Brow Essentials

Being a teen in the noughties has meant that thin eyebrows where the shape you,.  even though I went to a professional to get them waxed back then I think they followed a 'one size' fits kinda all shape. It's only in recent years since I started reading beauty blogs that I realised brows make a big difference in framing your eyes. I only used to fill them in on a night out but now I filled them in whenever I've got make up on. Mine are still very patchy at the front but generally the shape is much better. Tweezers and a spoolie are the basics to eyebrow care but the past year or so  I've discovered some products that help me get a better defined brow. 

Threading 
Choose threading over waxing. It gives a softer more natural shape. It isn't as harsh on the skin meaning that it is as red or angry for as long (if at all) afterwards. I find that going in with your brows filled in the way you like shows them the shape you like. Don't be scared to say that if you want to areas left alone especially when attempting to grow them.

Eyebrow oil 
Eylure Brow Nourishing Oil is something I had never even heard of before, and picked it up on a whim. It seemed pricey for such little product however when used regularly it really does work and has helped my brows grow quicker than when I have just left them. Roll along your brows paying extra attention to those spare areas.

Eyebrow pencil
I'm talking about the waxy softer kind as they are much easier the get a natural look and often have a triangular shape which makes everything that little bit quicker. Eyebrow Stylist from Sleek is apparently a dupe for the infamous Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting pencil but a fraction of the price!


Powder 
Currently my favourite way to fill in my brows particularly when things are patchy and sparse as you can build it up in areas you need without looking drawn on as pencils sometimes  can if its a larger area needing filled. Use matte eyeshadows or a brow kit, it doesn't matter as long as you find your shade. MUA and Revolution do good kits for under a fiver. I'd buy a cheaper power then invest in an proper brow or angled eyeliner brush,

Gel 

Tinted gels are a speedy way to hold and define, unfortunately they don't work for me. Too big wands for too little brows just ends in a mess. Clear gels are more forgiving of errors and set them in place to avoid smudge. Those with thicker brows can get away with using clear mascara. The best clear gel I've found is the Urban Decay Urbanbrow and at £12 it is certainly not the cheapest around. The straight stiff brush is just the right size, dries quick yet doesn't give you the dreaded crispy brows. My previous tube last me about a year with almost daily use, definitely get your moneys worth. An added bonus is the package is opaque which means you can't see the gel getting discoloured. 

 

April Favourites

This is a much delayed post as I had problems with uploading to my laptop but it's here now. I haven't done a proper beauty post before but these days my make up and skincare collection seems to be growing rapidly and I have become more interested in beauty. I read as many beauty blogs as I do fashion ones and love monthly favourites posts/videos so I thought I would try my own. Let know what you think and If you want to see more beauty related posts. 

Benefit Do The Bright Thing - £26.50

For my birthday this year I was truly spoiled and two of my friends both got me a Benefit kit! This month I have been loving the Dandelion blusher, High Beam and BadGal Waterproof Eye Liner in this kit. I have looked at Dandelion many times before but never bought it. It really brights up the skin with the natural sheer pink colour. The plus for me is that it is pretty hard to over do it, something I am prone to with stronger blushers. I have used High Beam before but was unwilling to pay for the full size as it is not something I would use often enough to justify. I dot it along my cheekbones and on my cupid's bow. I have never been that fussed about eyeliner pencils, if it applies easily then it gets a thumbs up from me. I was going to save using the BadGal eyeliner until I used up my current mini Lancome one up, this was first to hand when I was in a rush to get ready and although it faded a little by the time I removed my make up a good 6 hours later it was still on my waterline! I wish I had discovered this back in my heavy eyeliner phase at 15/16 and after a sweaty gig would have eyeliner all down my face. I am glad I am lighter handed with the liner these days!

Stila In The Light Eyeshadow Palette - £25 

I am not quite sure why but this palette appealed to me much more than any of the Urban Decay Naked palettes. I had saved up a lot of Boots points and couldn't decided if I should save up more and get a high end foundation with them. Every time I went into boots this was always sold out, when it was finally in stock I grabbed it. I'm glad I did! The shadows are so buttery soft with good pigmentation on the lids.I have seen complains about fallout but if you pat the brush into instead of swirling around along with a little tap on the side minimises fallout. My most used shades are Bare, Kitten and Bubbly and are the perfect daytime colours. I do get use out of all the shades but I tend to go for the ones that require the least blending out. I tend to be a bit heavy handed with the darker shades which I end up looking too much for daytime on me. 

