Would You Rather...? - Beauty Tag!

Hello!!

So a couple of weeks ago I was tagged by the lovely Mallow Beauty Blog to do the "Would You Rather...? - Beauty Tag"!!

So lets begin!!

1) Would you rather lose all of your Mascaras, Eye Liners, Lipsticks, and Lip Glosses or lose all of your Palettes and Eye Shadows?

Eyeshadow is something I keep meaning to wear more and I would like to invest a really good palette but it is not something I own a lot of. But I have a crazy amount of lipsticks that I could never part with so I would definitely rather lose all 5 of my eyeshadows!!

2) Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

I have been attempting to grow my hair since January and have only had it cut once since.  I know that you are supposed to get your hair cut every 8 weeks or something but 1. I can't afford to do that and 2. After waiting so long for my hair to grow, getting it cut makes me a little bit sad. So to cut a long answer/ramble short I would definitely rather never being able to cut it again!! 

3) Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

Definitely a pink cheek!! I would love to give a coral blush a try though!!

4) If you had £1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or make-up?

If you've read some of my other posts then you would assume I would say make-up but it would definitely be clothes! I love clothes and when I have money or vouchers, I absolutely love buying clothes but as I don't have money that often this isn't a regular occurence!! 

5) Would you rather apply Lipstick as Eye Liner, or Eye Liner as Lipstick?

Definitely eye liner as a lipstick so that I wouldn't have big red smudgy lines under my eyes!!

6) Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

It would have to be MAC as I have never bought anything from Sephora before although would like to in the future!!

7) Would you rather only use one Eye Shadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?

As I love lipstick and own so many different shades I would have to go with only using one eye shadow forever!!

8) Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?

Living in Scotland we pretty much have to wear Winter clothes in Summer anyway!!

9) Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?

As a lover of maroon and dark purples I would have to say dark nails!!

10) Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or your favourite eye product?

No surprises here, favourite eye product!

11) Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?

Probably a messy bun, although I can't really do them properly!! It always ends up just looking an actual mess!!

12) Would your rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?

Lip gloss is something I never wear and I have my nails painted at every possible opportunity so would definitely never use lip gloss again!!

13) Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or Sharpie them in everyday?

I can't believe I would ever answer a question where I would say I would rather sharpie my eyebrows in but here it is!!

14) Would you rather live without make-up or nail polish?

I do really love nail polish but I don't like to think about living without my make up so the nail polish would have to go!!

I hope you enjoyed this tag and I tag anyone that reads this!! If you do this post or have done this tag before I would love it if you could leave a link to your post in the comments!!

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Mini Elf Haul!

Hello!!

So recently I was thinking I hadn't bought anything from Elf for ages and that it was definitely time to change this! You can imagine how happy I was to find that it was 50% off at the exact same time...Fate or what? 

On previous visits to the Elf website I used to go a bit mad and my shopping basket amount would get ridiculous! So I decided that I should be sensible and attempt to buy items I actually need and will definitely use!! So lets begin with the lip products!!

In the shade "grapefruit"

in the shade "berry"

As much as I love my body shop lip balm, I have been on the hunt for a change and when I saw these lip balm tints I had to try them. I love the idea of a lip balm that moisturises whilst at the same time giving your lips a really nice colour. I purchased two of these and in my pictures the shades don't look all that different, but if you have a look on the Elf website you'll see how different they look in the swatches. The grapefruit one looked more pinky on their site when it is more of a light red with orange undertones, which is still nice but not what I was looking for. The berry one was a much deeper red shade on the site and in reality looks like the swatch of the grapefuit one on the elf website, if that makes any sense!

Apart from this, I would say that so far I like this product. As the elf site says "this lightly tinted lip balm gives the perfect flush of colour for a beautiful, natural look" which it definitely does. This is a fairly moisturising lip balm but I think if you are looking for a lip balm to heal cracked lips I wouldn't use this. Or I would at least use a lip balm designed for healing and soothing chapped lips first then apply this!! So far I like this product and would like to see some more colour options being added to Elf's site!

