
The blushes cost £4.49 each and they're a really decent size; you get 8g of product in each one. I've always been a bit scared of blush cos I didn't really know how to apply it but I kept seeing blog posts of the Rose Gold one (which is the top one) and felt like I needed it and I'm glad I did get it. The Rose Gold shade is another hugely raved about product. Everyone says it is exactly the same as NARS' Orgasm blush but I've never seen/tried that so I can't confirm but it's such a beautiful shade. The photo has made it seem more orange than it actually is but it gives a lovely subtle highlight. The second blush is called Sunrise which I only bought last week and I've only used it twice. It's really really pigmented and the colour is a lot darker than Rose Gold but just one sweep with my brush is enough. I think I'm a bit scared to use it at the moment in case I do put too much on and end up looking a bit "clown-ish". I'll have to keep practising!
Finally, the last product I also got last week but I've used it everyday since (I should have probably tidied it up before taking photos). The palettes are £7.99 each and you get 12 colours in each so that's amazing. I got the Storm palette but I really wanted the Au Naturale one but it wasn't in stock. Again, the colours are so pigmented and I like wearing two/three eyeshadows together and blending them and you can mix loads of these with each other. The 3rd one on the bottom row is a really dark green that's almost black. Looking forward to trying something out with this because I have to dress as an elf for work on Christmas Eve! I've not actually used the applicator from the palette because I never like those applicators so I use an angled eyeshadow brush and ELF's eyeshadow 'C' brush.

If you've never used Sleek make up before I'd definitely recommend it. Cheep, cheerful and great quality!
I'm keen to try out more products of theirs so let me know if you have anything else from the range.

And if I don't blog before then, have a great christmas and new year!
x

PAYDAY HAUL #2

Today I had the day off work and had every intention of getting the bulk of my Christmas shopping done. Now obviously, that was never going to happen. Instead I spent money on myself. Lots of money. Oh boy.
I did by ONE present though so it's okay... I'll tell myself that anyway.

I bought the bag a few days ago after I mentioned here I wasn't overly happy with my current bag. I love this one though. So classy and it had 30% off (plus I get a little staff discount on top of that.) and it has a long strap which makes my life so much easier.

I also got the Real Techniques Core Collection the other day because they were reduced to around £15 on Amazon. That works out at under £4 a brush so that is awesome. I've already used a couple of them so sorry they're already a bit grubby on the photo. I can already tell the buffing brush is going to be in the upcoming favourites post!

So on to today and the first stop was Superdrug. Their 3 for 2 across all cosmetics ends tomorrow and I was determined not to miss out. My local Superdrug doesn't have all the brands so I had to go elsewhere to get to one with a Sleek stand. I've been dying to get hold of the Rose Gold blush for so long but it was sold out everytime I went to larger stores. Managed to get the last one in stock today though! I also got the Sleek Dip-It eyeliner, Sleek True Colour Matte lipstick in the shade 'Vamp' and I finally caved and bought a Revlon Lip Butter in 'Candy Apple'.

Also picked up a new Simple toner which I love and my first bottle of it has lasted me nearly 3 months so well worth the money. And finally got the Nivea Express Hydration Primer which I am dying to try out. I had to get it fro dry/sensitive skin as the normal was sold out but my skin has got a little drier this last month or so, so it may be useful.

In Boots I found the Revlon lipstick in Black Cherry after every other Superdrug/Boots I've been in in the past month didn't have it. Such a lovely colour. And I think I should go on a lipstick buying ban now...

And I also got some new foundation but in the Beautifully Matte formula as opposed to the Stay Perfect.

Then the ultimate bargain of the day... got the 3 Models Own nail polishes for £5.99 in TK Maxx! Considering they're £5 on their own that is incredible. They're in the shades 'Peach Puff', 'Gold Digger' and 'Champagne'. I very nearly bought an Essie set which had 4 polishes in for £9.99. Considering they're £7.99 on they're own, I wish I had done now!

Just got two casual tops from Topshop. A beautiful plum coloured scalloped hem one and just a light purple tee which will be great for just throwing on with a black skirt and a cardi. The one on the left was £15 and the right was £16.

Clearly, I am really adventurous when it comes to colour... Got this huge chunky jumper in Primark's men's section. I bought some spike studs off eBay a while back that I haven't used yet so I may get creative with that. The dress cost me £15 which I'm not overly keen at paying in Primark but it looks lovely on and I know I'll have regretted not buying it in the long run.

