Follow My Blog with Bloglovin'!

Heya,

Just a quick one to let you guys know you can now follow my blog through Bloglovin'! The link is just below. I'd really appreciate the support! Lots of new content coming super soon. Keep checking back. Thank you!


Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Katie xx

Anastasia Beverly Hills Illuminator - Starlight

A Beverly Hills Moment...

Anastasia Beverly Hills has worked up quite the reputation for itself over the past few years. I'm sure most of you might know the brand best for its eyebrow-related products, but as of late, the skin products have been becoming more and more hyped up in the blogging world. I recently ran out of my MAC Mineralise Skin Finish (Lightscapade) and considering I've gone all cruelty-free, I couldn't repurchase it. So I decided to take the plunge and purchase my first ever ABH product. I chose the Starlight shade because not only do I have incredibly pale skin - and so the warmer shades are often too dark to work as a highlighter on my skin - but I'm also a fan of super intense highlight. I know it's sort of a love-hate debate, but I'm absolutely a fan of the disco-ball cheekbones. I think adding highlighter to a make up look is the prettiest possible element, whether it's classical on the cheeks or used to accentuate the brow bone, tip of the nose or cupid's bow. I read quite a lot of reviews on this product before purchasing, mainly to make sure I wasn't disappointed when it showed up in the mail, especially considering it costs a hefty £28 (Beauty Bay price).

As you can tell, the outer packaging (and inner, actually) is fairly simple, just black with gold lettering. This isn't too big of a deal for me, as these cardboard boxes end up in the bin anyway. That's something that always used to make me struggle with brands like Benefit - their packaging, I mean literally the little cardboard boxes that the products came in, were so beautifully coloured and designed, I never had the heart to chuck them. At one stage I had about six old Glossyboxes full of pretty make up packaging. Madness! The actual case itself is sturdy, glossy and super sleek, complete with a lovely sized mirror, which is always helpful with cheek products.

The product itself has a beautiful layered 3D texture and is silky smooth to touch and apply to the face. It is super pigmented, exactly the kind of shimmering pearlescent white I was looking for. Of course, use with caution, even I'm aware that there's such a thing as too much highlighter, especially when it comes to such a good-quality pigment as is used in this ABH product. If you're not a fan of intense shimmer, this might not be the product - or at least not the shade - for you, but I reckon with a light hand and some caution, it could work even for the slightly more faint-hearted out there. 

So, is it worth the price? Well, for a make up lover who is more than accustomed to spending such large amounts on simple beauty products, yes it is absolutely worth the money. Of course £30 is, in reality, sort of a ridiculous amount to spend on a make up product, but in the blogging world, it's not even as pricey as it could be! I would so highly recommend this highlighter to anybody. The product stands up to its price-tag perfectly well and is one of the most beautiful highlighting products I have ever used on my own face.

Anastasia Beverly Hills is a slightly tricky brand to get hold of in the UK, but my recommendations for buying it would be Cult Beauty or Beauty Bay - both fabulous websites for buying luxurious beauty products, ABH included.

Thanks for reading!

Katie x

Anybody Out There....?

It's been so long...


Well, it's been years and years since I posted here, and I'm really curious to know if there's anybody reading still. Last time I wrote here, I was still a young teen at school, just discovering a love of make-up and fashion. Now I'm 19, studying English and Creative Writing at university and my passion for make-up in particular is stronger than ever. I've spent the last few years developing my beauty skills and collection. 

I've just this month decided to embark upon cleansing my beauty collection of all products that are not cruelty free. As a student, I'm becoming more and more financially aware; I'm certainly not chucking out every item of MAC, Bobbi Brown and L'Oreal (and more) cosmetics I own, because that would constitute a huge waste of money, but I certainly am planning to only buy from cruelty-free brands in the future.

Blogging has always been something I've been so interested in taking further, and I'm really hoping there is still a small audience that wants to read whatever I post here. 

Please leave a comment down below if you're reading still, tell me what you'd be interested in reading about.

Love,

Katie

Review: Foundation-Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum.

Bonjour Beauties,

Today, I've got a review for you! I recently bought this foundation after seeing Zoella (I mentioned her once before-I'm obsessed!) review it on her Youtube channel. She advised that it wasn't great for oily skin, and as mine as been really dry lately, I figured it should work pretty well for me. And I'm really pleased with the result. The foundation has a light-medium coverage which I find is perfect for when my skin is normal, but I've recently had a breakout and the foundation does very little to cover actual blemishes, in my opinion, but to me that's really not an issue has I have a full-coverage concealer that combined with this foundation gives me a really nice, medium-full coverage and covers any imperfections. However, if you're looking for a foundation that will put your concealer out of business, this probably won't be the one for you.