This is the therapeutic conditioning lip balm in "Vanilla creme" and is £1.50. As I have been looking for a change when it comes to lip balms, where else to try but my beloved Elf and at £1.50 I thought it would be stupid not to give this a try. On first appearances this is a nice product. It is a good compact size for carrying about and for £1.50 you get a nice amount of product. The only things I would say about this product are that it smells more waxy than vanilla and whilst it does have a moisturising feel to it, it borders slightly on the greasy. However a little of this product definitely goes a long way and so far I have found that it does leave my lips feeling soft and look moisturised. I would maybe try the other scents if I were to repurchase this!

So onto the eye products! This waterproof eyeliner crayon is £3.75 and is in the shade "brown". I have never tried a crayon eyeliner before so thought what better place to purchase my first one from! Swatched, this product is fairly pigmented but it is very light in shade. This is something I like as it gives you the opportunity to go for the natural look or build if you are looking for a more prominent look! It smudges really nicely which would be ideal for a smoky eye! 

This is the eyebrow lifter & filler in the shade ivory/light and is £3.75. Filling in my eyebrows is something I have never done purely because of my fear of looking like a cartoon villain! Recently I have thought my eyebrows have looked like they need a little (emphasis on the word little) touch of colour to them so I thought I would give this product a try. As you may already know I am a sucker for packaging so I loved this as soon as I saw it, two in one product and a sharpener on the lid! 

The lift side is designed to act as a highlighter to be used under the brow to give it a nicer shape. The filler side is used to fill out the brows (obviously) and create a nice natural shape. I purchased the lightest shade possible to make sure I was getting as natural a look as possible and I am happy with the brown shade. It is fairly pigmented but is a nice natural brown, exactly what I was looking for! 

As we are coming into Winter, this is the time when, even though I moisturise regularly, my skin decides to dry out completely! So I thought I would give this tinted moisturiser a try and at £1.50 how could I not? For my pale skin I chose the shade "ivory". It is a really nice natural shade and has a slight scent of orange jelly to it! I am looking forward to trying this properly so expect a review on it in the near future!

After quite a few months on a spending ban on nail polishes (I had a problem), I thought it was time for a small break from the ban and I decided this was justified by getting 50% off!! After adding about 10 to my shopping basket I managed to cut it down to just two. I know that coral isn't really an Autumn/Winter shade but when I saw this I couldn't resist!! It is a really nice peachy pink with a metallic shine to it (which doesn't really show up in this picture) which I absolutely love! 

The other one I purchased is in the shade "sea escape". I was a little disappointed with this one. Again like the swatches of the lip balm tints, this colour looks a lot different on the Elf website. On the site it looks like a really nice dark turquoise shade with teal undertones. In reality it is almost a dark navy shade with a slight dark blue shimmer to it. It is still a nice polish but just not the colour I thought I was purchasing. But for only £2.50, it isn't the end of the world and I would still fully recommend Elf's polishes!!

I hope you enjoyed this elf haul!! I will do a review on the products I have yet to use fully in the near future!!

Have you bought anything from Elf recently?

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Glasgow Fabb Event!!

Hello!!

About three weeks ago I attended the Fabb Event with Nikki (Lunar Lights) in Fanelli's in the Merchant Square in Glasgow. Fabb events are run by the lovely Tor and Ray and they give bloggers the opportunity to sample new and established brands whilst meeting other bloggers at the same time! It was a fabulous day (get it?) and an excuse to take lots of photos!! 

View of the Merchant Square from the balcony of  Fanelli's

Lush!! I'm in heaven!!

Love these shoes!!

The Goodies!!

Can't wait to try all of this!!

It was such a good day and really nice to meet some lovely Scottish bloggers!! It was a great opportunity to discover new brands and try out new products!! Fabb spoiled us rotten with freebies and I can't wait to try out every single one!! My favourite brands were definitely Crystal Clear, The Beauty Kitchen and Iconic Body art, who gave us the really cool star tattoo!! So expect a lot of posts on the products we were kindly given to try out!!

As this was my first blogger event I did feel a little nervous but the blogging community is such a warm and welcoming place that these nerves were soon gone! I love being a part of this and I am so glad I went and I am already looking forward to the next event!! (totally didn't mean for that to rhyme but love that it did, haha)

A huge thank you to Fabb events for coming to Glasgow!!


Katrina X

Everyday Makeup Products - The Lips!!

Hello!!


