Battle of the Concealers ♡

     Under eye circles are the bane of my life. If I could only use one makeup product for the rest of my life, it would probably be concealer. I am pretty lucky with my skin being clear and barely getting spots, but my under eye circles need covering up, no matter what. Having this problem, I have gone through a fair few concealers in search of a miracle product. These are the 5 concealers I have at the moment and I'm here to share my opinions on each and every one.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind- Light
     I have found this concealer to be great for the face and covering up redness and blemishes. It blends well and leaves a dewy finish on my face. Using my Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, I found it to be a bit flaky when trying to remove, as the water disperses the product further around my face, all in all it gets a bit messy and may be an idea to use a makeup wipe instead. However, I have found it is not as good for under the eye, because it doesn't have enough coverage to conceal those pesky bags. In my experience, I find it easiest to use a brush to blend this concealer in. I use a Real Techniques shading brush under my eyes and around my nose, and the Real Techniques expert face brush for the rest of the face. A downside to this concealer is the applicator. Unlike most concealers, it uses a sponge on the end and although this is a unique idea, I don't think it disperses much product. Overall I would rate it a 6/10 for under the eyes and a 8/10 for the face. A fairly good concealer for £7.99.

Collection Lasting Perfection- 2 Cool Medium
     There is a lot of hype around this concealer. The price tag of £4.19 makes buying this product a lot more guilt-free. Being salmon-toned, this concealer is supposedly ideal for covering dark circles, however by using this under my eyes, I found that it is very drying under the eyes and hard to blend, making it appear more cakey and orange under the eyes. On the face, it is, again, quite orangey due to the salmon undertone and is very drying. The coverage, despite being hard to blend, is fairly good under the eyes. This is easier to manage by using my fingers to blend it in. It is easy and quick to remove. Overall it is an average concealer but I was disappointed after hearing such great things about it. I don't think I will purchase this again. I would rate it a 4/10 under the eyes and a 5/10 for the face.

Maybelline Fit Me- 20 Sand
     I was very happy with this product. This concealer has such a creamy, moisturizing texture and isn't drying in the least. On the face, it is very blendable and I found no faults with it, although it is quite sticky under my eyes and doesn't conceal under there too well. With cleansing water, it removes very quickly and easily with no fuss. Unfortunately, I picked this up whilst in Florida when I was looking for a concealer to match my tan, so I have yet to buy a lighter shade which would be more suitable for my natural skin colour. I was very impressed with the creaminess and how easily it glides on. At £5.99, this is a concealer that everyone should try at least once. For under the eyes I would rate it a 4/10, but for the skin a 8/10. I think I will repurchase this.

Soap and Glory Trick and Treatment- Bright on
     This is by far, the worst concealer I have ever bought. The consistency is so runny, you'd think somebody has watered it down. What I didn't realise when I bought it, was that it is very, and I want to emphasize that, very shimmery. To the point that it is more a highlighter than a concealer. This is absolutely terrible for the under eye area. The shimmer draws attention to my dark circles, which is the complete opposite to what I want. Being so runny and thin, it doesn't conceal anything and is very hard to set. It actually began stinging and irritating my under eyes. It may be decent as a highlighter but definitely not for concealer. For £9 I think it is a complete rip off. For under the eyes, I wouldn't rate it 0/10 and I didn't dare use it on my face. I was really disappointed with this product. Unless you want to glitter like a vampire, do not buy this! The packaging is beautiful but this has taught me to not judge a book by it's cover. It is quick to remove but leaves a shimmer which won't budge for a couple of hours.

Revlon ColorStay- 03 Light Medium
     This was a very recent purchase but I am loving it. The formula is very cooling and moisturizing, on both the face and under my eyes. Being thick and creamy, it is a dream to blend and it has amazing coverage. The doe-foot applicator allows you to dab it onto a spot and sweep it under your eyes in one swift motion. It lasts a lot longer than most other concealers I've tried. This concealer has a grey undertone which makes it impossible to look orangey and too dark. I really love this concealer and would highly recommend it. For both eyes and face, I would rate it a 8/10. It has a great price of £6.99 as well. 

