ColorTrend Nail Enamel

I ordered these two from Avon as it was a buy one and get one free. I love both these colours because they very summery and pretty. My favourite colour would be Mint Ice, it reminds me very much of Essie Mint Candy Apple except a bit more greener. The colours shown on my fingers are coated about three times. They aren't very pigmented and the pink one - Sweet Sundae - on the first coat looks like clear nail polish with just one coat. They also chip very easily even with a base coat and a top coat on which is quite irritating because I like nail polish to last for about four or five days at most, so when it doesn't last long it disappoints me very much. There are more negatives with this nail polish than positives. The only positives is the colour you get after about 3 coats. I do like these nail polishes though because of the colour despite the negative bits and I like the cute little boxes that they come in. Overall a good and bad product from Avon and maybe if they lasted longer I'd be sold... So I guess I'm leaving the decision up to you guys if you'd like it or not :)

xxx

*PS - sorry for the dark images, the colour of the nail polishes weren't showing up very well in the bright light.

A Beauty Haul

As you can all see I went a little mad when I went shopping this weekend and I got a bit obsessed with Catrice Cosmetics. They have such amazing stuff for such reasonable prices. I could spend an hour just standing and staring at the Catrice stall. Ayways my haul consists of - in no particular order: Palmers Cocoa Butter for dry skin, Catrice Eyebrow Stylist, Catrice All Round Concealer, Essence Sun Club Eyeshadow Palette 02, Catrice Volume Plus Length Mascara, Revlon Colourstay Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain, Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze, Catrice Multi Colour Compact Powder, Catrice Infinite Matt Make Up, Catrice Prime and Fine Smoothing Refiner, Trevor Sorbie 18-MEA Lipid Shine Shampoo, Catrice Ultimate Nail Laquer, Catrice Prime and Fine Highlighting Powder and last but not least Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant.

So that's my haul for this month and I'll do a seperate post for each product as I test them out.

Happy Monday!

xxx

A Bad Couple Of Days

First off I'm going to start off with saying that I'm very sorry for not having posted anything yesterday. Lately I've just been so busy at work that even my "free time" is consumed with work and by the time the weekend rolls over I'm just so tired I can hardly even think and I've just been having a bad couple of days.
I've also lately been experiencing anxiety - which is a shock because I hardly panic or stress about much. Every morning I wake up and I'm nervous and shaking, so nervous in fact that I make myself feel sick which is ridiculous. Yesterday, when I didn't do a post and I knew I wouldn't be able to write one up quickly, made me panic because I felt like I was letting a few people down.
I'm not quite sure what is bringing on this anxiety and why its happened all of a sudden but I do know that its ruining the way I look at the days that I'm going to have face. Even thinking about tomorrow is making me nervous as I'm writing this. Anxiety is a completely new concept to me and at the moment I'm not sure how to handle it and what to do about it but I have told my mom which is the first step, I'm guessing. If it carries on for much longer I'll have to go to the doctor - cringe - which will make me even more anxious.

Now that I come to think of it this anxiety of mine has been brewing for a while I just didn't notice it. I would panic if I thought I'd done something wrong or if I'd let someone down, I'd be nervous to get out of bed and face the day and I'd make myself sick with worry about what will happen the next day. Before the day had even finished I'd be worrying about the next. It's not healthy and even thinking that I might have a "problem" is making me anxious and I know that anxiety is not a problem.

Anyways I just thought I'd share a scrap of my little life with you. Next post will be up on Monday!

xxx

Budget Beauty: Make Me Blush

Woolworths Make Me Blush Lip and Cheek Tint - Cherry Cherry R49.95

I was watching TV and I saw that Woolworths was advertising a new make up range. I didn't think much of it until I saw this baby in Woolworths when I went winter clothes shopping. For a cream blush it is quite cheap as some cream blushes range from R100 and over. rsonally I don't like the little container it comes in. I think they should have made it black instead of white but thats just me being fussy. I think the white makes it look cheap - I like cheap products that look expensive ;) It was R49.95 so I can't really ask for much I guess. It doesn't look like theres much cream blush in here anyways which is disappointing because the colour is amazing but I will say that it will last a long time as you don't need to use a lot.

