Lipstick collection...

Hey guys :)

 Just recently I've really been into wearing lipsticks, I always used to stick to gloss and nothing to out there, but now I am really loving all kinds of lipsticks and I have even started wearing quite bold colours in the day time. I have split lipsticks into three groups, Topshop lipsticks, MAC lipsticks and random lipsticks. I've tried to take pictures the best I can, but my lips are pretty dry today so some of the lipsticks don't look as good as they usually do.

The first group of Lipsticks are from topshop, I'm pretty new to Topshop lipsticks but I have to say I love them . The normal lipsticks ( in the white striped tubes) are £8 and the collection lipsticks are £10.

 The lipsticks above from left to right on the top photo, and the in the same order swatched on the lips are :
1) Fawn
2) Wicked
3) Secret admirer
4) Mischief
5) Beguiled
6) Mexican wave

Next are my MAC lipsticks these are all £14, and come in range of different textures which I will put next to the colours.

 The same applies again the colours are from left to right on the picture at the top, then in the same order for the swatches:
1) Beachbound - Glaze
2) Kinda sexy - Matte
3) Coral bliss - Cremesheen
4) Sunn Seoul - Cremesheen
5) Naughty saute - Cremesheen

 Finally are all my random lipsticks, I'm not sure of the prices of these as I've had them all for a while and some were gifts and other I just cant remember  but none of them are very expensive and you can pick them all up at Boots or superdrug, I will put the brand name next to colour.

 The same applies again the colours are from left to right on the picture at the top, then in the same order for the swatches:
1) Peace - Boots 17, mirror shine
2) Shocking coral - Gosh, Velvet touch lipstick
3) Pink blush - Rimmel, lasting finish lipstick
4) 01 - Rimmel, Lasting finish By kate moss
5) Red - Fearne Cotton
6) Purple - Fearne Cotton

So this was a pretty quick post, just wanted to show you my lipstick collection, which I'm sure will grow soon, seen as though I love lipsticks at the moment.

Becki x

Ready for those Christmas parties ....

Hey Guys :) 

 So I've been slowly collecting a few new bits of makeup just recently, picking up the odd bit here and there, and I have started to put together a make up bag for Christmas and new years.I didn't buy all this stuff at once and have had a few of these bits for a while now.

Ted Baker makeup case £22

 Firstly I treated myself to this Ted Baker makeup bag after my birthday, I needed a new makeup bag and I couldn't say no to this one.

Maybelline fit me foundation - £7.99

This is a foundation that I have had my eye on for a while, and it has always interested me when I've seen the adverts on tv or the displays in boots and superdrug  so I needed a new foundation to use for the day which would give me more coverage then just my BB creams but that isn't as heavy as my mac one. So its the new Maybelline Fit Me foundation. What I love about this foundation is the feel of it, it says that it is a gel foundation and at first I wasn't to sure about that, but once i tried it out it was the same consistency as a normal foundation  but when i put it on my skin it felt so smooth a soft, and didn't seem to just sit on top of the skin it sort of blended in so nicely , but still covered up all my imperfections. The finish on this is pretty dewy so if you have really oily skin  I wouldn't advise this, but I just set mine with a powder which makes it look alot more matte. Another thing that's good about this is that for every different foundation colour there is a matching concealer and powder so that everything matches perfectly.  When picking a colour they have 12 different shades, and they are in three groups which are fair, medium and dark, the colour that I picked up is the darkest colour in the fair group which is 135, but this for when I have tan on, so when I don't have tan on i'm the lightest colour in the light section. Before buying this I would advise getting a free sample from the Maybelline website, then you can see if the colour and texture is right for your skin.

Next is something that I usually just find really boring and usually just buy one black one and its always just at the bottom of my makeup bag, and that's pencil eyeliners, and just recently i'm really loving using different colours of them rather then just black. So below are a few of my favorites at the moment and they range from super cheap to pretty pricey. There are two on here that I haven't taken pictures of for some reason and they are the sleek eau la la pencils, these aren't just eyeliners you can also use them as a lip colour which I love, so I picked up the black one, which is so dark and and easy to blend and is great for a smokey eye, then I also have a purple one which is great on green or hazel eyes it makes them really stand out, but also I really like purple lips at the moment so I will be using it for that as well, and I think these are around £4.

