Real Techniques : Deep Cleansing Gel

Oh Hey Guys!

You awesome readers must realise now my love for Real Techniques brushes is bordering insane, so when I heard that they had brought out a deep cleansing gel to clean brushes I rushed down to my local Superdrug. I found that they didn't stock it within smaller stores so I had to go down to Westfields to pick up my bottle, it retails at £6.99 which isn't too expensive when you compare it with other brush cleansers!

Here is one of the many disgustingly dirty brushes that I own, I am terrible for regularly cleaning my brushes it is something I need to get better at. This is my contour brush from the sculpting set that I adore, definitely gets used whenever I apply makeup so it was definitely in need of some TLC!

 I actually love the design of the bottle, its sleek and of course has the RT logo on it, which corresponds with the metallic pink of the select brushes. The only problem I have discovered with it was when squeezing out the product it is tough to get out and the product either comes out too much or not at all.

 So the washing is pretty self explanatory, just squeeze a drop of the product on the brush bristles and rub it into the brush to clean. You notice (disgustingly) that the product coming off will be a gross colour *mostly orangey* this is good!
 Next just run it under the tap, it might help to squeeze out the excess water and repeat the steps if there is still makeup on the brush.

Finally just squeeze out the excess and put them on a towel (which is higher on the brush head side) and leave them to dry, I normally leave them overnight.

Overall I would say this is a good product, it is the first brush cleanser I have used, normally I use Johnsons baby shampoo (see old post) . It does exactly what it says and my brushes are looking and feeling back to there brand new selves. I quite like the fragrance from the product as well its not too overpowering but is feminine and nice. As I previously mentioned the only down side is the product distribution and the packaging in terms of the ability to squeeze out the product. 

I hope this is a satisfactory review, I am definitely not the best at these. 

That's all for now,

Day to night neutral eye

Oh hey guys,

I'm not an expert at make-up by a long shot I mean I struggle to even do a simple eyeliner flick but I love trying to do stuff and experimenting so after not being able to sleep one night this is what happened.
Just a warning before I continue I have to apologize for the terrible lightening and images, my university accommodation has terrible lighting and my sister stole my camera so I am using my Iphone 4S!


So here is the first look, more day time appropriate, obviously the eye liner flick is optional I only really did it because I am absolutely terrible at doing it and need all the practice I can get. I decided to mix together two different foundations for my base as one was too yellow and one makes me look completely ghostly but the combination of the two creates a nice flawless base with no flakiness, super impressed. Next I just did my everyday brows, to some it might be too dark or my brows might not match up but you can't run around pleasing everyone. My eyes are obviously neutral with browns and greys nothing to big or smokey as it has to be a transition piece so has to suit both day and night.

 Sticking with the day look the eyeliner is nothing to big and bold but it's entirely down to the person, if you want big eyeliner go for it, I personally struggle with any flick so I keep it quite small and precise. I used a white liner to really open my lash line and used a angled brush to push brown eye shadow on my lower lash line. For my mascara I'm using my favourite one for giving big voluminous lashes.

 

For my face I used my usually bronzer all over my temples, jawline, nose and cheekbones I don't tend to dabble much when it comes to bronzer and blush I just stick with one product. I'm up for new products so if you guys have any recommendations let me know. On the topic of blush I just used a peachy colour which is really affordable and has a good pigment. For the daytime I stuck to a nude lip, I realise that I forgot to include these products in my photographs so I will let you know what they are now.  First I lined my lips with Rimmel London Exaggerate lip liner in 018 "Addiction" then I applied Sleek Matte Me lip cream in 436 "Birthday Suit" . I love this combination as the lip creme dries pretty quickly and leaves a nice nude touch to the lips/

This would be my night time twist, it is literally adding a bold red lip obviously you could always make your eyeliner bolder and contour darker. It is down to personal preference. 

L-R: GOSH Foundation #Porcelain, Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation #Shell, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer #Fair, Maybelline Big Eyes Eyeliner, Revlon Eyeshadow Quad #Addictive, Essence I love crazy Volume Mascara, Maybelline Fit Me Powder #Ivory, Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder, Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick #107 Wine, Natural Collection Blushed Cheeks Blusher #Peach Melba,  Collection Fast Stroke Eye Liner #Black, Barry M Eyebrown Kit, Rimmel Brown Gel #Clear

L-R: Real Techniques Blush Brush, Real Techniques Buffing Brush, Real Techniques Contour Brush, Real Techniques Setting Brush, Real Techniques Lash and Brow Groomer, Real Techniques Shading Brush, Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush, Real Techniques Brow Brush, Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush, Beauty Blender, Cotton Wool Buds

So there you have it, my own take on neutral eyes for day to night!

Hope you enjoyed.

