Friday, 18 March 2016

Splurge, Spend or Save: Liquid Eyeliners


Top to Bottom: Charlotte Tilbury Feline Flick, Soap and Glory Supercat, Collection Extreme 24hr

 Left to Right: Charlotte Tilbury Feline Flick, Soap and Glory Supercat, Collection Extreme 24hr


Save: Collection Extreme 24hr £2.99

I  feel as though this is a fantastic option for beginners or for those who don't do a flick on the daily, due to the very affordable price tag. Although not quite as pigmented as the Soap and Glory Supercat, over a good primer (I like the Mac Paint Pot in Painterly) it is still very black. In terms of longevity as the name would suggest it really does last all day. The nib on this is very similar to that of the Soap and Glory Supercat if a little slimmer, making it an easy to use option for beginners. There is also a fantastic shade range, which the other two liners do not offer, with there being teal, purple, grey and brown options, but be careful with the purple and teal as they do tend to stain.

I only don't suggest this option for those who use a liner daily as it does dry out after around a month of daily use but it is still a fantastic option.

Overall Rating 4/5

Spend: Soap and Glory Supercat £6.00

I'll let you in on a little secret, this is my favourite. If you are someone who's eyeliner is their signature then I feel as though this is a great option. This nib is the largest of the three and so is perfect for a slightly thicker line which is what I go for anyway. It is also the stiffest which I think will be better for some than others, it's just down to personal preference but it is something that I enjoy. The only downside for me is that there is only one option, which is the blackest of the three I have to show you but I would like a dark brown or purple as well.

For me this is by far and away the best of the three and is well worth the £6.00 price tag as for me it lasts around the three month mark with daily use.

Overall Rating 1000/5 (Sorry this is Holy Grail status)

Splurge: Charlotte Tilbury Feline Flick £22.00

You've probably realised by my lack of mention of this liner throughout this post that this is my least favourite. I tried this out at the counter and thought that it seemed like a beautifully smooth and pigmented liner, I also thought that the thin nib would be a nice change from my usual Soap and Glory offering. Boy how wrong I was, I don't know if I just got a dud but this dried out after a week, the first two days were great I could get a really lovely thin line very close to my lashes that was jet black and very smooth but after that it became so hard to be precise as the liner dried out and dragged along the lashline. In the swatch above I have had to go over around 3 times for it to show up and I think that it still show how patchy and grey it is compared to the other two. I think that this is due to the packaging, the other two liners mentioned here have much more secure lids that click once shut, whereas the lid for this liner is very loose that easily slips off.

I don't necessarily feel as though that this is representative of high end liners in general nor is it representative of Charlotte Tilbury as I have tried some of her other products and they are fantastic, but just avoid this liner. :(

Overall Rating 1/5

So should you Splurge, Spend or Save?
That depends, if you're new to the world of eyeliners, go for the Collection eyeliner, but if you're a bit of an eyeliner connoisseur then 100% go for the Soap and Glory eyeliner. 

Monday, 14 September 2015

Review: Kiko Long Lasting Stick

The One Wash Wonders 

Without Flash L-R: 05, 06, 21, 25 
Without Flash L-R: 05, 06, 21, 25 

Outer Packaging
Kiko is a brand that I'd heard so much about but as there is no Kiko store near me and I didn't want to order blindly from the internet I had held back from purchasing. I recently went to Barcelona where Kiko appears to be a wildly popular brand. The Kiko stores themselves are absolutely beautiful and are set out a lot like MAC, although Kiko's products have a much lower price tag, with lovely staff who are more than happy to help with any questions you may have. 

The product that I immediately made a beeline for was the Long Lasting Stick, as I have wanted to purchase the By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock but just couldn't justify the pricetag but these Kiko sticks not only dupe the formula but 05 appears to be extremely similar in colour to Misty Rock.

I headlined this post One Wash Wonders because that really is what they are. A sweep of colour across the lid and a quick blend around the edges with a 217 and you are ready to go. These for me last all day but do crease a little towards the end of the day, but if I use them over my MAC Painterly Paintpot then they last all day without creasing. The standout shade for me is definitely 05 which I have been wearing on minimal makeup days when I don't want to wear eyeliner. Another shade which I absolutely love is 25 which a muted silvery taupe and makes a perfect base for a 60s cut crease eye which is love on a night out.

Overall Rating 5/5

Available here for £6.90

Friday, 31 July 2015

Bourjois Mega Liner 24hr



Just a quick review today of this liner, I think that you know within one or two tries whether or not a eyeliner is right for you. This however, was just not right for me. Its far too thick, I thought that the nib which is shaped at a slant would help to create a feline flick but it actually makes it much more difficult as it just isn't small and precise enough and so it is much easier to make mistakes. The colour is good, as is the longevity, it is SUPER black and matte and doesn't flake or wear off, whilst the nib is quite wet and so it definitely seems to have lasted a lot longer than my other eyeliners. I would say that if you can get along with the nib that this would make a great liner as its formula is fantastic, but I personally can just not get it to work for my everyday look.

Overall Rating 2 out of 5
Fantastic formula, just a shame about the shape of the nib.

Available here for £7.49.