So on to the Last (but not least) of the everyday makeup products series - The Lips!!

This Vitamin E lip care is from the Body Shop and is £4.00. This is one of my absolute "can't live without" (a bit extreme but its all about emphasis) products!! Last winter my lips were so chapped and sore and Vaseline didn't seem to be working anymore.

So began my hunt for the perfect lip balm. I did a lot of research which meant I then had very strict criteria. I wanted it to be in a stick form rather than a tub as I thought this would be slightly more hygienic. I didn't want it to have too much of a scent (I hate it when everything you eat and drink after applying it ends up just tasting like the lip balm) and I wanted it to actually be moisturising and not just leave a coating which wears off after half an hour. So after a lot of research and a few purchases (which were failures) I eventually came across this one (is that the longest introduction for a review on a lip balm ever?).

I absolutely love this lip balm. It completely fits all my crazy criteria and has been one of my holy grail products ever since I first purchased it last winter. It is incredibly moisturising, without being oily, and it lasts for ages (on the lips and between purchases). It doesn't have a scent to it at all, just a very plain kind of moisturising smell (is that such a smell?). It also acts as a really good lip primer for lipsticks and glosses. I usually get this on a 3 for 2 deal or when the Body Shop is having a sale because I must admit £4.00 is a tad pricey for a lip balm. But it is totally worth it. So to cut a long ramble short, I love this product and would definitely recommend it!!

I love Soap & Glory's names for their products!! This is the Marvelips lip pencil and is £8.00 from Boots. I absolutely love Soap & Glory's bath stuff and moisturisers but I had never really tried any of their cosmetics before.

I purchased this lip pencil earlier this year when I had Boots points vouchers that I could redeem when I spent so much on Soap & Glory cosmetics. I really liked the colour of this lip pencil. "As good as nude" is how its described on the Boots website and I think this is why I love it for everyday as it is a similar (slightly darker) shade to my lips. It is really moisturising and makes the "lips look fuller". The white end is supposed to be applied afterwards and act as a highlighter. I don't tend to use this end as I don't really see any difference with it. However this is most likely to me applying it wrong than the product not being good. I would definitely repurchase this if I get anymore points vouchers or I may start a search for a cheaper dupe!!

So this brings me to the end of my everyday makeup series!! I have really enjoyed giving the "series" type of posts a go, if you have any ideas for other series I could do then I would love to hear!!

What are your favourite lip products? Can you recommend any?

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Everyday Makeup - The Eyes!!

Hello!!

Its all about the eyes today!!

I was ridiculously happy when I found out that Elle were giving away a mini version of this "Benefit They're Real" mascara back in May. I love Benefit. But due to being incredibly skint all the time, I only purchase their products when I have Boots points or on payday as a treat. But I have to say that this mascara is totally worth the money. The full size version is £19.50 whilst this mini version is £9.50. I absolutely love everything about this mascara. I much prefer this type of applicator as opposed to a bristle brush as I find these tend to make my eyelashes clump together. This applicator makes your lashes appear fuller and longer and separates them beautifully!! All the hype around this product is totally justified as it is amazing and I will definitely be repurchasing this when I build my boots points back up!! 

This eye pencil is by Natural Collection and is from Boots. I briefly mentioned this pencil in a previous post. Nikki (Lunar lights) got me this as part of my Christmas last year and I love it. It is such a natural brown shade and it blends in really well giving a really natural look. It is incredibly pigmented and is a definite repurchase for me.

Yet another real techniques brush for me to rave about. This is the lash-brow groomer from Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman and is £7.99 from Boots. This brush is perfect for keeping my eyebrows look a little less mad as they have a mind of their own and tend to go in all different directions!! The "precision comb" on this brush is perfect for separating my eyelashes before I apply mascara as well. Definitely a brush I would recommend!!

Another Elf product? Yes I have an addiction. This is the Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara and it is £1.50. Another amazing product to keep my eyebrows in order!! Not a lot to say except that this mascara is ideal for setting my eyebrows and keeping them in place all day. I have repurchased it a ridiculous amount of times and think it is an amazing product for only £1.50!!

What are your favourite eye products? Can you recommend any ?

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Everyday Makeup - The Concealer!!

Hello!!

On to the Concealer!!