Barry M eye liner - £2.99

This first one is a Barry M bronze colour pencil, now I wouldnt usually go for any products other then nail varnish by Barry M but when I was in boots looking for a bronze coloured eyeliner they were the only ones who had one, and I'm glad I got it, its so soft and creamy and goes on really easy without tugging at the eye, and I also used it all over my lid as a base which it worked great for , and for it price I think I will be picking a few more of these up in other colours.

MAC prunella -£14

This one is Prunella by mac and is pretty pricey but I couldn't say no to it, it's a very deep brown colour with hints of purple in it, its pretty hard to describe it's one of those colours your need to go swatch yourself. I've been using this a base when using satin taupe by mac it looks gorgeous, or it looks just as nice smudged into the lash line and then using lots of mascara.

Mac Painterly paint pot -£

This is something that I have wanted to buy for such a long time and it's the painterly paint pot by mac, and its a cream eyeshadow, that makes an amazing base, they do these in so many colours but i went for a skin toned one so that it'll work well under any colour. I've found it works better for me then urban decays primer potion, my colours look so much more bolder and if there is shimmer in them it stands out more, also my eyeshadow doesn't crease through out the day.

Mac eyeshadows - £12 each

Just recently I have really got back into mac eye shadows and started to steer away from my usual black liquid liner in the day and started using more eyeshadows, and these three are my new favorites  all of them have are quite neutral and have a slight shimmer to them, so from left to right they are Mulch, Woodwinked and Green smoke.

Above are the three mac eye shadows I just spoke about, the top line is without a base and the bottom line is with painterly paint pot as a base, as you can see with the base the colours look bolder and the shimmer is picked up more. Mulch is a gorgeous bronze brown which is great for the outer corners when doing a brown smokey eye. Next is wookwinked and this is a pale gold colour which looks lovely on its own all over the lids. And the colour green smoke the picture does no justice its a lot more green in person and again looks lovely on its own all over the lid or looks great when doing a smokey eye with greens which I love at the moment it's just something a little different then a plain black smokey eye.

Mac kind sexy- £14

I'm obsessed with this mac lipstick in kinda sexy, I tried my mums about a week or so ago , then decided it needed it for myself, it is a matte lipstick so can be a little drying but just keep a lipbalm on stand by and you'll be fine, I like to wear it on it's own in the day time, then for evenings or when I want to dress up a little more I like to use this rimmel gold shimmering lip gloss over the top.

As you can see it an brown based nude which looks great on all skin types, the top swatch is kinda sexy on its own, and the bottom swatch is with the gloss over the top.

Illamasqua complement palette - £34

This palette is something that I am so excited to use over Christmas, I have wanted to try some Illamasqua products for so long and last week I decided to take the jump and buy some things. So this palette really caught my eye is the complement palette. You get four eye shadows in here one frosty colour which is the pale champagne colour called slink, next you get one of their liquid metals which again is something I have had my eye on for a while, and it is a cool toned metallic brown and is called focus, the matte colour in this palette is called forgiveness and is described as a chocolate plum colour and finally my favorite in the quad is Queen of the night which is a super dark purple with purple sparkles in and it does remind me of smut by mac.

Above are the swatches and as you can see the colours are soooo beautiful, and I already have a few makeup looks that I want to use these for, I think for this palette I might upload a new years eve makeup tutorial.

Illamasqua pure pigment in Beguile - £15.50

The other product I picked up from Illamasqua is perfect for Christmas and new years, it is one of their pigments and looks like a frosty white shimmer but on a close look it is actually really really fine glitter and is a mix of greens whites blues and pinks so looks amazing with any colour. This works great lightly dusted over any look just to intensify it and adds that extra bit of sparkle.The swatch above does it no justice it is so eye catching and beautiful in real life, you really must go to your nearest Illamasqua and swatch it. They also do another one very similar which is a white glitter also but only has the pink toned glitter which is also just a pretty.

And lastly is this pair of false lashes which I am in love with at the moment now I know i got these from super drug but i cant remember how much they actually cost (sorry). But they are super black and thick, and very feathery, they also feel so comfortable to wear, and you forget you're even wearing them. They do come with their own glue but I never use the glues that come with lashes so  I cant tell you how good it is, as I also use my duo lash glue. But I think these are definitely a Christmas must have as they add instant glamour to any eye look.

