Kat Von D Shade + Light Rust Palette ♡

Hope you're all having an amazing start to 2017, I started off with a huge splurge on current cult beauty favourites. If you follow me on Instagram you would know i've just come back from Dubai, and what does Dubai have that the UK doesn't? Other than the obvious sun, sand and unreal food- SEPHORA. 

My favourite place on earth without a doubt would have to be Sephora, I could easily spend hours in there and not even thinking about how much i'm spending.

I picked up the Kat Von D Shade + Light Rust Palette in the line to pay, you know the queue where they surround you by all the mini's and you end up picking one of everything up, yeah that one.

 

I don't even know where to start with this, I have never been more obsessed with a palette like this one, even though it only has 4 colours in it. I use this during the day to work and in the evening by intensifying the rusty colour.

The powders are very fine and so high pigmented so make sure to tap off excess or you'll look like you've got a bruised eye. The key to this palette is blending, like you do with all palettes but here blend like your life depends on it. Once the brown and rust colour have been blended well you get the most amazing finish.

I cant recommend this enough such a staple in your makeup collection, i'm going to oder sage when I get the chance, I really regret not getting more!

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Sponge wars! Beauty Blender VS Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge ♡

Its the war of the best beauty sponge on the market! I have been a religious user of my Beauty Blender since I got my first one.
Recently Real Techniques have released a new Miracle Complexion Sponge and after hearing a lot of positive things about it on blogs and Youtube, I thought why not give it a go.

This is my first Miracle Complexion Sponge, I haven't tried the older version of it so I cant really comment on which I prefer or any of the differences. Im going to start by comparing the sponges in price, the Beauty Blender is more than double the price of the Miracle Complexion Sponge. I can buy 4 Miracle Complexion Sponge's for the price of one Beauty Blender so you can't really go wrong there.

I already have a review up on the Beauty Blender so i'm not going to get too into it, you can read it here. But in terms of application and the way product looks on the skin their is hardly any difference. I love both and cant actually pick a favourite due to how similar they are.
Although, what I can say is after my original Beauty Blender wears out I don't see myself repurchasing it as the Miracle Complexion Sponge is so much cheaper and gives me the same results.

Any other makeup sponges you think are worth me trying out? Let me know what your favourite ones are and i'll give them a go!

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Benefit Dew The Hoola ♡

Benefits 'Hoola' bronzer has been one of my favourite bronzers for years now, having religiously used it nearly everyday since it came out. I have a review up for it here if you are considering purchasing it (shameless plug).
So hearing that they had now also created a liquid Hoola bronzer had me very excited to say the least. I picked it up at my local Benefit counter for £22.50.

The product comes in the cutest metallic 'bamboo' packaging, and as you all probably know by now im a sucker for nice packaging. I love how the product comes with a pump rather than an applicator stick like most liquid bronzers, this is so much more hygienic and practical.

The product is a smooth lightweight consistency which is perfect for the face, its also very dewey if thats the look you like to go for then this is a star product. When I purchased it I thought this was used for contouring, which is what I originally wanted. As you can see in the photos above the product is too light for anything like contouring. If you have very fair skin I think it could work but as i'm naturally quite tanned this doesn't do much for me in that sense.

I read up and saw this was actually meant for your base makeup, which is something I haven't tried before. I mixed two pumps in my foundation and did my normal base routine and loved the way it turned out. Like I said I am naturally quite tanned, but adding this product to my foundation gave me that 'sun kissed' glow you don't usually get with foundation or other bronzers.

Lastly I thought I would give it a go by using it as a BB cream and just putting it all over. This is a great replacement for BB cream and I use this most days for that purpose rather than using foundation. The product applies really well with your hands but I would suggest patting it down with a Beauty Blender after for a more flawless application. 

Overall i'm obsessed with this product and would recommend anyone to buy it if they're after a bronzer like this one. I noticed that they also are selling a Hoola instant tan, if any of you have tried it let me know what its like in the comments.

