Friday 17 August 2012

Baby Pink Nails!

When it comes to nail polish I tend to go for fun pastels or darker colours like navy, grey and black. The only pink nail polish I had in my collection, until recently, was my ELF nail polish in Passion Pink, a darker bright pink shade with gold shimmer running through it. However, I am starting a new job soon and wanted a  more subtle, but still pretty, nail colour.
My first stop was Barry M, and I found exactly what I was looking for pretty quickly. Baby Pink fits in well amongst my mint greens, pastel purples and peach nail colours. The colour is exactly what the name says, a beautiful baby pink. I often find paler pink nail polishes to be a bit wishy-washy and nondescript, but I love that this shade still packs a punch and is a very definite colour on the nail.

I don't tend to like shimmery pearlescent polishes, opting for either shimmer-free shades or nail polishes with actual chunks of glitter in them so I often go to Barry M for nail polish as they have a great range of colours to match my fussy requirements. 
I've had this on for 4 days straight without any noticeable chipping, which is quite a record for me. If it hasn't chipped in a couple of days then I've normally peeled it off anyway. Hopefully this durability will come in handy for working.

I absolutely love this colour. It could just be cos it's not normally a colour I'd opt for, but I find it so refreshing and pretty. It's a great colour for Summer, but will be a great staple all year. 

And at £2.99 for 10ml it's a fantastic buy!

xxx

Read my thoughts on ELF Passion Pink nail polish here! http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/elf-reviews-part-two-concealer.html

Tuesday 7 August 2012

What's In My Makeup Bag? #3 LIPS

I always enjoy 'What's In My Makeup Bag?' blog posts. I like to know what people are using day to day and what they like enough to consider them essentials in their makeup bags, so I thought I'd do one of my own!

I don't have a huge makeup bag, and I don't think I carry around an excessive amount of products, but everyone has different opinions of what is essential and what they're likely to want or need throughout the day, so here's mine...


LIPS

LIP BALM: It's not high brow or hot in the beauty world, but I love Lip Smackers! My mum got me a set of the Coca Cola Lip Smackers last Christmas and I have probably used one everyday since. In my makeup bag I carry the Cherry Coke Lip Smacker. I normally put this on after my foundation to leave it to soak in a bit while I do my concealing and eye makeup. The Cherry Coke one has a dark pink sheen to it, so sometimes I will wear this on my lips by itself as it's moisturising and gives a nice bit of colour. I reapply this throughout the day when my lips are dry, and when they're not, just for the great smell!

LIPSTICK: I keep my Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in my makeup bag everday. I guess this could count as a balm product, but seeing as I don't carry a lipstick around (in the Summertime anyway) this is the nearest thing. I like to have a couple of different colour options in my makeup bag in case I fancy a bolder lip, and I tend to have two or three different colours. For instance, in the Autumn/Winter months I keep a pink lip product, a deep red lipstick or lip liner, and perhaps a more plummy colour in my makeup bag. So for these Summer months I enjoy having this Tutti Frutti Lip Butter to hand and I think the orange shade is different and summery.

Read my review of Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter here... http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/revlon-colorburst-lip-butter.html

LIP PENCIL: Unless I'm doing a red lip, I don't tend to lip line. Instead I like to use lip pencils for filling in the whole lip for a more lasting, matte look. I keep my Barry M Lip Liner in Fuchsia to hand as it is fantastic for just this look. It lasts really well on the lip, and is such a pretty bright pink. It stays in my makeup bag throughout the year as I think the shade is gorgeous in all seasons.

LIP GLOSS: I have a lot of lip glosses, but most of them are coloured. That's why I like to keep this pale nude shade with me. I got this Barry M Limited Edition Lip Gloss last year when they gave them free with Impulse body sprays. I believe the shade is Nearly Nude. The best thing about this lip gloss is the smell. IT SMELLS DELICIOUS! It has a vanilla caramel scent to it, which is amazing. Sadly, this is probably coming to the end of it's shelf life. Let me know if any of the other Barry M Lip Glosses have this scent to them, as I know a lot of them have different scents, but I haven't tried many of the range.


Read Part One of my What's In My Makeup Bag? here...  http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/whats-in-my-makeup-bag-1-face.html

And Part Two here...
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/whats-in-my-makeup-bag-2-eyes.html

Thanks for reading! xxx

Monday 6 August 2012

What's In My Makeup Bag? #2 EYES


I always enjoy 'What's In My Makeup Bag?' blog posts. I like to know what people are using day to day and what they like enough to consider them essentials in their makeup bags, so I thought I'd do one of my own!

I don't have a huge makeup bag, and I don't think I carry around an excessive amount of products, but everyone has different opinions of what is essential and what they're likely to want or need throughout the day, so here's mine...

EYES

Eyeshadow: I'll often throw the eyeshadow I put on in my makeup bag before I go out, but there are a couple that I always keep on me. The first is Collection 2000 Colour Intense Trio Eye Shadow in the shade Sandcastle. This has 3 shimmery nude shadows, a very pale cream, a slightly darker beige, and a warm light brown. I think this trio has a great selection for everyday makeup, and can be built into a couple of different looks and can work to adjust a lot of looks if you forget to put your eyeshadow in your bag or if you don't want to carry a lot around.

I also have my Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Bad Girl in my handbag. While a lot of colours in the palette are very dark or bold, they can be used lightly to create a wide range of looks, and it's great to have in your bag if you're going out for the day and night, as it's easy to make a neutral day look into an evening one with a smokey eye. It also has two great nude shades in it, Innocence (a frosty white) and Gullible (a frosty beige) which I use a lot for a wash of colour on the lids in the daytime.


