HOW TO: TRANSFORM MAKEUP FROM DAY TO NIGHT.

WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MAKEUP MORE DRAMATIC. 

Hi!

Today I'm doing something a bit different and showing you different ways you can amp up your makeup if you're wanting to transform it to night-out appropriate. There are several ways you can do this but the aim of this post is to show that almost all makeup looks can be worn in a casual daytime setting or, by changing a few elements, can be worn for fully blown nights out. These are also good tips if you're short for time for getting ready for a night out or can't be bothered to take all your makeup off and reapply. The basis of all these makeup looks are the same: the same foundation, powder, brow products and eyeshadows have been used. 

#1

The first makeup look is a quite natural one (for me). It has no lashes and no eyeliner, which for me are the two things which can take a makeup look from day to night time. Obviously if you feel happy enough wearing this makeup look on a night out then all power to you, but for me it's too simple. 

FACE

• PRIMER: Nivea For Men After Shave Balm [Sensitive] 
• FOUNDATION: NARS Sheer Glow [Shade: Punjab]
• CONCEALER: L.A Girl Pro Conceal [Shade: Porcelain] 
• POWDER: NYX Contour Palette [Shades: Cream & Soft Light] to set under eye area. Kat Von D Lock It Powder Foundation [Shade: Medium 53]
• BRONZER: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
• CONTOUR: Makeup Geek Contour Pan [Shade: Break Up] 
• BLUSH: Milani Baked Blush [Shade: Luminoso] 
• HIGHLIGHT: Becca/Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop & The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer
• SETTING SPRAY: L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist

BROWS

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade [Shade: Chocolate] 
• Rimmel Brow Pencil [Shade: Black Brown]
• L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper [Shade: Medium/Dark] & Tarte Coloured Clay Tinted Brow Gel [Shade: Rich Brown]

EYES

• EYE PRIMER: NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer [Shade: Chantilly] set with Makeup Geek White Lies

• TRANSITION SHADES: Makeup Geek Creme Brûlée  & Tiki Hut
• OUTER CORNER: 
• Makeup Geek Morocco 
• ON LID: Makeup Geek Casino & Sin City 
• INNER CORNER & BROW BONE: Violet Voss Holy Grail Palette: Crystal 
• WATERLINE EYELINER:  Zoeva Graphic Eyes [Shade: Black to Earth]
• MASCARA: Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara Cat Eyes

LIPS

• LIQUID LIPSTICK: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick [Shade: Celebrity Skin]

#2

The second look is pretty much the same as the first, just slightly more dramatic and fine tuned but also with the addition of lashes. The brows are slightly heavier and I've chiselled them out with concealer, and also added Ardell Demi Wispies. Because I have such small eyes adding eyelashes really makes a lot of difference for me. All the face and eye products are the same as in the previous photo.

#3

This is obviously the most dramatic look of the 3, this will be too much for a lot of people but I did wear this look on a night out. All the products used on the face are the same, just more product has been used. The brows are a lot sharper still and more dramatic and also I've used more bronzer and contoured more harshly- but still all with the same products. The main difference is on the eyes, I've added a black winged liner, false lashes, bright colour on the lower lash liner and also a second line of winged liner in bright yellow. Additionally, I've gone with a much more dramatic lip [Dominatrix Liquid Lipstick]- one of the quickest and easiest ways of adding drama to a look is to change the lip colour from nude to something either brighter or darker. 

The extra products I used were: 

• LIQUID LINER: Rimmel Glam Eyes [Shade: Black] & NYX Matte Liquid Liner [Shade: Black] & NYX Vivid Brights Liquid Liner [Shade: Vivid Halo] 
• LOWER LASH LINE: Morphe 12P Palette Bright Yellow 
• LIPS: Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick [Shade: Dominatrix] 

I hope you enjoyed this post and have seen how all makeup looks are very easy to manipulate depending on when and where you're wanting to wear them! I really love these makeup looks and Makeup Geek shadows are so high quality and easy to work with, you should definitely check them out if you haven't already.

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA 

x

HAUL: BEAUTY BAY.

BEAUTY BAY, BOOTS & LASHES.