Well done if you actually got to then end of the post it was pretty long, keep an eye out for some Christmas and new years eve makeup tutorials coming soon, using a lot of these products.

Becki x

Naked vs Naked 2

Hey guys :)

Like most people who are into makeup I absolutely love my urban decay naked palette and I would be lost without it, and just recently I have had my eye on the Naked 2 palette and I was lucky enough to get it for my birthday this year. So I thought I would do a bit of a quick comparison and tell which is my favorite and why, and also show you some quick swatches of colours and tell you a few ways I like to use the colours in the palettes.

 So first of I think that there has been a huge improvement in the packaging, although it's nice to have something a little different for packaging the Naked palette just isn't very user friendly, it gets worn away and starts to look scruffy pretty quickly, also it just uses a pretty weak magnet so it tends to open a lot when in bags and then that can get pretty messy. I was so pleased when i saw the packaging of the Naked 2 it was much more sturdy and actually clicks shut so cant open on it's own.

Above is a picture of both the palettes, the top one is the Naked palette and the bottom is the Naked 2, as you can see the colours are all natural and and even though in the palettes some of the colours look very similar they all look different when on the eyes. Most of the colours are very shimmery but in each palette there are a few matte colours, which you shouldn't over look as they are great for blending and the darker matte colours are good for using to line the eyes.

The picture above are the swatches of the first Naked Palette ( the lighting isn't the best but it'll do) so the colours from left to right are Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Dark Horse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep and Gunmetal. I have to say my favorite colour from this palette is Sidecar, it looks gorgeous just all over the lid and then with a couple of coats of mascara, another way I like to wear is with a little bit of smog on the outer corner and blended into the crease a little bit. Another eye look that I love to do with this palette is to use virgin all over the lid, then mix a bit of naked and buck together and work this into the crease, then just use a liquid liner to line the lash line and do a small flick, this looks really effortless yet really put together.

Again above is a picture of swatches but this time from the Naked 2 palette. Colours from left to right are Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snake Bite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, Ydk, Busted and Blackout. My favourites from this palette are suspect and vere these are great lid colours, the colour suspect works really well with busted on the outer corners as it's more of warm colour. And Verve is great for using when doing a black and grey smokey eye and look gorgeous in the inner corner of the eye and really brightens the whole area.

So I hope this was useful and helped you decide which palette you would go for or if you would even get both. I will put another post at a future date with some more looks with Naked 2 palette when I've tried out a few more looks with it.

And before I forget the price of the pallet's is around £36 and you get the palette and a brush and either a lip gloss or primer potion.

Becki x

Teeth whitening update.

Hey Guys :)

So first off I want to apologies for the lack of posts at the moment, I've just been super busy lately and blog posts got put to the bottom of my to do pile, but I'm back now and I have loads of posts that I want to get up.

I thought I would give you a quick update on how my teeth whitening is going. I have used all ten of the packets now, and I have to say I am really really impressed with how white my teeth have ended up, I started to see a big different after about just three or four days. I had heard a lot of horror stories about how these crest white strips can make your teeth really sensitive and painful, and I wont lie it wasn't all plain sailing but not half as bad as I was expecting, on around the 8th day my bottom teeth started to get a dull ache but it was bearable and I just took a paracetamol and I was fine, and now I've finished whitening my teeth the ache has gone.

I don't have any pictures of my teeth before, but they weren't too bad but I had some slight staining from drinking alot of coffee, and I felt that they just looked dull, but below is a picture of my nice new white teeth.

I have to say I never thought that whitening my teeth would improve my confidence this much, but I just can not stop smiling. I would defiantly advise trying these out.

Becki x

Teeth whitening

Hey guys :)

So I have to say I was pretty excited when the post came today, and my crest white strips finally came. I'm using the 3D white strips professional effects, and I got mine from ebay and they cost me £19.95 including postage.This is a ten day course and is so easy to use. I just used the first pack today and all you need to do is peel the strip away from the plastic and stick it onto your teeth, then wait for 30 mins before taking them off and that's it. So I will keep you updated with how it all goes and get some pictures up of before and after when the ten days is up.

