Blog ¦ Cutting down

In the past couple of months I have felt like I've been churning out four posts a week of content that didn't include any passion. I felt as though how many times I blogged a week made me either a good blogger or a bad blogger. I've been posting four times a week for a little while now and at first I loved it however since then I've also started up my YouTube channel and got a job. These things along with the massive amount of college work I'm going to get next year I've decided to cut down a little. I'm going to see how three posts a week works for me as I don't want to keep churning out mediocre content which I don't really like. I want to write more detailed posts and reviews that are going to really help people. Once I go back to college in September I may have to re-evaluate again as at the end of the day it's make or break time and if I mess up this year I'm not going to university. I really hope you guys understand and continue to enjoy the (hopefully) improved content that I'm going to be putting out.

Beauty ¦ Another collective haul

Ooops is all I have to say for myself right now. However I am now on a spending ban and I haven't spent money on makeup in over 3 weeks so I mean I'm quite pleased with myself. There are a couple of repurchases in here and also a fab deal from Benefit!

 

 

Starting off we have the Urban Decay Naked skin concealer in Fair neutral I already have this in Light neutral however I've found that it's just a little too dark for under my eyes so I thought I would pick up the shade below. This is such a lovely concealer for the under the eyes as it is so creamy and lightweight. Next up I picked up The Balm Mary-Lou manizer I can so see why everyone loves this one, it is a really beautiful champagne gold shade which gives the skin the most stunning glow I actually reviewed this /Here/ if you want to know a little more about it. Another super hyped up highlight is Laura Geller Gilded honey this one is a little bit darker than Mary-Lou however it's another gorgeous champagne gold shade. I was little worried when this arrived that it was going to be a little too dark however I've found that it works well even on my super pale skin. I feel like this is definitely the perfect holiday highlight.

 

I picked up two setting sprays in the past couple of months as I'm hoping to find a cheaper dupe than the Urban Decay All nighter setting spray I picked up another of the small sizes as I just can't justify paying £22 for what is essentially glorified water. Don't get me wrong I really do think that it helps keep makeup on for longer and takes away any cakeiness however it still hurts to pay that much for it. As the Maybelline Super stay setting spray was on offer on Feel unique I decided this would be the first one I compared I've only tried this one twice so far and I've not quite decided how I feel yet. The spray is no way near as fine as the Urban decay one so it's one I'll definitely have to report back on.

 



Left to Right - Mary-Lou manizer, Gilded honey, Naked concealer.

I've gone a little crazy with new brow products, however Benefit was running one of their makeup deals were you get three products a makeup bag and a free gift for my three products I picked out KAbrow! Which is somewhere between a brow gel and a pomade. I find it really easy to work with and it can either be built up for a very heavy brow or sheered out for a much more subtle look. Next up I decided to try the Precisely my brow pencil as it looked so similar to my Smashbox brow tech matte pencil which I absolutely adore. It's a very thin pencil which from pictures is very similar to the Anastasia Brow wiz. I like a thinner pencil as it gives me more control and means I'm able to add in some extra hairs in the front of my brows. Finally I decided to repurchase Gimme brow I really love this product and this deal seemed the perfect time to repurchase it. It adds a little volume to the brows whilst really setting them in place and stopping them from moving anywhere.

 

I also picked a couple of new brow things from Freedom, I decided to pick up their Brow powder duo in Ash brown as I already have dark brown which is a lot warmer so I picked up this one to mix with those shades to create my perfect brow shade. I also went for their Brow pomade in Ash brown as I wanted to compare the formula to the Anastasia dip brow. It is actually very similar in  texture but it is perhaps a slight bit drier than the Anastasia one. This shade is actually a good one if i'm going for a more dramatic brow look however my Anastasia one is definitely better for everyday.

 



Brow pencil, Gimme brow, KAbrow, Freedom Pomade, Freedom powders

 Finally for today we have the free gift that came with the benefit set, it's the Luv it up tin I am actually so happy as I have wanted to try the benefit shadows and the cream shadows for so long. I have to say I am super impressed by the cream shadow. The texture is really lovely and it feels like it really sets on the lid. I used it in conjunction with the shadows and it really helped them to pop but also made them last so much longer the lids. It also comes with the Dandelion gloss which is something I've used before and really liked as it's a brilliant low key lip.

 

Dandelion, RSVP, Call my buff, Nude swings, Thanks a latte.

Beauty ¦ Possibly the best idea ever? Friction free shaving.

We've all done it, your wearing a vest and about to go out when you realise you haven't shaved under your arms so you rush to the bathroom to shave and your razor is completely blunt but you use it anyway. Now this has been doing the rounds on instagram in the past couple of months and I just had to give it a go.

 

I decided to go for the Samantha which is the most expensive out of the three choices. However at £7 it isn't exactly breaking the bank when you think about the fact that you get 4 blades and the actual razor body. I was so impressed when I got it out the box. It's fairly weighty and for £7 you cannot complain it's super sturdy and feels like it is going to last really well. You can opt for a monthly or a bi-monthly plan which is fab as for me personally I'm super lazy and only shave my legs if I have somewhere to go with them out so I tend to only ever really shave under my arms. However if you aren't lazy like me then the monthly plan means you get a head a week.

 

I was really quite impressed with how well this blade has lasted, I find some can be a little too sharp when brand new and just make it easy to cut yourself however this was perfect. I've used it about 5 times now and the blade has probably got another couple of uses out of it which I don't think is too bad.

 

Overall I'd really recommend this as it makes life so much easier as you don't have to think about going to buy razors as they are delivered through your letterbox every month. 

Beauty ¦ The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

 

Okay so I most definitely wish I had bought this sooner, I can really see why everyone is so obsessed with it. It is the most stunning mix of gold and bronze which means whilst adding the radiance it also adds just a slight bronze to the tops of the cheek bones this means it works beautifully with lots of bronzer for a really summery glowy look. This isn't too intense (It's not quite sleek solstice levels) however it's not one for if you like a natural highlight. One thing I really love about it is the fact that the shimmer isn't chunky in it which is one of my biggest problems with some highlighters. In this the shimmer is very finely milled so that it can be used very lightly for a subtle look or it can be built up and it will never look chunky and make your face look like a disco ball.

 

 

One thing I'm not to sure about is the packaging I feel like it's sturdy enough to travel with however if it got dropped I'm pretty sure it would end in a billion pieces. I like the fact it has a big mirror in the lid however as it makes it the perfect thing to throw in your bag for not only if you need a touch up but also if you just need a mirror. Overall I can see why people love this highlighter, it's the perfect everyday highlight as it isn't super intense like the sleek ones but it still adds a lot of glow to the skin.