A Summer Makeup Menu

 

In theory, summer is palm trees and mojitos in the sunshine. In reality, its a full time job and juggling a million projects, am I right? That shouldn't stop us though, from living vicariously through our makeup routine, and switching out the winter products for a bit of sunshine-proof glam.

 

The main product I'm excited to crack out in the next couple of months is the Urban Decay Full Spectrum palette, because if there was ever a time to try out some bold colours, its now. Trying out the shade Calavera is definitely next on the agenda, mainly because it reminds me of a shade in the 'Yes Please' palette by Colourpop, that I am desperate to get my hands on. Even though this isn't the most compact product, I think I might have to sneak it into my Madrid suitcase later in the summer. Another bold shadow I'm gravitating towards lately is 'Flipper' by Colourpop, a beautiful orange shimmer.

 

Over the past few months, a strong highlight has really disappeared from my routine, but during the July/August months a golden shade is ideal. 'Gleam' by Topshop is my go-to for when I have a slight tan (emphasis on the slight, since I pretty much only burn). To complete the bronzed look, I obviously have to pull out my beloved Laguna from Nars. From the formula of the powder to the perfect bronze shade for my skintone, this powder has everything. On the sad day that I do eventually run out of this, I know I'll splurge and repurchase. It's that kind of product. A holy grail.

 

The Better Than Sex mascara is legendary, enough said. TooFaced have killed it with this product, and I think the majority of the beauty community knows it. For volume and length sans clumps, this is your gal. And who can resist metallic ballet slipper pink packaging? I know I can't. For me, mascara is one of the most important components of a holiday makeup look, because a lot of the time it's all that you're wearing on your face. I'm also planning on reaching for my Urban Decay setting spray a lot this summer; I know it can handle the heat and stop my foundation from melting.

 

Lastly, in terms of lips, as y'all probably know by now, I'm not much of a matte lip product girl. It's all about the glosses and the balms, especially in summer. But for days when a lipstick is called for, a sheer formula is just what the doctor (beauty blogger) ordered. My favourites are 'Patisserie' by MAC, a beautiful rose in the lustre formula, and my YSL lippie in the shade 44 is of the same ilk. I completely forgot the word ilk existed? What a lovely word.

 

 



What I've Been Reaching For Lately

 

I struggled immensely to narrow down this list of favourites; April and May were great for discovering gems. Side note: aren't these flowers gorgeous? Got to love some summer blooms.

 

When it came to renewing my faith in favourites of months gone by, I picked up MAC Harmony Blush a lot. I don't think I'm saying anything you haven't already heard if I tell you that this is my favourite contour shade of all time. This past couple of months I put down the others that I was trialling to embrace this ash brown contour again.  No regrets.

 

Another love I wasn't anticipating, was to bring back Maybelline Lash Sensational. My Mum tried the mascara once, hated it, so passed it along to me, and I've been loving it for my first coat of mascara on my top lashes (before I go in heavy with the Better Than Sex), and as a bottom lash mascara. Staying with the Maybelline trend, I couldn't not include the Fit Me concealer in 'Fair', which I have completely used up in the couple of months I've owned it. I posted a whole review of that baby over here.

 

 

Lately, I've developed texture on my skin around my chin and nose - the kind of texture that doesn't look great underneath foundation, and just generally lowers your overall mood. I have a feeling that it might be linked to hay fever, since its more of a rash than acne, but I've been using E45 cream twice a day and the texture has cleared right up. In a matter of days. I had to include it in this favourites, because I'm now convinced that E45 is a lifesaver.

 



In terms of lip products, three stood out as the only picks I'm really using at the moment. 'Cool Girl' by TooFaced is a matte liquid lipstick that I won in a giveaway hosted by Alice, and I'm so grateful since this formula is the only matte liquid lip formula I will use. I don't find it drying in the slightest, and this cool brown nude shade is right up my alley. The other Liquid Lip I've gravitated towards (and by gravitated, I mean I wear it literally every time I go on a night out), is Alyssa from Colourpop. A beautiful baby/medium pink satin shade that I die over every time. I'm not going to elaborate much on the fact that I included the Bare Minerals Gloss in 'Flirt', because y'all know how my heart beats for that gloss. Enough said. 

 

 

When I haven't been wearing acrylics, I've been wearing a Morgan Taylor nail polish in the shade 'Watch your step, sister!' (I can't say that out loud and take myself seriously at the same time). It's a pretty neon pink, that doesn't chip easily and applies like a dream. As for perfume, I've been wearing Accord No1 Floral by Zara which, as you can probably imagine, is a strong floral, feminine scent.

 

Finally, my Z palette has been my best pal. I even left it at home by accident when I went back to university and had to ask my Mum to send it over in the first class post. The two additions to my palette that I've used non-stop however are 'Issues', a peach nude by Colourpop that works beautifully as a crease colour, and 'Grandstand' by Make up Geek, a foiled copper/red brown that is a stunning lid shade. I'm such a convert to the single shadow lifestyle, let me tell you.



 

Birthday Colourpop Haul

 

When my Mum asked if I wanted to make a Colourpop order for my birthday, I jumped at the chance (quite literally, if I remember correctly). If you've been keeping up with my posts over here during the last few months you'll know that I'm on a one way track to becoming a Colourpop hoarder, so I can't wait to show you the newest additions to my collection. Even with customs I think this brand is amazing quality for the low prices; I personally don't think the Satin and Gloss lip formulas can be beaten by any other brand.

 

Okay, surprisingly, one of the items I'm happiest with is the shader Brush - perfect to apply the Super Shock shadows onto the eyelid. The fact that the brush is so flat and firm means that shimmer can really be packed on, ideal since normal eye brushes don't pick up the pigmentation of those particular shadows. For $6 you can't go wrong, and its baby pink as well, which just completes the package.

 

Moving on to lip products (the crème de la crème when it comes to Colourpop), I chose two Satin finishes. Alyssa, from the Kathleen Lights collection, is a dreamy muted pink that was a bit of a risk considering light shades of pink sometimes wash me out, but one that I'm happy I took. The Satin formula is so much more comfortable than the matte, and this is a lovely everyday pink. Baracuda is a "warm, deepened rose", which just sounds comforting, don't you think? I can't wait to wear this on a night out when I get back to Leeds.



 

 

From the Nectar collection I decided to get one of the Lippie Stix, which are even more creamy with the new formula and just glide onto the lips. The shade I popped into my basket was 'Faded', a rosey coral lipstick that is going to suit the summer months perfectly. Although I do prefer the packaging and formula of the satin lips, when it comes to comfortable colour this collection is a close second.

 

Now if you've seen any of my other Colourpop rambles, you might have noticed that the Ultra Glossy Lips are my holy grail product; I don't think I could live without them at this point. I spend my beauty blogger life trying to find the best glosses, and the formula and pigmentation of these ones are to die for. For $6 I would recommend them to anyone! Weirdly, I added a backup of 'Aquarius' (the ideal pink-nude gloss) to my basket, but then lost my original, so when this birthday package arrived I could have cried with happiness. You don't know how much you depend on a gloss until its gone.

 



 

 The other two shades I went for were 'Finders Keepers', a mid-tone mauve in a crème finish that has just a hint more blue in it than Aquarius, but is definitely on the same spectrum. Love love love, another favourite in my Colourpop collection. 'Tight Fit' is a peachy pink metallic that I know I'll reach for a lot in the upcoming months; I don't like the metallic finish as much as the crème but this is still a lovely, everyday gloss. It would look hella cute over a nude lipstick to jazz it up a bit.

 

 

I also picked up two of the pressed shadows to fit into my Z-palette, in the shades 'Made to Last' (a matte, neutral mauve), and 'Come and Get it', which is a gorgeous duo chrome rose gold. So far I'm impressed with the formula of these shadows, up there with Make Up Geek quality with just a little more fall out, but that's forgivable. The colour pay off of these applies well with any brush, unlike the super shock shadows.

 

Speaking of super shock, I of course had to add to my running total. The Spring Nectar collection introduced a shadow in the shade 'Flipper', something completely different to my usual neutrals but one that I immediately fell in love with. It's described as a "soft tangerine with silver glitter" and I just think its beautiful, and a subtle way of going bold. This one looks really pretty with 'Come and Get it' when combining pinks and oranges in an eye look. The other shadow I picked up was 'Nillionaire', a bronze with pink and gold glitter that I haven't tried out yet but know is going to be right up my street. I can't wait to see how it applies with the shader brush.

Top to bottom: Faded, Baracuda, Alyssa, Finders Keepers, Aquarius, Tight Fit.

March Favourites

 

It excites me on a high level to have brought back the 'favourites' series to my blog; there's nothing that makes my beauty blogger heart flutter more than adding a product to the top of my Alex drawers in the knowledge that it's going to make it into this post. There's something about the little things like finding an item that works just right. Speaking of things going just right, there's definitely room on my blog for a chatty post in the next couple of weeks. Keep those eyes peeled.

 



Ever since I hit teenager status (almost six years ago now like what), my go-to face powder has been the cliché Rimmel Stay Matte. Aside from a traumatising drift over to a Max Factor alternative that smelled, well quite frankly, like crap, I've stayed faithful, mainly due to fear. In a sporadic moment of spontaneity I picked up the 'One Heck of a Blot' face powder from Soap and Glory, and holy moly this stuff is delightful. It doesn't have a strong scent (thank goodness), and mattifies my skin to a point that other powders never have. I like the sleek packaging, and I barely have to top up throughout the day. From start to beginning, this has been a dream. LOVE.

 

 

Obviously a periodic shoutout to the only moisturiser I trust on my skin is in order now and again - Olay Beauty Fluid you're an absolute gem and I'd be a little bit more lost in this world without you. No really, I do feel this strongly about a moisturiser. My Mum bought this for me a few years ago and I must be on my fourth bottle right now. If you want a light daily moisturiser but nothing that clings, this is your gal, and its so darn affordable as well.

 

Sticking to the theme of moisture, I've been loving my vanilla EOS lip balm, which has a seriously cool shape to it and a knack of completely reversing the dry state that my lips often find themselves in. I had an allergic reaction around Christmas and I did think for a while that this was the product to blame, but I've ruled it out so its back to business in my make up bag.

 

 

It will come as no surprise that the Colourpop lip glosses are on here; I've been using them every single day (I kid you not), and its becoming unfair on all the other lip products in my drawer. My top three are 'Sugar Lips', 'Fairy Floss' and 'Aquarius', with Aquarius being my favourite gloss of all time. I adore the non-sticky formula of these, and this particular one is the perfect everyday nude pink gloss. I will rave about these for as long as I possibly can, and they're definitely the top product in this post.

 

Lastly, I received a marble eye brush from Spectrum in a Birchbox last month, a brand I've known about for the longest time but have never tried. I love the design of these, the brushes are so chic and the ideal shape to blend shadow when I'm creating a smokey eye. I don't talk about brushes a lot over here, they aren't a product that necessarily excites me, but I'm 100% a Spectrum convert after trying this. It also didn't lose its shape when I cleaned it, which is a biiiig bonus. Nothing worse than a limp, lifeless brush.

 

The Single Eye Shadow Edit

 

It feels so good to sit down and write this post; the last couple of weeks has definitely included neglect of my blog and social medias. Semester two of university has just come to an end for me, so things have been pretty crazy and its been difficult to find time to sit down and tweet/write.

 

When it comes to shadows, in the past year I've been completely converted to the world of single eye shadows, rather than relying on one palette. There are a few shades and brands that completely knock it out of the park when it comes to eye shadow (particularly building your own palette), so I thought I'd recommend my favourites. There's also a real variety of prices here; I don't think cost necessarily equates to quality in the world of single shadows.



 

My number one go-to brand for single shadows has to be Makeup Geek - as if you aren't tired of me harping on about this brand already. I think the formula of the shadows is faultless, if you want buttery eye shadow that blends easily and has high pigmentation, then you can't beat them. They also fit nicely into the z-palette, which is perfect. I get mine from Beauty Bay (£6 or £9.25 for foiled), and my top shades are Barcelona Beach, which is my holy grail shadow from any brand ever, Charmed, and Homecoming. 

 

Next, it will come as no surprise to most people that the Colourpop Super Shock shadows ($5) are up there on the single shadow A-list. These are so beautiful as they apply like a cream to powder formula, and the pigmentation is intense. The shade 'Kathleenlights' is quite possibly the most pigmented make up product I've ever come across. I also love the shade 'Catnap', which is a shimmery dusty rose - I think its incredibly commendable for a brand to acknowledge the need to raise money for animal charities, so when I saw the campaign I had to pick one up.

 

MAC shadows (£13.50), whilst not being up there with the best, have a few shades that just get it spot on when it comes to formula and colour choice. 'Mythology' and 'Woodwinked' are gorgeous shimmer shades that I reach for time and time again. Another shimmer favourite is the Stila Cream Shadow in the shade 'Kitten', the ideal champagne lid colour that you can pop on in a rush for a quick and easy make up look. I always get asked what this shadow is when I wear it!

 

Lastly, the NYX single shadows (£2.50) that fit into a z-palette are well worth looking at when you come to building your own palette. Some of the shades can be a bit hit or miss, but I know I can rely on the neutrals, particularly the shade 'True Taupe', a taupe that I use for my outer corners.

Top to Bottom: Kitten, Barcelona Beach, True Taupe, Homecoming, Woodwinked

Top to Bottom: Mythology, Catnap, Kathleenlights, Charmed

 



The Kathleen Lights Colourpop Collection

 

If there's one beauty blogger that I trust regarding make up products, its Kathleen from KathleenLights, so when I finally worked up the courage to order from Colourpop a few months back, it was obvious that I'd pick up some things to try from her collaboration with the brand. So far there isn't anything from Colourpop that I haven't loved, meaning it was safe to say that when these products arrived at my flat, I was practically dancing around my bedroom. 



The shade Aquarius (a soft nude pink in a crème finish) has been developed into a lippie stick, ultra matte, and ultra satin lip finish, but the ultra glossy lip has changed my life. That's not even an exaggeration I promise; this lip gloss has perfected the non-sticky gloss formula, and is just the right amount of pigmentation. I wear it to university every day, and have even ordered a back up, which isn't something I've ever done with a lip product before. If you ever get the opportunity to order from the site, definitely pick this up, its the ideal pink-nude gloss and for only $6 you can't really go wrong.

 

The next product I wanted to try was the 'Lumiere' Lippie Stick, since I've never tried a Lippie stick before and this shade is such a pretty dusty mauve pink. I'm wary at the moment of matte products, so I appreciate the creamy formula of this on a high level, and the shape of the product means its easy to apply without a liner. The colour doesn't fade for a good few hours, with only a slight need to reapply after eating, something I would usually do regardless so isn't a big deal. This one is $5 - even better.

 

Last year Kathleen released three new shades in the ultra satin lip finish, which is my second favourite following the ultra glossy lip. I picked up the shade 'Point Zero', a cool toned grey brown which lasts nicely on the lips and is a comfortable formula. I love wearing this on a night out with a sheer gloss over the top, and the shade reminds me a lot of 'Stone' by MAC, but in a more wearable formula. The other shades in that release ('Alyssa' and 'November') looked completely beautiful too, but I'm yet to try those out. Again, these liquid lipsticks are $6; I'm consistently amazed by how reasonable Colourpop prices are, and considering how expensive some beauty blogger collaborations are, this one is good one to get your hands on.

 

The other product I was excited to try was her collection of Super Shock Shadows, an eye shadow formula that I've completely fallen head over heels for. They're an almost creamy consistency, meaning that they blend like a dream, and the pigmentation (particularly of the shimmer or glitter shades) is intense. The 'Where the Light Is' collection is $18 and includes:

• Glow - A creamy matte vanilla shade that I use as an overall lid colour to even out the skin tone on my eyelid before I go in with other shadows. This one is super creamy.
• Cornelius - A warm matte caramel shade that I haven't had much chance to play with yet, but when I've swatched it, it looks gorgeous. I think this would be an ideal crease shade.
• Blaze - A "coco bronze sprinkled with multi-dimensional glitter", doesn't that sound amazing? I'm a big fan of bronze shades, and of glitter, so you can't go wrong with a combination of both.
• KathleenLights - This is my favourite, even though it's so bold that I'm almost afraid to use it. It's described as a "bright golden copper", and is without a doubt the most pigmented shadow I've ever used (see the swatches below.) Such a beautiful shadow, and it reminds me a lot of MAC 'Amber Lights', which is also a lovely shadow but is a lot more expensive.

From the items I've trialled, this Colourpop collaboration is a real winner. I'm definitely going to pick up a couple more items when I next order.

Top to Bottom: Lumiere, Aquarius, Glow, Cornelius, Blaze, Kathleen Lights, Point Zero

 

Colourpop Valentines Collection 2017 and Giveaway

 

I'm so excited to write about this collection I think I might burst. A couple of weeks ago I ordered some make up from the Colourpop Valentines collection and when it arrived at my building this morning I couldn't help but dive straight in and start taking photos. I don't usually get drawn into limited edition collections, but isn't the packaging for this one darling? I just could not resist.

