Benefit vs. Maybelline // Roller Lash vs. Lash Sensational

One side is boasting curled, separated lashes boosted by Benefit's newest offering, Roller Lash. The other side is not too different but boosted by Maybelline's Lash Sensational.

Can you tell which side is which?

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Everyday work face part 1

So this is what's on my face on an everyday work day. I work around upper school children and this is what I feel is appropriate to wear in a classroom when I'm not the student anymore, sob!!!

Liz Earle Signature Foundation in the shade Porcelain which I apply with my Real Techniques Stippling brush. These can be bought here (click!) and here (click!). The foundation is medium - light coverage and it's got a pretty good wear time, even when worn alone I think it's between 6-8 hours. My HD Brows kit in the shade Vamp is perfect for me as my eyebrows only need defining. Find it online here (click!). This powder is long lasting and easy to erase if you make any mistakes! 

 For my face products I love the Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette as the bronzer and highlighter compliment one another when used together. You can get one here (click!) and rather than using the blusher in the Naked palette I use Benefit's Dandelion because it's a little lighter and less of a statement blusher than the Urban Decay palette provides. Click here (!!!) to view it and buy online. I apply these with a range of brushes - both white bristle brushes are the same except one is a travel brush. They're Bobbi Brown Face Blender brushes and can be found here (click!) The black brush is a Mac brush but the number has rubbed off!
Around my eyes I go for the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in the lightest colour (bought here, click!), Clinique High Impact mascara in black found here (click!) and Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr cream-gel eyeshadow in the shade On and on Bronze which I reviewed here last week (click!).

 (why are these different DAMMIT IT'S SO STRESSFUL. I took them literally seconds apart!)

This is the final product - I think it's relatively natural looking whilst hiding any imperfections and evening my skintone, although you may disagree. Unfortunately as you can see make-up does not conceal a totally stroppy facial expression, oops!

My Aeroplane Must-Haves

On Wednesday I happen to be jetting off to the fabulous Las Vegas with my also fabulous boyfriend. Unfortunately the eleven hour flight isn't so fabulous so I've packed my 15 plane must-haves to prepare for all the dry skin and tired I might have to endure and I thought they might be worth sharing.

Firstly : a make-up bag that's just the right size

Then fill it with all of your favourite things...

1. Benefit Erase Paste in 2 medium, MUA Blusher in Shade 1, 2. Sexy Pulp miniature mascara, 3. Clinique Translucent Powder in 03, 4. Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint in 01, 5. Elf SPF 15 Lip Balm in Pink, 6. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Pink Quartz, 7. Mac 182 Brush

8. Travel magnifying mirror, 9. Figs & Rouge Organic Lip Balm, 10. Superdrug Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream, 11. Boots Hayfever Relief eye drops, 12. Clinique All About Eyes eye cream

13. Denman Strawberry Shortcake Hairbrush, 14. little tin of hairbands and bobby pins, 15. Cath Kidston Wild Rose Handcream.

All of these might be quite obvious things to pack but I thought I'd share them anyway since they all work really well for me. I tend not to wear make-up on planes, either removing it as soon as I can get to the bathroom or just not wearing any at all but I do like to have some with me to apply before landing to feel slightly more human again. The moisturiser and hand cream are to keep my skin as hydrated as possible whilst on the flight. As much as I appreciate the air being pumped into the plane keeping me alive my skin suffers quite badly from dryness but with any luck these creams will keep me happy and hydrated, the same goes for the lip balms. Similarly, the Clinique eye cream is to help reduce any dark circles from lack of sleep and keep the skin around my eyes hydrated.The mirror is obviously so I don't have to constantly occupy the bathroom with my preening and the hairbrush, hairbands and bobby pins are to keep my hair out of the way when I'm on board.

I'd also normally take a nail file but this time I'll be putting on a new set of imPress nails to pass the time and stay hassle-free throughout my holiday. Hopefully I can do an update on them while I'm out there :) I'm a big fan of the imPress range as you can see here so let's hope it stays that way!

Anyway, there's my little ramble about my aeroplane must haves. Do you have any last minute products for me to pick up?

Love,

currently having a fling with Benefit...

Today I have a few Benefit presents to tell you about. Firstly, two beautiful facial products, the Foamingly Clean facial wash and the Triple Performing facial emulsion (i.e. moisturiser!)

(They are the wrong way around in this photo compared to the first one, forgive me!)

These two products are amazing! The face wash removes all traces of face make-up and eye make up! I  haven't tried it with waterproof mascara but with non-waterproof Bad Gal mascara there's not a trace left! I love the moisturiser because a little goes a long way. I use 4 pumps from the bottle and this gives me about a penny size amount which covers my face. I'd recommend using both products together as they seem to compliment each other well, the cleanser sometimes leaves my skin feeling a little "squeaky"(...do you know what I mean?!) but the moisturiser takes that away.

On to the cosmetics: my lovely mum bought me both of these, I'm Glam Therefore I Am and Tan About Town. Both quite wittily named and both really handy to have when I don't have hours to get ready. My favourite is I'm Glam Therefore I Am as I've used pretty much everything in it. With 4 shimmery eye-shadow choices, a miniature Bad Gal mascara, Life on the List lipgloss, Girl Meets Pearl illuminator and Glamming face powder, surprisingly, it's not too big to carry around in a medium sized make up bag. They all make for the perfect natural look when applied.

