L'Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer/Highlighter Pen

I've never been one with much of a problem with dark circles under my eyes, but a combination of too much uni work and a lack of sleep saw me developing some nasty ones over the past couple of weeks! I began looking for an under eye concealer/highlighter, as the concealer I use (collection lasting perfection) isn't really suitable for the under-eye area as I just find that it's too thick and difficult to blend on the delicate skin around the eyes. So, step forward this - L'Oreal's answer to the infamous YSL Touche Eclat:

 

 

 

 

 

 

"L'Oréal Paris's essential accessory for a luminous look. Apply light touches around the eyes to help brighten the appearance of your eyes, helping to diminish the look of dark circles."

 

The packaging is really lovely - I am a big fan of rose gold and my only complaint would be that it is extremely prone to fingerprints but I guess that's to be expected! The brush applicator is also really good quality, although personally I am not a fan of the twist up to get the product to come out, is it just me who gets the product absolutely everywhere when you first use it?!

 

I have been using this for a couple of weeks now, and I have nothing but good things to say! I have found it works absolute wonders when it comes to making me look more awake and concealing dark circles under my eyes.

 

It has a subtle shimmer running through it, which really helps to brighten the entire eye area. I am not usually a fan of shimmery products but in this case, I do feel the shimmer is what makes it such a good product! It's also really easy to blend without dragging the skin, which is a major plus point for me.

 

There are 3 shades in the range - light, medium and dark. I have the shade light, which is a perfect match for me (I am very pale!), but I seem to remember that even the dark shade wasn't too dark so if you have a dark skin tone you may struggle to find a match!

 



I would 100% recommend this to anyone who feels they need to conceal dark circles under their eyes. It genuinely makes me look like I've had a good 8 hour sleep - even if nothing could be further from the truth!

 

This is £8.49 and available from Boots and Superdrug. 

Cookies

Today is the first time in a while I've actually had some time to sit down and write a blog post, which I am soo glad about! I miss writing blog posts but unfortunately I have way too much uni work at the min, boo!

 

Anyway, I didn't really fancy writing about anything beauty-related, so I've opted to write a little post about baking! I love baking, it's something I really enjoy and I love whipping up some cupcakes or a victoria sponge from time to time! As much as I emjoy baking, cookies and biscuits are the one thing I barely ever make, due to the fact that each time I try, they always end up either a soggy mess or burnt to a crisp! That was until I found this recipe on Anna's blog, Vivianna Does Makeup. I'm sure plenty of you will have seen people talking about this recipe, so I decided to try it, and I am so glad I did!

 

 

 

 

These were literally amazing, even if I do say so myself! The recipe was also really simple to follow, which is always good!

 

You will need:

200g unsalted butter

300g caster sugar

1 egg

275g self-raising flour

75g cocoa powder

3 bars of chocolate (dark, millk, white)

A small amount of milk

 

1) Mix butter and sugar together until light and fluffy

2) Add the egg and mix until combined

3) Add flour and cocoa powder, and mix

4) Add chocolate (broken into squares)

5) If needed, add a splash of milk to make the mixture less dry

6) Make 12 dough balls and place on a greased baking tray

7) Bake for 10 mins in 200°C oven

 

When you take them from the oven, they will still be really soft and look like they're not cooked, but this is fine as they will harden while they cool!

 

Thank you to Anna for posting this recipe, I will defnitely be making these again!



Bloglovin

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past couple of days, the chances are you'll have heard that Google Reader will be disappearing on July 1st. Google haven't announced anything about Google Friend Connect yet, but just to err on the side of caution I'd really appreciate it if you could pop on over to Bloglovin and follow my blog through that! (if you'd like to of course!)

 

The link is:

http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3790510/beauty-ramblings

 

Thanks!

Oh, and the reason for the major lack of posting recently is because I am literally snowed under with uni work (urgh)! I hope to be back posting regularly rather soon, I miss blogging!

Barry M Textured Nail Effects

Barry M is my absolute favourite brand for nail polish on the high street. They have such a massive range of colours and they're all of a really high quality. They're also pretty quick when it comes to new trends too - releasing products similar to higher end brands at a fraction of the price.

 

Nails Inc have recently released a concept called "concrete nails", which as the name suggests, creates a finish similar to concrete on your nails (basically, it has a textured finish). Barry M have since released their own collection of extremely similar polishes - the textured nail effects. Barry M's offerings come in four shades - Atlantic Road (blue), Ridley Road (mint green), Station Road (pale yellow) and Kingsland Road (pastel pink), which is the one I have to show you today!

 

 

 

 

 

The photos above show 3 thin coats of "Kingsland Road". As you can see, the finished effect is matte and grainy.

 

In terms of application, this applied pretty much like any normal polish (the effect doesn't begin to show until the polish starts drying). It does have a slightly thinner consistancy than the regular Barry M nail paints, but it doesn't make it difficult to work with at all.

