Saturday 27 April 2013

What's in my travel makeup bag?

I rarely travel from home, but had to get up at 6am today to catch a train for an induction day for my new job. Usually I do makeup at home but to save time I brought it with me as the train journey was lonnngggg. Hopefully I didn't horrify too many people pre-makeup! I thought I'd post about what products I brought-these are the things that work, last all day and I know I can trust. I didn't wear eyeshadow today but if I had wanted to I would've brought my Urban Decay Naked2 pallette.
To prep my skin I brought Nivea Oil Free Moisturising Day Cream, which does what it says on the tin, and helps to mattify as its oil free and geared towards combination skin. I then applied Benefit Porefessional as a primer to fill in pores and help my foundation last longer. My base consisted of Revlon Colourstay foundation and concealer and Nearly Naked powder-these three work really well together. To contour I used Dainty Doll blush in Money Talks, and for blush I used My Girl also from Dainty Doll. Like a gazillion other bloggers I got mine super cheap from fragrancedirect.co.uk and I'm really impressed with the pigmentation and lasting power of these. I filled my brows in with MUA brow kit, then applied painterly paint pot from MAC on my eyelids just to even out any redness and discolouration there. For mascara I brought Loreal Telescopic Infinite Length mascara. And that was it, I didn't put anything other than a lip balm on my lips. My brushes are pictured below and are a mixture of Real Techniques, Crownbrush and Royal and Langnickel. This was as basic as I get with makeup but I hope it helps others to see what products I love and what works for me. Do you use any of these? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx



Tuesday 23 April 2013

Revlon Colourstay Concealer

I always wondered why my favourite Revlon Colourstay foundation didn't have a trusty concealer sidekick-well it does now! The Colourstay concealer is a new product, I spied it for the first time in Boots a couple of weeks ago and picked it up in 02 Light. I use the shade "Buff" in the foundation and was pleased when this perfectly matched it.
I've been using this the last few days in favour of the Collection lasting perfection concealer, and this may shock people(!) but I actually prefer it.
I find that any concealer I've tried in the past has a tendency to settle into that pesky crease under my eye during the day, but this really doesn't. It's got a more liquid consistency than the Collection concealer, but the coverage is as good-it covers the darkness under my eyes and it lasts from when I put it on til I take my makeup off at night. I apply mine using either the small end of a beauty blender or my Real Techniques deluxe crease brush. It blends really easily into the skin and then I set it with Revlon Nearly Naked powder. So now my whole base is Revlon-this pleases me as I'm a bit OCD matchy-matchy like that.
I can't tell you what this is like for concealing blemishes as I don't often get many but I'm really pleased I found this gem and will be using it from now on.
This costs £6.99 from Boots- they also have a 3 for 2 offer on Revlon at the minute.
Have you tried/will you be trying this concealer? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx







Sunday 21 April 2013

MUA Lipstick Trio in Scarlet

Apologies for yet another post on a lip product, but this is a new release from MUA and I thought I'd share my first impressions. I picked this up as I had a few points on my Superdrug beauty card, but it retails for £2.50 from Superdrug or www.muastore.co.uk
As this is described as a lipstick trio I was excited to get it, I find it really hard to finish a full tube of lipstick as I have so many...I definitely have issues. However, I thought as this trio has three smaller pots itd be nice to travel with as well as giving 3 colour options. The packaging isn't the most sturdy but this is to be expected for the price you pay. Also the applicator is the same sponge tip as you get in many eyeshadow compacts, which is a tad confusing, I don't know why it's even included for lip products.
I haven't worn these colours yet, I've only swatched them. My trio is in the shade scarlet, although there's not a red in sight, what you get are three glossy colours- a pink, a darker pink and a very pale pink. I would describe these more as tinted lip balms or glosses, there's definitely not enough pigment for these to warrant the title "lipstick trio". That being said, there's still some payoff and if you're afraid of darker colours and getting them everywhere these are perfect. Because they are more balm/gloss-like they can easily be applied with your fingers on the go. I will chuck this in my handbag for top ups during the day or to apply over lipstick, so whilst the payoff isn't as strong as I had expected I will still use this little pallette. Have you tried these? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx





Thursday 18 April 2013

Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick.

I'm back from my Easter holidays!! ;) I've noticed recently that Revlon have been bringing sooo many new products out, it's hard to keep up. It seems like every time I pass the stand there's a gazillion new products calling to me.(makeup talks to me. Yes it does yes it does yes it does).
One of the new products I wanted to pick up was the new Ultimate Suede lipstick, mainly because it forms part of their Colourstay line, which also contains my very favourite foundation. I opted for 010 Womenswear, which is a natural pink colour, and was £8.99 from Boots or Superdrug. These are meant to be long-wear, semi-matte(suede) lipsticks with added moisturising ingredients so I was excited to get my hands on one.
I really like the sturdy packaging, the lid is very secure and I also like that u can see the lipstick colour through the plastic.
I've worn this a few times now, and it pretty much delivers what it promises. The formula is very creamy and smooth to apply, and after about 10 mins it gets a little bit sticky, which I assume is what allows it to stay on the lips so well. This doesn't bother me but might irritate people who want to forget they're wearing a lip colour. I applied this in the morning and the colour lasted through 3 drinks and 2 meals before it started to fade a little. It does feel more moisturising than a matte lipstick, and isnt drying at all. At this point I reapplied but at a stretch you could get away without doing so, as I find the colour leaves a bit of a stain on the lips. The only odd thing I notice with the lipstick is that when I apply it I get a natural pink colour which gradually darkens a little bit over time. But maybe this is just me?!
Overall, this is nice and I would recommend it, however I don't love it enough to rush out and purchase any others...one last point to note is that there isnt a massive range of colours to choose from. Have you tried these?
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx





Saturday 6 April 2013

Weight Loss

Today I'm writing a different kind of thing, away from beauty and makeup. This time last year I was bigger. 3 and a half stone bigger. I had had 3 children, youngest was 8 months. I had moved far away from my home and family, and so had lost my support network and my job. I was a bit down to say the least (not depressed). I had made 2( just 2 ) friends in my new home and I just didn't know what to focus on other than my children and school runs. I had up to this point always been unhappy with my weight but being in this new place by myself, even after having a baby and initially losing weight I eventually ended up heavier than ever before. So when my friend Steph(no.2) suggested joining Slimming World I jumped on that shit!! We started going to the gym 4/5 days a week. Between this and the slimming world plan I started to feel much more in control of my life. It's taken over a year but I am much more happy, confident and most importantly fitter. The weight loss is an extra special by-product. I don't want use this post to advise or inspire anyone to lose weight, just wanted to share the ways I've made my quality of life a bit better. For me it took being a bit smaller to make me happy, but I truly admire anyone who is happy no matter what their size. I think that fitness and health are the most important thing, but for me, losing a bit of weight has helped me in feeling less like the elephant in the room. I wouldn't have started blogging had I not embarked on a journey of change. I have shared a picture below of the years difference and I think in the after picture (I'm on the right) you can see much more self confidence in my face. Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx