Night Before Flight Routine.

Before I go on any holiday I always have my 'evening before ritual'. In attempt to be 'bikini ready'!

I have been doing this for years, however some products have been switched out or added due to new discoveries!

After a long day I come in and immediately take off my makeup (thanks to the persistent advice from Caroline Hirons!)

Then I have a nice long shower/bath and wash my hair with Liz Earler Botanical shine shampoo & conditioner, they are very gentle and perfect for damaged hair. Then the obvious one - shaving my rather neglected hairy legs, no one wants hairy gorilla legs on holiday, with an everyday cheap razor. I mean I do wonder how people don't get utterly exhausted from shaving your legs every single day without fail.

Post-Shower I moisturize from head-to-toe with a nice thick cream, to rid of my scales. Recently I have been using Aqueous Cream from Superdrug, it literally has worked wonders on my skin.

Face-wise I cleanse with Liz Earle Hot Cloth cleanser and tone with Liz Earle Tonic (not pictured), moisturizing with Pro-activ Repairing treatment no 3 ( been using this for a very long time, it is one of my skin staples).

A new addition to my ritual is Boots eye gel, it moisturises and relaxes my eyes, the thing that surprised me was that I noticed a difference using it. 

If I have any spots I will use Antiac Activ spot treatment, I usually always have this in the back of my cupboard in some form.

Finally I will paint my nails and bury myself into a good book, this holiday I painted them Barry M Gelly varnish 'Prickly pear' - a lovely lilac colour which works with multiple outfits. 

Do you have any before holiday rituals? Please share!

Holiday Haul!

Well I certainly have not posted for a while. To be honest, I have had a slump. A complete blogging slump! I think I have found my interests again, so to kick start my blog again - I have a haul for you!

*sorry for the bad picture quality, took these pictures on my iPad!*

So firstly I bought Garnier Express 2 in 1 eye make up remover, the thing that attracted me to it was that it claims to protect your eyelashes. As many make up removers are harsh on your eyes and then result in many eyelashes falling out. No one wants bare eyes!

Then I bought Clearasil Blemish + Marks scrub, I bought this because I have had some spot issues round my nose and need to combat them now.

I also bought a Boots Essentials Eye gel. Oddly enough I have never owned an eye cream/gel before this. So I thought I should try a cheap one and see how it works.

Make-up wise I bought, Loreal nude magique CC cream ( the anti redness one) and Rimmel wake me up concealer. No particular reason why I bought these just wanted to try them!

Expect reviews of these products soon!

Mark Hill Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo has become a staple in so many of our bathroom cupboards, whether it's because we can't be bothered to wash our hair or if we want to give our hair a bit of a uplift. Batiste has become the prominent product for dry shampoos, however i am not a fan of Batiste's smell. So consequently i bought this dry shampoo from Mark Hill for £5.49, more expensive than your average dry shampoo.

I am just going to say now, i was utterly disappointed. The product itself was good and smelt fantastic but it ran out extremely fast! It ran out after 2 uses! 

I later realised that many people also had this problem and it was because the can leaked! If only it didn't leak this could be a fabulous product....

'if only, if only'

vo5 Plump It Up Back-combing spray

I am going to share a little bit of my hair background, as one could call it. I have wavy/curly hair, however i often straighten it and that is where is loses all its volume and just is not something pretty. My hair needs that bit of oomph to make it voluminous - like Nicole Scherzinger's hair on the Herbal Essences ad (apart from all the sex noises obviously, hehe). That is why i bought this.

I was a bit apprehensive at first because of the word back-combing. Where i live there was a period of time where girls had backcombed their hair so much it was huge and messy (like Bridget Jones after she got out of the open top car?), do you know what i mean?. Not the look i was trying to achieve anyway.

I was a bit disappointed with this product, as i felt this did not give much volume to my hair at all! I will give it a little slack, i mean it did something but not as much as i was expecting. This will probably work on shorter hair as my hair is long so its heavy. For £3.79 it isn't bad either.

Have you tried this product? What did you think?

Collection Deluxe Lipstick - Tallulah

Yet another pink lipstick that is being blogged about and the return of the pink background! This is the Collection Deluxe Lipstick in the shade Tallulah and it is £3.99.
Tallulah is a light pink, a mid toned pastel which i thought would be perfect for spring/summer casual 'pretty in pink'-esque look, although i might be inclined to class this as a nude as-well. The packaging i am not a big fan of as the main packaging after a while goes a rusty dark color but that is forgivable as the product is utterly fabulous.
It has a moisturizing non slip texture which sits perfectly on the lips even if they are slightly chapped (possibly too many days out in the sun). It lasts for at least 2 hours before it starts to properly fade. Not the most long lasting lipstick in my collection.
One swish of this over your lips gives an instant color pay off which has to be one of the best things about this product!

Revlon ColorBurst Balm- Flirtatious

Well i decided to try a different background for this post today, hm not too sure about it but it will do for now!

As you may (or may not) know the Revlon Matte balms have been raved about on the internet, however I bought a normal colorburst ones accidentally due to the confusion of Boots website.

It is a bright glossy balm and costing £7.99 from Boots, fair price for what it is.
It applies nice and smoothly, very similar to a tinted Lip Balm, though this has way more pigment. Even after an hour you can rub your lips together without removing all the skin off your lips (you know the feeling). It is very moisturising and non sticky - Finally something non sticky!

I wear this quite a lot as it is still very bold for my complexion but i love it and looking to buy some more, including the matte balms as they seem utterly intriguing.

Natural Collection Blush - Pink Cloud

When i think of Natural Collection i think of girls buying their first bit of make up. I haven't really given it the credit it deserves. I recently bought this blush from Natural Collection in the shade 'Pink Cloud'. It seemed liked the perfect natural pink colour, without going too harsh. It was £1.99 which is a really good price.

Whenever i buy Natural Collection products the product always seems to fall out the packaging, is that a common problem? Its not a huge hindrance it is just a bit annoying when it keeps falling out every time i pick it up.

The colour pay off from this blush is fair, it is amazing if you want a really natural pink cheek. However if you were going to go for the bolder blush look, i don't think this is for you.

Length wise, it stays on mostly all day. Although the consistency is quite powdery and looks it if you build up the blush.

I really like this blush especially as we are getting into spring/summer because i can easily achieve that effortless glowy look for summer!

Collection Eye-shadow Pencil

This post was due about a month ago, but this product was put to the back of my mind, assuming that i reviewed it. Honestly, i am so dippy sometimes you wouldn't believe. This is the Collection Eye-shadow Pencil which is £3.19 from Boots.

Firstly, I love the whole concept of this idea. The whole quick, in a rush, whack it on and go. As the packaging goes, its simple but intriguing for sure. I chose the colour Hot Chocolate, a deep brown, perfect for the natural smoky eye. 

 The amount of product is appalling to be honest. The top is all you get, you can't roll it up any more, this was really disappointing as the product itself is good. 

This eye-shadow stick is very pigmented and has a lovely colour. Also it blends very easily for the perfect smoky eye, as i mentioned before, gosh i am totally obsessed with the smoky eye!

I might do a blog post showing you how i apply this, comment if you want me to!

 As you can see from the swatch below it is very pigmented, creamy and packed with colour!

Collection Colour Pro Lip Lacquer

 Lets just sit here and admire the packaging of colour of this product by Collection.This was £4.19 ( to be precise) and it is in the shade Prom Queen, love the shade name, very cute.

Lets get into the product itself shall we?

As this is a Lip Lacquer i was expecting it to be thick, luscious and long lasting. Well it certainly is thick, it is super thick that you need the tiniest amount to cover your lips. I warn you, if you put any more than a small blob on your lips, it may look like a make up disaster.

Also it is very sticky, your mortal enemy on a windy day.

 It has a nice long doe-foot applicator which is definitely one of the pros, also it is very flexible, which means it can get into those tiny corners of your mouth.

From the swatch below you can also see the colour is beautiful and I just wish the product was not so sticky.

Have you tried this product? What do you think?

Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder

My apologies to begin with, for the severe lack of posts! It has been like a drought in my corner of the Internet, apart from #FashionFebruary which has been taking up a chunk of my time. I will try to resume into my normal blogging routine once again, things have just been crazy.

Lets look past all that and focus on the product. This is the Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder in transparent which retails for £3.99 in Boots. As some of you longer followers may know i am a huge fan of the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder which has coverage as well.

This product however has no coverage whatsoever, it claims to give you a fresh clean look.

 A big advantage of this is that you can chuck as much of this on your face and it will never look orange, great for those of us that are super oily. This is definitely not as good at oil control as Stay Matte, however it does brighten my look up and it does have oil control for about 4 hours.

Have you tried it? What do you think?

Collection Lock 'n' Hold Lipgloss

Stumbling along in Boots I saw this lip-gloss and thought it was just super cute. I know it's not the most wintery of colours, but i just knew a lot of you will love it! Also it is pink...so how could I resist?