What I do is rub a bit on my finger - its a wonderful creamy, soft texture - and then dab it onto my cheeks - I don't put it on my apples of my cheeks as I find the colour is too bright and harsh for my apples. I then use my kabuki brush to blend it in little circular motions. The colour doesn't come out as red as what the product looks like, it blends in to a lovely rosey, flush of colour that looks completely natural. I find myself reaching for this nearly every morning as I like the way it looks dewy on my cheeks and not powdery like powder blushes can do.

As a lip tint it does work well but you have to add a lip balm before you use this as it doesn't blend very well on your lips on its own. It gives your lips a stained cherry colour thats not too bright or light. When I bought this I only saw two colours available and that was like a coral colour and this one that I have which is Cherry Cherry. I chose my Cherry Cherry one because I knew I wouldn't use the coral colour on my lips. I'm not too sure if there are more colours available and hopefully there are because I wouldn't mind laying my hands on a pinky coloured one!

With that being said I think this product is definitely worth it and a good make from Woolworths. As always Woolworths has impressed me again!

xxx

Pantene Clarifying Shampoo

I was sceptical to try this shampoo because Pantene as a whole just does not do amazing things for my hair. I was surprised by this shampoo though as it does what it says it will. Generally a clarifying shampoo is used to clean your hair of left over hair products that weigh your hair down and makes it look greasy.
You definitely don't use this shampoo as an every day shampoo because your hair will feel like hay its so drying. I use this every month or so when I can feel my hair is weighed down and oily.
It literally leaves nothing behind but hair that looks fuller and cleaner. I try not to put conditioner on all over my hair - you're not supposed to anyways- I just put conditioner on my very ends. You don't need to use a lot of shampoo, a tiny dollop in the palm of your hand will go a long way. I will say though that I don't like how dry it makes your hair but I understand why since its a clarifying shampoo. But still...

Also I noticed you can use this product if you've dyed your hair a certain colour and maybe its gone too dark. It almost strips some of the colour away which for me is perfect since I dye my hair brown but it comes out way too dark. So that's an added bonus to this product.

All in all its a thumbs up from me and I'd definitely repurchase it.

xxx

Random Facts About Me

Today I thought I should do a post about myself so that my few readers can get to know me a little bit better. If you don't want to know anything about me and just like my posts about various products, there'll be one up tomorrow so don't stress :)

My Wishlist

This is pretty much my wishlist, not for a particular month, just a list of things I would like and hopefully will get in the near future. ie seen the Elizabeth Arden Highlighter online and I'll be ordering it very soon. It's a beautiful rose gold highlighting blush... sounds good right?
The Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation is available in Edgars but everytime I go there to get one, they either don't have one for my skin colour or they are out of stock - literally everytime I go there, I'm not kidding! I haven't seen the Bourjois Healthy Mix Blush in stock yet either in Edgars. Someone is sending me a message that I'm not supposed to own anything from Bourjois - I'm refusing to listen to you, whoever you are!

The Edgars near me doesn't even stock Bobbi Brown things but I will get the Lilac Rose Collection one day! None of the shops in my area even sell NARS - shock! horror! - and when I look online they don't have one for my skin tone. The Clinique High Impact Mascara is a little too pricey when I've seen it in Edgars but I will save up and get myself this beauty!

Stila is sold online, I know that much, but they have not yet started selling the cream blushes so I am waiting patiently for that day! I have found the Urban Decay 2 Palette online - success! - and I will order it next week! No shops sell Urban Decay here. (I know - pure shock, you can close your mouth now.)

Now after writing this post I have noticed that I seem to be living under a rock and this rock is a particularly boring rock that hardly sells any good products. I have also noticed that I have very bad luck with products that are either out of stock or just don't suit me. I. Give. Up. (not really I promise)

How bad is my luck??