The Beauty Scenario TAG

The Questions:

1. You have to get rid of all your foundations and you can only keep one high end and one drugstore, which do you keep?

This one is particularly hard for me I shop 95% based on drugstore mainly because I'm not rolling in money yet, so the ratio of high end to drug store is a tad biased. However the drug store foundation I'm picking is based on the length of time I've used it for, it was the first foundation that didn't apply to my dry skin and turn into skin flakes (ewww gross I know). So the foundation in question is GOSH X-Ceptional Wear Foundation in Porcelain, not only is it a perfect fit for someone with dry skin but it was one of the first foundations that had my skin tone. It is average on the price scale at £7.99 and can be picked up at your nearest Superdrug.
I only own two "high end" foundations in the shape of Benefits Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! and Estee Lauders infamous Double Wear foundation. Out of the two I definitely reach for Benefit more, it blends better into my face and offers a complete coverage that both matches my skin tone and enhances it. The foundation itself is also packaged beautifully in fact it is something that can be put on display in any room. You can grab your own bottle at Boots and its something I would recommend. Estee Lauder foundation made my skin flaky and I believe that I got given the wrong colour foundation which didn't help my view, I see why people rave about this foundation but with my skin now it doesn't quite work. You can pick your foundation Boots both foundations retail in there 20's which is almost 3 times more than GOSH.

2. You go for an interview and the lady interviewing you has lipstick on her teeth. Do you approach the subject or ignore it completely?

I think in this kind of situation I wouldn't draw attention to the issue, I feel that if I was to do such a thing then the interviewer would feel self conscious and it may count against me. The least I would do would be to do subtle things such as licking my own teeth in a hope that they would do the same.

3. You're not feeling yourself and need a pick me up. Which lipstick do you put on to make yourself feel beautiful?

I don't tend to wear lipstick a lot and when I do it's dramatic, a simple red lip never fails to make me feel amazing, my ultimate favorite has to be Fatal Red by Maybelline. It's cheap and cheerful and I feel like it suits my complexion pretty well. 


4. You go back in time for a day to your teenage years, how would you do your hair and makeup differently?

I didn't actually start to wear make-up until I was at least in year 10 (or Sophomore year) but I definitely went through a stage of wearing things that were the complete opposite of how God intended me to be. I straightened the life out of my natural curls, dyed it almost black and wore foundation that was darker than I was. I would shake the life out of myself if I could and tell myself to stick to natural stuff, don't be someone else for anybody just be true to you.

5. You ask your hairdresser for a shoulder length Pixie Lott hair cut, but they hear wrong and give you a pixi cut. Do you a) Smile, say thank you, leave and call your mum hysterical b) Cry in the chair and things get awkward or c) Complain to the manager and demand a refund.

To be honest I would never ask for anything that short I am way to attached to my hair but let's say I do. In all honesty it would be the first option, I'm not generally someone who confronts someone or argues my mum however would march over there and demand that they fix it and give all my money back.

6. Your friend surprises you with a 4 day city break and you have 1 hour to pack. Which 'do it all' palette do you pack in your makeup bag?

Oh how I would love that friend! I don't tend to have a lot of high end makeup palettes in fact all of my palettes are affordable drug store brands. The MUA Undressed Palette is an amazing dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palette so it combines all natural and glowy tones and shades to create both day and night looks anywhere. 

7. Your house has been robbed, don't worry everyone is safe, but your beauty stash has been raided. What's the product you really hope is safe?

I don't have one particular thing in my makeup products that I would think of straight away, I think out of everything I would choose to grab my Real Techniques Make-up brushes. I am proud of my growing collection they are by far my favorite brushes and super affordable!

8. Your friend borrows your makeup and returns it in awful condition. Do you a) Just pretend you haven't noticed b) Ask them to repurchase it or c) Secretly do the same to something of theirs

As I've previously said I am not one for confrontation and I doubt it would have been on purpose, I would just know to never lend them makeup again, I can't actually imagine any of my friends wouldn't repurchase or replace something that they would have messed up. 

Christmas Gift Ideas! Part one: Beauty Bits

So a lot of blogs are doing these kind of posts and not to be one that misses out I thought I would give my version of this a go. I've separated the gift ideas into three parts, beauty, Lush and other bits, so here goes nothing.

Beauty Bits! 

So as you can see I'm still a big sucker for make-up brushes I think that every woman should get the chance to use and experiment with them and as biased as I may be, I believe that the Real Techniques brushes are the brushes for that. I did a whole separate post on the brushes as you can see here but The Core Collection is an amazing set to start with and it is both affordable and definitely something that no woman will regret owning! 

The next set of brushes I happened to stubble upon whilst casually browsing the Boots website (as you do) I had no idea that Sleek had make-up brushes in their repertoire and I am looking to try a range of different brushes to compare and tell you guys about, this is cheaper than the Real Techniques brushes and have 3 more brushes than the Core Collection does but until I try them I cannot tell you guys whether its better or worse than the Real Techniques collection. It's a great beginners set for Christmas! 

Stepping away from the brush addiction I only included two other make-up based products as otherwise I could talk for ages about things I want or would suggest for other people. The Ben Nye Banana Powder is an amazing powder that is hyped up a lot in the beauty community, it is relatively cheap online and has raving reviews. Many beauty gurus swear by this product at keeping there oily t-zone at bay and although my skin isn't oily this product is something that everyone can enjoy and combine with their everyday make-up. 

Finally is a Ciate Caviar Manicure set in Black, I know these sets have been around for absolutely ages but I think receiving something like this as a gift or even as a secret Santa for someone would be cute. It's something someone wouldn't necessarily buy themselves but something that is an indulgent treat for many.