Eyeshadow brush: I don't like to carry a lot of brushes in my makeup bag, so I just carry my eyeshadow brush from FCUK as I find good for most looks or touch ups I may need to do.

Eyeliner: I love liquid liners, and personally find them relatively easy to do on the go or touch up quickly. At the moment I'm using 2true Effortless Waterproof Eyeliner and am loving it. It lasts really well, applies accurately, and is opaque so it doesn't require numerous coats. I used to always carry a black kohl pencil or gel liner for my waterline, but have been needing a new one for quite a while since my Maybelline gel liner (which I really liked) dried out and it hasn't been top of my makeup priorities. When I repurchase one, it will undoubtedly live in my makeup bag everyday.

Mascara: I always have two mascaras in my makeup bag. I'll keep a waterproof mascara in there at all times (I'm currently using NYC Showtime Waterproof Mascara) to apply over my normal mascara if necessary or if I want to make it last a bit longer (this isn't scientific fact, just something I like to do!). I then will put in the mascara I am using at the time after I've put it on. I tend to alternate between Benefit's Bad Gal Lash Mascara, George's Lash X-Treme Mascara, and Rimmel Volume Flash Scandal'Eyes Mascara (all in black) depending on the look I want, as I find they all give me different effects.

Read my review of Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/glamour-and-benefit.html

Read my review of George Lash X-Tend Mascara here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/george-lash-x-tend-mascara.html




Read Part One of What's In My Makeup Bag? here! http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/whats-in-my-makeup-bag-1-face.html

Part Three coming soon!

Thanks for reading! xxx

Sunday 5 August 2012

What's In My Makeup Bag? #1 FACE

I always enjoy 'What's In My Makeup Bag?' blog posts. I like to know what people are using day to day and what they like enough to consider them essentials in their makeup bags, so I thought I'd do one of my own!

I don't have a huge makeup bag, and I don't think I carry around an excessive amount of products, but everyone has different opinions of what is essential and what they're likely to want or need throughout the day, so here's mine...

FACE
Foundation: I don't carry around a foundation everyday, especially if I'm carrying a lot about that day, and often concealer will fix any skin dilemmas that may arise. But I do often throw it in my bag before I go out, despite the fact I don't think I've ever re-applied foundation when out and about, unless I was going somewhere to get ready (like a friend's house before a night out or a special occasion where we want to get ready together) or if I'd rushed out without time to do my makeup (which is rare!). At the moment I am using the NYC All Day Long Foundation, which I love for a cheap foundation. It lasts really well and when hotter days come along it doesn't slip or sweat off.

Read my review of NYC All Day Long Foundation here! http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/nyc-all-day-long-foundation-review.html

Concealer: I carry concealer at all times! I used the Rimmel Hide The Blemish stick concealers for a really long time, until I recently bought the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer. I know this concealer has a lot of fans on blogs, and I understand why. I love it! It lasts throughout the day, has great coverage, allows you to pinpoint blemishes, and doesn't go cakey when built up. This has quickly become a staple in my makeup routine and I don't go anywhere without it.

Read my review of Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/collection-2000-lasting-perfection.html


Powder: I am always a bit scared when I get my powder out of my makeup bag. I've suffered from broken powders, bronzers, blushers and eyeshadows many, many times in my life! However, in the Summer I can get a bit shiny, especially if I'm running about a bit and therefore like to keep powder on me for a quick fix. I always buy translucent powders because I am quite fair, I use the palest foundations generally, and I don't want any coloured powder that may not match up well and would look very obvious on my pale base. I was using Rimmel Stay Matte translucent powder untiil that broke recently, so I am know using Collection 2000 Pressed Powder.

Powder Brush: To apply my powder on the go I use a blusher brush by FCUK, which is great because it's slim and doesn't take up as much room as perhaps a larger powder brush would, and I only tend to put powder on a couple of places on my face, so it's good for keeping powder exactly where I want it.

Read my review of Collection 2000 Pressed Powder here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/collection-2000-pressed-powder.html

Eyebrow Pencil: I actually use a pencil eyeliner for shaping and colouring my eyebrows. I often get a No7 gift set for Christmas or birthdays and these (luckily) often include the No7 Amazing Eyes Pencil in Brown. I really like this for my brows as it's easy to do light individual strokes and the colour is quite ashy so it doesn't leave me with gingery eyebrows (which has happened in the past). Eyebrow products may not be considered essential to everyone, but my brows aren't very dark naturally and are quite sparse, so I like to fill them in to make them more defined, and consider this one of my makeup musts everyday. I probably wouldn't use these liners for my eyebrows if I wasn't getting them in gifts as there are cheaper brow products out there, or even just eyeshadows, but when I've tried eyeshadows I've found it hard to find the right shade. Also these pencils are really convenient for on-the-go makeup.

Mascara Spoolie Brush: I keep an old, clean mascara wand in my makeup bag to brush through and shape my brows before adding pencil or brow mascara.

Brow Mascara: I have only started using brow mascara the last few months, but now I don't know how I ever managed without it!I use the ELF Wet Gloss Lash and Brow Clear Mascara. I keep it on my despite the fact it's never required touching up or another coat because hairs have fallen out of place. I find once I apply it in the morning, my eyebrows are set all day.

Read my review of ELF Wet Gloss Lash and Brow Clear Mascara here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/elf-reviews-part-one-eyeshadow-eyeliner.html



Part Two of What's In My Makeup Bag? coming up!

Thanks for reading! xxx