 Tan About Town took some getting used to. I love the Bad Gal mascara again and I don't mind that it's a "sample" sized product, however I was quite disappointed by the size of the Some Kind-a Gorgeous foundation and Hoola. They are practically Thumbelina sized!

(Both Hoola and Some Kind-a Gorgeous are smaller than my little tin of Vaseline. Quite a let down.)

Unfortunately for me I can't use the foundation as I'm the palest person in the universe, but I've come to like Hoola. If you know your Benefit products it's a pretty much Dallas but without the shimmer.

Anyway, aside from that little moan I have actually fallen head over heels in love with Benefit after using these. They are perfect to carry around and use daily and Benefit never try to be something they're not. They have pretty packaging and quirky names and although all of these products retail full size for over £10 they are products I will use, repurchase and recommend to my friends.

Do you have any Benefit products you can recommend to me?? I haven't bought anything from them in years so please give me your favourites. 

I hope you're all making the most of the bank holiday, lots of love 

Christmas List 2011 ... Part One

Christmas cannot come quickly enough for me! I absolutely love the holiday season and buying presents for my better half, best friends and family is so much fun. I love choosing matching wrapping paper/ribbons and the little things that make getting presents the best.......

however, I love getting presents.. who doesn't! So I've made a little Christmas list to share with you...

(click to enlarge)

So there's a little bit of Jack Wills on here (hate me if you will, I'm a sucker for the pink and navy OKAY!) but I think I might have to send this to my mumma bear and see what she says! :)

What are you after this Christmas? Let me know, there are a few gaps on my list still ;)

big love,

In October I loved....

Lipsy Coat, Clarins Daily Energizer Cream, Mac 123 Brush, Pink With A Splash by Victoria's Secret in Sweet & Flirty, 

Ted Baker iPad Case, Diorskin Nude in 020, No7 Lift & Luminate in Porcelain 03, Bobbi Brown Face Blender, 

HD Brows Palette in Vamp, Benefit Dallas Bronzer and my Hello Kitty hot water bottle ♡

Since we're in the first week of November now I'm running a little late, but I wanted to do my first "things I loved" post! These are my favourite bits and pieces from October....

1. My Lipsy coat. It's so snuggly warm and paired with a scarf it keeps me covered from the cold on my walk to uni. 

2. Clarins moisturiser from their Daily Energizer range. I use the face wash and the toner a couple of times a week but the moisturiser was perfect for every day before applying my make-up. It was called a cream but did have a slightly gel-like consistency. I was recommended it by the lady on the counter in my local Debenhams over the actual moisturising gel alternative because my skin isn't dry or greasy, a nice inbetween. It's quite thick and a little definitely goes a long way but it was perfect for me! The pot is sadly empty now but I'll be buying a new one asap!

3. Mac brush 123. I use this as a bronzer or blusher brush as it's smaller than my Bobbi Brown brush so I only cover the area I'm aiming for without getting it everywhere! It does malt a little though which is a pain.

4. Pink With A Splash by Victoria's Secret in Sweet & Flirty. I first bought this body mist in Miami 2010 in a smaller bottle and it lasted me almost a full year! When I went back to Florida this summer I knew I had to buy another bottle. I think it was $15 and it is DEFINITELY worth the money!

5. My beloved Ted Baker iPad case. I'm a sucker for the laquer-finish Ted Baker accessories! I have a purse that's brown leather with a black pvc strip in the middle that is my one love. This case is perfect for my iPad2 as a) it stops scratches or marks ruining the aluminium when it's in my bag and b) if I need to carry it in my hands I don't look like i'm trying to show off with it! It's discreet but very aesthetically pleasing with the small lettering and the little black bow. 

6 & 7. Two foundations last month! I stopped using my Diorskin foundation before summer as I was beginning to look tangoed every day. I used to get quite worried that I looked like the love child of an oompa-loompa and a wotsit so I switched to my back-up No7 Lift & Luminate. I apply these with a Mac 190 brush by either blending them on the back of my hand or putting a small blob of each on the tip of the brush.

8. Bobbi Brown face blender brush. Perfect for brushing over my face to even out the colour or blend my bronzer and blusher so they're not as full-on. It's also handy for applying my bronzer with the very edge of the brush along my cheek bone. 

9. The winning product from my September Glossybox - the HD Brows palette in Vamp. I adore this and use it every day! A little goes a long way and it's very easy to over-do my eyebrows but with a magnifying mirror and a bit of patience it usually works out okay. 

10. Benefit Dallas Bronzer. I LOVE this bronzer. I used to use it all the time when I was about 16/17 and I recently found a half full pot. It's now almost empty so it's one for the Christmas list!! It's got enough shimmer to give my cheeks a "glow" and doesn't look like I've rolled round in a pot of glitter!

11. Finally, my lovely hot water bottle. My boyfriend bought me this last Christmas and since moving into my second year university house I've used it almost every night. It's always cold in this house because the gas is so expensive and none of us know how to set the heating timer properly. It stays warm till around 4am which is perfect!

So, how was this for my first "things I loved" post?? 

I'd love any comments you have for me and I'll reply to them all.

Kisses, xo xo