Hi! Today I'm showing you some things I purchased from Beauty Bay- a website here in the UK which stocks lots of brands which can be difficult to get ahold of. I also bought a few bits from Boots and stocked up on lashes but I thought I'd just include them in this post anyway! 

• MORPHE

The first things I bought were these Morphe palettes. The top one is the 35k (Colour Koffee palette) which is a lovely selection of warm browns with a mixture of matte and shimmers. The bottom left is the 12NB palette (Natural Beauty palette), again warm shades with a few shimmers in there. What really attracted me to this palette was the size- a lot of my palettes are quite big and not good for travelling or carrying about in a makeup bag, on a usual day I'll wear a warm smoky eye so I thought this would be ideal for using on the go. The final thing from Morphe was the 12P palette (Picasso palette). Again, this is for me to try and experiment a lot more with colour and this has the main primary colours all in one place so it's ideal. Morphe is a great brand, very very affordable with buttery, pigmented shadows. I'd recommend to everyone.

[MORPHE 35K PALETTE £19.50, MORPHE 12NB PALETTE £11.95, MORPHE 12P PALETTE £11.95]

• MAKEUP GEEK

The next brand which I purchased was Makeup Geek, who, in my opinion, have some of the best eyeshadows available. They're pigmented, buttery, and very easy to blend. Additionally they have an amazing range of colours which they sell by the pan, so you can pick and choose exactly what colours you want. The colours I chose were: Chickadee (top left), Mango Tango (top middle), Poppy (top right), Cherry Cola (middle left), Mocha (middle right) & Dragonfly (bottom). They're all warm shades except for Dragonfly which I just really liked the colour of and I'm going to try and use in a more colourful look. Makeup Geek is a fantastic, affordable brand and I highly recommend them.

[MAKEUP GEEK SINGLE EYESHADOW PAN £5.95] 

• MILANI

Milani is a brand which I haven't really had a lot to do with except for my love of their cult baked blush 'Luminoso'. They're a very affordable brand with a large range of products so I thought I'd pick a few things up to try. The first is a beautiful baked bronzer and as I liked my Makeup Revolution baked bronzer so much I thought I'd give this a go. The shade is 'Soleil' and as far as I'm aware is the only one on the Beauty Bay website- I'll definitely try this out and report back.

[MILANI BAKED BRONZER £8] 

I also picked up 3 of their matte liquid lipsticks- I've seen a lot of good things about Milani's lip products from various beauty gurus so I thought I may as well give them a go. The shades I bought are 10- Adorable (left), 19- Covet (middle) & 20- Sugar (right). I haven't tried them properly yet, I've only swatched them but from my first impressions of that they look amazing. I'll try them properly and report back!

[MILANI MATTE LIP CREAM £8]

• BEAUTY BLENDER 

I also invested in another Beauty Blender. I've already got a pink and a black one so I thought I may as well get the nude one as well. I use and wash my Beauty Blender every day so they do tend to get quite worn out quite quickly. I read somewhere the other day that you're supposed to replace your makeup sponges around every 3 months, which I definitely do not, so I thought it was about time to get a new one. 

[BEAUTY BLENDER NUDE SPONGE £16] 

• Z PALETTE

I also picked up this cute mini Z Palette. I've got a couple of highlight and contour pans which don't really belong in my large eyeshadow Z Palette so I thought I'd get this for them to live in. Additionally, I thought it would be ideal if I wanted to travel with a few single eyeshadows, I could just pop them in here rather than carrying round a full sized Z Palette. 

[Z PALETTE SMALL HOT PINK £8.95]

• L.A. GIRL

I was running low on one of my favourite concealers so I thought I'd also stock up. The top 3 shades are Porcelain, the one I usually use and the lightest shade they do, but I also bought the shade Light Ivory for when I've got a few layers of fake tan on, or to spot conceal on my face. This is a very good, affordable concealer so if you're not looking to splash out give it a go.

[L.A. PRO CONCEAL HIGH DEFININITION CONCEALER £5]

• ZOEVA 

I also got this brush holder from ZOEVA. Zoeva is one of my favourite brands for brushes, they're not too expensive and they're great quality. I picked up this brush holder with the intention of putting my brushes in it (obviously), but I've actually decided to use it to hold all my liquid lipsticks. It's made from quite thick plastic and feels sturdy and fits a decent amount of products in. I'm really glad I bought this!

