Sleek Face Contour Kit

I've recently added contouring into my daily make-up routine, (only when I have enough time and can be bothered :P) and before I just used to use a usual bronzer. But when I saw this in Superdrug, I thought it was perfect, and had to buy it. It has two powders; a bronzer and a highlighter which are both really good.

I like the fact that even though they're decently pigmented they're subtle and so you don't have to worry too much about being heavy handed or having huge contrasting patches on your face. The bronzer has no shimmer at all - really good for contouring - and is a really nice shade - it's not orange. The highlighter is shimmery and pearlescent but it's still nice and gives a natural glow.

I really like the packaging of this. It's just nice and compact, and it's also really slick - simple. The mirror also is quite big too which is handy. Another thing I quite like is the outer box it comes in; even though the picture of the woman looks kinda lame and doesn't make it look particularly classy; (It's not the woman herself, it's the fact that she's there - the box would just look more slick if it was more simplistic) I like it because it protects the actual compact from in-store damage (scuffs, scratches, etc) and those bloody annoying Superdrug security stickers which are a nightmare to remove!

Lastly, another little thing what makes this kit really good is that it comes with a leaflet thing which has a    breif and basic step by step guide to contouring. There's so many people I've seen get it wrong.. :P This makes it so much more ideal for new 'contourers'

Overall, this is such a great product and is defiantly worth buying. I don't really have any major faults with it. It comes in 3 shades - light, medium and dark, (Mines in light) and is around the £6.50 mark - is really inexpensive but really worth it.

Jeffrey Campbell - Wow

I think most of us are familiar with Jeffrey Campbell 'Litas', I'd love a pair, but I don't really know if I'd actually wear them, and considering the 'Litas' are around £120; I don't think it would be worth it for me personally. When would it be appropriate? Maybe when I'm a bit older. :P
So these are probably the most standard and iconic:

But browsing though the rest of them, I just thought "wow" and share some which are AMAZING!

These aren't exactly my style, but I think they are quite amazing. I don't know how you could walk in the pink ones and where exactly could you wear them. but I love the last ones. They are incredibly unique and so original - I do really like them.

What do you think about these shoes?

PanOxyl

Acne and spots are just a nuisance. No one likes or wants them, so why can't they just go away? Well, this product may be your answer. I'm no doctor so I'm recommending this product to you with caution. This is a chemical gel, of which contains Benzoyl Peroxide. None of you probably want to know the sciencey stuff; so I'll just keep it simple. It's a creamy white gel and what this does - and is supposed to do - is dry out any spots or pimples you have. And it actually works, so ti gets rid of them. Use it quite sparingly as it does dry out your skin and only use it when you need to. This is not recommended for more than 2 uses a day and must be applied to clean and dry skin - so if you're applying make up - you can do so, after it's dry and it must be oil free make up. 

This is my saviour, but as this is an "Over the counter" product I'd do some research into what it contains and if it's suitable. If you think this product is suitable, I'd definitely go for it and try it. It comes in 3 concentrations - 2.5% (Which I use and would say that's all you need if your using it for occasional spots/pimples), 5% and 10%. If it's your first time using it; buy the 2.5%.

This can by prescribed to you by doctors but if you want to buy it, you have to go to a chemist and ask for it over the counter and they will explain it to you abit. It's around £3 (I think) for 40g worth of product. I couldn't go without this anymore.

What spot treatments do you use?

MUA Bronzer

There's quite a bit of hype around MUA products from Superdrug due to the simple fact they're a decent quality and affordable - with loads of their products being only £1! I thought I'd try the bronzer out in Shade 3, and was thinking you can't really go wrong with it being only £1.

The packaging is nicely simplistic, with it being clear plastic casing, I don't mind it - it's alright. The product it's self is kind of "half and half" with me. It's good in the fact that the shade I have (Shade 3) has no shimmer and so would be good for contouring, and I like the pigmentation with it. It's not too pigmented so it doesn't go on dark but you're still able to see it. However I find that in person, (unlike in the photo above) it comes out slightly kind of like terracotta colour (and it has a kind of red-ish tinge). I probably would have been happy if I had a different shade - but this bronzer only comes in 3 shades; and 2 of which have shimmer which I'm not a fan of.

Overall, I'm not really going to be using this product just because of the colour tinge I don't really like with it. But as everyone's skin tones are different; it might not be the same on all skins. Everything else about this product is actually really good though. I'd say, if your debating or thinking to buy it - just go for it, it's only £1.

ELF Eyebrow Kit

(This image is from the ELF website as mine kept uploading sideways :/)

I recently got into grooming my eyebrows more, and wanted something other than a pencil because I'm not a fan of the effect it gives as it very defined and too sharp, I thought this would be a good solution. At first I really liked this product. The brow wax (on the left of the image) is pigmented however it doesn't really keep the brow hairs in place during the daily "norm" activities, it does make the powder stick more to your brows. The powder is again pigmented so overall, it does give your eyebrows more definition and fills in any gaps, which is good.