 So this is from Collection and it is £2.99

 So as i said before this packaging is really cute and feels very smooth and sleek. It has a very flexible doe foot applicator, which is soft.

 So this is quite a sheer lip gloss but it will look lovely over lipstick or just on its own!

It is a bit sticky so i only wear this with my hair up, however it does last a good 5-6 hours as it claims.

Sally Hansen Nails: NOFT

In the midst of Winter I see so many dark nail polishes around, and felt a bit left out. So i scavenged through my nail polishes (most of them are pink) and found this beautiful colour from Sally Hansen. 

This colour is Chocolate Haute 630, which is such a luscious name for a nail polish.

I can't remember how much i paid for this exactly but i think around £6.99.

This is a brown with quite a powerful red undertone in there. I wore this with a black leather skirt and white collared blouse and it looked lovely with it.

 It glides onto your nail and the brush is mice and wide, which is great for those of us who are not amazing at painting nails (me).

To me, this is the perfect colour for winter and i will definitely be wearing a lot of this this season.

Revlon ColourStay Foundation

This little product was from a recent Boots browse, you honestly must think i shop no where else... however i have ordered a couple things from Superdrug this week. Anyway i originally ordered the No7 Matte foundation but this came in the post, so i thought i would try it anyway.

I was pleasantly surprised, as with most (basically all) of the products i have reviewed on this blog has been mentioned by some other bloggers, where-as this has been mentioned by everyone. Even my friends, which is some sort of revelation as they never want to talk about make-up.

This is the Revlon Colour- Stay foundation in shade Buff 150, it is usually £12.49 from Boots. There are two versions of this, i have got the oilier skin type version. 

To start with the packaging is OK, however i hate how there is no pump! I end up pouring out too much on to my hand (as i am awful with measurements) and wasting it!

The foundation itself is lovely, it is very smooth and looks flawless on the face. I have found the best way to apply it is with a brush (Real Techniques expert face brush).

Throughout the day it seems to wear very well, however if you do have one or two spots i recommend wearing a concealer as-well because they will start to show nearing the end of the day.

I do wear concealer under my eye as it will not cover those, however my under eye circles are very dark so i would not hold it against this foundation.

The oil control is better than most foundations, though i did need to apply powder to my face.

Overall this is a lovely foundation, it didn't break me out and makes me look lovely in pictures! What more can i ask for? 

This is a definite recommendation from me!

Natural Collection Duo Eye-shadow Mink&Sable

This had to be one of the first eye shadows that I have ever bought, which is crazy! As it is from the Boots brand Natural Collection which is a cheaper brand. It is £1.99 from Boots.

It is a very natural duo shadow, a darker colour for the crease as well.

 The Mink (lighter) colour is good, covers my slightly red lids well but doesn't last for a full day. If their is any fall down i can not tell as it is so light. Also it doesn't crease, which is amazing for such a cheap shadow!

 These are very heavy swatched, as you can see the dark one does not show up very dark at all.

Mink & Sable
Light Swatch

Is there a cheap eyeshadow which you find great?

Seventeen Phwoar Paint

Sorry my regular Wednesday post was not up this week, i was overwhelmed with work i had to get done. However i promise to post at least 2 posts a week.

In the 'beauty blogger world' this has been reviewed by a couple of bloggers, but not too many as it is still fairly new. It retails at £5.49 from Boots.

My under-eye's are very dark and have been on the hunt for a good concealer to cover them up without a problem. This concealer feels very thick and smooth to the touch. However when i apply it to my eyes without moisturising it clings to the dry patches and looks absolutely awful.

After applying moisturiser it did seem to work a great deal better, nonetheless it creased under my eye after a full day wear. It does last a full day with some creasing here and there.

 The shade range of this product is 'ok', there are only 3 shades at the moment- fair, medium  and dark. Medium seemed way too dark for me so i purchased fair-- which is a little to light for me. I would definitely like a better shade range on this product.

I will continue to use this product as it is overall very good, i am still unsure whether i would repurchase it or not yet.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick- Nude Delight

I have had this lipstick for ages and i have had a love hate relationship with it.

Some days i just don't think it suits me and then other i love it, for the moment I love it!

This retails £6.49 and i believe it is worth it.

The packaging is simple sleek and good, not beautiful but not awful.

 It is a lovely moisturising lipstick that glides on to your lips smoothly and gives your lips a nice shine. It last 4-5 hours with no messing, so it is a pretty long wear time, you could make it even longer if you add a lip liner with it!

 It looks quite pinky on my lips- where as it is have more of an orange tone to it (like the swatch above)

Overall i would highly reccomend this Lipstick and another other shade in this line!

Revlon Lip Butter- 096 Macaroon

I have been hiding this is my 'beauty drawer' all summer, but when September arrived (finally) this is the lipstick i was most looking forward to wearing. This is my absolutely favourite Autumn/Winter Lipstick.

I have to say the packaging of all the Revlon Lip Butters are not impressive for a £7.99 Lipstick, but they are 'alright'.

 This lipstick is a deep pink/red and is brilliant with a fair skin tone as a bold red can sometimes pale you out.
I love the texture of this as it is so smooth and moisturising, i love that is does not dry out my lips. Though i have heard that it is hit and miss depending on which colour you get.
It has a gentle shimmer, nothing too bold. The wear would be around 3-4 hours, which is fine for me as i love re-applying lipstick anyway.

It gives a wonderfully glossy finish, so no need to wear lip gloss, unless you want to. 

I just love it!

What is your perfect winter lipstick?

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

I don't own too many Pressed Powders even though i am quite oily, i know it doesn't make sense! Anyway i came across this and had never tried it!

It retails at £3.99 from most retailers, so definitely a low budget powder.

The packaging could be better, but seems pretty sturdy.

The shade i got was 004 Sandstorm and i have fairly light skin.

 This powder is lovely, finely milled (annoying word- but necessary) and works! Once applied on the skin the powder is not visible at all! It is transparent so doesn't give coverage but it absorbs all the oil. Another  plus about not having coverage, is that it won't look cakey on the skin.

 It claims up to 5 hours of oil control, and i agree! So this one is perfect for those of you who go to school or work for 5 hours. You will need to touch up if you are very oily though!

Overall i really like this product, and would recommend to anyone.


contact me: charlottebeauty568@gmail.com

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer Phenomenon 100

The Rimmel Apocalips Lips Lacquer has been reviewed by bloggers and talked about so much so i thought i would get it, also as i have mentioned i have had a bit of a lip gloss/stick/stain/lacquer urge.
It is £6.49 at Boots -link-.

The  packaging of this product is beautiful, it has to be one of my favourite all time packaging! I like how you can see the colour at the bottom, just overall pretty.

It has a doe foot applicator, like most lip glosses, which is bendy and glides on the lips nicely.

One thing i hate about the product is the taste and the smell when you first apply it, it is awful! After a while it goes but not very nice to begin with!

 On the plus side it is very pigmented and is not sticky! You would need to re-apply during the day for that glossy look.

Overall a great product apart from the taste/smell!
What do you think of the Rimmel Apocalips Lips?

contact me: charlottebeauty568@gmail.com

Back to School Make Up Basics

Depending where you live you may be at School already or going to start soon. I am going back in September so i thought i would do a 'Back to Basics' Make-up for school. Some of you may be you teens just starting out or you just love reading posts like this- which ever i hope this helps.

Also there are alot of video/posts out there which don't offer the right price range, young teens generally cannot spend tons (eg £36.00 on a foundation is NOT happening), so i have put some very cheap products here for you!

For foundation i have 2 which are absolutely amazing the Rimmel Wake Me Up  foundation, this retails for around £8 at Boots. I love this as it is medium coverage (great for spots) and give a light shine which makes you look fresh and awake. I also have the Benefit Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation which retails around £20, i have put this in here as i think this is not too expensive if it works.

If you have oily skin, a powder is a necessity. So i have this MUA pressed powder for £1, great value and stops you looking shiny. If you don't need powder, don't buy it but it is a nice touch as well.

I have 2 concealers here, Rimmel Hide The Blemish concealer and Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. One is a doe foot applicator and the other is a stick, so which ever you think works best for you you can decide. The give the same coverage and both retail around £4-£5.

For blush i really like Natural Collection Peach Melba (£1.99 at boots), it gives a lovely bit of colour without being too over the top for school.

For bronzer i like this duo from Miss Sporty Ohh So Tan! It has a highlighter and a bronzer which have both good pay offs. It is  £2.99 at boots.

If you do want to wear eye shadow i recommend this MUA Heaven & Earth Palette, it has such lovely colours for a subtle eye.

I have 2 Collection mascaras Collection pump up the volume (£3.99) and Collection Super Size (£2.19), these are both great mascara's and do their job. I recommend collection if you are just starting out with Make Up.

For lips i have Maybelline Baby Lips, Clinique Chubby stick in Mega Melon and a Flormor Lipstick in shade 202. These are all slightly different colours for different skin types but natural.

That is it for my 'Back to Basics' School version! Comment below about anything you love!