Seventeen Superstars

Hi ladies, hope you're all okay and having a fab friday! I'm so excited to share with you my post today. It's all to do with some products I picked up recently and have been loving from the brand seventeen. Now, if you've read my blog for a while you probably know that I have quite a mix of high end and high street makeup featured on my blog. Now I love Mac and Benefit as much as the next person but it really is nice sometimes to find a beauty bargain and save yourself some pennies. For me as long as a product works I'll love it and if it's a bargain too then I'm all in. So I have 3 barganious products to share with you today. Now Seventeen or 17 as it was formally known was a favourite makeup brand for me along with natural collection back when I first started wearing makeup at the beginning of my teen years. I remember really loving their products and the price of them but I haven't tried anything from them in absolutely ages so I thought it would be really nice to try some things out from the brand again and boy, oh boy I found some real gems.

On the Spot Foundation - Fair - £5.99 here
This is a new release from Seventeen and one that I think is pretty damn clever. This foundation claims to give you 'clearer skin in just 4 weeks' and the reason that it's supposed to do this is because it contains ingredients that contain blemish fighting ingredients, one of them being salicylic acid which is a well known ingredient found in many spot treatments. So this is both a foundation and a treatment in one which is really great if you suffer from a blemish or two. I do get a few spots from time to time so I was really intrigued by this product. I also love that it has SP15 which is good for the day time and claims to be full coverage. Now as a foundation this so far has really impressed me, I love the coverage and it really does help to even out your skin tone, I think this is also quite similar in terms of finish to Rimmel wake me up, it's quite a dewy, natural and fresh finish and has a really nice makeup type smell. I would say it has good stay powering and you can't feel it on the skin but the coverage is great, I enjoy wearing this. I haven't been using this for long enough to see it clear every single blemish up on my face but it does calm the skin and definitely doesn't make the problem any worse, my skin really likes it. I'm going to report back in 4 weeks though and let you know exactly how I feel about this product, so far though I think it's great, it's super cheap and super effective and for people with problematic skin I think you could have found your new holy grail product.

Seventeen Photo Flawless Skin Primer - £4.99 here
This product comes in the tiniest tube known to man (15ml) and I could barely see it when I was browsing the Seventeen stand but for some reason I decided to squirt some on the back of my hand and give it ago. Oh boy, this primer is amazing. If you've read my blog for a while you know I swear by the Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro primer but this one is seriously becoming a big competitor. I've heard a few people say that is similar to the Smashbox photo ready primer and to be honest I can see why. I really love this, this makes your skin feel like absolute velvet and also really helps out to minimize pores and give you a really nice base to pop your makeup on with me. This feels so nice on the skin that I would wear it when I wasn't wearing foundation, it's just so silky and works lovely under the on the spot foundation. It's a completely clear consistency and you can squeeze it out of the tube which means great product control. I love the black and gold packaging too.

Seventeen Blusher in First Kiss - £3.49 here
I remember back in the day when I first started wearing makeup I used to wear blushers from Seventeen and Natural Collection but since then I've become much more of bronzer girl but with summer coming I decided to pick up a blusher and the one I picked up was in First Kiss. I think the Seventeen blushers are really pigmented and soft and easy to blend and this colour is gorgeous, it's like a really nice corally pink colour and is perfect for Spring/Summer, it has amazing pigmentation and the packaging too. This is a really nice product and has got me into wearing blush a lot more so I think I might be picking up some more of these at some point.

Overall, I'm really impressed with the range of makeup Seventeen has too offer and I really want to go out and try some more now. The prices are really affordable but the products are a really nice quality and I think you can find some really 'must-have' products in their range!

Thank you for reading,

Gem x

Everyday Makeup Routinue

Hi Ladies, Hope you're all okay! Sorry for the lack of posts recently, if you follow me on twitter you probably know why and if not then I've just been taking a little break from blogging for a bit. Anyway I thought a really nice post to do would be to show you all what the main products are that I reach for every single day and kind of my everyday makeup routine  I love seeing these kind of posts probably because i'm a huge nosey parker so hopefully you enjoy this too. And I will be back soon properly! I promise.

Face

Now there are two foundations that I think are pretty perfect and they're the ones I use on an everyday basis. Recently (as in the last week or so) I've been favoring my Mac Studio Fix Foundation over my Rimmel Wake Me Up, but normally I'll switch between the two on a daily basis and I slather either of them on with my Real Techniques Expert Face brush. Next I will take my Mac Studio Finish Concealer and use this to cover up any redness on my face or any spots or blemishes that I don't want anyone too see. The next step is to apply Fake Up by Benefit underneath my eye area in a V motion and then blend it upwards under the eye area with my fingers. I like to use my fingers because I feel like it really helps to warm up and blend in the product for a seemless coverage of those pesky dark circles. Next I will set all of my face makeup with my Rimmel Stay Matte face powder and my Real Techniques Powder Brush, I mainly concentrate on sweeping powder over my forehead and my nose and focus the most attention on my oily t-zone. The next step to finish off my face for an everyday look would be to add some bronzer and a contour. I keep two bronzing products in my everyday makeup bag and pretty much switch between the two. The first one is the Chanel Bronze Universal which I normally apply on my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to contour both my cheek bones and my temples and then I would go over with a bit of Nars Laguna Bronzer to both intensify the contour and also just generally bronze the face up. I'm not a massive blush fan so to be honest on an everyday basis I normally skip blush and highlighter and move on to the eyes. My everyday makeup consists of a lot of basic and quick steps which can get me ready as quickly as possible and out of the door.

