EBAY BUYS #1 // THE KABUKI BRUSH SET UNDER £5

10 Piece Kabuki Brush Set- £4.89

eBay is the home of amazing bargains and has pretty much saved my life when it comes to finding an affordable dupe for a product. I'm always amazed by some of the deals that I find on that website and I've decided to start sharing some of my best eBay buys as they are just too good not to.

Recently I've really needed some new brushes, but with saving for freshers and payday not for a few weeks (I get paid really randomly) I needed to find a cheap alternative to last me until the miracle that is payday comes. I took to eBay to see what I could find, and low and behold this 10 piece kabuki set was waiting for me, it arrived in 3 days and cost a mere £4.89, so you can't go wrong really.

It comes with 5 face brushes and 5 eye brushes, that are a mixture of  sizes, shapes and densities. I wouldn't be able to say they are a match to my real techniques brushes but for £4.89 they are certainly not bad, and you can never have too many brushes. 

I have only used them once so cannot do a full review yet, but my favourites are: the angled face brush for contour and the pointed face brush (the shape is perfect for applying powder under the eyes). I don't think the eye brushes aren't suited for packing on eyeshadow but they are perfect for blending it out for a seamless look.

Let me know what you think of these brushes, and what bargains you have found on eBay recently! Thanks for reading and make sure to follow!

THE BEST CONCEALER IN THE WORLD?!

BEST CONCEALER IN THE WORLD?! Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX12.

When I started this blog I used to do a fair amount of beauty posts and that kind of ended when I realised that my descriptive skills are abysmal, I do love a good wander around Boots, always caving for the big 3 for 2 signs plastered all over the shop, oh and when it comes to a night out I feel like Britain's best MUA by the time I leave the house, if only that equated to being a good beauty blogger. So although writing about beauty products is not my forte, I'll attempt to translate my love, because this product- worth the exception.

The Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer is a thick, creamy, multi-purpose skin base that can be manipulated into almost any coverage for any use (ok maybe no any use, I can't see it being that great of a lipstick), at full concentration the coverage is unbeatable and even when sheered out the finish of this product is unprecedented. Although it does cost a steep £38 for what looks like a tiny pot, don't let it fool you, because this is nothing less than a tiny pot of magic and 100% worth the premium price. 18g seems like a modest amount, but with this being probably the most pigmented product on the market of it's kind, this could last you anything from a year to three. Only a a rice grain amount is needed to conceal or cover the whole face.

I can't comment on it as a foundation because I prefer to use it as a concealer at full concentration, but a quick Google search will show you all the different ways people go about applying this as a foundation.

PROS

+ Extremley pigmented, with such a full coverage that is great for blemishes and dark under eyes.
+ Coverage can be tailored to your liking. Mixed with moisturiser or a primer it can be transformed to a dewy sheer base.
+ Gives an amazing, flawless finish, without looking like you have tons of product on your face.
+ Product lasts for months, if not years. I am not exaggerating by saying only a dot of this stuff will do the trick for the day.
+ Long lasting, stays put.

CONS

- May take some time to work out the best way to wear and apply to your skin type.
- Not as simple to use as other concealers were you can just whack the product onto your face in a rush (we all have those days).
- £38 isn't exactly cheap, once you've tried it I doubt you'll want to repurchase (but don't worry that won't be any time soon).
- If applied wrong, or excessively this could result in quite a caked face.

I really do not rave about products and when it comes to my make-up I'm pretty flexible on what I use as long as it looks alright, but once you've mastered how this product works best on your skin, it really does do wonders and while I'm maybe not bold enough to say it is the best concealer in the world, I doubt anything I ever try will be comparable.

Have you tried this product? What is your favourite concealer? Let me know below and make sure to follow!

MINI AMERICAN BEAUTY HAUL

Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream/ SMLC08- San Paulo San Paulo & SMLC07- Addis Ababa
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer
MAC Lipsticks/ Ruby Woo (Retro Matte) & Girl About Town (Amplified)
Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil/ 617- Iced Mocha

So I've come back with a mini beauty haul with some things I managed to acquire from across the pond. As well as the mini haul I've had a mini leave of absence (sorry!), mainly because I went to Zante for a week with the girls. It was a very urmmm, interesting experience and to be honest even though my body clock is extremely messed up and I came back with the worst cough ever I really do wish I was back there, counting down to #NAPA2015 already, and it's not even booked ahha. So after a few days of a well deserved recovery I thought I'd show you some of the products that were waiting for me on my pillow when I got back from Zante much to my surprise and admittedly did help rid some of my holiday blues.

