What's In My Makeup Bag || Daily Essentials

Hey Guys!

So I thought I'd do a slightly different post today instead of just reviewing a makeup product, so I thought I'd share the contents of my beauty bag. This is the bag that I take with me everyday, and I don't take all of my daily makeup out with me, just the things that I may need to top up throughout the day.

So these are the contents of my makeup bag, and some of the products I have already talked about. So first is the actual bag. 

It is just one of the quite large cosmetic bags from River Island, and this one is just a black leather design with the initials RI printed all over it with gold detailing. I love this bag because it is so big and roomy but also the ends around the zip aren't like stitched down (?). Like when you get those bags that don't open fully because the ends are sewn down. Yeah but anyway love this bag, and I've had it for ages now and it's still going strong. 

So the first makeup product is the most recent addition to my daily routine, and that's the Avon Colour Corrector Palette.

I've already spoken a bit about this in my recent Avon's Arrived Post, and I've really been loving this product as it's great to quickly apply to completely change the look of your makeup. I use the yellow toned concealer to cover any redness or blemishes, and the pale pink concealer under my eyes to counteract the dark circles. Obviously this isn't the greatest product to reapply on its own during the day, but as long as you put the nude coloured concealer over the top, it instantly looks flawless again. 

Next is the Maybelline Big Eyes Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara in the shade Black.

I've reviewed this product here, so I won't ramble for too long, but basically this is a dual ended mascara with one end for top, and one end for bottom lashes. The formula is really good, and I usually apply it as the second coat of mascara. I would really recommend this mascara to anyone who is looking for a full lash look, because it is so volumising and long lasting. 

Next is the Avon Mini Brush Kit.

It is basically a mini pouch with four small brushes in; a fluffy brush for topping up setting powder, a smaller less fluffy brush for eyeshadow, and angled brush for maybe eyeliner, and a thin lip brush. These are just the perfect size to put in your handbag or whatever, and it just saves the space of taking loads of full sized brushes. 

Next is my Collection Extreme Liquid Liner Pen in the black shade.  

I use this everyday to apply a flick of eyeliner, and because of the felt tip applicator, it's super easy to get a small or thick line. It doesn't have great lasting power on it's own, so I usually wear a bit of gel eyeliner on the top, but for topping up throughout the day this is perfect. 

Next are two non-surprise products that I think everyone and anyone on the bloggersphere talks about, and that's the Rimmel Wake Me Up Stay Matte Powder and the matching Wake Me Up Concealer.

These are like my saviour products, so if I don't take this whole makeup bag out with me, I'll just take these two. The Stay Matte Powder is great, and so easy to top up to get rid of any shine, and the concealer is just the same. These two product alone are probably the things I would take if I were to be marooned on a desert island. 

Next is another obvious one and that's the Avon SuperShock Mascara. 

As I've said before, this is such a good daily mascara, not too dramatic, but thick enough to only need a few coats. The wand is also so easy to use and doesn't make your lashes go all clumpy like some of the huge, volumising ones can do. Yeah, this is probably my most used product from Avon, and I''m always repurchasing it. 

Next is another product that I've reviewed before (here) and it's the Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara.

I love this mascara for that extra bit of volume and thickness, and I'm always reaching for this to top up during the day. This one is also waterproof, so I always apply a tiny amount as the last thing on my lashes just to stop any mascara from transferring onto my eyelids. The wand is quite large, so you have to watch how carefully you apply it, but this is such a good mascara especially for lots of volume. 

Next is one of the products that I literally could not live without, and that's the Tropic Skincare Brow Kit in the shade Bistre.

I've talked about this post before, and it is one of my more poplar posts since it is a representative based company, a bit like Avon, so you have to order the product through a representative. I mainly use the dark brow powder to brush through my brows, but there is also a shimmery highlight to use under your brow. I use this everyday for my brows no matter what, and I can't recommend this product enough. 

So that is the contents of my everyday makeup bag, and I hoped you enjoyed reading it!

February Favourites 2014

Hey Guys!

So a few things in my favourites this month are items that I've shown in hauls or reviewed in previous posts, so I'll also link those too!

So the first I'll do the beauty products. This first product I have reviewed (here) and it's the Sleek Face Form Contouring And Blush Palette in the shade Fair 372.

Since reviewing this product, I've been using all three shades everyday. It is basically a matte, bronzing/contouring shade, a shimmery, cream highlighter, and a pink blush with a gold shimmer. All three of these are so great, especially when they are used together, and as I've said in my review, it really has been my go-to face palette. 

Next is the Avon Nailwear Pro+ Opal Top Coat, which made an appearance in one of my recent 'Avon's Arrived' posts (here). 

I really love this nail varnish at the minute because it looks good on so many base colours. When you apply it over a colour, it dries to a matte finish but with really fine shimmer, hence the 'opal' name, since I guess it makes it sort of pearly. But yeah it dries really quickly and is so easy to wear.