Eyes

For the eyes I go really simple and natural during the day, I don't particularly like wearing eye shadow on an every day basis but I do wear it sometimes depending on my mood but for an average day I find it saves time if I skip it. Anyway I firstly line my upper lash line with either the maybelline gel eyeliner which I love or the L'oreal Super Liner. The reason I have two is that I use them for different reasons, I would use the L'oreal one if I want to create a flick or i'll use the maybelline one if I want a more soft and natural liner. I've just realized that I was a complete idiot when I was photographing these products because I forgot to photograph my mascara! Anyway I've inserted a picture now of Benefit's they're real which is my go to mascara, this is the sample size from Elle magazine but I have the full size and love it too. Anyway, I curl my lashes and then apply my Benefit they're real mascara to them so that I end up with really long and volumised lashes. The next step is too fill in my eyebrows, I love filling in my brows because I love how it defines your face but I find it such a hard process, anyway I use the MUA Brow Kit and use the darkest shade to fill in my eyebrows, I use my real techniques angled eyeliner brush for this part.

Lips

Lastly I pop on a lipstick because I feel that it just completes the look and leaves my makeup looking finished and polished. I normally switch between two different lipsticks for everyday wear. I will normally just go for my favourite lipstick of all time which is Mac Angel, I find that this is the perfect lipstick to just chuck on in the day and is perfect for school or work or pretty much whatever you're doing during the day. I've recently been wearing nude lipsticks a lot more though and I love this Rimmel Lasting Perfection lipstick in 700 or I go for the Revlon Lip Butter in creme brulee.

Lots of Love,

Gem x

May Wishlist

Hi Ladies, Hope you're all doing okay today I thought I would share with you my May wishlist, with my payday coming at the end of the week there is quite a few things that I'm lusting after and most of them are pretty pricey! So anyway these are the things i'll pick up if by some miracle or another I turn into a millionaire over the next week or so, a girl can always dream aiy?!

Estee Lauder Double Wear

If you've read my blog for a while you will know that I am foundation crazy, like I literally have a problem and should probably go to some sort of foundation rehab. I most definitely buy at least one foundation a month and this month i'm dying to try the famous Estee Lauder Double Wear. After researching this within an inch of my life I've found that you either really love this foundation, to the point that you will never use another foundation ever again or you hate this foundation and would quite happily toss your bottle in the bin. I'm obviously hoping that I love it and end up using it for the next 20 years or so (this is real people!). From what I've heard this gives amazing coverage, so much so you don't need to use concealer and also lasts up to 18 hours!! That's crazy but a lot of people love this so much because once you put it on it doesn't budge until you decide to take it off. Either way I've heard about it for such a long time that I'm dying to try it. So if you've beat me and have already given it ago please leave me your thoughts/review links below so I can have a look. I'm a woman obsessed I tell ya!

Nars Blush

Ever since I bought and loved my Nars Laguna Bronzer I feel like I should leap into the pool of Nars products and pretty much try everything. I've decided to be restrained though and the next thing I'm really lusting over from Nars is a Nars Blusher. Every one of my favourite You Tube Guru's and favourite bloggers all have their favourite so I'm really intrigued and really want one in my life. To be honest I'm not much of a blusher girl but I'm thinking that maybe that's all down to the fact that I haven't found the perfect one yet so I'm so intrigued to try one out. So far I have no idea what shade I want (why do all the Nars blushers have the rudest names in the world by the way?!) so if you have any suggestions or ones you love let me know!

Mac Candy Yum Yum

I think i'm probably the last person on the whole entire planet who doesn't own this yet, all I've heard about these last few months is Candy Yum Yum and I think for Summer with a tan this will be absolutely amazing. If i'm honest I'm scared to death of Candy Yum Yum, it is the brightest and most fuschia pink shade ever and I tend to play it safe with my lip colours but i'm thinking this might be the push I need to brighten up my lips. Anyway although this scares me half to death I really want to try it, I love Mac Lipsticks you can't beat them in my opinion and this product is sooo hyped up I feel like it's my duty as a beauty blogger to give it ago.

Moroccan Oil

I feel like every product I'm mentioning in this wishlist are cult favorites among the beauty world and i'm just a little late to the party and this is another one. I've seen countless bloggers rave about this and class it as 'holy grail' status for their locks and therefore I'm pretty intrigued. I recently saw Zoe from Zoella give this a shout out in her April Favourites and it just made me want it all over again. My hairdresser has actually used this on my hair and I love it but I really haven't been able to justify the price tag, £30.00 just makes me want to cry, although apparently this stuff is meant to nourish your hair like no other.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I love Urban Decay, if you've read my little old blog for a while you'll know that, I used the Naked 2 Palette all the time & also my Vice Palette and I just love the shadows so much. Recently though I've been lusting over the original Naked Palette, again everyone has this but me and I want to be able to create amazing eye shadow looks with it. Every tutorial I watch on You Tube everyone is always using this to create the perfect every day eye or the perfect smokey eye too so I just want to give this ago.