I've been wanting some of these products for ages, especially as a few of them are harder to get in the UK than brands like MAC. I can't wait to properly try the Soft Matte Lip Creams, I've swatched them and they smell sooooo good (somewhat chocolatey) although you don't buy lip products for their smell that must be a good sign right?! Secondly is the Smashbox Primer, now to be honest when it comes to primers I had kind of given up before even trying, I couldn't bring myself to invest in a product that I wasn't 100% sure would make a difference and was probably to lazy to use. With this being $36 I'm glad it was a gift so I can actually give it a go and see whether it increases the longevity of my make-up, because I wouldn't have paid that much. Next up are two MAC lipsticks Girl About Town a lovely bright pink with an Amplified finish and the matte Ruby Woo. I do feel slightly ashamed that I blog and I didn't previously own Ruby Woo, better late than never eh? Last but not least (this phrase should be banned but I will use it regardless) is the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil, I cannot wait to try these out and cannot believe I am just trying one, hopefully I will be snapping up a lot more colours in the near future!

Have you tried any of these products or are you lusting over any products from America, let me know below and make sure to follow! 

BATTLE OF THE BROW PENCILS | Sleek vs. Rimmel

In the extremely browcentric world we live and with me being a bit (completely) obsessed with eyebrows I am always looking for new products to do my brows with and the high street definitely isn't lacking in products. I personally prefer using a powder to fill in my eyebrows as I think it gives a more natural look but I wanted to try both of these items: Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil/ 001 Dark Brown- £2.99 and Sleek Eyebrow Stylist/ 718 Dark- £5.99.

Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil

This pencil is a dark brown kohl pencil but the product itself comes in three shades with a brush attached to the cap. I did use it for a week, I wanted to see if it grew on me, let's just say it didn't. 
The shade- I can't comment on the other shades because I haven't tried them but I found that this colour didn't really match my eyebrows, it was a waaaay to warm toned brown- even looked red-dy in some lights.
The brush- The little brush on the cap is cute but I don't really think it's necessary, the brush is so hard it feels like you are scrubbing your brows rather than brushing them, I'd rather not forcibly remove my eyebrow hairs.
The pigmentation- I found the pigmentation to be ok if I applied more pressure but it wasn't the best, maybe it would be more pigmented on lighter skin?
The form- I don't really think I have the right to complain about this because when I bought it I new it was a pencil but sharpening it is hassle (yes I am lazy!)

Sleek Eyebrow Stylist

As I said in my 'new in- sleek' post this purchase is because of Lily Melrose, this has been said to be a dupe for the £26 Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil (mouthful much?) This product has two ends, both with caps, one side is  a spoolie and the other is the angled brush, it also comes in three shades.
The shade- I got the shade Dark and it is the perfect colour, it doesn't have any odd undertones and is just a natural looking dark brown for my skin and hair colour, but not too dark. I can't comment on the other shades but this one is perfect.
The spoolie- I use the spoolie to brush through my brows before I fill them in. I would pick a spoolie over any other type of brush any day as I feel they're more effective.
The pigmentation/ consistency- It is a lor more pigmented than the Rimmel pencil, it has quite a soft creamy/ waxy consistency in comparison to a normal kohl.
The form- The pencil is angular and this is meant to make it easier to shape and apply your eyebrows, it allows you to do very fine lines and normal lines with the same pencil. The ability to do fine strokes allows you to get a very natural looking brow although it may take more time.

VERDICT: If it's not obvious then Sleek Eyebrow Stylist wins although I don't think it has managed to convert me from powder to pencil, sorry!

Have you tried any of these products? How do you do your brows? Let me know and make sure to follow me on Bloglovin' or GFC. Thanks!

NEW IN | Sleek

face contour kit- medium £6.49 // blush- flushed £4.49 // eyebrow stylist- dark £5.99

After my failed spending ban I felt the need to do some online shopping, the past few days have been pretty good for me as I've had a parcel waiting for me after school everyday, and don't you just love when the postman has a delivery. I'm going to blame this mini purchase on Lily Melrose, after reading her post on the Sleek Eyebrow Stylist being a good dupe for twenty six pound Hourglass Brow Pencil I knew I needed it, being a brow enthusiast and all. 

