I don't do makeup but I like yours, what should I buy and how should I use it?

 If someone asked you this question, how would you respond?

I don't do makeup but I like yours, what should I buy and how should I use it?

Well. I think they'd be pretty shocked at what 26+ years of research (I started young) and make up and skincare could lead to in terms of money spent and your collection of products, which can be overwhelming at times. I started off with budget buys and now am very spendy with the brands I like which could put a lot of newbies off. 

I mentioned skincare there, because no full face of makeup can last or look good without some skincare, prep and ongoing maintenance. I'm lucky that although I have combination skin, the oil keeps it looking younger that it should be and I use my skincare stash accordingly.

So, back to the beginning, I think I was around ten and already loved a dig through my mum's make up bag but she didn't have a lot and I remember one highlighter blush bronze 80s tin compact that she had used up one by one and left that shiny highlight until the last although she didn't really like it. It was a pot of that stage Leichner (I think) makeup that was the base, in a deep beige shade. I can remember what it all smelt like too. She had a tiny pink pot with fruit on it that had a pink sticky lip gloss inside it and I was obsessed with that so she let me keep the last few bits (I am sure my project pan and empties goes back to this time). 

Anyway around the age of ten, I used to visit car boots with my family and usually had a pound or two in change to spend. I remember buying a red set of make up brushes that came with a little pot, they were new in a plastic display. The man on the stall challenged me when I wanted to buy it (for 50p) and asked me what I would want that for and surely I was not old enough to be using make up. Ha! I did buy it though and treasured those brushes. I loved them, they were glam 80s red and there were six of them. I kept them in action for years as a kid. Fast forward to my 30s and it was the Real Techniques Sam and Nic set that were great quality. Anyway, I have amassed a quantity of brushes now, and stick to a few favourites from Bare Minerals as they are the good quality ones, and some short stubby ones from ByTerry.

You can already see that I'm invested in this. So the first bit the newbie must think about is a decent skincare range and make up removing product. I'm into face oils at the moment (see the last post about Nuxe) and then a nice light moisturisers and a primer before makeup. I would just try a few small samples first to figure out what your skin likes. I also add in brow and lash serums when I remember and I'm using The Ordinary right now for that but have Brow Genius by Anistasia ready to crack open soon, that packaging is impossibly glam.

Every good make up after skincare starts with a base and I'm loving all the glowy pre foundation bases at the moment. However you'll need a nice foundation for special make up days and the best way to figure this out is to wander round a beauty store (my nearest is Flannels Beauty) and catch the eye of one of the make up artists and ask them to match your foundation shade. Honestly do this as it avoids expensive mistakes with blind buys off the internet. Only do this if your purse allows though. My current on the goes are Pat McGrath Labs skin fetish sublime perfection, Chantecaille in Vanilla and I have a nice YSL one that I sometimes use. I also have a mixing pot that I mix to make my own in a more travel sized variety and I can change the colour up or down depending on season but that is me meddling too much probably. My friend recently got matched at Dior and their foundations are fantastic and not as expensive as I thought they would be (cheaper than my current ones). 

My routine changes often but I've disciplined myself now to try and work through one type of thing at a time or things dry up and become unusable. This is today's face:

Byoma moisturiser and some of the cleansing balm to make sure the panda eyes were gone from yesterday's face. The Nuxe bio oil then I added the Verso daily Glow as a sort of primer. Whilst that was drying and setting I did a simple brow pencil look using a Benefit pencil and some sort of white fluffy wax that your comb through. I have had my brows threaded so they are a bit skinny at the moment and I do like to keep on top of them to keep them looking neat. I also sometimes dye them at home using a kit from Boots. They always need some pencil to fill in the gaps. Back to the face..

Then the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood flawless filter. And some Leneige sleeping lip mask. I put two shades of the charlotte Tilbury concealer sticks on - a tan shade and a lighter one for under the eyes and as eye shadow base. I liked the coverage so didn't add any more actual foundation today as I'm off to the Antiques Fair so didn't need full coverage today. A bit of Pat McGrath under eye powder and some By Terry dual face powder in a pinky shade using the highlight centre for my eyeshadow and a Tom Ford pencil eyeliner in dark grey. Added in some Nars Blush and a bit more face powder byTerry. Then I went back and added in some glowy Charlotte Tilbury highlight blush. Finished off with some ByTerry mascara and a finishing setting spray by Charlotte Tilbury. I will take the Sweed Lip tint lipstick pencil in my pocket to add on during the day. I always carry a lip balm and have been enjoying the Dr Lipp tint which looks scary and red but goes on sheer and makes your lips feel like a million dollars. 

That sounds like a lot but that is a fairly light day for make up. It does change depending on what I am doing that day and I would say I spend ten minutes max on a work day to get my look completed. 

That is not a helpful list for a newbie really is it? Too much, all at once. If you watch make up tutorials on YouTube you can pick up some tips but honestly I don't really do this as I prefer to find my own looks. I'll try and post another face what I'm wearing post soon so we can see how much it changes day to day! 

Forgive the hair - I'm going to dry it now. 

Nothing much I can do about that face haha! 

July 2020 Look Fantastic Beauty Box - what was in it?

So back to the box format this month for the July Look Fantastic Beauty Box (last month's was in a clear plastic pouch). I liked that they mixed it up but I also love the boxes, they come in so handy so that's fine by me.

Again, the booklet was made digital this month which I fully approve of, and there was a small card explaining this. It's far more eco friendly.

First impressions
This month the box was orange and the filling was red. You always get that red folded shredding inside which can be reused for gifts. It is always exciting breaking the seal on the folded tissue paper, you never know what you're going to get!

What was inside? 
The items were a good mix including:
1. MYVITAMINS hair skin and nails, 30 capsules (you take two a day). Dated use by 10/2021 so plenty of time on these. I have had a look on the MY Vitamins website and these are actually out of stock (is that a good sign?). They are not available on the Look Fantastic website but interestingly there are collagen and beauty sleep versions from the same brand that range from £5 - £12 so quite a reasonable price.
Here's a good bit of science on the ingredients:

•  Zinc and biotin contribute to the maintenance of normal hair and skin
• Zinc and selenium contribute to the maintenance of normal nails.
• Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of the skin
• Zinc and vitamin C contribute to the protection of cells from oxidative stress

2. Thisworks - small 10ml tube of morning expert hyaluronic serum
3. Vegan blush brush - I'm looking forward to this.It's an eco-friendly vegan blush brush ideal for applying a beautiful dash of colour and definition to the cheeks. It looks like a great ethical company and they have their own facebook page @soecobrushes
4. MONU spa tub of rose and lemon enriched body cream - a decent size at 100ml I am going to enjoy using this, it's a great brand.
5. Sleek matte me lip balm - looks a nice colour but I am not big on lip colours so may not use thi. It will remain sealed while I decide and if it's a no it will go in the next ebay bundle of things I don't use. I don't ask a fortune for the bundles, usually around £1 per item but they always sell!
6. Madara deep moisture regenerating night cream - 25ml. I will keep this sealed for now as I have only just started a NEOM night oil which was quite expensive so I am going to see it through but I do usually use a night cream or oil as I think they have plenty of time to sink in and do their goodness so I will get around to using this once I'm over the night oil!!

Prices
Again, let's take a look at the price of this sub box. With a 12 month sub it is £13 per box (each month) which includes free postage. This month you got six items in the box. I'd estimate £35 product at RRP is included (that is a guesstimate as I am not sure of the exact prices).

Final thoughts
This was a nice box and well worth the money. I am happy with everything in there.

What's next?
I think my next post will be some budget beauty discoveries I have made whilst on lockdown. I have bought online from the Online Pound Store and SAVERS plus I have been to town so there are a few new things to talk about. I've managed to resist the summer beauty boxes that I normally buy as I won't be travelling but it hurt not to get the M&S one! Until then, take care!

Tarte beauty - funny name but quality items...

I recently fell for a beauty bargain on QVC from the makers known as Tarte. You can only buy this brand from QVC (I think) and I only previously had a mascara  which came in the QVC "Try it love it" beauty box. and I swapped an eyeshadow palette with someone on a facebook beauty group I frequent called "Beauty in a box UK." The seven piece set plus a beauty bag came in at under £50 including postage. Sounds a lot but it's good for a premium brand like Tarte and all the pieces I think I will use so it was worth the buy. You selected the set according to the foundation colour you wanted and the shade I would probably have opted for had gone but light-medium was still available to buy so that is the one I went for.