Bourjois Cream Blushes

Now this is one of the things on my wishlist that hasn't been out for ages and in fact I'm not sure they're even out yet but I've seen quite a few press releases on these Bourjois Cream Blushes and I think they look gorgeous. I think cream blushes are perfect for warmer months and are really natural and glowy and from what I've seen in terms of reviews and pictures of these blushers they look gorgeous. If i'm honest I think that high street brands don't really release very many blush type products and if you look at the stands in Boots you will see that the blush selection is seriously lacking so I'm glad Bourjois stepped up their game and I can't wait to try these.

Maybelline Vivid Lipsticks

The pigmentation of these lipsticks is just crazy, I love watching Alli from Makeup By Alli on You Tube and she's one of my favourite American Beauty Guru's, anyway she has been raving about these lipsticks for months and months and she's used a few of them in tutorials and I was just waiting for them to be released in the UK. They've been out for a few months here now and I'm kicking myself for not running and getting them sooner. I did swatch some in Boots actually and I was sooo impressed I was just feeling super duper poor that day and therefore didn't pick them up but they're on my wishlist to grab this month.

Soap and Glory - The Fab Facial Peel Pore Mask

Who would have thought it aiy?! A Soap and Glory product that I don't already own, this is their 'Fab Pore Mask' and I think it will be perfect for cleaning out those pores and really deep cleaning the skin. I've noticed my pores have started too look a little large on my nose and therefore I want a mask to sort it out, as S&G have never really let me down I headed to their website to have a look and set my sights on this one.

Thank you for reading again dolls and please leave me comments below telling me if you've tried any of these products and what you think about them and leave me links to posts too! I'm holding you all responsible if I buy any of this stuff and it's horrific and you haven't let me know ;)

Lots of love

Gem xxxx

April Favourites

Hi lovely ladies, hope you're all okay! Just thought I'd start by saying sorry for the delay in posts but I've been a very busy lady! Anyway, today I thought i'd finally share with you all my April Favourites. It's the 5th of May today, so I've been pretty rubbish and should have probably got this out much sooner but better late than never right? I've had a few things I've been loving this month especially as I can now officially see the start of summer on the way and therefore can crack out the more appropriate makeup.

Lacoste Eau De Lacoste Pour Femme - 50ml - £45.00 here

I recently mentioned this product in a recent haul post and I love it. This stuff smells incredible, I actually won it in a competition but I can't get enough of this stuff. This is just the perfect Spring fragrence and I honestly haven't stopped spraying it throughout the whole month of April. I have had so many different compliments whilst wearing this perfume and loads of people keep asking me what i'm wearing, it's one of those scents that is strong enough so you can smell it but isn't too overpowering and it's just a really nice fresh and clean scent. It's sweet but also has hints of floral scents which I love. This bottle is pure heaven and if you see this bad boy around give it a sniff.

Benefit Fake Up Concealer - No.1 - £18.50 here

I won't blabber on about this one because I just recently mentioned this in a full review on my blog - here - but I love this and it's been my favourite beauty discovery over the last month. I'm so glad that I purchased this because it's just so refreshing and cooling under my eyes in the morning and also help keep those bags at bay! So overall a massive winner.

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation - Soft Ivory - £33.00 here

At the start of the month I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this bad boy but I've found out the perfect way to apply it and this really is amazing. The rave reviews it gets are for a reason and I'm soooo glad that I picked this up, the coverage is crazy good and I love the finish of this. I'm not going to go into too much detail about this one because I'm planning a review in the near future but it's pretty impressive.

Rimmel Instant Tan Sun Shimmer - Light/Matte - £3.49 - here

This is one of the cheapest fake tans on the market coming in at an impressive £3.49 me and my friend picked it up whilst we were in boots and were feeling like we wanted to be a bit sun kissed. To be honest I wasn't expecting a lot from this tanning product but it's actually really impressed me. I personally love fake tans that are instant just because I hate having to wait for them to develop because if i'm honest I hate not knowing how it's going to turn out. But anyway, this has beat the St.Tropez instant tan & the fake bake instant tan I've tried hands down and become a new favourite product for me. I'm thinking of doing a comparison between this instant tan and the 17 one so look out for that but yeah this just leaves me feeling and (hopefully) looking sun-kissed and healthy and I love it. Another win for Rimmel this one.

Soap and Glory - The Daily Smooth Body Butter - £8.50 - here

Another month and another Soap and Glory product is featured in my monthly favorites  my addiction knows no bounds and I've found another product that I love from the brand. This is the Smooth Body Butter and I just really like this, it is really moisturizing and creamy and sinks into my skin really quickly. It smells just like the Soap and Glory Mist you madly mist (here) you can get so I like to apply this after I've had a shower and then mist my self with the matching scent and I feel really clean and relaxed and moisturised so I've been really enjoying that.

Nars Laguna Bronzer -  £26.00 - here

Again I've just done a review of this so I won't ramble for too long but I feel like I want to shout my love for this product from the roof tops or something. It is the perfect summer accessory  you need this in your life for Spring and Summer because it's just going to warm up that complexion and make your skin glow. It is just amazing and deserves every single bit of love it gets from the blogging community in my opinion.

Maxfactor Lipstick in Lilac Wine (665) - £7.99 here

This lipstick has become my absolute go-too for the month of April, it's a really pretty pink but it has a really nice golden sheen to it so it looks lovely with a golden/bronze eye and bronzed up skin. It's just a really nice formula and isn't drying and I just find that it's the perfect colour for my skin tone and helps to warm my complexion up and give my makeup that va-va-voom it needs.