[ZOEVA CLASSIC BRUSH HOLDER £10.50]

• VIOLET VOSS

I also find it difficult to believe that before buying these I did not own ANY glitter. I had glittery eyeshadows or shimmers etc but no loose glitter. I thought I'd pick up two pots of loose glitter from Violet Voss to try. The first shade is a golden colour called Golden Fairy and the second is a bright purple called Paige. I think they'll be great for adding a bit more drama to a look and especially at the moment, glitter is really on trend (although there's literally no way I'll be putting it anywhere near my hair because I'd never be able to get it out). 

[VIOLET VOSS GLITTER POT £8] 

• NYX 

All these NYX products I bought from Boots, which is pretty much the only place you can get NYX products easily in the UK. The first thing I bought was the All Over Balm (Coconut Oil), it's not made very clear on the packaging exactly what this product is for but I'm just going to use it wherever my skin feels extra dry. The fact that it contains coconut oil means that it'll make a really good moisturiser wherever you choose to use it. 

[NYX ALL OVER BALM COCONUT OIL £5.50]

The second thing I bought were 2 of the Blotting Powders, in Light & Light Medium.  They're marketed as setting powders which don't have too much pigment therefore aren't adding too much coverage to the face. These will be good for more natural makeup looks or for touching up during the day, I'm going to try the light one to set under my eyes as well. 

[NYX BLOTTING POWDER £10.50]

Finally I bought some refills for my favourite NYX Contour Kit, these are a light slightly pinkier shade called Soft Light. They're very affordable so whenever I see them I just grab a few. 

[NYX HIGHLIGHT & CONTOUR REFILL PANS £3.25] 

• LASHES 

Finally, I stocked up on some of my favourite lashes. Ardell Demi Wispies are sold quite commonly in the UK for around £6 per pair, including on Beauty Bay and in Boots, however you can get these 4 packs on Amazon for just under £8 each! I also thought I'd try the full Wispies which are a bit bigger (they could prove a bit too big for my eyes) and I picked up a few different brands, Eyelure, Morphe and Red Cherry- all very affordable. 

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA

x

MAKEUP LOOK: PURPLE EYES WITH WHITE LINER & NUDE LIPS.

PRODUCTS USED.

Hi! Today I'm showing you the products I used to create this bright purple eye with white liner. It goes without saying that it's definitely not the most wearable of looks but it was really fun to create and I think it looks really cool. I'm really enjoying experimenting with makeup a bit more outside my comfort zone as I think we can all get stuck in ruts sometimes. Obviously the main focus is on the eyes so I've kept the lips nice and simple although if you wanted to make this look even more bold you could add a colourful lip. Here are the products I used:

FACE

• PRIMER: Nivea For Men After Shave Balm [Sensitive] 
• FOUNDATION: NARS All Day Luminous [Shade: Deauville]
• CONCEALER: L.A Girl Pro Conceal [Shade: Porcelain] mixed with Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer [Shade: Fair] 
• POWDER: NYX Contour Palette [Shades: Soft Light & Bone] to set under eye area. Maybelline Fit Me! Set + Smooth Powder [Shade: 120]
• BRONZER: NYX Contour Palette [Shades: Tan, Toffee & Sculpt]
• CONTOUR: NYX Contour Palette [Shade: Sculpt] 
• BLUSH: Milani Baked Blush [Shade: Luminoso] 
• HIGHLIGHT: Anastasia Beverly Hills Sundipped Glow Kit [Shades: Moonstone & Summer]
• SETTING SPRAY: L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist

BROWS

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade [Shade: Chocolate] 
• Rimmel Brow Pencil [Shade: Black Brown]
• L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper [Shade: Medium/Dark] & Tarte Coloured Clay Tinted Brow Gel [Shade: Rich Brown]

EYES

• EYE PRIMER: NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer [Shade: Chantilly] set with Makeup Geek White Lies

For this look I used the Morphe 35P palette. The shades don't have names so I've taken photos and I'll say which shades I used. 