Is your wishlist similar? Or if you own any of these things please let me know what they are really like?

xxx

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate

Oh. My. Goodness. This lipstick! It astounds me, really, it's so amazing. It's soft and lasts for a long time. I got the shade 05 and it's like lip colour except better. I always go for colours that are my lip colour because most lipsticks just don't suit me. Which is why I bought this colour. find when I apply this it almost goes on like a matte lipstick but smoother which is why I put lip balm on before because I like that glossy look - not over glossy look, just moisturised look. I have to reapply this about 3 times during the day which is a lot better than most lipsticks. It survived the "tea test" too - that's when you have a cup of tea and your lipstick is still on by the time you've finished your cuppa tea - and that is the ultimate challenge for lipsticks.

I find myself reaching for this lipstick a lot over my other lipsticks. The packaging of a lipstick is also important and there was something that just drew me in with this little tube. Maybe the matte black with the red "Kate" on it? Or the sturdy look of it - where you can through it in your handbag and it won't break or the lid won't pop off.

I would recommend this lipstick for all girls that love a good great lipstick. Especially this colour if you're into subtle colours like me :)

xxx

*Sorry for these horribly blurry images - me and the camera were cleary not working well together!

Link: Rimmel

Daily Hair Care

My hair, like my skin, goes through stages of being dry and then oily. At the moment my hair is quite dry because I recently dyed my hair. I usually match my hair products to whatever "mood" my hair is in. We all know hair is dead so whatever you do to your hair, it is only improving the outer layer of your hair.

With that being said I'm going to share my hair products that I've been using recently to combat my dry hair and if you know me you'll know that my pet hate is washing and styling my hair. That is why I've got my hair down to two washes a week - bonus!

Left to right: Dischem Heat Protection Spray - R34.95, Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo - R45.95, Batiste Dry Shampoo Spray - R35, Moroccan Argan Oil Conditioner - R19.95, Trevor Sorbie Ultimate Moisture Mask for Thick Hair - R99.99

Dischem Heat Protection Spray - I use this before I blow dry or straighten my hair. I try not to apply any heat to my hair as my hair is quite thick and it frizzes so easily and heat makes it worse unfortunately. When I have to blow dry my hair this heat protection spray really does the trick. It leaves my hair soft and my hair doesn't frizz as much as it normally would. I was surprised as it was so cheap. Definitely will repurchase this when it's finished.

Avon Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo - Leaves my hair so soft but manageable. I didn't even feel the need to put conditioner on that's how soft it was. Really a bargain and will definitely repurchase this again

Batiste Dry Shampoo Spray - This stuff is a real little beast. It soaks up all the oil and when you rough your hair up to get the white, powdery residue out your hair. It leaves your hair looking like you have washed it and not an oily slick - sounds gross when I put it that way. I bought the small bottle first because I wasn't sure if it really would work. Definitely going to buy the bigger bottle when it finishes.

Avon Moroccan Argan Oil Conditioner - I applied this on the tips of my hair and my word this stuff is great. My ends of my hair are very dry and this conditioner smoothed those ends out and made them soft - best conditioner so far!

Trevor Sorbie Ultimate Moisture Mask for Thick Hair - I'm in love with this mask. Usually hair masks make my hair limp and oily and just dead looking but not this mask. My hair was shiny, straight and soft. Don't apply this to your whole head though as it will make it oily. Only apply it to the ends of your hair and leave in for 3 minutes.

What's your hair routine?

xxx

Budget Beauty: The Fragrance Boutique

The Fragrance Boutique in South Africa (see link here) sell high end perfumes in their own packaging and bottles and sell them for a lot cheaper. All the oils have been imported from Grasse in France and they sell brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Chanel and everything you can think of. I've had Dior before and Chanel and they smell exactly the same as the original.