Nivea Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose - £2.25 - here

Mmmmm, this product is gorgeous, I've heard about these in the beauty community a little bit and thought I'd give this one a sniff and the second I did I bought it, this smells like those really nice raspberry yogurts I used to have when I was a kid, but really it just smells like raspberry and it's really sweet and is just super yummy. It's really nice and moisturizing on the lips too, it doesn't transfer a huge amount of colour but it's great for chucking in your handbag.

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this post, thank you all for reading. I hope you have a lovely May & I'll speak to you all really soon.

Lots of Love,

Gem xxx

Nars Laguna Bronzer Review

Nars Laguna Bronzer - £26.00 - Nars - here

Hi lovelies, hope you're all okay & are having a nice week. Today I thought I'd blog about a product I've only recently discovered which is Nars (very famous) Laguna Bronzer. Now everyone and their mum and their mums, aunts, best friends daughter has tried this product and probably most of them have reviewed it at some stage but when you love something as much as I love this I feel like it's almost my duty to share it with you all. 

Firstly I can't even tell you how excited I am to finally own this product. I would say that this is one of the most hyped up products you can find in the beauty world, show me a well known blogger or You Tube guru that hasn't tried this stuff or doesn't want too and I'll be impressed, everyone loves this, it seems to be a permanent in peoples make up bag and actually on their face. I think when a product is respected and talked about that much that you just have to try it - despite it's ridiculous price tag (well that's what I'm telling myself) soo I made a cheeky trip to Space Nk's website, chucked it in my virtual basket and nearly died when it got delivered the next day. This is actually my first Nars product and let me tell you since having this in my life I have a wishlist as long as my arm and I'm lusting over practically everything on the Nars website. 

Now I won't bore you with too much information but Nars Laguna is just a really nice bronzing powder and if i'm completely honest when I first opened it I wasn't that inspired. But trust me you apply this baby to your face and you can completely see why people name this their 'HG product'. Firstly one of the most exciting points about this product was the packaging. I heard countless amount of people moaning about how Nars packaging just got messy as hell, and yes it does and I've spent just as much time cleaning the packaging up with a baby wipe as I have with actually using it. But I still love the case it comes in, yes it's rubber but it feels so luxurious and sturdy and has a really nice big mirror in too so it's perfect for touch ups.

I think I've worked out that the reason Laguna is so fab is because it pretty much has everything you'd want your bronzer to have and more. First of it contains tiny bits of glitter so doesn't leave your face looking flat but equally doesn't leave your face looking like a big, fat shiny disco ball. And also it doesn't leave you looking really flat due to it being completely matte. It's just a really nice medium which leaves you skin kissed and glowing but also allows you to contour and look well and truly bronzed. Another amazing thing about this product is the colour, I feel like this is a really universal shade and it's one of the only bronzers that really works and doesn't look to crazy on my pale complexion. I think one tiny tap of this on your bronzer brush will be enough for us pale girls but if you're a bit darker it's super easy to build it up and make it work for you. The reason why Laguna is so loved is simply because it has ticked every single box in the bronzer area and it suits a huge range of people which just makes it perfect.

Nars actually says "Bronzing Powder creates the ultimate healthy glow. Diffused powders with golden shimmer create an all-over warmth or contour for the face perfect for creating or enhancing the look of tanned skin. Finely milled powders fills in lines and pores for smoother, more even looking complexion" and I would have to completely agree with everything they say. This product just gives you the most natural sunkissed glow and you don't end up looking muddy or orange or fake, it's just an effortless bronzed glow. I also find this bronzer to be super easy to blend, it seems to have a really smooth formulation which I like because you can really blend the product out if you are a bit heavy handed.

Next thing that's amazing about this powder is the staying power, I have a lot of trouble with makeup really witholding the test of time on my face just because I have oily skin but this lasts all day no problem which is really good, I find blush and bronzer two of the worst offenders for not lasting too long so when I saw Nars Laguna still firmly on my face after a day at work I was well and truly chuffed. This stuff has awesome pigmentation too so as I mentioned before you only need a tiny bit, that's good because you don't use as much and also it won't clog your pores if you're only using a tiny bit where as if you're piling it on it won't look natural and will clog up your skin. I find that just tapping the very tip of my Real Techniques contour brush in it gives me enough to contour those cheekbones and for an all over glow I would sweep a bit on my Real Techniques Blush brush all over my face.

Overall, I can say that this is probably one of my favourite beauty discoveries ever, I absolutely love it and can imagine using it for years to come. It just does everything and more that I would expect a bronzer too and I find it works amazingly on my skin type. There's a reason that the beauty world has given Nars Laguna a massive seal of approval and I completely agree. I can't believe I waited soo long to give this ago, it's amazing and I love it. Although I still do love my Bourjois Bronzing powder and if you're slightly more on a budget and don't want to splurge I would recommend that one too so make sure you check out my post on it here. But for me bronzer is one of those products worth splurging on & the results of this one are brill!

Anyway thank you for reading,

And let me know your favourite Nars products,

Lots of Love,

Gem xxx

Spring Tag

Images from We Heart It - No Content is mine

Hi lovelies, It's been really Spring like in the UK over the last few days so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do the Spring Tag on my blog. I saw this first on Fleur De Force and Miss Glamorazzi's You tube channels but after seeing it spread and seeing it on a few blogs I thought i'd jump on the band wagon. So I hope you enjoy this & it gets you in the mood for Spring.

1) What's your favourite spring nail polish?