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Smokey Eye Tutorial Featuring Naked Basics Palette ♡

    Recently for my birthday, I received the Naked Basics Palette  as a present. Being ever so excited about this, I felt the need to do a tutorial with it ASAP! Let's start with a review, shall we? The Naked Basics Palette from Urban Decay is significantly smaller and more compact than the previous Naked Palettes, containing six compact eye shadows as opposed to 12. Therefore, it is perfect for travelling and proved this when I took it to Florida last month. (That's travel-friendly checked off the list). The Palette is mainly made up of matte shades, which drew me in straight away) and has a variety of neutral colours ranging from light to dark. All colours have great pigment and quality.

• Venus- The only shimmer in the palette. This is a pearly, off-white colour and shimmers in the light. It is great for highlighting the inner corners of the eye and the brow bone. 
• Foxy- Cream, nude matte perfect for a less obvious highlight.
• Walk of Shame (W.O.S)- Another light nude matte with a pinker undertone than Foxy. 
• Naked 2- Light taupe matte, perfect as a base colour all over the eyelid. 
• Faint- Warm, dusty brown matte. 
• Crave- Black matte, ideal for smoking out any look. 

Swatches in order

    Now onto the tutorial!

This is an overview of all the products I used to achieve this smokey eye look. I did my eyebrows prior to the eye makeup. Further detail of the products will be mentioned throughout the post, so keep reading!

1) Apply one small strip of sellotape evenly to the side of each of your eyes in a slanting angle. Make sure that the sellotape is smoothed out to achieve a very precise look. You do not have to follow this step but it will create a much cleaner edge to the makeup and also help later on with eyeliner, if you tend to struggle in that area. Also, make sure that it isn't too tight as it'll be there for a while and you don't want to be uncomfortable. 

2) Apply primer. I used the Seventeen 'Photo Flawless Skin Primer'. Using this will make your eye shadow go on smoothly and evenly, and will prevent creasing. 

3) Place Naked 2 all over the eyelid as a base colour. This will be your starting point, and if you're like me, conceal your veiny eyelids. This is the Real Techniques 'Shading Brush'.

4) Use Faint on a fluffy crease brush into the crease and repeat to build up the colour. Repeat this step on the outer third of the eye to begin the smokey effect. Be sure to blend well! This is a Seventeen Brush. 

So far your makeup should be looking like this...

5) Using a tiny, pointed brush, use the smallest amount of Crave over Faint. Black eye shadow can be very harsh and easy to mess up so be sparing and build up the colour. Again, make sure to blend well. To do this, I used a Seventeen brush. 

I went back over to blend with the shading brush I used earlier. 

What a difference blending can do...

6) Place Foxy on the inner third of the eyelid and the brow bone to lighten up the light and show the gradient more clearly. 

7) Blend this together for a more gradual look. I used the shading brush once again. 

8) Repeat the previous step but with Venus instead of Foxy. This increases the highlight and adds some shimmer. 

9) Eyeliner. Apply a thin line of eyeliner to make the look really stand out. I find that liquid eyeliner will work best but use whatever your heart desires. I used the Collection 'Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner'... That's a mouthful!

 Makeup Update- It should start looking like this:

10) Peel off the sellotape to reveal clean edges. If this is too clean for you, I suggest taking a cue tip dipped in makeup remover (I used the Garnier Micellar Water-highly recommended!) to blend out the line a bit. In reality, this stage isn't nearly as painful as you'd expect, haha. 

11) Mascara time. Let's lengthen and make those eyelashes stand out! I used the Maybelline 'The Falsies' Mascara. This is a pretty straight forward step so I will leave out the details. 

Eeeee, don't judge me but I'm pretty excited about this gif!

12) Concealer. This step is useful to keep until the end in order to clean up and cover any fall out you may have had from the eyeshadow. I used the Collection 'Lasting Perfection' to cover my dreadful bags!