I went to the Sleek website to see whether it had been released and lo-and-behold it had! I happily added the £5.99 pencil to my bag (virtual that is) and then BAM shipping fees- the bane of my life. The shipping fees were not alot cheaper than the product itself so I decided it would silly to pay that amount for one product and not to buy more. I added the contour kit and a lovely deepish pink blush (no idea how to describe it). 

Expect some reviews soon! What are your favourite Sleek products? Let me know and make sure to follow me, thanks for reading! 

BOOTS 3 FOR 2 TRAP

The 3 for 2 trap got me, oh Boots. I was happily obeying my spending ban (managing to save enough money for my holiday in Summer in a few weeks) cutting out buying new clothes and make-up. It was all going so well until this trip to Boots, and after not spending a penny on make-up and clothes that was no longer the case. Although this little hiccup has occurred I will still carry on my spending  ban because I am actually happy with the amount I have managed to save in so little time. 

I picked these three Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Rush Balms for only £12 because of the offer which is a right bargain! For some reason I cannot find the shade names on the products but one is a nude, one is quite bright pink and another a deeper pink. Although I have only used one of them once the Rimmel Colour Rush Balms are very light and glossy looking on the lips, they are called 'balms' but they have an amazing colour pay-off alongside their glossy consistency. As well as these I bought some white nail varnish, nail varnish remover, a brow pencil and a lip liner.

I feel like I've been MIA as I've had a horrible flu, but I'm back! Please make sure to follow me and thank you for reading!

FOTD | 'insect' day

Products Used

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

Seventeen Instant Glow 

So Susan Lip Cushion

Rimmel Exagerate Liquid Eyeliner

Fiery & Obsessed from MUA Undress Me Too

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara

Hoorah for inset days! Who can complain about a four day weekend? Not me. This is just going to be a very quick FOTD. When writing the title I had a mini flashback to primary school, there was always that one kid that thought inset days were called insect days, always used to make me laugh. Today I went for a really simple look pretty boring really but hey ho!

Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed it make sure to follow me on Bloglovin' or GFC!

REVIEW | L'Oreal True Match Foundation

I feel an impending sense of guilt as a begin to write this post as I haven't posted for six. whole. days. that sounds unnecessarily dramatic but it is the longest that I haven't posted. Let's just say it finally dawned on me that May is round the corner and my ten exams aren't going anywhere. Anyway instead of trying to make you feel sorry for me I'm going to review my current foundation- L'Oreal True Match. It is almost empty and when I was deciding whether to re-purchase (after my spending ban of course) I decided what I really thought about the product.

L' Oreal claims:

The silky texture of True Match blends seamlessly with the skin. It automatically adjusts to the texture of the skin to create a flawless finish.  In 20 true-to-skin shades across warm, cool and neutral tones, True Match super-blendable liquid foundation perfectly matches the colour and texture of your skin, hiding imperfections with its fine, creamy texture. The result: Flawless coverage.

Now this product has been slightly raved about in the beauty world and I do think it is worth the hype. My shade is N8 Cappucino and although it is a tad dark for my skin once blended in it isn't at all noticeable. The vast majority of shades with various undertones means that you are very likely to find a shade that matches your skin perfectly. 

I will start off with the bottle itself, the pump dispenser is very handy and allowing you to get just the right amount of product out without all of that pouring malarkey. The packaging is also pretty nice for a drugstore foundation with the glass bottle giving it a high-end feel. 

Aside from the bottle the foundation itself is one of my favourites. It blends in super easily and you can hardly feel it on your skin as it's not at all heavy. I would say the coverage is medium but definitely build-able depending on the coverage you want. 

The finish is quite dewy (although I think this depends on your skin type, some bloggers have said it's matte) without looking oily and has an extremely natural finish. As well as all of the above it lasts pretty much all day and has never melted off of my face (we'll see about that in Summer), although I touch it up with powder now and again on some days. 

My only critique on the product is that applying it sometimes can be a bit messy, I used to put it on the back of my hand and then apply it with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush but it is so runny that that didn't really work.

Overall I love this foundation and will definitely be repurchasing. For £9.99 it is a bargain!

Have you tried True Match? What's your favourite foundation? Let me know and make sure to follow me on Bloglovin'!

ELLE'S SS14 BEAUTY TRENDS

During Fashion Weekend there were various talks during the day from industry experts. I just happened to be in the room when a talk started from the Beauty Director of Elle Magazine: Sophie Beresiner. She was so lovely and answered loads of people's questions about getting into the fashion and beauty industry, especially when it comes to magazines. Aside from her amazing career her talk was mainly about this season's beauty trends so I though I'd share them with you. There are many ways you can incorporate them into everyday looks even if you're not a supermodel, whether you are adventurous or not there is something for you!