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

Rimmel Lipliner in Eastend Snob


As promised last week I am reviewing my favourite everyday lip colour. I purchased this lipliner when I was struggling to purchase MAC Soar, a review of which will be coming soon, as I wanted a pink/mauve lip liner that could used to slightly go over the line of my lips a la Kylie Jenner. This lipliner was recommended again and again on every beauty blog and at just £3.99 I didn't really have much to lose. This really is lovely, yes its drying but it stays on so well and isn't uncomfortable to wear unlike other dry formulas (Ruby Woo I'm looking at you) and I think it is a great colour that compliments yet never detracts from any makeup look.

Overall Rating 5 out of 5 
There isn't really much to say other than to say I thoroughly recommend it, I love it so much I bought an extra after I panicked that I'd lost my first tube, which I later discovered in the bottom of my bag :/ haha.

Available here for £3.99.

Monday, 27 July 2015

Dupe of Nars Orgasm






Nars Orgasm was definitely a cult classic that I was quite late to buy, probably because this is quite a polarising product with many saying that despite its cult status that it isn't that great. When I did eventually buy it though it exceeded my expectations it is so finely milled, I don't find the glitter chunky like many seem to, and I think that it brightens and highlights my cheeks enough for my to skip highlighter which I love. 

However, when going through my stash of blushers I realised that I already had something quite similar that is available at a far lower price point, that had gotten lost amongst my higher end blushes that I tend to reach for. Now although very similar there are some differences and I actually think that each blush is better for different needs. In terms of texture I find that the Nars version is much finer in texture whilst the sleek version is chunkier. Further, I'd like to point out that in the swatches below that the Sleek swatch took one swipe from the palette whilst I had to built up Nars with several swipes to get a good colour comparison. Now this is both a good and bad thing, it means that whilst the Sleek version is more pigmented it is also easier to make a mistake with whilst the Nars version gives a much more soft blended effect easily.

Overall Rating:
Sleek Rose Gold 4.5 out of 5 
Although I am giving the Sleek version a slightly lower rating this is because I think that it is much more suited to a darker skin tone, on whom Nars Orgasm may not show up or may take a lot of building up.

Nars Orgasm 5 out of 5
This for me is absolutely the best blusher I have ever used, I wear it pretty much every day and I find that it is perfectly suited to my pale skin tone as it picks my face up and makes me look much less tired.

Availability
Sleek Rose Gold is available here for £4.49.
Nars Orgasm is available here for £23.00.

Left: Nars Orgasm, Right: Sleek Rose Gold
Left: Nars Orgasm, Right: Sleek Rose Gold 

Friday, 24 July 2015

Perfect Ring Finger Manicure




Glitter, a pain in the ass to remove but probably my favourite way to spice up my always neutral beauty look. I am especially loving the glitters that are being released currently, there appears to be a big trend for odd shaped glitters in differing colours and textures, such as matte and shiny, all squashed into one bottle. I love polishes like these as they give a much more interesting look to the nail than a uniform glitter. This maybelline street artist top coat in white splatter is a perfect example of this kind of glitter, rather than being a white glitter as the name suggests it shows up much more purple on the nail with white, blue and pink accents. If applied without a top coat it can give quite a matte look, but it lasts a lot longer when a clear top coat is applied. It really is a stunning polish.

On the rest of my nails and underneath the glitter polish I am wearing Models Own Utopia. I am a big fan of Models Own Varnishes as they are fantastic at providing unique effects and colours at a reasonable price. Utopia is a putty, nude colour with a very very slight pink/purple undertone. Unlike many other nude varnishes available at the drugstore this is opaque in two coats, however this does mean that the varnish is a little thicker and more gloopy than their other offerings, and as such it does need a little longer to dry. Despite this, I love the colour especially when doing an accent nail as I have done here, but also as an everyday colour that can be work appropriate which makes it a much used colour within my collection.

Overall Rating i am going to give both 5 out of 5!!
The Maybelline offering is available here for £3.99.
The Models Own offering is available here for £4.99.

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Rimmel London Apocalips in 101 Celestial



This might just be a contender for the best every day lip colour, EVER. I know thats quite a statement to make but this really is up there amongst my favourite products. I'll be sharing another favourite soon and it is another Rimmel lip product. Tangent over, and back on to what makes this a fantastic product. It is a crossover product between a lipstick and a lipgloss and as such it has the pigmentation of a lipstick and the creaminess of a lipgloss, and is in no way sticky, which I think is a big bug bear for most of us. The doe foot applicator is also great at applying the product, there is a little well in the middle of the applicator that holds the perfect amount of product and the shape of the applicator hugs the lip and creates the perfect shape. 

The colour itself is a perfect my lips but a bit pinkier colour and doesn't make too much of a statement which makes it great for no makeup, makeup days. For me this is just the perfect product, the product lasts through a few drinks but doesn't last through a meal but not many lip products do. However, it does fade evenly and reapplies beautifully which is a huge plus point.

Overall Rating 5 out of 5
I absolutely love this product, and in all honesty I think that it is worth far more than it is listed at, it is one of the best lip products i have ever come across and I really recommend it to everyone.

Available here for £6.49.