I absolutely love nail varnish in the spring and summer months, I'm a massive fan of pastel colours and I think they look really flattering and girly on the nails. I normally have gel nails so I don't get to paint my finger nails very often but I think pale pinks, lilacs and mint shades are perfect for this season. My favourite nail polish that I picked up lately was the Barry M Gelly Nail Polish in Lychee, I think the shade is just really neutral but pretty for spring, although I don't think that range of nail varnishes is really over impressive in terms of shine, the formula isn't amazing but the colour is gorgeous. I also really like the look of Essie's Candy Apple which is a bit of a hyped up product in the beauty and blogging world, I think that Essie have it spot on with that shade because it just looks like Spring in a bottle too me, wish it wasn't always sold out everywhere though, such a bummer!

2) What is your most have lip colour this spring?

I have a few lip colours that are just perfect for Spring, my favourite's would definitely have to be from the Revlon Lip Butter range, they were featured in this post here. I cheated a bit here because I couldn't just pick one shade but I think that the shades that are perfect for spring will be the lip butter in Sorbet, which is a bright, hot pink fuchsia, it's just the perfect colour for warming up your complexion as the weather gets hotter and it's always night to brighten up your lip colour as it comes into Spring. I think that the colour that I will be wearing the most these coming months though will be the Lip Butter in Cotton Candy (don't you just love the name!) it's a really nice baby pink that can be built up for a more intense colour but I just really love wearing it and think it fits in with the pastel and baby shades of Spring. I also think the Lip Butters are the best formula for warmer months and are really nice, moisturizing and creamy on the lips.

3) Show us your favourite Spring Dress?

I actually found this one quit hard to answer because I haven't actually been Spring Wardrobe shopping yet. If you live in the UK like I do you know the weather hasn't been very Spring like at all. In actual fact the only time we've seen some sun was over the last weekend where I saw all of the British out in force in shorts and sandals! (what's wrong with people it still wasn't even over 10 degrees!). Anyway I thought I would do some online browsing so I could see if I could answer this one and it led me to falling in complete and utter love with a lot of Lipsy's Spring Range, I think all of these dresses are gorgeous and it's nice that they can be worn during the day and also dressed up at nice. I love the pinks and purple shades with the white and think that will be a really big trend this Spring and I also love floral patterns for spring and think they are a must have. I just love all of these dresses especially the first one and also I love the little play-suit. So yeah, if you're looking for some Spring Inspiration I would defo check out the Lipsy website here.

4) What's your favourite Spring Flower?

I absolutely loveeee flowers all year round but I think my favourite season for flowers is definately Spring. For me flowers just say 'Spring'. I really like pink flowers in Spring and I think as soon as I see the blossom and bluebells coming out on the trees I really know that Spring has arrived so I really do enjoy it. Another favourite flower for me during this season would be Orchids, I absolutely love Orchids and think they are one of the nicest and rarest flowers and one day I will master keeping the buggers alive! But they're just so beautiful and fresh looking and the clean pink and white shades are perfect for the warmer months.

5) What is your favourite Spring Scarf/Accessory?

Hmm, this one was pretty hard for me. I picked up this gorgeous coral purse over the weekend from River Island for a bargain price of £10.00 and I think it's just perfect for Spring, I love Coral Accesories during Spring and I also picked up a really nice necklace from New look but I can't find it on the website. I think everyone needs a really big chunky necklace through Spring that you can throw on witg every outfit and a real 'statement' piece. I also think that pastel scarfs and scarfs with skulls on are really good and 'in' this season.

6) What Spring Trend(s) are you most excited for this year? (makeup, fashion or both)

For me I think I love Spring makeup because it's a time where you really get to play down your makeup and go for really natural, dewy skin a bit of mascara and then use a nice cream blush to liven the cheeks and a bright statement lipstick. So I really like the trend of minimal but flushed makeup. I also really like the trend which I've seen lately of different colour eyeliner or speckled eyeliner which makes the eyes instantly pop and look more interesting although I don't know if I'd be able to pull that one off. I've heard a lot about this from brands like Illamasque. In terms of Fashion Trends I just love pastels and really crisp and light clothing and also the maxi dresses and 'island' type clothing.

7) Favourite Spring Candle?

I really like lighter scent candles, I like Vanilla Candles because that's my favourite scent but I also really like more fruity and clean scented candles during the Spring seasons. I think you want a light scent in your room during Spring and nothing too strong or overpowering so citrus scents and fresh scents are the best this season.

8) Favourite Body Spray/Perfume?

This season my favourite scent or perfume would be the new fragrence from Lacoste. It's the Lacoste Eau de Lacoste Pour Femme Eau de Parfum. This is a really floral scent and contains notes of Juicy Pineapple and also Sparkling Mandarin  The heart notes of this parfum are Pineapple Flower, Rose and Jasmine. But it also has Vanilla and Sandalwood which make it perfect for my sweet scent preference. It's fruity but floral and also really fresh and clean which is what makes it the perfect fragrence for Spring. It's super light and easy to wear and just makes me think of Spring. 

9) What is Spring like where you live?

To be honest I'm not sure that we have had much of a Spring, it's been typical english weather which is doom and gloom and lots of rain and it's been bloomin freezing! But over the last few days I've seen a bit of sun shining so I'm hoping Spring will make a full apperance soon.

10) What is your favourite thing about Spring?