 

 I have only worn this on the nails once, and so I can't really give a fair comment on the staying power, but it lasted roughly 2 days or thereabouts.

 

I do think it's a really cool effect, but I'm just glad Barry M have brought out an affordable version as I couldn't see myself spending £12 on the Nails Inc one! I'm sure the Nails Inc one is probably better quality/longer lasting than this, but as I change my nail polish pretty much every other day, it doesn't matter all that much to me.

 

The Textured Nail Effects are priced at £3.99 each and are available from Boots and Superdrug.



Benefit Sun Beam

As the weather is getting slightly better, Ive found myself reaching for this more and more. I use Benefit's High Beam almost daily and I love the look it gives, but as the sun is showing itself at the minute, I find myself using Sun Beam more regularly instead.

 

 

 

 

 

This is essentially the same concept as High Beam, the difference being it is gold/bronze-toned whereas High Beam is pink-toned.

 

"This golden bronze highlighter gives you a natural, sunkissed radiance. Dot & blend over makeup on to cheek & brow bones for a bronzed glow that complements all skintones. It’s liquid sunshine in a bottle!"

 

I think 'sunshine in a bottle' is a perfect way of describing this. It makes your cheek/brow bones look like you've spent a week in the sun! I tend to use this on my cheekbones mainly, and I actually find it's a lot more subtle on my skin tone than high beam is.

 

It gives just the right amount of colour and shimmer without looking over the top. It's really easy to blend and will stay put on top of your make up all day.

 

This is a miniature version (4ml) which you can buy here for £8.00. The full-sized version (13ml) is £18.50 and available from Benefit and Boots.



L'Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipstick in Tempting Lilac

I am not a massive fan of lipsticks - I love how they look on other people, but I always seem to dislike how they look on me. If I do wear a lip product, it will be a nude or subtle colour rather than a bright, bold lip.

 

I have a few of the Revlon Lip Butters, and I always find myself reaching for them. I had heard a lot of comparisons between the Lip Butters and this offering from L'Oreal, and so I decided to purchase one of them, in the shade 'Tempting Lilac'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A flutter of kissably soft, lightweight feeling colour. It's delicate texture glides onto lips creating a veil of colour with a luminous shine".

 

This is essentially a product which claims to have the pigmentation of a lipstick, but with the moisturising properties of a lipbalm. Whilst it's not quite as pigmented as you'd expect from a standard lipstick, it does have a relatively good amount of colour payoff. Personally I like this as I am not a bold lip lover, but I would say it's pretty buildable should you wish.

 

Despite the name "Tempting Lilac", to me, this isn't really a lilac at all. It's more of a mauve colour, but personally I love it. It's a very neutral colour and I think it would suit most skin tones.

 

These are extremely similar in consistency to the Revlon Lip Butters - they are really hydrating and leave a lovely sheen on your lips. I would say these are even more moisturising than the Revlon ones though!

 

The glossiness lasts around an hour on me, but the colour stays on fairly well - I'd say it lasts around 4 hours before I feel the need to touch up. It also wears off evenly so it won't look ridiculous if you forget to take it out with you for touch ups!

 

These are available in 10 different colours, and I will definitely be picking up some more! I do think they're a little on the pricey side, but they're definitely worth it!

 

These are £8.19 and available from Boots and Superdrug.

W7 Nail Polish in Mosaic

I had been eyeing up the Nails Inc 'Sprinkle' polishes for a while, but I just wasn't sure if I'd get enough use out of them to justify spending £11 on one. However, while I was looking through a website called Nail Polish Direct the other day, these W7 polishes caught my eye. After googling them, I found this one was a pretty good match to Nails Inc 'Pudding Lane', so at £1.95 and free delivery, I had to get one!

 

 

 

(L-R 1 coat of Mosaic over Barry M Turquoise, 3 coats of Mosaic)

 

The polish has quite a sheer blue base, and so it takes roughly 3/4 coats to make it opaque. You can obviously layer it over a similar blue colour like I did with the Barry M Turquoise, but I personally prefer the effect it gives when you layer it up alone.

 

The finish of this is quite matte, and the glitter particles feel quite rough once it's dry. Despite using 3 or 4 coats, it dries really quickly, which is great as it means you're not waiting around for it to dry!

 

In terms of lasting power, it's not the greatest. However this doesn't bother me much as I change my polish quite regularly anyway, but if you like a polish to stay on for a week or so then this won't be for you, as I find it only lasts around 2 days.

 

I do like the effect this polish gives, but I am glad I didn't splash out on the Nails Inc one as I'm just not sure I will wear it all that often. That being said, for £1.95 it's a complete bargain, and there's also two other colours which give a similar effect.

 

I'm not sure if you can buy W7 on the high street. I got mine from www.nailpolishdirect.co.uk and I would 100% recommend them. I chose the free delivery option and my order arrived the very next day! Impressive.