July Favourites

Hello lovelies, so this month I had a little sort through of my makeup collection and I have rediscovered a few of my favourite products which I have been using throughout July. However, I also have a few new items that I've picked up and have been obsessed with so I would love to share them with you.



Too Faced - Chocolate Bon Bons Palette

When I first got this palette I was obsessed with it. If you know me you will know that I absolutely love Too Faced eyeshadows. The shadows themselves are really high quality and all of their palettes are to die for. However this month I have been wearing a very simple eye makeup look and the shades I have used are 'Divinity', 'Mocha' and 'Almond Truffle'. I use 'Divinity' as a base colour all over my lid and up to my brow bone and then I have been blending the shades 'Mocha' and 'Almond Truffle' through my crease to slightly define my eye.

I have previously done a full review on this palette so click here if you would like to read more!



Essie -  Nail Varnish in 'Angora Cardi'

Another favourite of mine that I have been obsessed with this month is a nail varnish. I tend to wear this colour in the Autumn because it is a slightly darker berry toned shade. However, I have been really drawn to it this month and it's the only colour I have been wearing on my nails. Essie nail polishes are my favourite because they have such a huge variety of shades to choose from and I love the formula of the polishes. I find them really easy to use because the brush is just the right width and it makes it much quicker to apply.

Mac - Lipstick in 'Spirit'

A new favourite of mine this month is another lipstick from Mac. This time I picked up the shade Spirit and I am so obsessed with it. I would describe it as a browny nude and it is the 'Satin' formula from Mac. I love this because it means the lipstick is very pigmented but it doesn't dry out your lips in the way a matte lipstick does. It's been my go-to lipstick this month because it's so easy to pair with pretty much any makeup look I want to go for.

Eylure - No. 117 Texture Lashes

This month I have literally been obsessed with these lashes from Eylure. They are designed so that you can wear the strip lash first and layer up some more lashes on the outer corner. I was a bit sceptical at first because the idea of them sounded like it could be too heavy on the eyes. However I like to wear the bigger strip of lashes on something like a night out if I want a really dramatic eye look. I then wear the smaller outer corner lashes in the daytime if I want a slightly more natural eye look but still want to look like I'm wearing lashes. These are by far my favourite lashes because they just look so pretty and wispy when you wear them. If you are a fan of the Ardell Wispies then I would recommend you try these out because they're very similar in the way they look when you wear them.

Benefit - Gimme Brow

This month I have been been so obsessed with the new shade of Gimme Brow that benefit released late in June. It's the perfect shade for my eyebrows and it has become part of my everyday eyebrow routine. I'm so glad they released a new shade! I have written about this in slightly more detail in my previous post so click here if you would like to read more.

Thanks for reading,

ffy x

Review: Benefit's New Eyebrow Products

If you're a bit of a makeup addict, like myself, I'm sure you will be aware that last month Benefit launched a load of new eyebrow products into the market. Some of which are old favourites, but some are a complete new edition. Of course I had to get my hands on a few of them as soon as possible so now I've tried them out I would like to let you know what I recommend. Hope this helps!

KA-BROW

This was the product that I was most excited about when I heard about it because it is very similar to the Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade (which is my all time favourite eyebrow product). The actual product is held in a little glass pot which can be unscrewed. However, my favourite thing about the packaging is the fact that it comes with a little angled brush. This makes it so much more convenient for on the go and you also don't have to go out and spend more money on a separate brush to use the product with. The actual product itself is so long wearing and lasts all day long without smudging or anything. I love how easy this product is to work with because you can use as little or as much as you like and it still looks really natural. Personally I like to have fuller brows so I tend to need to use more product on my eyebrows to draw them on but they still look pretty natural and not too intense. Unfortunately I picked up shade 2 when I should have gone for shade 3; but its the perfect shade for my Mum so she now uses it and loves it too. If you were to only get one product from the new range, this would definitely be the one that I recommend. It is so easy to work with and you can use it for whatever look you are going for, be that to just slightly define your eyebrows or for a full brow.

Precisely, My Brow Pencil

This was another product that I was excited about because it reminded me of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Pencil which I used to love. This pencil would be ideal if you have very sparse eyebrows and you only want to fill them in slightly. Although, I wouldn't recommend it if you like to fill your eyebrows in a lot because you would need to use quite a bit of the pencil and it would probably run out pretty quickly if you are using a lot of it every day. It does have a very natural finish so if you like a very natural brow look, this could be ideal for you because it allows you to draw on short little strokes to mimic the appearance of brow hairs. Although for myself, I have to draw on pretty much the whole arch so I would use this product up way to quickly and I much prefer my Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow over this.

Gimme Brow

This was my favourite product from Benefit's old eyebrow range but there were originally only two shades, one which was too light for me and the other which was too dark. I was so pleased when I heard they were bringing out a shade which was in the middle because I knew it would be the perfect shade for me, and it is! Once I have filled my eyebrows in using my Dip Brow I will then set them with gimme brow to keep them in place throughout the day. It helps to make my brows look that bit more fuller and more natural looking. I know I love this because it's become part of my everyday eyebrow routine and I will 100% be repurchasing another when i run out. I would really recommend trying this if you've tried the old gimme brow shades and they didn't have a good colour match for you.