I just like that it cheers everyone up a bit, it's like a new fresh start and I love that the Sun is (meant to be) shining and the flowers have bloomed and it just cheers everybody up after a horrible and gloomy winter. I think Spring is one of the best months because it's so fresh and new and also I love that it means Summer is on it's way!

11) Are you a Spring Cleaner?

I'm not a massive Spring Cleaner, I don't have one day where I Spring Clean all day but I do like to reorganise and get rid of some bits and pieces during Spring. I also think that Spring is the perfect opportunity for you to clean out your wardrobe and make way for much more summery clothes and it's also great to change up your makeup and nail varnish choices too so in that way I do Spring Clean. I guess I will have a day in Spring where I give my room a big Spring Clean but i'm not one of those people who has a specific day planned to get my clean on.

12) Any plan for a Spring Break or Upcoming Vacation?

I don't have any plans for an upcoming vacation :( booo! I want to go somewhere though but I haven't got anything planned so I don't think I am!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed reading this post, I tag you all to give it ago because I love reading tag posts and love seeing what other bloggers have too say!

I'll speak to you all soon & thanks for reading,

Lots of Love

Gem xxx

Benefit 'Fake Up' Under Eye Concealer Review

Benefit Fake Up - No1 - £18.50 - 3.5g - Boots or Benefit - here

Hi ladies, hope you're all okay and had a good weekend. I had yesterday off work so went and did a bit of shopping with my mum and had a really nice day today as well chilling out so it's been a good weekend overall. Anyway today I thought I would share with you a product that I've been loving lately from Benefit which is their 'Fake Up' under eye concealer. 

Now, if you've read my blog for a while you may know that i'm constantly complaining that I have ridiculously dark under eye circles, the problem is that i'm super duper pale and I have a really hard time sleeping so therefore my under eyes look horrible, they're so dark and I have never seemed to find anything to help cover them up. I actually went to my local Benefit Counter in the hope of purchasing 'Erase Paste' which is another concealer that Benefit sell, I've heard that it's really good for the under eye area due to the fact that it has salmon tones to it which help counteract the purple in your under eye circles. Anyway I ended up walking away with 'Fake Up' because the lovely benebabe at the counter said that Fake Up is a much better concealer and is a lot more delicate and non-drying under the eyes. I have some trouble with dry-ness under my eyes so she popped this under my eyes and I saw such a dramatic difference that I just had to purchase it.

'Fake Up' is a concealer completely different to lots of the others on the market. The thing that makes 'Fake Up' so different, is that it contains both an eye cream and a concealer in one, the eye cream contains Vitamin E & Apple Seed extract which is meant to both hide dark circles and also diffuses fine lines. The outer ring of the concealer is the bit that contains the Vitamins and the eye cream and the inner part of the stick contains the concealer which Benefit say is 'light defusing' and 'skin smoothing'. So you really get the best of both worlds with this product and although it's slightly pricey you really are getting a 2 in 1 product. Another great thing about this product is that its going to last ages, you only need a tiny bit underneath your eyes too hide any circles you have. 

Another great thing about this concealer is the packaging. I am such a sucker for Benefit's packaging and everything from the box to the actual product just screams 'girly' and 'fun' too me. The 'Fake Up' Concealer comes in a really nice shiny packaging that looks almost like a lipstick and I love the pink detailing on the packaging which makes it much more fun. I think how small this concealer is means that it's really great for travelling and this is a product you can just throw in your bag and top up during the day which I think is a really good feature of it. In actual fact 'Fake Up' is barely bigger than a Mac lipstick (as you can see in the photographs above!) which means it's the perfect essential product to travel with during the day.

I really really love this concealer and as soon as the lovely lady popped this under my eyes I knew that I needed it in my life. My mum even commented on how amazing it looked and how my dark circles were reduced. I've never found anything that works under my eyes like this and the fact that it's soo easy to apply & looks super natural is also a massive plus from me. I don't have fine eyes around my eyes because I'm only 19 but what I have found is that this concealer just glides under the eye area and is really light weight and creamy. This has a really great coverage and really helps to brighten my circles and cover them up but it also feels really cooling and nice under the eyes and I actually feel like I'm just applying a really soothing eye cream rather than adding concealer. I think the reason that I love this concealer so much is because it really moisturises the area first which means when you add the concealer it doesn't settle, it doesn't dry or look cakey it just covers and sinks in and looks so natural. 

This product is also super easy to apply, you only need to use a teeny amount and it just glides under the eye area, the lady at the counter told me that the best thing to do is just too apply the concealer in a 'V' shape underneath the eye area and then blend it with your fingers in an upwards motion. The 'V' shape helps to cover the worst area's of the circle and also is going to help the concealer work as a natural highlight around the eye area. Also using your fingers to help blend it in means that your going to warm up the product a bit meaning it will be even easier for it to sink in and really glide on. Lastly blending the concealer upwards means that you get the maximum brightness right underneath the eye area that really will help to cover those bags all day long.

Overall, I absolutely adore the Benefit 'Fake Up' I just think it's one of the best products on the market for the under eye area and I'm glad that I picked this up over 'Erase Paste', I love that it is moisturizing and also has awesome coverage. The only problem that I do see with this product is the fact it has limited shades, in fact you will only find this product in 3 shades and although concealer can match quite a lot of skin tones I am worried that some people may not find a match for their skin tone  I'm in the shade light no.1 by the way and for me it's a really good match but I'm not too sure. Anyway thank you for reading & I will speak to you all really soon!