13) Finally... (I knew it'd be a long post!) With a angled brush, go back to Faint and bring it under your bottom lash line. Bring it about half way across. This completes the smokey look and TA DAAA you are finished! Off to a fancy dinner, party or wherever you feel like rocking this look. 

TA DAAAA!We are finished, here is the final smokey eye look for whether you are going out for a fancy party or dinner.

The Final Transformation...

 Thanks for reading this extremely long post! 

Jennie xo

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2013 Beauty Favourites: Skin, Hair & Makeup ♡

Welcome to 2014!

What better way to kick the new year off than a look back at the best products used over 2013?! Just a disclaimer, the majority of these products were released in 2013, however some are only new to me and have been around for longer than last year. I'm warning you now that there are A LOT of products so let's crack into it! I would recommend you grab a hot drink before you read this! :)

Makeup ♡

Face Makeup

From left to right:

• Seventeen 'Photo Flawless' Face Primer:  This is a great product to incorporate into your daily makeup routine. This primer came in the Seventeen Box, which I got for Christmas this year. This primer ensures that your makeup will stay on throughout the day, but I mainly use it under my eyes before my concealer.

• Real Techniques 'Expert Face Brush':  This is a brilliant multi-use makeup brush. You can use it for blush, concealer, foundation, powder and contouring. This brush has a very soft tip, which is very beneficial for the skin. Real Techniques is a brush line from Youtuber and Makeup Artist Samantha Chapman.

• Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream:  As always, BB creams are a lovely, lighter alternative to foundations- and this one is no exception. This offers a smooth, thin consistency with medium coverage for those days where you don't feel like wearing loads of foundation or you want to give your skin a bit of a break.

• Maybelline 'Instant Age Rewind':  This concealer has been a highly-talked about product throughout 2013. There is no doubt about that. This concealer provides a medium to full coverage and is mainly tailored for use under the eyes. Also, this product lasts a long time.

• Soap and Glory 'Trick and Treatment' concealer:  This concealer has also been highly talked about. This foundation also has high coverage. However, the only downside to this concealer, for me, is that it has tiny, gold shimmers which are quite obvious in the light. I would prefer the concealer to be matte but I guess that this is because it is a brightening concealer, which can also double up as a highlighter.

• Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch:  This concealer has been a year-long favourite of mine. Although my bad circles are hard to completely cover up, this has given enough coverage to make them less obvious. The main things that I like about this product are that it has a creamy consistency and has peachy tones instead of orangey ones, so it blends into my skin tone better. Also, it doesn't settle into fine lines. 

Eye Makeup (again from left to right)

• Seventeen Black Pencil Eyeliner and Rose Gold Pencil Eyeliner: These eyeliners also came in the Seventeen makeup box. They are quite small and so are good to take when travelling. They apply very easily. I use the black eyeliner on my top lid underneath my liquid eyeliner (I'm not brave enough to put it in my tightline! Haha I don't like sticking things near my eyes!). I sometimes use the rose gold eyeliner in my waterline. Rose gold was a very popular trend in 2013. 

• Seventeen Black Mascara:  This mascara came in the Seventeen box. It is a very good mascara as the applicator grabs onto the eyelashes well, gives length and volume, and  doesn't leave clumps. This is not a waterproof mascara. 

• Maybelline Great Lash Mascara:  This mascara also works very well. It gives super volume and length, but the downside is that it leaves clumps of mascara on your eyelashes. 

• Collection 2000 Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner:  This eyeliner is amazing! As well as being very affordable, it applies very smoothly, and is fantastic for doing winged liner. This is the only liquid eyeliner I've used this year. I much prefer using liquid eyeliner than pencil eyeliner because it is smoother, more accurate and easier to use. I have never used gel eyeliner before but I will always be a liquid eyeliner kind of girl!

• H&M Dark Brown Eyebrow Pencil:  This eyebrow pencil applies very well on my eyebrows and is much easier to use than powder. The colour suits me perfectly and it fills in my eyebrows very well. 

Lip Care

• Nivea 'Raspberry Rosé' Lip Butter: This is an amazing product, well worth the hype! The texture is smooth and creamy. The lip butter is very nourishing and moisturizing. Very suitable for the winter! Also, this flavour tastes and smells delicious. I have to restrain myself from using the entire tin in one go!