Brow Zings

Brow Zings was also in the previous collection and I used to love it when I had really dark hair because I used the shade 'dark' and it was a pretty good match. However, since going blonde none of the shades were a very good match for my hair colour and they were all too warm toned. In the new range they now have shade 3 which is a good match for my eyebrows so I can now use it again. I love this if I'm only going out for a few hours because it lasts pretty well for a short while and its so easy to work with. However, I couldn't wear this for the whole day because after a few hours it starts to wear off and doesn't look good anymore. This would probably be the one product that I wouldn't actually repurchase because its £24.50 and there are much cheaper products available that do a better job in my opinion!

Hopefully this post helped those of you who were thinking about trying out any of the new brow products from Benefit. Let me know if you have tried out any of the others and if they're worth investing in!

Thanks for reading,

ffy x

Drugstore Dupes for High End Products

Today I would like to share with you a few dupes for some of my favourite high end makeup products. There are so many cheaper alternatives that you can pick up from the drugstore nowadays but it can be hard to know which ones will be any good. However, I have found 3 pretty good dupes so keep reading if you would like to find out what they are.

Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade vs. Freedom Pro Brow Pomade 

The Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow pomade is the one product I use every single day. It's such a staple in my makeup collection and I am yet to find anything that is better than it. However, I have found a product that is very similar, but much cheaper.  Whilst in Superdrug I came across the brand Freedom and saw that they do a similar type of brow pomade, so of course I had to try it. I picked up the shade 'taupe' because thats the shade that I am in the ABH DipBrow and it was the closest match to my eyebrow colour. So having tried and tested both of the products I would say they are pretty similar. The Anastasia Beverly Hills pomade retails for £15, whereas the Freedom pomade retails for £5. The only difference I notice is that the Freedom pomade is slightly more grey toned and feels slightly more oily in consistency. However, considering the Freedom pomade is only 1/3 of the price it is still pretty damn good and I would defiantly repurchase it if I needed to.

Too Faced - Chocolate Bar Palette vs. I Heart Makeup - I Heart Chocolate Palette

The Too Faced chocolate bar palette is one of my all time favourite eyeshadow palletes. The eyeshadows are all so highly pigmented and easy to blend, they truly are amazing. So when I saw this palette that was supposed to be a dupe for the chocolate bar palette I knew I had to try it out. Considering the fact that the Too Faced palette is £39 and the I Heart Makeup palette is only £7.99 I wasn't expecting much but it is actually a pretty good dupe. To my surprise, the shadows are really easy to blend and don't come out chalky in the slightest. If you can't justify £39 for the Too Faced palette then this palette is the one for you. The only downside in my opinion is that the packaging isn't as cute as the Too Faced palette. However, if that doesn't bother you then I'm sure you will love this palette just as much!

Too Faced - Sweethearts Blush vs. I Heart Makeup - Blushing Hearts Blush

I have the Too Faced Blush in the shade 'Peach Beach' and it is such a pretty shade. It isn't too in your face and comes out as a very natural and pretty colour to wear everyday. I tend to swirl all three shades together to get a shimmery colour but you can just focus your brush on one area if you want a particular shade. I Heart Makeup do a very similar product with very similar shades to the Too Faced Blushes. The products are not that similar in consistency however when you apply them they look very similar. The I Heart Makeup blush is is slightly more chalky, however you can't tell once you are wearing it. The Too Faced blushes retail for £24 but the I Heart Makeup blushes are only £4.99, so considering the price difference they have done a pretty good job of making them similar. The packaging is also very similar because they both come in a heart shaped cardboard bow (which is very cute in my opinion). I have the shade 'Iced Hearts' in the I Heart Makeup Blush; however the shade 'Peachy Keen' would be a better dupe shade wise for the Too Faced 'Peach Beach' blush.

Let me know if you have any good drugstore dupes for some of your favourite high end products!

Thanks for reading,

ffy x

Disappointing High End Makeup Products (2)

A few months ago I did a similar post to this and it went down pretty well so I thought I would do another including different products that I have tried that didn't work out well for me. As always, I'm not slating the brand in any way at all, but unfortunately these products just didn't live up to my expectations. Hope you enjoy.

Benefit - Big Beautiful Eyes Kit - RRP £25.50

Before I picked up this product I hadn't taken the time to look at any reviews and I really should have. This palette is marketed as an 'eye contour kit' and its designed for you to be able to 'conceal, contour and line your eyes like a pro'. I definitely don't think it does this. In this kit you get some of the boi-ing concealer in the shade '02 - medium' and 3 shadow colours. First of all, the concealer will not be the right colour for everyone, for me it is slightly too dark which is not what I want when trying to brighten my under eye circles. I also found that the shadows weren't that easy to blend and there was quite a bit of fallout when applying them. Overall, I don't think this product is worth the money in the slightest. There are much better palettes available and this one doesn't even come close!