Becki x

Saving for a rainy day ...

Hey guys :)

This could be a long post, so get comfy and get a cup of tea as this might take a while.

 So over the last few weeks I've been saving a little bit of money up here and there for a rainy day, and after a super busy two weeks and a case of tonsillitis, I thought I would take a little shopping trip and treat myself. I knew I wanted some new comfy pjs and some new jumpers for winter and I  had also put together a little wish list for things from lush that I wanted to get. Right so lets get started, I'll start with the goodies I got from Lush.

Dream steam steamer tab - £2.50

This first product is something that I hadn't really taken much notice to before at Lush, and its one of their steamer and toner tabs. The one I chose was the Dream Steamer tab, you put this into a bowl of steaming hot water and then after it has dissolved pop a towel over your head and let the steam do its work on your skin, then with the water you can save it and use it as a toner. This product contains lots of things which are great for winter proofing your skin, there is tea tree oil with antibacterial properties, then there is rose absolute which calms redness on the skin and chamomile and lavender to calm and relax you.

Cosmetic warrior - £5.95

Cosmetic Warrior is a fresh face mask, so you have to use this up quickly as it does go bad after a while, and I suggest keeping it in the fridge not only does it keep it fresher longer but it feels cooling and soothing when you apply it to your skin. The key ingredients in this mask are fresh garlic (but don't worry you can not smell the garlic), honey, tea tree oil and kaolin, all of which have great anti bacterial properties, and are great for soothing and treating troubled skin and tackling break outs.

Herbalism - £6.25

 Now this may look super scary and maybe a little gross to some of you. This is 100% natural and is great for oily and spot prone skin, it contains ingredients such as rose absolute, rosmary, chamomile, sage oil and ground almond which is a amazing gentle exfoliant.

Twilight bath ballistic - £3.20

 Twilight bath ballistic is one that I have used several times before and I absolutely love this. It smells amazing with lavender and ylang ylang and it also changes the water colour from orange to pink to a lovely purple/blue colour.

Christmas eve bubble bar - £2.95

Christmas eve is part of seasonal Christmas range as you can probably guess from the name. This product is a bubble bar you crumble it under running water to make lots of bubbles. This has a lovely jasmine scent and contains irish moss which leaves your skin super soft. I like to use half of this and half of the twilight in one bath they go perfect together, and make a perfect before bed relaxing bath.

Hottie massage bar - £5.75

This last product I got from Lush is the Hottie massage bar, this is great for the winter months and for aches and pains, as it has a warming effect. It contains cocoa butter and jojoba which are great for softening the skin, and it contains ginger and pepper oil which causes the warming feeling.

Fawn - £9

Topshop have this gorgeous collection out at the moment ( which I am hoping to get some more of the collection) called the dark side of nude. And today I fell in love with one of the nicest colour lipsticks I have seen in a long while it was a beautiful plum colour called wicked. However when I got home I realised I had picked up the wrong lipstick, I picked up fawn this is a nude colour with a slight shimmer, and although this is a beautiful colour it's just not for me, it doesn't suit my skin tone and I prefer much bolder brighter statement lips. So I think this one may be going to my mum.

Next I took a little trip to Primark, I decided to pick up a few jumpers for winter as over the last week it has really started to get colder now. I picked up this grey and blue jumper which is slightly longer at the back then the front and this was £6 and then I got one black and one white knitted lose fitting jumpers which were £8 each. These jumpers will be super comfy for cold days at university and as they are simple they will look great with a bold statement lip which I am loving doing at the moment.

Last of all I treated myself to some super comfy and warm pjs from primark. These pj bottoms are cuffed at the bottom and are a lovely soft fleecy material so are really warm, and they are really cute with the little owls. These were £5. Then when I was near the tills I couldn't resist these little slippers to match these are the same warm fleecy material and have little rubber soles on. These were £1.50 .

I forgot to mention as it was already in my bathroom another lush product I picked up this was the grease lightning spot treatment. I also didn't take a picture of this today and the lighting isn't great right now, but I do have a post planned for this product in the next week or so to see if it actually worked on my breakout.

Becki x