 

The whole reason I made the order was the Short and Sweet Mini Mixed Finish Lip Collection, which comes in the cutest box and has five mini lip products; one glossy finish, two satin and two matte. I think this would make the most adorable gift to a loved one! When I opened this I was immediately thinking about the Ultra Glossy Lip, since that's my favourite finish for a product ever (think non-sticky, pigmented gloss). The shade is 'Sugar Lips', which is described as "golden pink with gold, silver, copper and hot pink glitter". I know. The Matte shades are 'Honey Pie', which is definitely my second favourite, a beautiful bright pink red, and 'Pooky Bear', a coral shade that I'll probably wear least, but it still super pretty. 'Love Muffin' is a gorgeous pastel pink in a Satin finish, along with 'Schnookums' (what a name, right?), a "mid- tone warm rose". For $18 I think this set is an absolute steal, and I love the Valentines themed tubes that they come in, with the silver heart detailing.



 

There were so many shadow duos to choose from that were released in the range, but by far the one that I wanted to try was 'One of a Kind', since the colours are what I would consider to be most Valentines appropriate, and they're definitely out of my comfort zone. The packaging of the duos is designed to be a little love letter envelope that opens to reveal the shadows; the perfect Valentines surprise. 'Going Steady' is a matte dusty wine, and 'Pinky Promise' is a metallic wine; together they combine to create a gorgeous date night eye look. I've swatched these along with all the lip products at the end of this post, so you can see how pigmented they are, particularly the metallic shade. This duo cost $10 and guess what?! I bought one for you guys too! I know how expensive it can be to buy from America when you live in the UK, so if you want to be in with a chance of winning this (and a Spectrum eye brush), then head over to my Twitter @alittleblogger3 and RT the pinned tweet. The competition ends 27/02/17.

 

My final purchase was a Lippie Stick in a Crème finish with the shade name 'I'm Yours', which is such an adorable name that I had to pick it up! I recently tried a lippie stick from a different Colourpop order and loved the formula, so I knew that I would be a fan of this. The lippie sticks just glide on and have the most comfortable formula; this shade is described as a "Light yellow nude", which doesn't do it justice because it really is the perfect nude shade for your lips. I would 100% recommend trying these lip products, the formula really is to die for. I'm so impressed with this years Valentines collection - it was even worth the customs charge! 

I'm Yours, Love Muffin, Schnookums, Pooky Bear, Honey Pie, Sugar Lips, Pinky promise, Going Steady.

 

My First Colourpop Order

 

*Drum roll*

I finally did it! Ordering from Colourpop has been something on my beauty bucket list for quite some time now, but the whole delivery process kind of scared me off. For Black Friday Colourpop did free international shipping for 24 hours (praise the Lord), so obviously I got straight on that and placed an order. I did some research and found that generally, if you spend less than £15 you dodge a customs charge, and since I didn't receive a charge I would be inclined to use that rule in the future.

 

Products-wise, I went for three of the liquid lip colours; they're the product that I've heard the most about, and there was a particular few that I wanted to try out. So far, my favourite formula is definitely the 'glossy' lip, which has that typical glossy look, but without any of the sticky texture. I avoided matte shades because I own so many matte lipsticks that it seemed a better idea to try out other, possibly more comfortable formulas. I'm so fussy about formula; if its even slightly drying its a complete turn off, and I much prefer moisturising lip colours.

 

 

The first one I knew I absolutely had to include was one from the Kathleen Lights collection, and I'm all about the nude-browns so I added 'Point Zero' to my basket. Its described on the website as a cool toned grey brown, and I think I would agree with that, its almost an exact mixture of 'Stone' and 'Spirit' by MAC. This one is in a satin finish which I like, it looks pretty much matte but the colour is comfortable and it doesn't settle onto my lips like cement.

 

The other satin lip that I went for was a shade completely different to anything else I own. 'Femme' is described as a 'muted dirty lilac', and whilst I wasn't originally sure that a lilac shade would suit my pale skin tone, it actually works better than I thought. Lilacs are increasingly on the beauty trend, and for $6 I couldn't exactly say no, could I? After trying two of this formula out I can definitely recommend the satin finish, which seems to me to be similar to the satin finish that MAC lipsticks have.

 

  

Last but 100% not least, my favourite purchase was 'Furry' from their Holiday collection, which is a 'rich burgundy in a metallic finish'. This colour is the perfect Christmas day shade, and I've already worn it multiple times. As I mentioned at the start of this post the glossy formula is a winner in my eyes, and in a bold shade like this it gives a make up look the pop that is needed during this season. Imagining this with a gold glitter eye look almost brings happy tears to my eyes.

 

Furry, Femme, Point Zero