Also in Primark I got some earrings and a new phone case. Primark's iPhone cases are actually really nice and very cheap too. (Though I only have a month left on my contract and I'm planning on upgrading to the iPhone 5 so this may have been a silly purchase...)

Finally, I decided this past week that I now am a little obsessed with Example despite never liking him all that much before so I bought 2 of his albums as they were on the HMV offer. If anyone has his new one let me know if it's good because his music isn't on Spotify.

Now I'm all spent up and still haven't done Christmas shopping!

WHAT'S IN MY MAKE-UP BAG

Over the last couple of months I've really started to love make-up and I've been buying a lot of it. Like most people I've had the struggle of finding foundation that actually matches my skin. I don't even want to know how much money I've spent on different ones. I have really pale skin. For the last year or so I've been using Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in 'Light Ivory' (because Ivory was still too dark...) but I still wasn't very happy with how it looks. I was always really paranoid about how my face looked.

Recently, the No.7 make-up brand from Boots launched their foundation match scheme. I saw the advert and was all "pfft, that won't work!" but my friend had it done and she recommended it so off we went to get matched up. It is amazing and I would definitely recommend getting it done if you're after a foundation that actually matches you and is reasonably priced. I ended up being "Cool Vanilla" and I really do feel so much happier with how my make up looks now.

Make up bag; Primark £2

Face:

GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer

No.7 Stay Perfect foundation in 'Cool Vanilla'

No.7 Blemish Cover concealer in 'Fair'
No.7 Instant Radiance concealer

Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder in '001 Transparent'

Sleek Contour Kit in 'Light'

Eyes:

Maybelline Falsies mascara in 'Black Drama'

Barry M Liquid Eyeliner

Vivo Eyeshadow Pallete in 'Bronze Me Up'

MUA Eye Primer

MUA Eyeshadows in 'Shade 16 - Matt' and 'Shade 24 - Pearl'

Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner pot

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in '004 Black Brown'

Vivo Eyeliner in 'White'

Wow, writing it all down makes it seem like I put so much on but I don't wear it everything there all the time, particularly all the eye stuff. Also as you can see, I do stick to drugstore/high street brands (mainly because I can't afford to buy all of MAC.) The most expensive things there would be the foundation which was £14 and the GOSH primer is around the same but I'm quite willing to spend money on foundation if it's going to look good, be good quality and last. As far as primer goes, I don't even know how I managed without that prior to discovering it! MUA do a primer too for a couple of quid if you're not up for spending that much on it. This is my second bottle and I'll be buying it over and over again.
I probably should have got a new pressed powder before taking these photos, too! Oops!
The Falsies mascara is my all time favourite. I've easily bought it over 15 times now!

Brushes 1-5 all QVS via Superdrug:
(Powder, Foundation, Concealer & Foundation, Powder, Eyeshadow)
Brush 6 comes with Maybelline gel eyeliner pot

Again, I'd love to be able to afford Sigma or Real Techniques brushes but realistically I can't. I really like these QVS ones and I've not paid over £6 for any of those. They wash really well too. I got them from Superdrug but I'm pretty sure they're available in a few other stores too. I would love some higher end brushes though as they must be better at applying make-up for the price they are. I've recently ordered some e.l.f. brushes so I will post about those when I have them.

MUA shade 1

Barry M 'Touch of Magic'

MAC 'Impassioned'

Collection 2000 '5 Pretty Please'

Collection 2000 '6 Sugar Pink'

Rimmel '320 Funtime Fuschia'

Kate Moss for Rimmel shade 20

Kate Moss for Rimmel shade 02

Avon Colour Trend 'Passion'

Avon Colour Trend 'Doll Pink'

Topshop 'All About Me'

Topshop 'Brighton Rock'

Topshop 'Beguilded'

My name is Louise and I am a lipstick junkie. My favourites are the Kate Moss collection ones, probably shade 20 out of those two. It's such a bright pink. I definitely want more MAC ones. I treated myself to Impassioned a month or so back. I know £14 is a lot but they're so lovely. Topshop lipsticks are great too. They're not shiny but creamy and they go on nicely. Pretty much all these are various shades of pink but I'm trying to branch out and be brave and get other colours. The MUA one is a lovely red colour and Beguilded by Topshop is a very deep red/wine colour.

I never realised I owned this much until I did this post.

* I was not asked to write this post by No.7/Boots or any other mentioned brands