1. Lollipop Lips

This trend is all about the sweet colours on your lips. From vibrant shades all the way to pastels. If you want a low key version of this trend then a lovely pink colour is perfect, if you are more daring then you can always try a lilac lip which Jessie J sported at the Brits it's such a statement look, but definitely not for the faint hearted.

2. Gold Standard

This look is all about the gold. This colour has definitely been in the limelight for a few seasons but it is not going anywhere, it's just getting more intense. For the subtle version of this look a lovely sweep of gold across the lids would be perfect or if you want to try something really out there you can mimic the golden brow look that Dior had in their spring 2014 show. 

3. Punk Light

This is all about the grungy make up: heavy shadow, lots of black (including lips- for the really bold) and thick eyeliner. If (like most of us) you wouldn't be bold enough to wear black lippy out you can always darken up your eyeshadow look or go for a vampy deep purple lipstick to get the Punk Light look easily. 

4. I Want Candy

I Want Candy goes hand in hand with Lollipop Lips, just shifted to the eyes. This look concentrates on pastel eyeshadows. Most of these eye looks are so effortless as they just have one pastel shade across the lid without a crease colour or anything else. You can vary the intensity of this look by picking from a variety of pastel colours.

5. Fresh Face

This immediately reminds of my 'No Makeup Makeup Look' post, the no make up look is definitely emerging and even though the look is meant to look effortless it is by no means quick. Some shows even sent models down with 'raw skin' as Sophie said, that phrase sounds so horrible, fresh face is definitely better. 

6. Spider Lash

Everybody loves having long eyelashes and this trend embodies that. Loading on mascara until it is borderline clumpy is all well and good and will definitely get you the look but to take it to the next level falsies will really help. To go one step further you can you use bottom lash falsies for an extreme wide eyed, spider lash look.

7. Sporty Brow

Brows have really had the recognition over the last year, I blame Cara. But this look is a lot different to our usual eyebrow filling and perfecting ways. This is all about a messy natural brow look. To get this just grab a spoolie and brush up your brows and voilà a 'sporty brow'.

8. Easy Chic

Now onto hair and there seems to be an ongoing theme running through both beauty and hair: effortlessness. This is all about the simple hair look spanning from freshly blow dried hair with no product all the way to the extremely low pony.

9. The Detail

Hair details have crept their way to the heads of many models for spring. Easy details could be little plaits in your hair or a French plait. It's such a quick thing that can just transform a whole hairstyle and make it look like you've put a lot of effort in. Look at the updos on the left though, how amazing would it be to be able to do hair like that!

10. Kink Luck

Sophie introduced this hairstyle as the parallel to how bloggers (and others but mainly bloggers) wear their coats, clearly forgetting what arm holes are, this is the hair version of that. Tucking hair into clothes especially coats has been displayed all over the catwalk and I even saw it in the Farhi by Nicole Farhi show.

11. Side Sweep

The side sweep is definitely sweeping the world of beauty (bad joke, sorry I had to). Changing up your parting now and then can change your whole look and although many of us love a good centre parting a side one is somewhat refreshing, whether it's a very low side fringe or totally off your face this is a simple hairstyle everyone should try!

12. Old Wave

Wavy hair is so stunning and this look covers simple wavy hair to amazing curls. If you want the simple 'Old Wave' look plaiting you hair before you sleep and taking it out in the morning creates super easy waves. If you have a bit more time on your hands curling your hair creates such a glamorous look and can even put it into an updo.

13. Wet Hair

Very few people would dare to go out with wet hair, the result once the hair has dried can be quite shocking. But this wet hair look has been glossing a number of models. You don't actually have to have wet hair to get the wet hair look so fear not. Just add some gel to the roots and comb back, simples *meerkat screeching noise*.

14. Stand Out Accessory

Last but not least is the stand out accessory, big bows and visors or floral headbands are great stand out accessories that add so much to an outfit. As well as these headbands have had a definite upgrade since those primary school days where people used to match them to their uniform. A stretchy headband is a simple look seen on Vera Wang models and many others.

And that's it this season's beauty trends brought to you by the Elle Beauty Director herself (me being the messenger). 

What are your favourite trends? Which will you be trying? Let me know and don't forget to follow me too!