I try to operate a strict one in one out rule when using make up to ensure I use up what I started - a quick glance at the make up table tells me I have 5 mascaras on the go at the moment so I'm failing quite badly on that front!  I suppose I am saying that I will keep this set new until I am ready to start it.

Here's a picture of the full set, the packaging is all leopard print and very me!

Taking pictures in the middle of the family day can be difficult as you can see... 

Well we are all sat on the bed together watching the Smurfs movie and I have a few things to list on ebay , reviews to write and this blog... so time to just crack on with it!

What do you get in the set ? 

• An amazing day 12 hour full coverage foundation with spf 15 sized 50 ml I opted for light-medium. I don't know how good it is yet, as I am working through my YSL foundation at the moment but the colour looks good through the leaf packaging (I think it's a clear leaf!). 
  
• A chunky Kabuki brush
• A double ended eyeshadow brush (I love this!) 
• A black automatic eye liner in my favourite shade, black. It has a sharpener in the lid which is great and I much prefer this to wooden eye pencils. 
• A black magnetic mascara
• A double ended lipgloss / lipstick which is handy for nights out as you only need to take one item to touch up your lipstick. The shade looks really wearable too. 
•  My favourite bit, the palette with seven shades of eye shadow and one bigger sized highlighter. Perfect shades for everyday wear! 

This set sold out quite quickly but they have other nice sets on their site that may be worth checking out. Their "Rainforest of the Sea" range looks amazing! There is currently a set for £44 reduced from £70 that looks really good although again, not all the shades of foundation are available.

The other good thing about QVC is that you can try their goods for 60 days and if you choose to return it you can get a full refund. Look out for the next "TILI" try it love it beauty box which is due for release. They are always a bargain price and good to try new branded beauty items.

Well, I think I got a really good deal! What do you think? I will review the items properly once I get them in to regular use, I am hoping that they will all be really good.

TK Maxx - Best beauty buys

I love shopping at TK Maxx and find some bargains and unusual items in there in the beauty section. Last time I went I bought a set of foaming face masks, a carrot gel moisturiser shaped like a carrot and some Bareminerals lip balms.

First up these face masks, costing £3.99 for five masks (they were in a yellow sticker sale so reduced twice).  Each mask is in its own sealed sachet and is a sort of orange colour when you first open it. It reacts to the air and foams up after a couple of minutes and is quite good fun to wear. I do it in the bath as it is a bit messy for a bedroom face mask.
 

When you unwrap it, it's a bit strange as it only fits on the lower half of your face. I am not sure why the forehead does not benefit from this mixture but you can always plaster a bit upwards once the foam gets going. I would definitely buy these again at that price as I love Korean beauty products and they are fun to use.

 

 
 
 
 

 

Then the Jeju carrot soothing gel. I really like this but am saving it for our holidays as I think it will be a great skin soother after days spent out in the sun. It was just £3 in the TK Maxx yellow sticker sale. A bit of fun too with the packaging. I have not found anywhere else in the UK that stocks this so it may be a one time wonder unless I ship it in.

This next item was not in the sale but still a good price, £24.99 was the recommended retail price but they were marked at £12.99 and I must admit I ummed and aahed about them before deciding I definitely wanted them. They are mostly sheer (especially the middle one!) with a hint of a tint to them and great moisturising properties. I think these are great for slipping in your pocket for days out when you are not bothering with much make up but want nicely soft lips. Especially on winter days too!

 

The other item I bought (I just remembered!) was an eye shadow palette which is by Cargo but I have not tried it yet so I will blog about it yet and also a set of eye make up remover pads by Almay. I got four of these little pots, which I have almost finished one. There are 80 slim pre soaked pads in each pot and they are nice and cool for removing eye make up. I use one on each eye and find them effective for removing eye make up and I also use one before applying make up in the morning to make sure there is no remnant of panda eye and it adds a little moisture and de puffs too so double bonus. I paid £1 for the green tubs and £2 for the pink tubs, both are similar and work really well. I bought every one the shop had. These are available online at https://www.vitamingrocer.co.uk/ but they are a lot more expensive than I paid. I do think these are a great travel solution though.