• LUSH Bubblegum Lip Scrub:  This is a very different lip product to those that I normally use. This is extremely good for getting rid of dead skin and helping keep your lips smooth.

• The Body Shop 'Born Lippy' in Guava:  This lip balm is very nourishing and smooth. It has a great texture and smells amazing! All of the Body Shop lip products are fantastic!

• Nivea Milk and Honey Chap Stick:  Although I forgot to include this in the picture, I have loved this chap stick in 2013 as it is very refreshing and leaves my lips smooth and in great condition.

Lip Products

• Rimmel Kate Moss '107':  This has been my favourite lip product of the entire year. Admittedly, I only bought this in December but I wore it throughout as, being a dark and vampy red, it was a great winter colour. The whole Kate Moss range is incredible and faultless. Even the price is good at £5.49 (at Boots). The lipsticks are highly pigmented, apply evenly and smoothly, and there are a great range of colours. This colour is my favourite. 

• Revlon Lip Butter in 'Candy Apple':  The Revlon Lip Butters have been very popular during 2013. They are lighter and less pigmented than lipsticks, so are great in Summer as an alternative. They have a smooth consistency and there are a great range of colours. 

• Maybelline Baby Lips "Cherry Me":  The Baby Lips range were brought out in British Drugstores in roughly September this year. They were very raved about in America and I can see why now. They are very beneficial to the lips and leave them very soft. There is a variety of these. There are some which are designed to benefit the lips and the others are just for the colour and appearance, however they all moisturize really well.

Seventeen Makeup Box

• This makeup box is found in Boots and I was given it for Christmas. This box comes with: fives brushes, a mascara, two eyeliners, a primer, an eyelash curler, a sharpener, metallic cream and gel eyeliner. On the right side, it contains: 5 lip colours, 12 eyeshadows, a blush, and a contour set. All of this for under £20. This box is amazing and deserves a lot of recognition. 

Hair ♡

• Matrix Exquisite Oil:  I use this oil after I've dried my hair to make it healthier and reduce frizz. It works very well. I was given this as part of a set from my hairdresser so I don't think that you can find it in a drugstore. 

• Herbal Essences 'Beautiful Ends' Split End Protection Cream:  This is a very effective product, after washing my hair, I apply this to the ends of my hair and then dry my hair. I have seen a difference in my hair since using it, as my ends look and feel healthier, and I don't need to get my hair trimmed as regularly. 

• Remington Pearl Wand:  This is the best hair curler I have ever used. It has a medium sized wand so that the curls aren't too big or too small, but you can change the sizes of hair that you use to make the curls more beachy or tighter. These curlers are very reliable. The wand gets smaller at the end so the curl varies. 

• Tigi S Factor Smoothing Lusterizer:  This is really good for reducing frizz and smells of strawberries and cream!

• Superdrug own brand dry shampoo 'Head in the Clouds':  This is only about 95p and works just as well as any other brand of dry shampoo. It also smells of oranges and grapefruit!

• Tresemmé Salon Sleek Straightening Spray with Argan Oil:  This is the best heat defence that I've used. I usually opt for Tresemmé, but since my last one exploded in my suitcase in July (oops). This has lasted me five months so far and it's only about half way. It is also quite cheap and the argan oil helps keep the hair healthy. 

• Tigi S Factor Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner:  These have been my trusty shampoo and conditioner for the year. This 750ml salon size lasts for ages and has an easy to use pump. These also smell like strawberries and cream, and make my hair feel very healthy and rejuvenated. 

• Tangle Teezer:  This Tangle Teezer has been a lifesaver for me. It is very different from regular hair brushed and I am very glad that I made the change. This was recommended by Zoella from Youtube, and is amazing at getting rid of tangles painlessly for long, thick hair, like mine. It makes combing my long hair less of a chore! These are available online and from Boots.