This one that I have now is Dolce & Gabbana The One for women and the 50ml bottle for womens perfume is only R250 - that's nothing compared to the normal prices of high end perfumes. It's a warm, floral scent with a strong sweet smell to it that does die down when it dries. It's a very feminine fragrance. In the top notes you can get a smell of peach, bergamot (my favourite), mandarine and lychee. So the top notes are quite fruity but not so fruity that you smell like a walking fruit if you get what I mean? In the heart notes you smell madonna lily, exotic fruits, jasmine, muguet and plum. The base notes are filled with vitiver, vanilla (another favourite), dry amber, musky notes and mossy notes. All in all the fragrance is a floral, fruity smell but the floral smell is a lot stronger. I quote: "It's a vibrant floral touch of warm citrus notes." and this describes the scent perfectly. The smell does last for a long time and you get whiffs of it as the day goes on.

The Fragrance Boutique is a very smart idea for those you want high end perfumes but can't afford it. Of course you don't get the beautiful packaging of Gucci or Chanel but you do get the scent and that's what people notice.

Now go out there and get some high end perfumes for a lot cheaper!

xxx

*PS - my thoughts and prayers go out to the families and people of Boston. Be strong Boston, we are all praying for you!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today, the 15th of April, is my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday to the most special person in my life. I love you Mom! (big hug!!)

I thought I'd show you some things my dad and I got her, I didn't have a chance to take a photo of the things my sister got her but I'll just tell you what she got my mom instead.

My dad got my mom a pair of pajama's from Woolworths for R195. The pajama's have "coffee" and "cuppacino" written on it. My mom really loves her pajama's, especially with winter coming up. My mom is a very simple person to buy for because my mom literally appreciates everything you get her and she loves all kinds of things.

Above are the things I got my mom. I got her a Marine & Mint Exfoliating Shower Gel - R50, Rose & Sandalwood Fragranced Soap (my mom smells these nearly every single time we go to Woolworths) this was about R29.95. I also got her a lipstick from Woolworths, it's a sheer dark red colour for R110 also from Woolworths. My mom loves her dark red lipsticks. Next I got her a nail brush with a pumice attached. My mom loves things that'll take care of her feet. I don't remember how much this was but I got it from Clicks. I got her the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Skin Protectant for R165 at Edgars. My sister had this and my mom always used to use it so I thought it was perfect to give to my mom.

My sister got my mom all Body Shop products. She got her a Moroccan Rose Body Butter, a Moringa Body Scrub, a rose hand cream and a rose gardenia candle.

So that's it! Happy Birthday mom, I hope you have an absolutely terrific day :) I love you!

Is your moms birthday coming up soon?

I hope you got some ideas on what to get your mom if shes into the same thing!

xxx

*Sorry that the photos aren't clear! I had to take them at night time when my mom was asleep...

Pluck Perfect

I always used to get my eyebrows waxed and now I just pluck them because I learnt how to do it properly and I'm saving a lot more money without using wax. Anyways I have 10 tips for you on how to get perfectly plucked eyebrows.

1. You have to use the right tweezers. They must be sharp and slanted so that they can grip the little hairs. If you don't have the right tweezers its not going to be an easy job.

2. The trick is to pluck your eyebrows after you have showered/bathed. The warm water will help open your pores and soften the hair follicles making it easier for the hair to just slip out.
3. Don't use one of those magnifying glasses. They tend to make it look like there are more hairs which leads to over plucking. Use a normal mirror and step back a few steps to track your progress. Also use a mirror that is surrounded by a lot of light so you can see the hairs.
4. Your eyebrows should begin just to the side of your tear duct (so towards your nose), the arch should start on the outer side of your iris (the coloured bit of your eye) and end 45 degrees from the outer corner of your eye.