This is the under eye concealer and highlighter from Elf and it is £3.75. After using the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer for a while, I felt like a change and this happened to be at the same time as Elf was having a huge sale so I thought I would give this one a try. I am an absolute sucker for packaging so I loved the two products in one thing. I had never really used a highlighter before and thought as I was getting two products in one I would give this one a go. However it would seem that what I gained in packaging and convenience I lost in product quality as I didn't really like the highlighter that much. It didn't really show up on my face unless I used loads which just made me look like a ghost. However I really like this concealer. It has a nice consistency and is such a natural shade (I picked the shade "fair"). Don't be put off by the photos which have made it look slightly orange (ah Scottish lighting), it definitely does not look at all orange on the face. I use it mainly under my eyes but it is great for the other problem areas I have. However, I don't think I would repurchase this purely for the fact that I don't use the highlighter. Nikki (Lunar Lights) has highly recommended the Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer and as part of my new addiction to Bourjois I think I will try this one next!!

This is the pointed foundation brush from Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman and is part of the Core Collection. This brush says its for foundation but like all the Real Techniques brushes it can be used with so many different products!! I find this is great for under my eyes and it doesn't take long at all because of the size of the brush. It is tapered towards the top which makes it perfect for concealing the side of the nose and around the whole face. I would definitely recommend this brush!!

What are your favourite concealers at the moment?


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Everyday Makeup Products - The Powder!

Hello!

So back to the everyday makeup series and today's product is powder!!

This pressed powder is from Natural Collection and is £1.99 from Boots. I chose the shade "neutral". This is a good product. It rids your face of any shine and sets your makeup and for that price its great. However it doesn't have much staying power and I don't think it made my makeup last any longer. I will keep using this until it runs out because it does do the job but I think I would like to try the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder next. I have heard and read such wonderful things about it!! 

This powder brush is from the Studio collection by Elf and it is £3.75. This brush is the only brush that I use that I think contends the Real Techniques brushes. The quality of this brush is amazing. It definitely feels a lot more expensive than it is and it is so soft. This brush is great for applying powder, cream foundations, just about anything and because it is so big, it doesn't take long at all!! I would definitely recommend this brush as a cheaper alternative that works just as well as some of the high end make up brushes!

What are your favourite powders? Can you recommend any for dry skin?

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Everyday Makeup Products - The Blusher!

Hello!!

So on to the second part of the Everyday makeup series!!

The Blusher!

This blusher is by Elf and is from the Mineral Collection. It is normally £5.00 (I got it for £2.50 when everything was 50% off!! I love Elf!!) and is in the shade "joy". I have to admit that I used to have a fear of blusher. I was always scared that I would use too much or that the shade would be too bright and I would end up looking like a clown!! But this fear wouldn't stop me buying them so after building up quite a collection I decided to just bite the bullet. I am very glad I did because I love wearing blusher now and I no longer have a drawer full of products I never wear!! 

This one from Elf is currently my favourite and the one I use everyday, I love it! I really like the colour of this blusher. It is a very natural light pink with almost peach tones through it. It is very lightweight on the skin and is incredibly pigmented (it took me ages to realise how much was enough for one application!!).  The only thing I would say is that because this is a loose powder (and no matter how carefully I have opened it) it goes absolutely everywhere (as you can see in the photo!!). I would love it if Elf made a pressed powder version of this blusher. However I really love it and I will defintely be repurchasing it!!

This blush brush is from Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman and is £9.99 from Boots. This blush brush is the best make up brush I have ever used. Ever. It is the fluffiest, softest brush in the world (slight exaggeration maybe but its the fluffiest brush I have ever used).  

This brush applies product perfectly. It's slightly tapered at the top so it picks up a good amount of product. It blends really well and is good for applying powder as well!! This is definitely one of my holy grail products!! Did I mention how fluffy it is?

What is your favourite blusher at the moment? 

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Everyday Makeup Products - The Foundation!

Hello! 

I recently came back from a few days holiday (which I will do a post on soon) and I have not blogged in a while, so to ease myself back in I thought I would do a series of posts on my everyday makeup items!

The Foundation!