YSL - Touche Éclat Concealer & Highlighter - RRP £25

I almost feel guilty for including this product because I know so many people love it, but personally I just really didn't like it at all. It's supposed to be a concealer and highlighter but I don't think it does either of those jobs very well. I really didn't find it to have much coverage at all because it didn't really conceal anything. It's more of a brightening product, but even so I still didn't find that it made that much difference. For £25 I would expect this product to be pretty damn good, but unfortunately it really didn't live up to my expectations. It also comes in a tube where you have to click the end in order to get more product out. I didn't like the design of this at all because you never know when it's going to run out and if you really rely on this you may run out all of a sudden.

Mac - Lipstick in 'Pure Vanity' - RRP £17

I first came across this product online and initially I was drawn to this lipstick by the packaging. I loved the aztec print and thought it looked really unique and eye-catching. I decided to buy 'pure vanity' because the picture made it look like a nude/peach shade and i thought it would be a nice shade that you could wear most days. However, when it arrived the colour was so much brighter than I expected. It's a very orange/coral toned colour and I really don't like it very much at all. It's also a very creamy finish on the lips so it's not very pigmented and just looks more like an orange lip gloss which is not the look I like to go for.

Too Faced - Romantic Eye Palette - RRP £29

Now don't get me wrong, Too Faced eyeshadows are amazing. The shadows are always so highly pigmented and super easy to blend which is part of the reason I love them. However, this palette really isn't my favourite. The colours are not what I would usually go for. So for this reason alone, I haven't really used the palette much at all. I feel like the colours in this palette are suited more for people with green eyes because the shades are all very pink or purple toned. Whereas I have blue eyes and tend to wear more orange/brown shades. However, if you have green eyes or these colours are what you would normally go for, i'm pretty sure you would love this palette.

Thanks for reading,

ffy x

June Favourites

Hello everyone! Today I would love to share with you the products that I have been obsessing over throughout the month of June. I'm so sorry that I haven't posed for the past couple of weeks but I was pretty busy and didn't have much time to spare. Anyway I'm back to normal now and I'm aiming to be posting every Wednesday and possibly some Sunday's again. Let me know through either Instagram or in the comments if there is anything specific that you would like me to blog about. On with my favourites!

Too Faced - Primed and Poreless Face Primer

I have been using this primer in conjunction with Benefit's POREfessional matte rescue gel and I find that they work really well together. I first apply the POREFEssional gel to help keep my skin staying matte and then I apply the Too Faced primer on top to smooth out my skin and reduce the appearance of any pores. I find the Too Faced primer to be very similar in texture to Benefit's POREfessional primer. They both reduce the appearance of pores and help to keep my foundation on for the duration of the day.

Maybelline - Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner

Usually I switch between my L'Oreal Superliner or my Illamasque gel eyeliner; however this month I decided to try out another eyeliner I hadn't heard much about and I am loving  it! It was only £5.99 and for the price you pay its amazing. The eyeliner is super black and doesn't turn a horrible grey/washed out colour throughout the day. It's so easy to apply aswell because the felt tip is so thin and pointed that it makes it much easier to make your eyeliner precise. I would 100% recommend this eyeliner if you're looking for something inexpensive that does a fab job!

Chanel - Corrector Perfection Long Lasting Concealer

Before I tried out this concealer I hadn't heard any reviews on it so it was a bit of a gamble as to whether I would like it or not. This surprises me because its such a good product. Mine is in the shade '10 - Beige Clair' which is the lightest. It's a really full coverage concealer which is ideal for covering any spots or blemishes on my skin. I also love how it doesn't cling to any dry patches on my skin. I apply a primer and also set it with powder and it does a great job of staying in place all day and doesn't end up sliding off my face towards the end of the day. The only downside is the price, but I don't find that I need to use a lot of it, so for me I think you get what you pay for with this product.

Chanel - Rouge Coco Lipstick - 'Adrienne'

I'm not really one of those people that likes to rock a bold lip; I usually go for a really natural lip colour that isn't too out there That's probably why I love this lipstick so much. The colour is almost identical to my natural lip colour but with a slight sheen to it. It matches with pretty much any eyeshadow look I decide to go for as it is so subtle. On days where I don't feel like wearing much on my lips I will opt for this because it helps to finish off a makeup look and it looks better than leaving your lips bare.

Green & Gorgeous Organics - Dry Shampoo

Recently I was sent some samples of some organic dry shampoo from the generous Green & Gorgeous Organics (@gandgorganics over on Instagram). At first the idea sounded strange to me that dry shampoo was organic and not a aerosol but I was also pretty intrigued at the same time. However, after having tried them out I have grown to love them. It's not a typical dry shampoo that comes in an spray can. It's a cardboard container in which you sprinkle the product onto your scalp and then massage the product into your hair. This has been such a lifesaver for me because it blends into your hair so well and doesn't leave a white cast or anything in your hair. I also love the smell of them. The sample sizes are great for on the go too incase I feel that I need something to control the oils in my hair throughout the day. Overall I would really recommend you try this dry shampoo and I will definately be investing in the full size after I have used these ones up! Thank you so much to Green & Gorgeous Organics for sending me these. I love them!

Thanks for reading,

ffy x