Oh My GOSH | Lipstick

Until recently, my lipstick collection only consisted of extremely bright pinks and reds. I love a good, bright lipstick to make you feel sassy! Whilst I will probably forever stand by my bright lipsticks, I had an upcoming interview and realized it probably wouldn't look very professional to wear them. Queue these two beauties. I decided on GOSH because after spending hours swatching different products, they felt the most silkiest and had the biggest range of nudes to pick from. Plus they were on offer! 

I'm one for cute names, so I'm a bit gutted that the GOSH colours do not run like that. These are simply 'Cappuccino' and 'Nude'. Bit boring really, but I guess that is exactly what the colour is. The packaging is a really cute matte tube, with the brand name indented into shiny plastic. It makes them look really professional and quite expensive. It's really worth swatching too, because the colours on the bottom do not match the colour in the tube. 

The 'Cappuccino' is more of a brownish-nude colour, whereas the 'nude' is a pinkish-nude. Both colours are fairly pigmented, though I find I reapply it quite a few times throughout the day as it fades pretty quickly. It doesn't bother me though because they were inexpensive compared to others in my collection. They give a shimmery finish too, rather than a matte one, which suits me just perfectly since I need all the moisture I can get! I did notice the first few times I used them, they're so smooth, the product will stick to every last bit of dry skin on your lips. So during these winter months when your lips start to peel and dry up (gross), they're probably not going to be the best unless you're consistent in using lip scrubs before applying. 

I instantly fell in love with the Nude lipstick since it's a pink tone. It's great for an everyday look and I've started to reach for it most days. I was pretty stupid whilst shopping the colours, and whilst they looked pretty swatching them on my hand, I didn't think to match the colours to my make-up. I'm finding it hard to wear the Cappuccino shade, as it matches my foundation pretty perfectly, leaving me looking like I have smeared concealer on my lips (remember those days?). Lets just say it isn't very pretty. 

Do you own any GOSH lipstick? What do you think of the value for money?

Budget Eyebrow Kit | Collection

Filling in my eyebrows has only recently been a thing for me. I'm quite lucky in the fact my eyebrows are pretty full anyway. I've never been really conscious about my brows, and the only reason I felt I needed to fill them in is because they're a lot lighter than my current hair colour. When I was out shopping, I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of money buying a premium eyebrow kit, purely because I knew I wouldn't be using it every day. I like to fall back on Collection or Makeup Revolution products because they really are such good value for money. So when I saw the Collection Eyebrow Kit on offer, I picked it straight up. 

Considering the kit is only £3.99, you get a generous amount. I picked up the brunette palette, which has three pretty dark colours to suit any dark tone. The palette also comes in blonde, with a lot lighter colours. The kit also comes with a clear brow mascara, which does the job at setting your brows. I've also tried waxes to seal my brows, but I think the tube of mascara will last longer and it doesn't leave your eyebrows hard or clumpy. I have no complaints for the small brush either, one side it sloped to get a nice arch, whilst the other is rounded which helped me to fill quicker. The palette even has a mirror in, which I haven't needed to use, but Collection has clearly thought of everything for this! 

The colours themselves are ridiculously pigmented. Trust me- a little goes a long way with this kit, especially with the darker colours. I've been using this for the past two months and I've hardly made a dent in the product. I was worried at first that I was buying three colours when I only really wanted the one, but after realizing how pigmented they are, I would happily use the other colours as eye shadow. I think the darkest colour would make a really nice smokey eye. 

Overall, I'm really impressed with this kit. It's definitely a budget find that would have probably been overlooked. I'm surprised with how pigmented the colours are compared to the price, and this has stayed firmly in my make-up bag since I purchased it. The matte colours are so easy to mix, I think it's worth any beauty lover to give it a go at least once!

Have you tried this kit? What is your favourite budget product?

My February Wishlist

Can you believe January is nearly over already? Everyone has been wishing for it to be over, but my gosh, I feel like I've blinked and it's disappeared! Anyway, February's wishlist has been really easy for me. I feel like I haven't purchased anything in a while, when in actual fact, it's only really been a week (if you can count a nude lipstick!). One of my New Year's resolutions is to branch out more with my make-up. I love reading about new beauty trends and hauls that other people have been involved in. The amount of products on my boots wishlist is ridiculous, yet that's exactly where they seem to stay. I'm one of these savvy savers that will wait until I absolutely have to buy something- and then I can finally justify making a purchase. I love people who will go out and purchase newly released products purely to test it and share their opinions with their readers, but I know I could probably never be one of those people, because i'm so money conscious!

So today I thought I would share with you a few products from the many wishlists I have, in the hope I will actually go out and purchase them! After reading tons of reviews and getting lost in blog posts, I've narrowed it down to 5. 

1. Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette- Oh my gosh, I don't have words to describe how pretty this palette is. The Gwen Stefani palette is new to my list after recently seeing so many bloggers rave about it. It's super pretty and I love the fact that the palette consists of nude, smokey and glitter shadows. This is the kind of palette I would take on holiday with me, since there are so many styles you can make with the colours. Plus I've read they're super pigmented! The only reason this is on my wishlist rather than in my make-up bag is the price. The fact this is £40 makes me so sad!

2. MAC Lipstick 'Rebel'- I have three main groups of lipstick colours- red, nude and bright pink. I tend to stick to those because I have such light skin, I can't imagine many other colours looking right on me. There's something about the Rebel lipstick though that I just love! The deep purple colouring is so pretty and I definitely need to give it a try! If all fails, it could always become my go-to Halloween gloss ;) 

3. Maybelline Lash Sensation Mascara- Ok, Ok, you're probably sat here thinking 'Really? you don't own this yet? Where have you been hiding?'. The reason I don't own this is because I've purchased quite a few Maybelline products (20+) in the past, and I feel that they have just never been what I hoped for. I'm all for trying new things, but it has made me a bit dubious about bothering with the brand. Though, I haven't read a single bad review about this mascara, and I know Maybelline are known for 'hitting the nail on the head' with their mascara ranges. 

4. Beauty Blender- Before you sigh again, I do actually own a few beauty blenders, just not the official ones! I couldn't bring myself to spend £16 on an item that is essentially a glorified sponge. I bought the Real Techniques version in the sale after Christmas (for £3!) and it's really come in handy when trying to blend my concealer. The only thing I found with the Real Techniques version is that after the first wash, it started crumbling and breaking up. Therefore, I feel it's time to take the plunge and buy the real thing!

5. Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation- I feel like I've finally found a really nice foundation to suit my dry complexion (Mac Studio Sculpt), but it's such a high coverage foundation, I don't always want to wear It every day. On good skin days, I don't have a lighter foundation to wear instead to let my skin breath. Queue Bourjois! I've heard so many good reviews about this foundation. The fact that there are so many components that help your skin, and the amount of moisture it gives, I think it really deserves a place in my make-up bag.

Let me know below what beauty products are currently on your wishlist.

Maybelline instant Age Rewind Concealer | Review

I'm forever having love/hate relationships with concealer, as I have never been able to find one i'm 100% happy with! I bought the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer after reading so many people raving about how well it works. I've pretty much used the product up, so I thought it was finally time to give my opinion again! 

First of, I can't decide whether or not I like the sponge applicator. It's a good idea in theory, except it's hard to wash, since it links directly to the product (I didn't want to risk getting dirty water in the concealer itself. So you're left with the same dirty sponge throughout the products 'life', which makes me cringe just thinking about all the germs and dirt buildup you're essentially smearing back on to your face. 

I also found that after using only half of the bottle, the top part that you're meant to twist suddenly stopped working for me. It then became a bit of a challenge for me to get the formula out of the bottle. Hassle that I can't be bothered with!

                               

Now if you're able to put that aside, the concealer itself is fairly good. It's not amazing, but it's not the worst I've ever used. It definitely fits the profile of drugstore make-up. The formula is pretty thin, with a medium pigmentation. It does an average job for concealing small skin blemishes. But for days where I have had limited sleep, I probably wouldn't reach for this. This concealer is better for younger people, who don't have to worry about bags or puffy eyes. I personally would want a thicker, more creamy concealer to feel like i'm doing any justice. 

So yes or no?

I wouldn't pay the £7.99 that it is being sold for. I would probably buy it again if it was on a reasonable sales offer, since it's convenient to have in your bag, without needing the extra 'tools' to apply it. Other than that, I would give it a miss. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer | Review

I've got through many tubes of Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer since I last talked about it. I can confidently say I've found a primer that will stay in my make-up bag for a long time yet. You can read my review here. Though with that being said, I've realised I need to start trying other products too, since I'm one for sticking to the same old item until the day it's suddenly discontinued! So when I was browsing stores a few days ago and saw Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer on offer (here), I thought I should give it a chance, since I love their other one so much. 

The Lasting Finish Primer is a creamy lotion type primer. It's awfully thick considering it's meant to  smooth over your skin. I've found you need to use a lot more of the primer too, in order to cover your full face, because it is so easily absorbed into your skin. It's really quite hydrating on my forever dry skin. If you're like me, and get horrible flaky skin, it does an excellent job at moisturising to give you an easier canvas. 

As for extending the wear of foundation by 8 hours? I haven't found it's made any difference to my make-up. If you're looking for a cheap end basic primer, if you have fairly dry skin or if you're already using long wear foundation, I would definitely recommend you at least try this primer as an alternative to the one you're already using. Otherwise, I would give this one a miss. I think the Fix & Perfect primer is a lot better suited to me, but I tried!

So yes or no? 

If you're looking for a good all-round primer for the same price, I would really recommend the Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer instead. It does the job 100 times better!