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Huda Beauty- Bombshell ♡

Two weeks ago on my way to work I noticed a huge line going all the way around Harrods, this isn't unusual as tourists just wait around for it to open. But as the day went on and it was time for lunch, the line hadn't got any shorter. I asked around to see what the reason was for hundreds of teenage girls to be outside Harrods for this long was, I was thinking a celebrity appearance if anything. Little did I know, Huda Beauty had opened up a counter in the store. So of course, I had to go have a look.

Because of how many people were trying to get ahold of them, we had to be really quick at the counter. In and out as soon as possible. I didn't get a chance to actually try any of the colours on and see what they looked like before I purchased, but seeing as I work so close I thought it would be best to play it safe with a nude and come back on a less busy day. The lipsticks retail for £18.

To use the word 'obsessed' is an understatement. The colour is a perfect 'your lips but better' colour which is what I go for in a lipstick. Since i've got it i've worn it everyday during the day and even on nights out. 

In terms of formula, this is the only matte lipstick i've applied without having had to put lip balm before hand, which says enough. Its not at all drying and doesn't crack at all, which never happens with a matte lipstick. 

Theres been a huge debate going over whats better, the Kylie Lip Kits or these liquid lipsticks. I personally think that these are so much better. Im going to explain further in another blog post as theres too much to say about them both. By then i'll hopefully have a few more Huda Beauty lipsticks so I can make a much fairer judgement, 

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NARS Laguna ♡

Ive never been a fan of powdered bronzers, I always find they end up looking too ashy and tend to move about on the skin throughout the day. As you all probably know, I love nothing more than a good cream contour and the full Kim Kardashian contour routine. As great as it is, it can be so time consuming on days I need to be out of the door in 10 minutes or for the mornings of school. 

I thought it was about time I invested in a good powder contour that I can use in the morning for school that wont be so difficult to work with. I cant even begin to tell you how much I hate how overly orange and pigmented most powder bronzers on the market are.

I picked up the NARS Laguna bronzer as its probably the most hyped about high end bronzer at the moment. It cost £27 which is pretty standard for any high end bronzer, plus it will easily last me about a year so I wasn't too fussed about how much it would cost. 

I've been wearing this bronzer everyday for school the last week and I love it, which I didn't expect at all. I find that it stays on all day in the exact place I put it in the morning without moving around on my face. The bronzer is buildable, its not so harsh that you have to be very careful when you put it on at first, I go right in and have no problems and then just work on darkening it to my preference. 

The best thing about it though I would say, unlike other bronzers, this is a true brown colour. It has no orange undertones, stopping you from looking like you've applied a fake tan gone wrong in pictures.

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MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot ♡

Ive been really getting into paint pots recently, they're so easy for everyday wear as they're so quick to apply. My everyday makeup routine has shortened drastically since I started using them. I had a look online to see what some of the cult paitpots on the market are just so I can have a little paintpot 'starter kit.' The most common name that kept appearing was MAC's Soft Ochre paintpot.

The formulation is great and they dry very quickly so theres no need to worry about smudging. The colour itself however is not really for me, Its quite light and pasty looking when worn alone on the eyes which is what I had originally intended on doing. This colour works great as a base to neutralise and prime your eyelids before applying your actual eyeshadow. If thats the sort of thing you are looking for then this is great for that, but worn alone I found it really washed me out and was quite unflattering on the lids. 

Will I be using it again? Yes. Would I repurchase or recommend it? No. 

I don't know what it is with me and cult beauty products but I never seem to get along with them like most people.

If you have any paint pot recommendations I would love for you all to share them with me as I am still collecting!

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Manicure Monday ♡

I haven't done one of these in months! Probably because my nails have been so basic for months.. I have been opting for just a simple one colour pastel since summer started, so I didn't think you all wanted to see your ordinary plain Jane nails. Now that its getting colder and we are drifting into autumn I can start going back to my regular black and white minimal nail art. 

I went for a basic look for minimal nail art that has been done a million times before and you've all probably already seen it, but I thought I would show you anyway!

Hope you're all having a wonderful bank holiday.

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