Lots of Love,

Gem xxx

Revlon Lip Butters Review & Swatches

Creme Brulee, Sugar Frosting, Cotton Candy, Sorbet 

Revlon Lip Butters - Creme Brulee, Cotton Candy, Sugar Frosting & Sorbet - £7.99 here

Hi lovelies, hope you're all okay, if you saw my collective beauty haul on Sunday you would have seen I picked up my first Revlon Lip Butter shades, I got a lot of comments on that post from people saying that they thought the shades were really pretty so I thought I would dedicate a whole post to them so you could find out a bit more about them and see which shades I've been liking the most. Like I said in my haul post I had never tried a Revlon Lip butter before but they'd always been something i've heard a lot about from the blogging community and always been something i'm pretty interested in so I'm really glad I finally took the plunge and got my hands on them. I picked up four colours overall, Creme Brulee, Cotton Candy, Sugar Frosting (Sorry I annotated my picture wrong!) and Sorbet. I think all of them are from their normal collection apart from Sorbet which is one of the shades Revlon released as part of their recent Spring Collection.

The formula of the Revlon Lip Butters is something I really like and enjoy, I've never been someone that was really into lipstick into just a few months ago, now I love to experiment but I also find some of the more pigmented lipsticks quite hard to wear and I'd say i'm pretty rubbish at sporting the really 'out there' lip. These lip butters are absolutely perfect for that though, they are very sheer on first application and they are very glossy meaning that they are ridiculously easy for everyday wear and you can really just throw them on without a mirror. They're very sheeny and shiny which means they are super moisturizing on the lips and I find them really comfortable to wear. As I said they are very sheer and glossy on first application but you can really build them if you want more of a pigmented or statement lip, that's why I like them so much, I find that Sorbet which is the brightest colour can be built up and you can make it really bright but it's still super easy to wear because of the fact it has a really sheen and creamy finish which means it doesn't look too much. Also these are absolutely perfect for dry or dehydrated lips because this really won't settle into fine lines on the lips or dry patches and they will really work too smooth out your lips and make them look really perky and nice. I also think these Revlon Lip Butters are absolutely perfect as we come into Spring and Summer, especially as we get hotter weather because you can just quickly apply them and wear them and they have such cool shades that will work through the warmer months & look lovely on the lips. Anyway I thought I would do a run through of all of the different shades I picked up.

Creme Brulee

I love Creme Brulee, this was the lipstick that made me fall in love with the whole Revlon Lip butter range, this is the lipstick that I picked up first and I just think this is the absolute perfect lipstick for everyday. I've been looking for a really nice nude shade that I can wear every single day and also wear when I have a bit more of a smokey eye shadow look and I've found the absolute perfect shade. I can't even begin to explain how much love I have for this lipstick, I've never found a nude shade that actually suited me before but this one does and it really compliments my skin tone and it doesn't make me look dead at all (which is always nice!), I just really like this, this is the lipstick that I will carry around in my bag because I know whatever makeup look I am sporting or whatever I'm doing this will just be fool proof and never let me down on the lip front, I can just chuck this on whenever and wherever and I know that it will always look good. I just want to mention that the swatch of this lipstick is really built up and doesn't do it justice at all, on first application Creme Brulee looks really creamy and sheer and actually really like the swatch of Sugar Frosting (or Pink frosting as I like to call it). I just think that every girl needs to own a lipstick like this because it's pretty much perfect and I think this will be absolutely amazing in the Summer as well especially when it's worn with a tan. Revlon really got it right with this one.

Cotton Candy

Cotton Candy is probably my second favourite of the lip butters that I picked up, it's quite pink but it's a really nice pale, baby pink which could be worn pretty much everyday which is again why I like it so much. I find that I wear more of the wearable shades and therefore they are the ones I tend to go for. This shade is much more glossy than some of the other shades I've got and on the lips it looks pretty much like a really pretty pink gloss so is really complimentary. I find that if you build this up you can get quite a bright pink lip which you could wear more if you wanted to make a statement. The only problem that I have with this lip butter which I haven't had with the other lip butters is the fact that this one is broken, the lip butter doesn't twist up or down and is kind of stuck, I think I just got a duff one though so if you're picking this up make sure that you bare that in mind and test it first so you don't get one that's broke, it's not too much of an issue though just a bit annoying at times. I think this lipstick will work pretty much all year round and really makes your lips look full and glossy and I would recommend Creme Brulee & Cotton Candy to absolute everyone because they're just lovely shades that would work on absolutely everyone.

Sugar Frosting

Sugar Frosting is a really pretty frosty pink that really adds a nice sheen to the lips, if I'm completely honest Sugar Frosting is the one shade that I've picked up that slightly disappointed me a bit. I picked this up in a rush and I think I picked up the wrong shade because this is not the same lip butter that I swatched in store, I find the pigmentation of Sugar Frosting really poor and to be honest it takes a huge amount of work to get any colour payoff at all. It's pretty much just all gloss and no colour, I think this could work really nice with a tan or if you have a darker skin tone then mine you could probably pull this off and it would look really pretty on you. But for my skin tone it just seems to wash me out a little bit and although I will wear this I don't think it's going to become my favourite or the one I get the most use out of. This looks really similar too Cotton Candy in the tube but they are completely different on the lips, Cotton Candy has such a nice pale pink colour behind it and Sugar Frosting just has hardly any colour payoff. It is definitely a 'frosted' shade though and it kind of reminds me of a lip product an Ice Skater would wear? I don't know, I probably sound like a freak but hopefully you all get what I mean.