• TRANSITION SHADES: Bottom left shade (warm brown) 
• OUTER CORNER: 
• 5th shade from the left on the bottom row (warmish purple)
• 2nd, 3rd and 4th shades in the far right hand column (bright purples)
• ON LID: Top right shade (shimmery lavender)  
• INNER CORNER & BROW BONE: Violet Voss Holy Grail Palette: Crystal 
• LIQUID EYELINER: Rimmel Glam Eyes [Shade: Black] & NYX Matte Liquid Liner [Shade: White]
• WATERLINE EYELINER:  Zoeva Graphic Eyes [Shade: Black to Earth] 
• MASCARA: Max Factor Voluptuous False Lash Effect [Shade: Black] & Jordana Best Lash [Shade: Black]
• LASHES: Red Cherry Lashes [#43] 

LIPS

• LIQUID LIPSTICK: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick [Shade: Posh Spice & I'm Nude on centre]

I hope you enjoyed reading, I really like this makeup look if you're looking for something slightly more out there! Let me know if there's any makeup looks you'd like to see.

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA

x

RIDE OR DIE: MAKEUP TAG.

MY HOLY GRAIL MAKEUP PRODUCTS.

Hiya! Today I'm showing you my 'Ride or Die' makeup products- these are my ultimate one favourite product from each category (foundation, concealer, bronzer etc). I first saw this on YouTube by Jaclyn Hill and thought it would be a good idea for a blog post! I'm always interested to know what others' ultimate favourite products are and if anyone has the same ones as I do! I've tried to give a little explanation of why I love this product so much so this post is slightly lengthy!

• PRIMER: NIVEA AFTER SHAVE BALM [SENSITIVE]

This Nivea After Shave Balm basically broke the internet after Nikkie Tutorials stumbled upon it as a really good face primer. The reason why it's so good is that it contains a lot of Glycerin, an ingredient which is an adhesive and as such whatever you put on top of it literally sticks to it. Suffice to say this product doesn't do a lot for controlling oil or minimising pores but it really does improve the longevity of makeup and you could always use a pore filling primer in targeted areas. Not only is it effective but it's also cheap- as it's not a beauty product this only retails for about £5-£6 and you get a load of product. Anyone who's looking for something to get their makeup to last all day should definitely give this a try!

• FOUNDATION: NARS SHEER GLOW [PUNJAB]

I feel like everyone is always on the look out for their Holy Grail foundation. It took me a while, and a lot of money, to find mine, but it definitely is the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation (this is in the shade Punjab although I wear Deauville when I am not fake tanned). This foundation is just amazing. NARS foundations do tend to have quite yellow undertones though so if you're pinky it might be slightly difficult finding the right shade for you. The coverage is amazing, not sheer as the name would suggest and I love the finish. It is semi-dewy although depending on how you set it you could achieve a very dewy or very matte finish. Another bonus of this foundation is that it has no SPF- this isn't a problem for me here in Newcastle, England where the sun rarely shines, however, if you're in warmer climates I would suggest adding SPF. SPF in foundations causes bounce-back in flash photography, so, if your foundation has SPF in, which about 90% of foundations do, your face will look a lot paler than the rest of your body in the photo. This foundation is perfect for nights out or events where you know you're going to have pictures taken of you and your whole body can match. This isn't the cheapest of foundations (£31) but it genuinely is worth it and I will always be repurchasing this foundation. 

• CONCEALER: URBAN DECAY NAKED SKIN CONCEALER [FAIR NEUTRAL]

Generally, I only use concealer to highlight my face (under eyes, forehead, chin) as I can usually get my desired coverage from foundation and powder as I don't have majorly problematic skin. The issue I always have with concealer is their colour, they're never light enough to achieve a highlighted effect! A few concealers I have found which are light enough are NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer [Chantilly]  and Lasting Perfection Concealer [Fair] although the formula of both of these products is quite thick and they tend to look a bit cakey especially on my occasionally dry under eye area. I got this last year and it is everything you could want in a concealer. I use the shade Fair Neutral which is light enough to be highlighting, it's also amazing coverage while still being a thinner consistency and easier to blend. Again, not the cheapest of products (£17.50) but a little goes a long way and it's definitely worth it. 

A close 2nd to this product is the L.A. Girl Pro Conceal in the shade Porcelain, however their lightest shade just isn't quite light enough for me to use when I'm at my palest although the coverage and price are amazing!