I would definitely say that it's one for the dry skinned people, as it gives quite a glow to the skin, and I fear it would just slip and slide off of an oilier skin. I powder it a little bit as I find otherwise it makes me look a little too shiny for my liking, though if you're a fan of that whole "dewy" look, then it's probably perfect for you just on its own! I got shade 51 which was the lightest, and it looks a little darker in the photos than it actually is; with some blending, it's the perfect colour for me!

It retails for £10.99 at Boots, which originally I thought was slightly excessive for a drugstore branded foundation, but I'm really impressed with the quality and the packaging is of a reasonable standard, though I find it's not quite as nice as the glass bottles that Rimmel London use for their foundations. Also, there is a huge amount of product in the bottle which is important to keep in mind, so that makes it even better value for money.

So, overall, I'm a little bit in love with this foundation and so far, it's probably on it's way to being my favourite, though I'm still a little undesicive on that one!

Review:

Price: 2.5/5

Packaging: 3/5

Product: 4.5/5

Let me know if you've tried this foundation! What else from Bourjois should I try out? Are there any great foundations that you're loving right now? Be sure to let me know in the comments section!

Thanks for reading!!

Katie



Review: Mascara-L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes.

Heyya

Yup, I'm pretty much back on the blogging wagon right now-I'm a tad more inspired than usual which is always good! I thought I'd get this review up as I got this mascara a month ago for my birthday and I've been using it since so that's a good amount of time! I don't use/own a lot of L'Oreal products but the great quality of this mascara has definitely converted me and I think that their Telescopic mascara will be my next purchase! They're probably one of the most expensive DRUGSTORE brands, but they're still a great deal compared to the high end brands who sometimes don't even compare!

This mascara retails at £10.99 and I have the shade Extra-Black! I think, as I said, that's quite a lot for a drugstore mascara, but I reaaally wanted to try it and my lovely mum bought it as one of my little, beauty gifts for my birthday, so thankyou for that! If you're in the UK, you can get L'Oreal at Boots and Superdrug and at American drugstores I'm sure! I'm not completely certain of the avaliability of this brand/mascara in Europe/other places, but they should be pretty universal. Just Google it!! :)

Now on with the pictures!

I've gotta be honest: I LOVE the packaging and it's really great quality too!

The wand is slightly different to any that I have. It tapers in slightly at the top which makes it really easy to get into the inner corner lashes and also makes it a lot simpler and less messy for applying mascara to the bottom lashes too. I wouldn't nessecarily recommend this if you've got really thin, short or sparse eyelashes though because I find the formula is quite wet and gets messy even on my eyelashes which are long and curled (with an eyelash curler of course, not naturally!).

So I really love this mascara!<3 It's definitely one that I would repurchase and worth the rather costly sum of money! It gives a very seperated, defined look to your lashes, not a hugely voluminous look but adds a lot of length, so keep that in mind if you're a BIIIG lashes girly; it may not be as good for you, I usually do go for volume, but it's nice to have an alternative too! :)

Overall:

Price: 2.5/5.

Packaging: 4/5.

Product: 4/5.

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Review: Cream Blusher-Stila Convertible Colour.

Hiii again!

I've recently bought a few different Stila products, all of which I will review on here sooner or later, but this is definitely my favourite! Stila IS an expensive brand but the quality of their products is absolutely brilliant. This blush is in the colour Petunia and it's the perfect bright pink. It's not a hot, blue-toned colour it's a really summery, fresh, bright shade that gives your cheeks a really natural glowy look. I'm absolutely in love with the blush and if I'm totally honest? It's a better colour and consistency than MAC's Lady Blush. However, talking of that blush, I think perhaps this one might be a little too much and a little too bright in the winter when I'm extra pale, and that's when I can still get away with the MAC one, so they both have their perfect times to wear.

As you can see the colour is absolutely DIVINE and on second looks it's more coral than I first saw which is even better and nicer and more wearable for me and for summer :) Stila has a range of different shades of Convertible Colours (which can also be used on lips!) and you can check that range and all of the other awesome makeup out here (the UK site). These only retail at £16.00 which for the quality and pigmentation I think is actually really great. A MAC cream blusher will cost you slightly more at £17.50 but remember to consider the colour options and consistency in both and definitely try before you purchase because different brands and shades work very differently for different people.