Next is a product that I've definitely raved about over winter (here), and I still feel that I can just about get away with darker lipstick shades.

It's the Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick in the shade 125 Crazy Sexy Crimson. This is basically my perfect, deep red winter lipstick shade, and I've been wearing it loads, so obviously I had to put it in the monthly favourites. All of the Body Shop Colour Crush lipstick range are so good. They have good lasting power and are very moisturising, and also are quite balmy which makes them perfect for the colder days!

Last for beauty is the e.l.f. Maximum Coverage Concealer in the shade D34 Porcelain.

I showed this in my most recent e.l.f. Haul (here) and I've literally used it everyday. It is a very high coverage concealer, perfect for blemishes and dark circles, and I find it covers all imperfections on my skin so well. It does tend to crease after maybe like 5-6 hours, but that is expected really for more of a high coverage concealer. But yeah this is a really good concealer, and it's so cheap so you can't really go wrong. 

Next is a fragrance that is my absolute favourite perfume! It is the Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb perfume.

It is a very strong, slightly floral-musky scent, which I love to wear in the evenings, and I've been wearing it a lot for family get-togethers and nights out. It is definitely not (for me personally) a day time fragrance, but it is so nice to wear at night, and it's really strong and even after a few hours, you can still smell it really well. 

Lastly is Company Magazine.

I've had a Company subscription for maybe two years now, and I just think it's the best fashion and beauty magazine. This month's feature was with Zoella, and they always have good content and interviews (no gossip columns which I don't tend to read very often), and I just thought I'd put this in because I realised that I was actually looking forward for it to drop through my letterbox!

So yeah, these are my February 2014 Favourites!

Have you tried any of these products?

Avon's Arrived || Brochure 05

Hey Guys!

From this month's Avon it's fair to say that I definitely strayed a bit from the comfort zone, and tried a few new products!

Yeah so I got a few of their new products to try out, and so far I'm really impressed with them. It really impresses me how Avon bring out new products all the time, from make up to skincare, all with different properties and uses. But yeah, the first thing I got is the Avon Solutions Balanced + Matte Night Gel.

In my last Avon post (here) I briefly talked about the new range of skincare for oily skin types, and how much I liked the face mask, so of course I had to get the other products from the range. This is their night moisturising cream. Its a really thick, smooth gel that you apply at night, after you've taken off all your make up and done your normal skincare routine, and leave it to soak in before you have your beauty sleep. I really love this product and I've really noticed a difference in my skin. Because of the thick texture, you definitely should apply it at night to give it a fair amount of time to soak in, but you wake up in the morning with soft, moisturised skin. Obviously it hasn't solved the problem of oily skin, but it definitely helps to reduce the time it takes for my skin to be noticeably oily. So yeah really love this cream, and it's a really decent night cream.

Next is the third and final product from this new range, and that's the Avon Solutions Balanced + Matte Self-Foaming Cleanser. 

This is a really great and quick before bed cleansing product, as it is so easy to apply and wash off. It may be lazy, but I don't tend to use face scrubs or just products that you have to rub onto your face and wash off, because I just find using a liquid cleansing product on say a cotton wool pad so much quicker. However, this product is completely different, and it literally takes seconds to use. It's basically a foam-cleanser, which when you pump it onto your hand, the foam expands; so you don't even need to use a lot of product. I tend to use maybe 1-2 pumps every time I use it. Once you've rubbed it in, it sort of reduces to just a liquid texture, and that makes it super easy to just rinse off. I really like this product as it leaves my skin feeling super soft every night, and paired with the cream above, it just makes the perfect combo!

The next product is a bit random, as you could probably buy one from anywhere, but I just thought I'd get it to try out. It's the Avon Planet Spa Face Mask Brush.

I guess you could get any sort of stiff synthetic make up brush to use for applying a face mask, but I just like the idea of having a brush purely for face masks to avoid other brushes getting dirty. But yeah it is just a dense, square and flat brush, that is just the perfect size for getting a product all over your face, and I really love the fact that it saves you getting the face mask all over your hands when you're still trying to apply it! So yeah quite a simple purchase, but one that I know I'll use all the time.

Next is one of Avon's new make up products and that is the Avon Colour Correcting Palette. 

This is a four-toned concealer wheel, that is used to correct certain colourings in the face. There is (going clockwise):

pink - used to brighten the skin and counteract dark circles under the eyes for people with pale skin

nude - a general concealer to cover any blemishes and imperfections

yellow - counteracts any redness in the skin or dark circles with purple undertones

orange - counteracts blue tones in the skin for example dark circles or visible veins in the eyelid

This is really a great product, and people get scared by having different colours to work with, but as long as you know a) the undertones in the target areas of your skin and b) the correct colour to use with it, It's such a great product to own, since it really makes a difference to the finished look of the makeup. These formulas are really smooth and not too thin which is great, and it sits well under other concealers, still giving a great finish. So yeah this is a great product, and everyone should look into a good correction palette!

Have you/Do you want to try any of these Avon products?