• UNDER EYE SETTING POWDER: NYX CONTOUR PALETTE 

This contour palette is just amazing, I love and use every single shade and I love how the pans are refillable and customisable. I use the shades Bone (white), Soft Light (a light pink) and Cream (banana yellow) to highlight under my eyes, which one I use depends on my varying degree of paleness. I do also really like the bronzer and contour shades but they're not my ride or die of those categories.

I've got the Kat Von D Shade & Light palette, Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit, Smashbox Highlight & Contour Palette and genuinely the NYX one is my favourite and about half the price (£18). Additionally the refills on the pans are only £3.25 so this is so affordable and great quality. 

• FACE POWDER: KAT VON D LOCK IT POWDER FOUNDATION 

Face powders are always a bit hit and miss for me. I've got combination skin meaning that when I apply my makeup my skin feels quite dry and dehydrated, but during the course of the day I do get oily, especially in my T-Zone. I also do look for extra coverage from my face powders as I just enjoy a full coverage look in general. This powder from Kat Von D is everything I was looking for. It adds extra coverage without looking cakey or chunky and paired with my favourite foundation it just makes my skin look absolutely flawless. In addition it's very long wearing and I can trust it to keep my makeup in place throughout the day. Again, it's a higher end product and retails at $35 but I use mine every day it lasts a long time!

• BROW PRODUCT: ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS DIPBROW POMADE [CHOCOLATE]

Anastasia Beverly Hills is queen of brows so it's no surprise that my favourite brow-filler product is the Dipbrow Pomade. I used to use the shade Dark Brown but switched to Chocolate as I found Dark Brown to be too cool toned for my hair. A little of this product goes a long way, it's easy to use (I use mine with a ABH small angled brow brush) and gives a great effect to the brows. It's £15 per tub but it lasts a life time- I know people have complained about theirs drying out but this hasn't happened with either of mine, I just ensure to replace the cap every time I use it. 

• BROW GEL: L'OREAL BROW ARTIST PLUMPER [MEDIUM/DARK]

For ages I didn't realise what a difference brow gels made, I always used brow products on their own and didn't set them. Using a brow gel or brow mascara sets all the hairs in place and faces them the way that you want them to face. I usually brush the hairs at the front of my brows upwards and then the rest of the hairs flat towards the tail. This ensures you can get a sharper brow with a more definite shape without errand hairs going all over the place ruining it. This brow gel is the perfect colour and consistency. It also contains tiny little fibres which cling to your natural brows and help make them look fuller, which I love. Best of all this brow gel is bullet proof, to the point where, at the end of the day, I have to completely scrub my brows to get the product off. This product is only £5.99 and I've had mine for over a year and there's still loads of product left in there- definitely recommend. 

• EYESHADOW PALETTE: ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS MODERN RENAISSANCE EYESHADOW PALETTE

This one was difficult! I have quite a few eyeshadow palettes and making this decision was really hard, but it came down to two, this one and the Morphe 35o palette (of course). On a normal day warm smoky eyes are everything I want and I genuinely feel like this palette just encapsulates that. Obviously the Morphe 35o is all warm shades as well but what really sets this palette apart for me is the quality of the shadows, they're the best I've ever used, so pigmented, buttery and blendable. I am genuinely in love with this palette, despite having only had it for around 4-5 months and I'd still recommend it to everyone looking for warm shadows. This palette is £41 but worth every penny in my opinion. 

• LIQUID EYELINER: RIMMEL GLAM EYES LIQUID LINER [BLACK] 

Anyone who knows me knows that I ALWAYS have winged liner on, it's the one part of my makeup that I can't go without. As you can therefore imagine I've tried SO many liquid liners hoping to find the perfect one. What's most important to me is the width of the brush- I've got really small eyes with not a lot of eyelid space so if the brush is too wide my liner is too thick and takes up too much of my eyelid. This liquid liner has the smallest, most narrow little brush I've used meaning that you can keep a nice thin line and also get a very very sharp point at the wing. I have to admit that this liner isn't the best for actually filling in the wing, for that I use the NYX matte black liquid liner but this one is my ultimate for getting the outline and it's also only £5.29- bargain!