5. Create the shape of your eyebrow by drawing it on with a brow pencil and then start plucking hair that is out of the drawing.
6. Don't force your brow shape. If you don't have a high arch you can't make one properly. Work with what you have and, if anything, keep your natural shape but just neaten it up.
7. Put a soothing cream on once you've finished plucking and it'll soothe the burn feeling that you get and the redness on your brows.
8. Brush your eyebrows with a brow brush to see your shape and if you've missed any stray hairs. Fill in sparse spaces with an eyebrow pencil that matches your eyebrow colour- don't worry we all have sparse spaces.
10. If you've overplucked then you can always fill in the spaces with the eyebrow pencil and don't pluck your eyebrows until they have grown back in.

Hope this helped!
Now get plucking :)

xxx

 *please note the second picture of the eye is not mine. It was the most decent diagram I could find on Google.

Budget Beauty: Feeling Beautiful



Freeman Feeling Beautiful Clay Mask - R39.95 from Dischem stores



As you can see by how used this is I've had this mask for quite a while - since last year to be exact - and I'm in love with it. I got it from one of the local Dischem stores. The Freeman Feeling Beautiful Clay Mask (you can see their range of products here) has avocado and oatmeal in it and this one is more suited for oily/combination skin as it draws out all the excess oil from your pores. Generally I have oily/combination skin but in winter my skin gets very dry so I wouldn't recommend you use this in winter as it does dry your skin out and leaves it feeling tight in winter. Trust me, I know from experience!

Basically what I do is I wash my face and pat my skin dry and I apply this mask all over, even on my neck. I let it dry completely and then thoroughly wash it off. You can feel it drying on your face because you start feeling like you can't move your mouth or crease your forehead so that's a sign when you need to wash it off. It's a very thick consistency so you don't need to worry about pouring a lot into your hand as it spreads very easily and as a bonus this mask lasts for a very long time.

Once you've washed it off you can feel your skin is softer and smoother. I wouldn't say that you can visibly notice a difference (well you can in a way because you don't have those shiny bits from excess oil but I mean pimple wise I don't see a difference.) but you can feel the difference in your skins texture which is nice as make up goes on so much smoother and more evenly. It does remove oil very well and you can feel your skin is oil free and matt for about two days - which for me in summer is a big yippee! If your skin is very oily, even in winter, I would suggest putting cream on afterwards because of how tight it makes your skin. I apply this mask once a week or once every two weeks depending on my skin.

Freeman has a wide range of products, which you can see in the link I put up, and I'd definitely try all their products out and repurchase this avocado and oatmeal mask again.

Have you tried any Freeman products?

What face masks would you recommend?

xxx

Bioderma Sensibo H2O

Bioderma Sensibo H2O - R152.50

I was so happy to hear that Bioderma was in South Africa and in a local chemist of mine. My sister got it first and then told me and I just thought I had to get me some of this stuff that I've heard so many people speaking of! Anyways this stuff is just the bomb. I got mine for sensitive skin because my skin has it moments where it wants be horrible.

Bioderma removes make up like a dream. I battle to remove my eye make up especially and this stuff just does it in two swipes - so impressed! - instead of me having to constantly rub my eyes vigorously to remove make up properly. You can feel the difference in your skin because it just feels so much cleaner and softer. Now that the southern hempishere is going into winter I'd have to put cream on afterwards but in summer I can tell this won't dry out my skin.

The great thing about Bioderma is it doesn't leave you feeling like you have to wash off your make up remover. Some make up removers feel like they "sitting" on your skin. Also another great thing is that it dries out your pimples and visibly makes your skin clearer - yay!

Personally I think this is a super great product and I'll definitely repurchase it again ad again.

xxx

Bag of Bones

After this last weekend I saw a lot of people that I haven't seen in a long time and of course we all change while others don't change. I'm not tall or short, I'm quite an average height and I weigh about 46kgs (you can convert my weight if you need to - I'm not worried haha) and I've weighed around 44 - 46kgs since I was 16 years old which was three years ago. I have quite a large size gap between my thighs and slightly boney knees and last year when I went to get my blood pressure tested, they had to use a child size blood pressure reading strap on my arm because my arm is too thin for an adult sized one - I'm not kidding you can ask my mom, I was mortified. I'm grateful that my hip bones and my ribs don't stick out though because I'd be at McDonalds everyday trying to full out my tummy so you see no bones!