OVERALL:

Product: 4/5

Packaging: 5/5

Price: 3/5

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Review: Bronzer-Stila Sun Bronzing Powder.

Heyya :)

*Before I get into the actual post I just wanna quickly say that I'm not going to be blogging about my February Glossybox, as 1) I was missing one product so they're sending it to me and 2) 2 of the products were things I just wouldn't personally use so there's no point! I still remained subscribed and love Glossybox though!*

Anywaysss...

Stila is a brand based in America and has a reputation for producing some of the greats such as the Convertable Colours and Kitten eyeshadow. I recently got their Sun Bronzing Powder and I've got to say; their product quality, as far as I can say, is really, really great! The bronzer comes in shade 1 and shade 2 and I absolutely adore the packaging of it! It also has a mirror inside which is incredibly useful.
The product itself is matte and quite dark, but really easy to work with even for me; my skin is really quite pale. The bronzer is really soft and smooth on the skin and looks really natural. (Sorry about any glare on photos! The sun was out for once!)

Something else that I adore about this bronzer is that it has spf15 in it! This is so great because bronzer is one of my favourite things to wear makeup-wise for the summer, as I never find myself wearing as much as I do during the fall/winter months. This bronzer is pretty expensive, it retails at $28.00 but I do love it and think it's pretty much worth the price..if you're willing to pay that much, but if you just want a good, reasonably priced bronzer, you could probably find a drugstore dupe pretty easily.

Overall;

Product: 4/5.

Packaging: 5/5.

Price: 2.5/3/5.

Definitely try this bronzer out if you feel like splashing out on a great product! You can visit the Stila website here.

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Review: Mascara-Rimmel London Scandaleyes.

Lovelies,
I feel like the bulk of my posts are mascara reviews..it is probably my favourite item of makeup to buy and try out though..and here's another drugstore one for you alll! :)


I'm not hugely familiar with Rimmel London mascaras and havent heard much about this one in the Youtube/Blogging community. I recieved it as a Christmas gift from a good friend of mine, and at first I really didn't like it. I was recently watching a video by Bethany or MacBarbie07 on Youtube (a really amazing and popular beauty guru-go check her out!!) and she was raving about it, so I figured I should try it again. I was more impressed this time. It's great for length and seperating your lashes, it adds a little volume, but not too much. It's a really nice, simple, everyday, natural mascara and one you might want to try out!

The wand is absolutely huge..like seriously huge. It is really difficult to use on the bottom lashes, but that doesn't bother me too much as I can just use another mascara with a smaller wand for the bottom ones, because they're really not as important as the top lashes for me, personally. The packaging is pretty bright and gaudy..some people may find it quite cheap looking as it's orange, shiny and plastic. But I really don't mind that at all! :) It retails at £6.99 but is currently on offer in Boots for £4.99 here. Obviously that's a great deal but even for £6.99, you're getting a good mascara at a good price!!

Product: 4/5.

Packaging: 3/5.

Price: 4/5.

So, overall, I really like this mascara for length and a nice, everyday, natural look, but I'd probably layer it up with another mascara to get some real volume! :) You should definitely try it out though!!

Thanks for reading!!

Katie



NOTD: Razzle Dazzle.

Just a quick NOTD post for yaa this eveningg :)


I got this nail polish in my Glossybox for the month of January! I really like the formula, it dried quite quickly and it took about 2-3 coats to get the pigmentation shown in the photo..but I really like the colour of it!<3

Bit Christmassy I suppose..but I still larveee the nail polish! What are you favourite glitter polishes?!

Thanks for reading guys!

Katie

GlossyBox: December 2011.

I realise this is kinda a late post, but I signed up earlier this month and got sent the December one during January which was a real plus considering I get my January one later this month too! I love the concept of this, it's like a British verison of the American BirchBox kind of thing. There are a few alternatives such as Carmine, but Glossybox seemed the best to me. You may £10 a month plus around £2.95 (I think!) for postage and packaging and get sent 5 different products to try! Some are samples and some are full-sized! :)

This is the GlossyBox logo, the boxes are usually pale pink but this was the Christmas special one! They're really sturdy and would make for great storage!