Sorbet

I love Sorbet, I love the name of Sorbet, the brightest of Sorbet, the colour payoff and just the shade it's self I think it's absolutely gorgeous and is such a brilliant lip butter. After purchasing and playing around with Sorbet I want to pick up some of the other lip butters that they released for the Spring Collection because it's gorgeous and as we get into Spring and Summer and hot weather I know this lipstick will just be constantly on my lips. This lipstick is just Summer in a tube for me, it's a bright pink shade which leans slightly red and it's just literally a really hot pink shade that is really bright and loud. Compared to all of the other lip butters I've tried this one has the most pigmentation and colour payoff and you hardly need any too get a really fun lip colour. I really like this because as I said before I'm really scared of bright lips and this is going to be a really nice colour to wear to intensify the lips but also has a really glossy finish meaning it's going to be much more flattering and wearable.

Overall, I honestly adore the Revlon Lip Butters, I just find them to really work for me, I really like the fact that they're glossy and you have to build up the colour which means during the day I can wear them a lot sheerer and then if i'm feeling brave I can build up the colour. I think the glossiness of them is really nice and makes them really wearable and I love that they're super creamy on the lips and moisturizing and just really comfortable too. I also love the packaging, I think it's really fun and nice and it's really lightweight so you can just chuck it in your bag and go. I also think that the packaging is cute because the lip butter tube matches the colour which means it's really easy to find the shade you're looking for when you're half asleep in the morning. I also really love the quilted design.

Anyway thanks for reading & let me know what you think of the Revlon Lip Butters!

Lots of love

Gem xxx

Makeup Academy Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit Review

Make Up Academy Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit - £3.50

Hello Ladies, Hope you're all doing okay, I thought I would pop up another little review for you on my blog today, I recently featured this MUA brow kit in a collective beauty haul I did and I thought I would review it and give you ladies a bit more information about it. Firstly if you've read my blog for a while you will know I'm quite a lover of Make Up Academy as a brand and I think they have some pretty good products for a really good price. Anyway when I ran out of my Elf Eyebrow Kit a few weeks ago I knew that I needed to pick up a new eyebrow option and decided that this MUA one would be a pretty good shout. I really have been digging (haha!) filling in my eyebrows for over a year or so now and I really do think it helps to frame your face and make your face look much more sculpted and Kim Kardashian-esq. I personally really like my eyebrows, I was never one of those people who over-plucked mine because my mum would have literally stabbed me in the eye, so as soon as my eyebrows started becoming a bushy mess my mum started dragging me along to her eyebrow waxing and shaping appointments, and thank god she did. My eyebrows are the one thing on my face that I actually like, they're a pretty nice shape and I don't really have a lot of sparse area's and in all fairness I think on the eyebrow front I'm pretty swag, so swag in fact that I get a lot of people telling me they 'wish they had my eyebrows' and I also get a lot of strangers stopping me in the street to compliment them, which is probably the weirdest thing in the world. Anyway before I go off on a full eyebrow tangent I think I need to get back to the point, which is no matter how nice your eyebrows are I think they can always do with a bit of extra definition, it just helps to bring them on par with the rest of your makeup and if you're doing the whole 'sha-bang' with your makeup you don't want to be leaving out the eyebrows because frankly you'll just look a big fat mess, which is why I decided on buying this kit.

Within this eyebrow kit you get 3 eye brow shades, a white or clear eyebrow wax, a teeny tiny pair of tweezers and a double sided little angled brush so you can apply the product to your eyebrows on the go. I think that this kit has pretty much everything you could need in terms of filling in the brows and I like that it comes housed in a really nice quality plastic case with a fairly big mirror. I find that although this product was cheap the whole kit feels really sturdy and I feel like it would travel well. The mini tweezers and mini brush aren't the best quality in the world but that's just because they're small but I would happily use these whilst I was on the move and I think they're a really nice addition to this kit. 

I've been using the 'Pro-Brow Kit' with my Real Techniques Brow Brush and grooming the darkest shade - which is pretty much a perfect match for my eyebrows - through my eyebrows and I think it works pretty well. I have no complaints about this really but I am a bit unsure what the other colours in this kit are for, it says on the back that you should use the lightest shade as a highlight but to be honest the light brown which is the lightest shade just looks muddy underneath my brow so i'm not quite sure if I'm doing it right, I do like having the lighter eyebrow shade though because I think it'll be perfect if I want too define my brows without making them look to heavy or if i'm doing the whole 'no makeup, makeup look' and also if i'm doing a friends makeup who has lighter brows than me I think this would work really well. The wax in this kit is also quite useful for setting the brows in place, at first I wasn't too sure about this just because I've always used an eyebrow wax that already had colour in it but once you apply it to the brows it works pretty much the same and I didn't find that it left a white cast at all. 

Overall, I find that I actually really like this MUA pro-brow kit, I'm no eyebrow expert but for everyday defining the brows this seems to work really well for me and do everything I want it too. The only disappointment for me was the highlight shade within this palette but to be honest I have loads of highlight shades within my eye shadow collection and I would probably choose too only highlight the brows if I was doing an eye shadow look anyway. So yeah overall I would recommend this palette, it's cheap as chips and works pretty well for me!

Anyway thank you for reading & I'll catch up with you all really soon,
Lots of Love
Gem xxx