I got told this weekend by two different people that I'm "just as skinny I was a couple years back" and to be honest comments like that really bug me. Are you trying to "compliment" me or are you being rude while trying to hide it as being sweet? People are so jealous of skinny people that you never know if their comments are genuine or fake. I really have been trying to gain weight to at least reach 50kgs and when a person comments on how thin I am still I feel like all my effort of trying to gain weight was such a waste. Anyways it got me thinking; why is it alright to call a thin person a "bag of bones" or a "bean pole" or whatever names people use when it is wrong for anyone to comment on an obese person? Where is the difference? Both are struggling with a weight issue and while some might not classify being skinny as a weight issue, for many it is. Why does common decency not exist when a thin girl walks into a shop and people are like "wow shes really thin"? What people don't realize is that thin people get teased and mocked about their weight just as much as obese people do. It might be pushed into a young girls head that being skinny is desirable because of all the models being thin and what have you but really, being thin is hard and beyond control for most. Our metabolism is just way too fast for us to even think about picking up weight and yes we can eat all we want and when we want without picking up weight but that is the only "plus side" to being thin.

Why do people think its alright to make comments about anyone's flaws? I don't go to my obese friends and say "wow you're just as fat as you were a couple years back!". I just find it unfair that people can comment on skinny girls but no one can say anything about an obese person incase they hurt their feelings. But what is so different between a thin girl being commented on and an obese girl being commented on? They both have weight issues. Through my experiences I just don't allow it to get to me; you can't afford to. Your opnion about yourself is more important than others. If you love yourself the way you are and look then nothing else matters. Be confident about yourself and people will see your confidence. If you aren't confident, people will take you down with an almighty stick and will try keep you there. The world can be evil but you have to rise above it. And remember don't worry about what boys think of you - there is a guy out there that will think you are beautiful and will tell you that everyday of your life and he'll make you forget about all your insecurities.

We need to treat ALL people equally and not base it on weight or any flaws. We're all equal and I hope this post did not offend anyone, it just really bugged me this weekend and I thought I should share what it's like to be a skinny girl and I personally think we all need to think about what we say to others before we say it. So lets say we don't make comments on anybody because of their weight or any imperfection they have because you don't want other people mocking your flaws either. Remember we all have flaws so don't go judge a person on that alone when they have perfection else where to offer.

Strawberry and Banana Smoothies

I thought I should try doing a mixture of posts instead of only make up related posts as I find a variety so much better. I have a mad love for smoothies, chocolate and strawberries. They are so refreshing and healthy and they taste so good. My favourite smoothie is the strawberry and banana smoothie. The mix of strawberries and bananas are odd (I never would've thought these two would taste good together!) but enticing. This recipe is simple and you don't need a ton of ingredients - bonus!

What you will need:

A blender has to be the most important one - no blender; no smoothies!

1 x 250g punnet of strawberries that must be hulled and washed.

2 over ripe bananas - or more if you want to taste more banana.

750ml (3 cups) of milk - I use vanilla ice cream so that its thicker as I find the milk makes it too watery and I like thick smoothies. Just add however much ice cream you want depending on how thick you want it.

260g (1 cup) smooth vanilla yoghurt or strawberry yoghurt - add strawberry yoghurt if you want a stronger strawberry taste.

Ice cubes - this wasn't listed in the orginal recipe I found but I like to add some ice cubes in it for some "crunchy-ness" and so that its a lot more cooler. Add how many ever ice cubes you want, theres no limit.

Directions:

Cut the strawberries in half so that the blender can cut them easier.

Slice up the bananas into big or small pieces depending on how chunky you wanted your smoothie to be.

Place the strawberries, bananas, milk or ice cream and the vanilla or strawberry yoghurt into the blender. Blend for a short while but not so that everything is mushed up, add some ice cubes and blend again until the mixture is smooth and the ice cubes are broken into little pieces but not completely disintergrated.