Nails Inc Caviar Base Coat and Caviar Top Coat - £12 

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Sultry - £7.99

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Lovesick - £7.99

I was buying a base coat and top coat separately for years and keep looking at the Nails Inc offering thinking it was too much. It suddenly clicked one day that I had been spending the same amount on base and top coats as the price of the Nails Inc Duo and that weren't making my polish last any longer. I can now keep a colour on my nails for over a week before the chips start to look really awful, which is a very long time for me or when I fancy a change. I have seen improvement in the condition on my nails, they don't break or split much anymore.

The Revlon Balm stains are firm favourites of mine. I have the Honey shade as well and could easily buy every colour. As you can tell Lovesick is well loved as I've had it since they first came out. It's a bold pink that brings some much needed brightness to my face. I can easily wear it all day without topping up as it fades evenly. I will be repurchasing this when it eventually runs out. I was excited about the launch of the Matte Balms for a long time and I wasn't disappointed. It applies very smoothly and doesn't dry my lips out. Sultry is a mauve pink and along the lines of my lips but better kinda colour.

Clairns Ever Matte Skin Balancing Foundation SPF 15 in 105 Nude - £27

Clairns Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner - £25 

Super Facialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil - £10.99 

When it comes to foundations I don't change them much at all but I found myself needing a new one and wanted to try something new and after a long search of trails and errors found this Clairns one. There is good range of 11 shades with different undertones which is where I struggle to find matches as most have too much yellow or pink. The shade Nude matches my skin and adds just a little warmth to my complexion while still being a natural finish. It feels light on my skin and doesn't have me desperate to take it off at the end of a long day. I had £5 off with my Debenhams beauty card when I bought it but I would repurchase at full price. 

I came across the Gentle Exfoliator Brightening toner by chance as I was offered some free samples. I gave it a try when my skin had broken out due to too many lazy days using face wipes (learned my lesson, never again!). The night before my skin was very uneven, red and angry but in the morning it was evened out and slightly less angry, it hadn't made my blemishes vanish but it did make a vast improvement on my skin. That was me sold and had to get the full size version. It is pricey for a toner but it does last a very long time and actually makes a difference to my skin.

I kept reading about cleansing oils and I was skeptical about using oil but this Super Facialist Cleansing Oil is the perfect thing for us lazy girls making removing make-up an under 5 minute job. There is no need to use a separate eye make up remover as the dissolves mascara very quickly. It doesn't require a double cleanse, I follow with a face wash and then toner which is enough. The bonus is that this is often on offer so if you are unsure about trying cleansing oils then keep an eye out.

 

Have you tried any of these products?

Essie.

 I thought I would break up the monotony of my face with a post of my Essie collection. Like everyone else who has a bit of an obsession with nail polish I was excited when Boots started socking them but none of these are from Boots. They are all from TK Maxx. I bought them packs of three, once was £9.99 and the other I got for £5.00 so quite the saving! Along with the ones above I got Grow Faster which was in the reduced pack. I think it was reduced because of it being a strange looking colour but I had suspected it was a base coat and I was right.

I've read a few reviews of Grow Faster and a lot of them have said that it weakened their nails and made them split. My nails have been subject of biting and (perhaps worse) picking so they are in pretty bad shape and I normally find that a top layer of nail will come off before a colour does. I do think that Grow Faster does indeed make my nails grow faster. For the price I got it for which would be about £1.67 it is quite the find. 

These are the only I colours that have names. I think that Tea & Crumpets and No Boundaries have been changed to other names but haven't been able to figure out what ones. Turquoise & Caicos is still a current colour I've seen in It at the Essie stand. I always assumed that the make up products In TK Maxx were discounted colours. The other two colours including Grow Faster have the number 472 on them so I have no idea what they are called, if anybody knows let me know.  

These are what my two newest colours look like on. The first is No Boundaries and the other doesn't have a name. The second is very similar to Barry M's Strawberry Ice Cream but I have always found it difficult to work with. It ends up streaky and then goes too thick. I prefer the Essie colour as it goes on much smoother and goes opaque in less coats. 

Have you got any Essie nail polishes? What's on your Essie wishlist?
 

This colour Luxedo is such a lovely deep plum, almost black but not quite. Defiantely in keeping with this season's deep red and purples.