"This unique foaming shower gel gently cleanses your skin and leaves it silky soft & smooth. Squeeze a small amount of gel into your hand – in contact with water the gel transforms into a rich, relaxing foam."

"This mattifying gel helps to control shine + reduces congestion. Microsponges regulate + absorb excess oil flow throughout the day while helping to promote a fresh, healthy looking complexion. Nip+Fab's Shine Fix purifies and calms skin whilst deep cleaning pores to help reduce and prevent blackheads and blockages. Shine Fix effectively reduces existent skin impurities and optimies the skin's appearance."



"Compliment the eyeshadow and define your natural beauty perfectly. Available in two show-stopping styles"

"Razzle Dazzle is a dark raspberry sizzle glitter, long wearing, high quality nail polish from the Deborah Lippmann Collection perfect for the upcoming Festive season. Accompanying this is The Stripper To Go varnish remover mitt which will remove all traces of polish for all 10 nails in an instant. Such a ‘handy’ little travel tool you will wonder how you ever lived without it.

"Limited edition gorgeous, wearable, travel sized glosses in CARGO’s new lip gloss formulation! Perfect pay off, great wear and high-shine without being sticky, this gloss is packed with a lip-nourishing botanical cocktail. The next generation of our non-tacky and comfortable gloss. Shades include a sparkling nude plum, powder pink, tropical melon, iridescent coral-pink and a dazzling nude beige."

Overall, I absolutely adore the concept of this box and literally the product that was actually small, was the lipgloss..the rest were (even if they weren't full size) pretty amazing sizes.

Visit the Glossybox website here.

*Disclaimer! All descriptions used were from the Glossybox website!*

Love,

Katie

Review: Mascara-Bourjois Volumizer.

Time to get back on the post writing wagon. This is a review :)

I bought this mascara acutally before Christmas but I've only just got round to writing about it! It's by Bourjois; a brand more famous for its chocolate bronzer and healthy mix foundation, but, I read about this on Sara Walker's blog, she also has a Youtube channel (SWalkerMakeup). She really loved it and it looked great on her, so I decided to pick it up and try it out too! :)

The mascara has a two-step system; one, smaller, thinner brush for adding more length (in my opinion) and a second, bigger, fatter brush for volume and intensity. I love the first brush. Alone it's a little TOO subtle, unless you really felt like wearing nothing but a tiny bit of mascara, then it would be perfect by itself. The second step is good too and adds a great amount of volume..however, the only thing I dislike about this mascara is on the second brush, half of the mascara in the tube must come out every single time. If I don't scrape off all sides of the second mascara wand, then the mascara looks horribly clumpy and makes your lashes look sparse and generally not nice. It's a bit of a pain to do that every time, however, once you have, you get a great effect. The main thing I noticed in this mascara was how good it was at seperating and lengething lashes. It's nothing paticularly special for volumizing, for me at least.

(Brush 1)

(Brush 2)

This mascara retails at £10.49-one of the priciest drugstore mascaras I've come across..and honestly..I'd rather add another £5 on and get an amazing Clinique one instead, because I don't think it's worth that much. Something like Maybelline Collossal I would happily pay that much for, but hmmm..not sure about this one really..

Product: 3/5.

Packaging: 4/5.

Price: 2.5/5

Overall..it's a nice mascara..but I don't think I'll be repurchasing it. Nice idea though. I think I'll look at some other, similar mascaras that feed off of the 2 wands idea. :)

Thanks for reading :)

Katie

Time to Catchup!

Feels a bit weird writing a Blog post tbh..it's been a while..almost a month :O


So first of, apologies for that! Second of all, I have got lots of ideas coming for Blog posts, but it is really difficult to get good pictures between school when it's daytime and the crappy lighting! What I mean by that is that by the time I'm home from school, it's really dark! :( as soon as we get to about March, things should start to look up, but I'll try and get some more posts with photos up soon! Third thing to say, is I really did want to Blog before Christmas but I totally forgot! So hope everyone had a great Christmas and a great New Years. Hope 2012 is going to be a great year for everyone. :)

Lots of love! <3



Katie

Haul: Lush!

When I made a visit to LUSH this weekend I was expecting to pick up some of their Christmas items, but none grabbed my attention. So instead I picked up their two most popular soaps in the Youtube/blogging community that before had made me ask: what's all the fuss about?! It was only today that the smell really made me understand why so many love them. That's right. Honey I Washed The Kids and Rockstar. They're amazing.

