April Favourites 2013

Waaah it's May?! How? When?! This year is just whizzing past!

There are a few products I have been loving this month and have collected them together to show you! 

April 2013 Favorites!

Jo Malone Lime, Basil & Mandarin 

I LOVE this scent! I know a lot of people think it's a bit too much when they smell it in the shop but about half an hour after you spritz it on it settles down to a fresh citrusy scent. This was a favourite last month and I think it will be a Summer favourite. I'm wearing it nearly as much as my flowerbomb which I wear all year so it's nice to have a change. 

Nars Andy Warhol Self Portrait 2 (LIMITED EDITION)

I bought the Nars Palette last December and have been reluctant to use it because it is so beautiful but I couldn't stand to have it not being shown the love it deserves any longer! I think it's great for everyday: the grey all over the lid, the black lightly smudged into the outer corner and the light silvery grey on the inner corner. LOVE THIS! It's just a shame it doesn't look so beautiful anymore.

Topshop Liner & Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush

I bought this eyeliner and brush really recently so a bit of a cheat but it has totally changed my eyeliner. I get it right every time, I think this is down to the marvelous brush!! The eyeliner isn't great, it transfers onto my lids towards the end of the day and could be blacker but it is so much better than the liquid eyeliner I was using before! I want to try a Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner next I think.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara 

After declaring myself a one mascara woman I caved and have been trying loads again! Bad! This is AMAZING though! The wand is small and thin so you can get all the little hairs and it coats all the hairs in just one swipe! Amazing. (I know the photo is blurry but by this stage I was about to chuck the camera out of the window!)

Rimmel Apocolips in 'Stella'

Next up is the Apocolips in Stella which I love and is a great choice if you want an easy, everyday bright lip. It's so cheap and so easy to wear. I would recommend this to everyone for Spring/Summer, they are so beautiful.

Topshop Brows

When I first heard Topshop were going to be doing eyebrow pencils I got VERY excited (I have an extremely boring life) and when I saw a picture of it and it had a spooly on the end I got even more excited! I bought one and I love it! I convinced my sister and Hollie to buy one too. I like it because it's quite hard (minds out of the gutters) so lasts all day without smudging. It's really cheap too!

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

Another brush to add to the family, this is like the buffing brush my smaller and an easier shape to work foundation into the skin. I think it's my new favourite brush for foundation. Not much else to say really, it's just amazing!!

Bow Bobbles

I bought these from Accessorize (I think..) about 6 weeks ago and I love them (particularly the rose gold one). I have been wearing my hair in a high ponytail with one of these and it looks really sweet. A simple way of making it look like I have actually made an effort! Yay!

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 'Boy' 

I bought this last year and it saves me when I need a simple, easy lipstick. It's my alternative to lipgloss (because I don't get along with lipgloss at all) and I really love it in Spring/Summer. It's brilliant. Not cheap but it has lasted ages!  

Boy Swatch

What have you been loving in April? 

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Megan xxxxx

For the love of....Rimmel

 I love Rimmel. No, I LOVE Rimmel! They were the first make up brand I ever used way back when and I still use their products daily today. In the past they have been a bit hit and miss but right now they are just on fire with great release after great release.

One product that is a staple in my make up bag from Rimmel is the eyebrow pencil in dark brown. It has a handy little brush on the lid which is great for if your in a rush. The scandaleyes kohl pencils have got loads of blog coverage (I may have just made up the phrase blog coverage but stick with it) and rightly so. I have the black and nude pencils and I love them; they stay a long time, the black is really black, they are so soft which is great as I hate a scratchy eyeliner and it's great to finally have a nude kohl on the high street! The scandaleyes eyeshadow pencil things are good too, I haven't had this long so I have only used it a couple of times but first impressions are good! Rimmel mascaras in general are fantastic but tend to dry out quickly, they are so cheap though so it doesn't matter that much. The one shown in the picture above is amazing! Better than some high end mascaras I have used.