• MASCARA: EYEKO SKINNY BRUSH MASCARA [BLACK]

To be honest I still don't feel like I've found my ultimate Holy Grail mascara but out of all the ones I've used this is definitely my favourite. As with liquid liner, what I'm most looking for in a mascara wand is something small and precise. Massive wands are so difficult for me to use and I always end up smearing mascara all over my eyelids so for me smaller is better. This mascara is £15 from the eyeko website although this one I have here was a free sample I got from Beauty Bay- I'll definitely be purchasing it full size. 

• EYELASHES: ARDELL DEMI WISPIES

Yet another issue with having small eyes is finding eyelashes that aren't going to look too big and too bold. Demi Wispies by Ardell fit my eyes perfectly and also because they're longer on the outside they give that cat eye effect which I love and suits a dramatic winged liner look, which is usually what I'm wearing. They're also reasonably inexpensive, around £6 per pack, although you can get them cheaper online. I am still searching for slightly more dramatic lashes but I will always return to these. 

• BRONZER: TOO FACED CHOCOLATE SOLEIL BRONZER [MILK CHOCOLATE]

Let me just start this by saying I've had this product for over 3 years and I haven't hit pan yet. Given, I don't use boat loads as I am quite pale and don't need to, but that's because this product is so pigmented. It does have a matte finish, so isn't the most natural of products but I genuinely love the way this product looks on the skin and not forgetting it smells absolutely incredible. It is £25 but for the quality and the time I've had it it's absolutely worth it.

• CONTOUR SHADE: KEVYN AUCOIN THE SHAPING POWDER [MEDIUM]

Contour powders are always a difficult one for me, if they're even the slightest bit too warm they can look like a big muddy splodge all over your face. This powder is just the right amount of cool toned that it looks a lot more natural, like an actual shadow on your face where your natural contour line would be. Additionally, the powder is so buttery and blendable, it doesn't leave streaks all over your face in a stark line. Yes, at £35, it is expensive but finding the right contour shade can be so important to bring a whole look together. 

• BLUSH: MILANI BAKED BLUSH [LUMINOSO] 

Let me start this by saying I do not like blushes. I have a lot of natural redness in my face which I work quite hard to cover up, so the idea of putting redness back onto my face doesn't really agree with me. However, I do really like this one blush by Milani. It's very very popular amongst online beauty gurus. It's not too strong in colour but it's just formulated so that it adds a really nice glow to the skin, blending into bronzer and contour beautifully. It's very inexpensive, around £6, and although I don't use a lot of blush it does last a long time- I've had mine over 3 years and it looks basically new. 

• HIGHLIGHT: THE BALM MARY-LOU MANIZER

It can be very difficult to find highlighters for those with pale skin, a lot of the time they're not light enough or don't show up properly. I do quite like quite a strong highlight, especially on the end of my nose, and despite trying quite a few different highlighting kits (ABH, Sleek, Becca) nothing compares to this one, for me. It's a pale yellowish colour but isn't at all chunky and it blends out well, meaning you can avoid that stark line of highlight which can sometimes happen. I think this retails in UK stores for about £20, although you can get it cheaper on Amazon. Again with all these products I'd had mine years and had only just hit pan on it until I dropped it and smashed it everywhere, I've obviously repurchased as I can't live without it!

• LIPSTICK: KAT VON D EVERLASTING LIQUID LIPSICK [BOW N ARROW]

Not Jeffree Star Dominatrix Liquid Lipstick!? Yes I absolutely love Dominatrix Velour Liquid Lipstick and if I could wear it every day without it looking inappropriate, I would, but the sad fact is it isn't the most wearable of shades. The colour I find myself reaching for most often is Bow N Arrow, an Everlasting Liquid Lipstick by Kat Von D. This shade is amazing, it's a slightly darkish nude brown but goes with so many makeup looks and I just think it would suit almost anyone. I especially like lightening up the centre with either NYX soft matte lip cream in Cairo (although this can transfer) or I'm Nude by Jeffree Star. Kat Von D liquid lipsticks are great quality and very reasonably priced ($18), I can't wait until she launches her brand in the UK next month!