This is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and I bought this from boots for £10.99. So this isn't technically a foundation but it does a similar job! I purchased this in May after hearing so many bloggers and vloggers raving about it and I shall now join them! I love this product!  As someone with very dry skin this serum is ideal. It has mid to full coverage and a real dewy finish which gives the skin a glow almost acting like a bb cream rather than a foundation. The only thing about products with this type of finish is that they can sometimes lean towards "shiny territory" (which this product can be guilty of) but with a good powder this can be quickly fixed. 

As someone from Scotland I have a rather pale complexion so I have picked shade 51 in light vanilla which is almost the perfect shade for me.  I sometimes refer to it as "my skin in a bottle"! Another thing I love about this product is the scent. When I buy a foundation or bb cream I am never really basing my purchasing of it on the smell, unless it is noticeably bad. But this has a really nice fresh fruity kind of scent which is an added bonus. 

I would definitely repurchase the Healthy Mix Serum, especially in the summer, as it is very light on the skin whilst still providing a nice coverage. I would now love to try all the products from the Healthy Mix Range and I think I will give the foundation a go next as I have heard great things about it. 

To apply this serum I have been using the buffing brush by Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman. This particular brush is only available as part of the Core Collection which is £21.99 from Boots. I love Real Techniques so much!! This buffing brush in particular is great for applying this product. It is really dense so it buffs the product into the skin beautifully. I have made it my mission to own every single real techniques brush that is available!

Have you used any of the products in the healthy mix range?  What would you recommend?

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Elf Loves Collection! - Part Dos

Bonjour!

And so to the second part of the Elf Loves Collection! - Lips & Face 

Lips

This lip tint is £3.50 and is in the shade "blush". It is incredibly moisturising and gives the lips a nice subtle colour, more than a lip balm less than a lipstick. I really like this product but if I were buying it I would probably have went for one of the darker shades like "berry", a deeper pinky, purple colour. This just gives me an excuse to add another thing to my evergrowing elf wishlist!

This lipstick is £1.50 and is in the shade "nude pink". This will be my first negative review of an elf product! First of all the colour is nothing like the colour on the website. It looks more like one of the other shades, "baby lips". Secondly this has a peppermint scent which  I am not a fan of at all as I feel that it actually makes my lips chapped (I'm weird I know). However this is just my personal opinion and if you are a fan of lip products such as the burts bees peppermint lip balm or carmex then you will probably like this liquid lipstick and at £1.50 it is still great value.

The last lip product included in the collection is the super glossy lip shine in "strawberry". This gloss smells amazing and it is "super glossy" on the lips. I did find it moisturising but slightly sticky at the same time (if that's even possible!). I don't tend to wear lip gloss but I would maybe put this on top of one of my lipsticks if I was going out of a night, just to give my lips a nice shine. 

Face

 "These lightly dusted shimmer sheets create a gorgeous glow on the apples of the cheeks". I have to be honest, it wasn't until I read this that I had a clue how to use these. When I opened the packet there was an explosion of glitter all over my room. Even now, a month after I received them I still find random bits of glitter in my room. It went too far when I found a speck of glitter on my toothbrush! How does that even happen?! I'm sure in the hands of someone who knows how to use these properly, you would achieve a nice glittery glow but I have only managed to make myself look like a disco ball! These are in the shade bronze and are £3.75 for 20 sheets.

This blusher is in the shade "glow". This is a really nice colour, a pale pinky peach shade. It is fairly pigmented and blends really nicely. It has a nice shimmer to it which I don't usually like in a blusher but this gives off a natural glow rather than just a shiny face (which I try to avoid)! My only complaint would be the brush that you get with it. It is quite rough and scratchy and the bristles were already falling out of it when I got it. Apart from that, this is a really nice blusher for £2.50.

This is my absolute favourite product I got in the collection and that is purely down to the scent of these wipes. I want to eat them (judge me until you smell them). They are vanilla and coconut lotion wipes that can be used wherever needed to moisturise and hydrate the skin. There are have many different scents available on the website but if I was buying them I would've definitely picked these ones anyway. They are super moisturising and if I haven't already mentioned they smell amazing (like summer). I will definitely be repurchasing these!

I was really happy with the majority of this collection and it was a great opportunity to try products which I might not have picked myself!! 

What are your favourite elf products? Have you tried any of the products mentioned? 

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