(how cute is the Christmas wrapping paper?!)

This will sound completely bizarre..but it kinda smells..caramelly..ish..that kinda thing..really good anyways!! Definitely would be too sweet for some people I think!

To me..it doesn't smell like honey at all..might just be me!?

don't think you can totally see..but it even has that honeycomb effect :)

Rockstar is a more universal scent..it reminds me of the Candy Cane bubblebar from last year's Christmas collection..I'm not sure if they brought that one out this year though :( that was my favourite!!


In the little mini description of Honey I Washed The Kids they called it a 'honey toffee-scented' soap and for Rockstar a 'vanilla' scented soap..I wouldn't say it smelt like vanilla at all..but I may be wrong! It's much sweeter I think. I love them both! HIWTK soap retails at £3.25/100g and Rockstar retails at £3.25/100g also, so it's a great deal :)


Make sure to go into your local LUSH store soon :) it smells beautiful in there and they do great pre-wrapped/pre-prepared christmas gift boxes too which make great, affordable Christmas gifts <3

Thanks for reading!! :)

Katie



NOTD: Basil Street.

Heya girlies :)

This past month in Glamour they are giving away a free Nails Inc. nail polish with every issue! As it's December now, they might've stopped doing it..sorry if that's true!! There were 4 colour choices, but I personally wanted Basil Street, a really light, nude brown colour and here it is :)

(love the really nice packaging too!)

It is really subtle but looks really nice too :) I'm pretty sure that these polishes usually retail at £11 so getting one free in a £2 magazine is really great. Glamour usually do a free luxury, high-end product in their magazines every couple of months so definitely watch out for that :)

Thanks for reading lovelies :)

Katie

10 Things to Tell: You're my wonderwall.

1. Every one of these posts will have the song lyric of the day in the title :')


2. I HATE Biology revision.


3. Made in Chelsea is over for another season :( sucha good ending!! Can't wait for next series! I'm team #gethugoandmilliebacktogetherandrosiegoaway :P


4. I haven't been blogging much lately :(


5. I got that great makeup from my wonderful friend Livi:) (will blog about that soon!)


6. My One Direction album has been on replay since Saturday. :)


7. I love Twitter.


8. I want an Alexander McQueen scarf and a Michael Kors watch more than you can ever know :( time to start saving me thinks!


9. single song of the week so far? -Dance With Me Tonight-Olly Murs.


10. I have the best friends in the world <3

Katie



10 Things to Tell: Can we fall, one more time?

time for a bit of a chat/general update..


1. My love for One Direction has grown even more..hence the 1D lyrics in the title. <3
2. My beautiful and lovely friend Liv is clearing out her makeup and giving the things she doesnt want to me..ahh she's too kind;) and we've decided together that karma is verrrrry important. What goes around, comes around.
3. I haven't spent too much money on makeup lately :D
4. It's very almost Advent Calender season..which means Santa is on his way.
5. Ed Sheeran is a genius.
6. I'm afraid to say.....I think I've got EVEN PALER THAN I WAS BEFORE. :'(
7. Work for my GCSEs is just taking over my life...the homework has multiplied.
8. I want Marcus Collins to win the X-Factor.
9. On Vampire Diaries, it's gotta be Elena and Damon. Stefan is getting in the way atm. Tyler is gorgeous and Matt is adorable.
10. MY BEST FRIEND IS AMAZING. Megan, I love you muchly.

Thanks for reading girrrlies :)

Katie



NOTD: Neon Pink.

heya girlies,

first of all, apologies that I haven't blogged in a lil while. My laptop has been in for repair so I was using a spare one..that I don't like blogging on:P only this one is reserved for that!
I bougght another No7 polish this week called Cheeky Chops-which btw I think is THE cutest name ever <3.

The colour is like..summer in a bottle...so wearing when there's only a month and a bit until Christmas (YAAAY!!!) is a ridiccc idea..but ah well! :')

thanks for reading guysss.

 Katie.

                      

NOTD: Star Dust.

heyya girlies.


I larrrve this colourr so much :)

It's quite thick and it doesn't have the foil effect, it actually is full of glitter which makes it look realllllly Christmasssssy <3<3<3

This shade is called Star Dust 17. Collection 2000 are a great, drugstore brand and have a great colour range. I'm not sure of the exact price, but I can't imagine they're more than £3-£4.

Thanks for reading!!

Love, Katie .xx