• SETTING SPRAY: MAC COSMETICS FIX+ 

This one was another difficult one, it was either this or the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. What swung it for this one is how well it settles powders on my face. I do tend to use a lot of powders to achieve a full coverage finish but that means it can often look a bit too powdery and too matte, if that's not your thing spraying a setting spray when you've finished your makeup will take away that excess powder and give you a slightly dewier finish. I absolutely love the way this feels when you spray it on your face, it's so refreshing and it smells and feels amazing. It is £17.50 but if you try not to completely douse your face every day it lasts a long time! 

They are my favourite ever products from each category, it'll be interesting to see whether I have the same set of products in a year or so! Let me know what your ride or die products are, I'm always looking to try new things and experiment. 

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA

x

AUGUST FAVOURITES.

MY FAVOURITE PRODUCTS OVER THE PAST MONTH. 

Here's my second instalment of my monthly favourites. These are products I've been really enjoying throughout the month of August. 

• MAKEUP REVOLUTION: BAKED BRONZER [GOLDEN DAYS] 

                                    

I have to admit that I've been stuck in a bit of a bronzer rut this year and I generally don't branch out or feel the need to branch out. I've been in love with the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer for about 3 years and a lot of the time when I have tried new bronzers I've found them a bit too warm for me. However, I decided to pick this up as I've heard good things about Makeup Revolution in general and for only £4 I thought it wouldn't be a disaster if I didn't like it. 

Obviously it's inclusion in my favourites post means that I really like it, and the fact that it's so affordable makes it even better. It's pigmented but not so much so that it leaves streaks all over your face, and it blends out amazingly. Additionally, the fact that it's baked means that it's not matte, it's glowy and replicates a real tan and the way skin would actually look if it was sun-kissed (something which mine never is). From what I can gather from the website, this is the second darkest of 4 shades and I'll definitely be picking those up for when I'm slightly more or less tanned. Overall I'm really impressed with this product and the price is an added bonus, it's definitely made me want to invest in more Makeup Revolution products. 

[Makeup Revolution Baked Bronzer- £4, SUPERDRUG] 

• TARTE: COLOURED CLAY TINTED BROW GEL [RICH BROWN]

As with bronzers, I've had a very set brow routine for the best part of a year now (ABH Dipbrow & L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper) but this little brow gel caught my eye when I was placing an order on Sephora. I've never really owned anything from Tarte, although I think that's mainly because they're not readily available in the UK and until a few months ago I'd never bought anything from Sephora. I love this product because of it's tiny little applicator. It's so small and precise so I use it to brush the hairs at the front of my brows upwards. They've got a great selection of colours and this one [Rich Brown] suits me perfectly. I've already got a list as long as my arm of Tarte products that I want to buy, but they'll have to wait until I do a big Sephora shop! 

[Tarte Coloured Clay Tinted Brow Gel- $21, SEPHORA]

• VIOLET VOSS: HOLY GRAIL EYESHADOW PALETTE 

                                      

Does this product really need an introduction? Anyone who likes makeup and likes warm eyeshadows will already know about this palette. It's taken me a while to get my hands on and I am aware it's very difficult to get ahold of, but, if you get the opportunity, you should definitely take it. I got mine from Beauty Bay about 3 seconds after I got an email from them saying it had been restocked. It was £34.50 but to be honest it could've been a lot more than that and I still would've bought it. The shades are amazing, they're pigmented, buttery and there's a nice range of mattes and shimmers. It's basically all you could ever need and for under £2 per pan I think it's great value as well. 

[Violet Voss Holy Grail Eyeshadow Palette- £34.50, BEAUTY BAY]

• SOAP & GLORY: SMOOTHIE STAR BREAKFAST SCRUB

                                    

Something not makeup you say? (Yes I'm aware I'm talking to myself) but yes, not makeup! I've had to include this because I've just been in love with it this month. I'm also aware there's no actual product in this photo but I haven't had the chance to repurchase just yet. This smells amazing, it's a mixture of oats, maple, banana and almond. It's a coarse sugary scrub which is the best for exfoliating. I exfoliate my skin about 2-3 times per week and go extra hard the day or day before I fake tan. I'd also really recommend this for getting those stubborn bits of fake tan off before you want to reapply. 

I've always liked Soap & Glory products but this product has really impressed me, I've got another scrub to try and I'll let you know how I feel about that one but I will definitely be buying this one again. 

[Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub- £8, BOOTS]

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA

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