The cons of this product are firstly - the brush. It's poorly made - the fluffier end for the powder started shedding from the first time I used it and continued to until I changed the brush I used for it (I now just use a regular small angled one) and the other side for the wax just separated  - the bristles grouped up, it kinda looks like a fork (and like you know if you have a full fringe/bangs and throughout the day it gets a little oily and starts to separate..) And additionally, I find it kind of a chore to use as you kinda have to take care when applying both of the parts and I always have to get rid of any outlaying product that has strayed from the outline of my brows..

The packaging is quite nice. I like simple packaging and I just think it looks slick and professional. It reminds me of the NARS packaging, however, this one is just plastic without that rubbery, matt finish. And it also has a little handy mirror.

Overall, the product is okay. I like the concept of it and it's a great alternative way of filling in your eyebrows. It's not terrible but I wouldn't buy it again - I'm probably going to try the Sleek Eyebrow Kit next time.

It's available on the ELF Website (Here) in 4 shades (light, medium, dark and ash (mines in medium)) for £3.50 as it's from the Studio range.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

I wanted to try this foundation for absolutely ages and when Superdrug had the 3 for 2 offer, it was the perfect excuse to buy it. (And appoligies for the ugly barcode label on it - it's those annoyingly ugly security labels they have in Superdrug which are hellish to get off.) So, there was quite alot of hype on this foundation as most people that have it absolutely love it and it was voted product of the year in 2011; therefore I had high expectations for it. 

From the very instant this nice smelling liquid made contact with my face - I loved it. The consistency of the liquid is quite thin and light - this therefore makes it really easy to apply and blend into the skin. Additionally, the colour match of this is very good - I have it in shade 53 - but it's available in 8 shades - 51 to 58, so those of you who are darker skinned may not find your perfect shade. The foundation has all of these fruit ingredients claiming to boost radiance and give you a perfectly glowing complexion. Yeah, it evens out your skin and gives you a little glow as it has quite a dewy finish, but it's not one of those which gives you a shiny face. And due to the fact it has those fruit extracts - it does have quite a scent - like apricots - so those of you that don't like scented stuff - I probably wouldn't recommend this for you. The only thing I don't really like about the foundation is the packaging. Becuase it's plastic, it just feels so light and cheap, and that there's no product in there. But really, it's the product inside that really matters.

This is available on Bourjois counters, Superdrug, Boots, etc for around £9.99. Overall, this is one of my favourite foundations I have tried and will definitely be a repurchase. It's definitely worth the money.

What's your favourite foundation?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I thought I'd do a little new years post. I've been absent from my blog in a while. I've just been super busy and stuff over the past month, much more than I thought I would be. I wish I went Central to see the New Years fireworks as seeing them on a screen in a pub in East London along with a smaller display just isn't as spectacular. I hope to go next year though.

This year in all honestly has been a tough year for me but I don't want to put it all out on here as it's quite private. However, there has been some amazing things that have happened at at times, this year has been fun. I also started this blog in August. (I've actually revamped my blog recently, and for those of you who check on here regularly may have noticed) But, I didn't have an ideal year with my first year of sixth form - as the course I was doing got cancelled half way through; not down to me, so I thought the best thing for me to do was have a fresh start and opt for A levels. I'm now at a new sixth form and I am enjoying it, so thats good. The Christmas holidays are over and I am going back to sixth form tomorrow. I actually don't have a clue how I'm going to be able to get up tomorrow morning. AND, I have my first exam next week... Scary.

I have no idea of how this year is going to pan out - I just like to live day by day, take everything as it comes. Sometimes I worry and think I should I think and plan more, but that's just not how I am. Also, there's that whole "Aahh, the world's going to end in 2012!!". If it is true, it;'s happening on the 21st - or something like that - of December. Which means we'll all be in the Christmas spirit and cheer... And then it all ends... BUT, I don't believe in stuff like that and I don't think it will happen...

So, I think I might do the New Years resolution thing this year and I have a few things.

1. Help more around the house - This is the year where I feel I need to grow up more and take more responsibility. I'm quite reliant on my parents, and since I turned 18 last year. I feel it's the right time.
2. Drink more water - It actually does me really good, for my skin, hair, the way I feel. So yeah..
3. I'm going to save more, I have a few expensive things in mind that I want to buy - like a new camera -   and don't want to rely on my parents to get for me.
4. Blog more. When I frost started this, I blogged regularly but more recently, I've neglected it and been absent for a bit - I didn't even do any Christmas posts... Woops..

That's about it for now. And I'm glad I've done this post to start of my blog for 2012 - Ahh, we've got the Olympics coming to London this year too... 

What have been your highlights of 2011? How did you celebrate the new year? Do you have any New Years resolutions?