Serve immediately while its still cold and viola!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and will use it when a warm day comes your way!

Did you like this post?

Should I do more recipe posts?

xxx

*Please note if you are using milk for this recipe only add half the milk into the mixture the first time you blend and then add the rest in the second time you blend.
*The image is not my own. It was taken off via Google images. When I made these smoothies I did not take a photo as I had these smoothies before I had a blog.

Budget Beauty: What's On My Nails #2 // Perfect Nude

I love a perfect nude nail polish, I go out my way to look for nudes or pinky nudes. I really love them as they are so classic and easy to wear.



Essence Nude Glam - R34.95


I found this beauty about a month back and I haven't worn it yet and I wanted to smack myself that I didn't wear it sooner. This is Essence Nude Glam in 01 Hazelnut Cream. Its a beautiful creamy colour with a purple shine to it when the light catches it which is the 'Glam' bit to the nail polish. I was a bit skeptical at first about the purple shine to it but I bought it anyway. Its a very subtle shine and if light doesn't catch it you don't even notice it as you can see in the photo.

What I also love about this nail polish is the brush. Its a wide brush so it covers your nail perfectly without having to apply a million strokes for your nail to be covered with a tiny brush. I apply two coats as the first coat is a bit too light and slightly streaky but you can get away with one coat.

I've missed my nude nails so much and I'm so glad I've found the perfect nude with a great consistancy, brush and colour.

What's your perfect nude?

xxx

My Essence Eye Routine

As you may have noticed I have changed my blog name and address to "dimples and beauty" as it seemed to be more related to the type of posts that I do than my last blog name.

Essence 3-in-1 Concealer



Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base

I was putting on my makeup yesterday and I realized that I was using all Essence products so I thought I'd show you how I do my eye makeup using one brand. Firstly I always apply concealer on my eyes. I use the Essence 3-in-1 Concealer. This is real handy as its for 3 uses. The pink to cover dark circles for the eyes and the green to cover any redness and the normal concealer to put over the green and pink. I use my Cala 513 Concealer Brush to apply this and it comes out really well. Next I apply my Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base all over my eyelid. I have very veiny eyes so this hides my veins and makes eyeshadow go on smoothly without creasing it and it makes the eyeshadow last longer. I blend this in with a sponge as I find a brush just doesn't do it.

Essence Eyeshadows from left to right: 35 Party All Night Metallic Effect, 06 Metropolitan Sparkling Effect, 02 Blockbuster Matt Effect

Swatches of Essence Eyeshadows

My eyeshadow brushes from left to right: Mac Eyeshadow Brush, Essence Eyeshadow Brush, Essence Smokey Eye Blender Brush

These eyeshadows are soft and creamy and apply so well. I use no. 02 as an all around eyeshadow for my whole eye. It's a lovely matt, natural colour and its perfect as a base colour and I apply this with my Essence Eyeshadow Brush for this as its a flatter, biggish, softer brush that reaches my whole eye. Next I apply no. 35 eyeshadow in the crease of my eye to create a very subtle smokey eye for during the day. I use my Mac brush to apply this in my crease and then I use my Essence Smokey Eye brush in circular motions to blend it out properly. For a night look I use 06 Metropolitan in the outter corner of eye and in my crease of my eye and blend it in with my smokey eye blender brush. Using my Mac brush I line my upper lash line with whatever colour I am using in the crease of my eye.

I then apply my Essence Multi Action Blackest Black Mascara from root of tip to really lengthen and volumnise my lashes.



As you can see it's an extremely subtle look for the day. I don't like wearing heavy make up during the day, I like it natural :)


So that is basically what I do for my eyes nearly every morning. I stick to the same colours with whatever eyeshadows I'm using. I find with my eye colour being hazel, coloured eyeshadows just don't suit me and in any case I love natural colours.

What do you think of my eye routine?

Do you do anything similar?

xxx