• Turby Towel: This is a great invention for keeping wet hair out of my face. It has an elastic clasp on the back of the head to secure the hair, and is much more practical that wrapping a towel around my head. The only downside is that it is getting too short for my long hair!

• H&M Fabric Hair Bands: These hairbands are a very good invention because, being fabric instead of elastic, they don't leave kinks in your hair. They are also quite cheap and come in a pack of 5 cool colours from H&M. 

Skin ♡

Shower and Bath Favourites

• The Body Shop Peach Shower Gel:  The Body Shop shower gels never fail to please me. They lather well, smell divine and are only four pounds. However, I bought the peach and pink grapefruit together for only £6, as it was buy one get one half price. The peach smells very summery and reminds me of being on holiday. It isn't too sweet, which is nice. All the scents are very refreshing.

• The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel:  This is my favourite shower gel of all time! The pink grapefruit line is my favourite smell! I have been using the shower gels alternatively. This one smells sweet and feminine but also very fresh. These shower gels also last a while. 

• The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Shower Gel:  I'm not going to dwell too much on this one as I've already written a blog post on it: http://jenniewaeland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/christmas-specials-at-body-shop.html but this is a very sweet, christmassy scent which is great for winter. However, it only is sold at christmas time. I got this in a sale for £4, reduced from about £6.

• Soap and Glory 'Calm One, Calm All':  This smells absolutely amazing and is very relaxing for a pamper session  in the bath. You only need a capful of this bubble bath and it will create loads of scented bubbles. A bath must-have!

Fragrances

• Superdrug own brand 'Crush' Body Spray:  This is a very affordable spray which is very suitable for Summer. It is very fresh smelling and isn't too sickly smelling. 

• Boots Natural Collection 'Apple and Lime' Body Spray:  This spray smells amazing! It is great for everyday use and is not too overpowering. I love the whole collection, however the apple and lime one is my favourite. 

• Soap and Glory 'Mist you madly':  This scent is more feminine and floraly. I was bought this for christmas and it is already a favourite. Although to be fair, everything from Soap and Glory smells incredible. Also, can we please admire this beautiful packaging?!

Dove 'GoFresh' Deodorant

• I know it's a bit strange to put a deodorant into favourites but believe me, this one is worth a mention. It smells so fresh, with a cucumber scent. It lasts all day, doesn't leave white marks, and is very affordable.

Facial Care

• Simple Soothing Facial Toner:  This toner is very handy in a travel size , and is very refreshing and gentle. Definitely a keeper!

• Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser:  This is also very refreshing, and dries quickly without being too sticky. This is very light, so is perfect for the face. 

• Neutrogena Visibly Clear Cream Wash:  Again, being Pink Grapefruit, of course this had to make it into my favourites! This is very soothing and applies well to the face with water. It also lasts a very long time. It helps reduce blackheads and spots, and has kept my face very clear.

• Ùna Brennan Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask:  This facial mask is great for a weekly treat. It is very relaxing and soothing to the face. It leaves my skin very soft and clear.

• Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes:  These remove makeup very well and doesn't irritate my face. The whole simple range is very fresh and gentle. I definitely recommend it! These packs come with plenty of wipes and I have used them for at least a year now.

The Body Shop Body Butters

• Cranberry Joy: Again, this only comes around in the christmas season. It smells amazing and sweet, and makes my skin feel very fresh and soft. I got this for only £5, which was a great deal.

• Satsuma:  This is more of a scent for Summer as it is sweeter and more fresh. I love the Body Shop body butters as they are moisturising, refreshing, and creamy. 

Lush Bath Bombs

• 'So White'  This bath bomb smells absolutely gorgeous, it smells of apples. This is a white bath bomb which releases a pink centre to fill your bath with. I haven't actually used this bath bomb yet but I have heard great things about it, and I am looking forward to using a fresh scented bath bomb rather than a floral scented one.

• 'Magic Wand':  This bath bomb doubles up as a bubble bath. Whilst the water is running, swish the wand around your bath. It creates pink, sugar scented bubbles. This can be re-used about 10 times, depending on how sparing you are. This has a very relaxing scent and does not disappoint.

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