Playing with fire, red eyeshadows

After seeing Chanel’s le rouge collection No.1 everywhere, I realised the eyeshadow quad Candeur et experience looked awfully similar to a five eyeshadow palette that I already owned for the fraction of the price; Rimmel London’s five pan eyeshadow in Brixton Brown.The main difference between them being the Rimmel palette consists of mainly shimmery shades whereas the Chanel quad is all matte, but the colours themselves are very similar.

Here’s my favourite way to use this little palette:

I chose to do my eyes first as these shadows have slight fall out. I took the matte grey brown shade in my crease and then using the bottom left shade, a gorgeous dark browny red, I added this to the outside corner of my eyes. I took time to blend the shadows thoroughly with a fluffy brush. I packed the pale shimmery shade all over my lid using a flat eyeshadow brush, stopping when I reached the dark shade on the outer corner. Now time for my favourite part, the red! This colour is a beautiful coppery red. I packed this onto the centre of my lid, over the top of the pale shimmer. I made sure that these two shimmery shades were kept below the crease. Finally, I used the darkest shade in the palette on an angled brush to create a soft wing.

I finished the rest of my face makeup before going in with the pale grey brown shade on my lower lash line. I added some depth to the outer corners with the darkest shade and blended them together. I highlighted my inner corners with the pale shimmery shade. Curled my lashes, added mascara and I was done. I paired this look with a nude lip, Topshop lipstick in Nevada.

Here I am playing with autumnal colours and its 26 degrees outside. But I love this little Rimmel eyeshadow palette and the red was calling out to me.

Do you have any good dupes for the new Chanel collection? What is your favourite way to wear these eyeshadows?

Meg x 

Beauty and Makeup Haul

It has been a while since I have bought more than one makeup item at once. My wish list was building up so it was about time I took a trip to Superdrug and Boots!

L'oreal Nude magique cushion foundation has been everywhere recently, I have heard great things about it and thought it would be a great option for the summer months. I also decided to pick up the L'oreal Glam bronzer cushion de soleil. I only have a powder bronzer so a liquid one for summer seemed necessary!

Superdrug had a deal on L'oreal products. So I bought the Lumi magique primer. After having swatched it on my hand, I think I may use this on top of foundation as a highlight. But I am excited to have a play with it.

A coral matte lip was next on my wish list, I thought the colour would go beautifully with the couple khaki coloured clothes that I have. Coral is a typical summer colour and I love it! I chose the Revlon ultra HD matte lipcolour in Flirtation, I think it is called.

I already own a Rimmel wake me up concealer, but it wasn't light enough to use under my eyes, so I picked up a lighter colour.

I also picked up individual duo and trio lashes from Eylure. I don’t really wear false eyelashes too much, but they always look beautiful when I see others wearing them. I picked up some Duo glue. I had a reaction to the glue that came with another pair of my Eylure lashes, which ain’t that great!

Bastiste is the dry shampoo I normally use as it does a great job when I have three day old hair (I don’t like to wash my hair too often!) but it does leave my hair feeling coarse and not particularly clean. I wanted to try something new so picked up Co-lab dry shampoo which I am excited to try.

I was running out of my Nip + Fab glycolic fix night pads, I cannot live without these so I had to repurchase before I ran out.

I am going to Wilderness festival next weekend, so I bought two travel bottles to take essential skincare products with me. I also bought clear elastics because they’re perfect to create different festival hair styles with.

I also bought a pack of tissues, not that you needed to know that!

What were the last makeup bits you bought?

Meg xx 

My Current Skincare Routine

My skin has recently become something I really care about. I had never thought about it too much, just whacked on some moisturiser as and when I thought I needed it. I’m only 20 but I thought ‘you’re never too young to take care of your skin’ and thanks to the queen of skincare that is CarolineHirons I’ve learnt a lot, looking after my skin better and enjoy doing it.

I knew nothing about skincare, so I read lots of blogs and reviews to get the best products for me and my skin. I had a lot of fun researching different products, I took my time as I knew I would be spending a fair amount and didn’t want to get it wrong. It took me a couple of months building up my skincare products to get to the point I am at now. And I still have a few more items I want to buy to get it perfect.

I’ve learnt a lot about my skin since starting my skincare journey. I have dehydrated skin with an oily t-zone. I can get a few spots around my chin, nose and forehead area. I also get redness on and around the nose and chin area, plus very dark circles.

So that’s the basics. Let’s get into the good stuff, the products!

Removing makeup: Simple, micellar cleansing water.

I love this micellar water; it is a great first step to remove most of my makeup. It’s powerful enough to remove mascara, but gentle on my eyes and skin that other micellar waters were not.

Cleanse: Emma Hardie, amazing face cleansing balm.

I look forward to using this balm every night; it feels great on my skin and does the job of removing remaining makeup and giving a general clean brilliantly.

Second/morning cleanse: Simple, pore minimising toning cleanser.

This is one of the steps I’m not completely happy with. I am on the lookout for a better morning/second cleanse that I can wash off with a face cloth, to feel fresher in the mornings. Any suggestions? However this does the job pretty well, plus its quick; just rub it on with a cotton pad.

Acid toner: Pixi, glow tonic.

I use this in the mornings and I love this exfoliating toner. It reveals great glowing skin.

Nip+Fab,glycolic fix night pads.

I use this acid toner in the evenings as it is slightly harsher. I also love these pads, so handy to take away with you. Love to use these when I am slightly spottier.

Hydrating toner: Pixi, hydrating milky mist.

I love this step in my routine; it’s a burst of freshness and moisture on my skin. I have gone through a couple bottles already, I just mist is everywhere!

Eye cream: Balance me, wonder eye cream.

This is another step I haven’t quite perfected. This eye cream is good to keep my under eye hydrated but I don’t think it is doing much for the darkness that I have (thanks mum!). Any suggestions on good eye creams would also be appreciated.

Serum: Aurelia revitalise and glow serum.

I’m in love with this, such a nice consistency and texture. It smells great and gives my skin a beautiful glow. I’m nearly running out, but the price has gone up on cult beauty. Nooo!!

Daily moisturiser: Super Facialist by Una Brennan, vitamin C daily moisturiser.

This moisturiser is great, super hydrating and it contains UVA/UVB protection which is perfect after I use Pixi glow tonic in the mornings. It gives an amazing glow, almost too much glow if that is possible? Plus is it smells of oranges. I’d be interested to try the other products in the range.

Facial oil: Aurelia, cell repair night oil.

This facial oil feels and smells so luxurious. My combination skin means I don’t use this every night but is great 2-3 times a week for added moisture and goodness.

That’s a wrap.

Like I said, I haven’t completely perfected the routine and I don’t mind taking my time to get there, especially as these things cost money! Please let me know if you have suggestions of products or how I could improve my routine.

What’s your favourite skincare product at the moment?

Meg x