The Rimmel lipsticks are great, especially the Kate Moss collection. I love the matte shades (in the red packaging ) the best. The red shade is my staple red which, when paired with mac cherry lipliner, is just beautiful. The other shade is a great, staple pink. The other three shades are all great for summer, particularly the orange. The 2 other lipsticks are great too, the one in the pink packaging is the first lipstick I ever bought! I don't tend to use it anymore but keep it for sentimental reasons (does anyone else do this?!). 

The Apocolips. So GOOD. Again a lot of blog coverage (it will catch on!), and so, so justified. I have three shades; a nude (Luna) which I don't wear very often as it is very orange toned, a pink (Nova) which I really like and a bright corally red (Stellar) which I LOVE and wear all the time! I have my eye on the bright red shade (Big Bang) and the bright fuchsia (Apocalyptic). They are super glossy and easy to wear, have incredible pigmentation and are so long lasting. They can be a little drying towards the end of the end so I would recommend you stick a lip balm underneath.

The face products. I think their blushes are great quality for the price point and the dinky packaging is so cute. The Match Perfection concealer is great for under the eyes, I don't like to use it on spots as it has a brush applicator which you can't clean so I use a separate concealer for spots. The Stay Matte powder is incredible. I think it's around £4 and such great quality. I use the shade transparent and it is great for popping in my bag for oily emergencies. I could pile this stuff on and it would never look cakey. Fan-bloody-tastic.

I'm not too keen on the foundations purely due to my skin type, as with lots of high street brands they aren't the best at catering for super oily skins. The eyeshadows aren't bad. I have a couple of the single eyeshadows (which I didn't photograph as the packaging is mocket!)  and I really like them but I have always been put off buying the palettes, trios or quads because the packaging looks super fiddly. It's a nice idea to shape it like the Union Flag but not the easiest to use!

So that's my thoughts on Rimmel! Do you love Rimmel like me? What's your favourite product they do? 

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Megan xxxxx

P.S. Is Mocket a scottish word? I wasn't sure, to clarify is means super dirty and manky!! 

High Street Blushers

L-R: Natural Collection: Dusky Pink; Rimmel London: 050 Live Pink; L'Oreal Paris: 125 Nude Pink

L-R: Natural Collection: Dusky Pink; Rimmel London: 050 Live Pink; L'Oreal Paris: 125 Nude Pink

L-R: Natural Collection: Dusky Pink; Rimmel London: 050 Live Pink; L'Oreal Paris: 125 Nude Pink

The teeny tiny brush in the L'oreal offering

The shoddy Natural Collection packaging

I recently hit pan on my favourite Nars blush and had a mini heart attack. At £21.50 a pop - it was a sad day. However, I have decided to move on and decided in a bid to prolong the life of my Deep Throat blush I would try a few high street/drugstore alternatives. 

While I was mooching around Boots a couple of weeks ago I picked up 3: one from Rimmel (£3.99), one from L'Oreal (£7.69) and a super cheap one from Natural Collection (£1.99). 

The first thing I noticed was the Natural Collection blush had broken packaging which was less than ideal. I'll keep it in my make up drawers but if you were to carry it round in your make up bag it might not go the distance. Also, the L'Oreal blush comes with a brush which is a nice idea but who actually uses these brushes?! I would rather they lost the brush and the price came down slightly. I liked the Rimmel packaging the best - slim and compact, perfect for storing!


It's really hard to pick a winner here. I would say the Natural Collection one is the loser. It's chalky, a funny colour and the poopy packaging just doesn't cut the mustard. I haven't tried any other shades so maybe there are better ones in the range. Credit where it's due, you won't find anything better at that price point. If you are quite young and just getting into make up this is for you but as a potential new favourite? It's a definite no.
So, which do I prefer out of the other two? They both have their plus points. The L'Oreal blush has beautiful shimmer running though it, is a really nice, muted colour and is great for the down days, or if you're rocking a bright lip and don't want anything too much. 
The Rimmel one is a bright, bright shimmery pink which is great for when you really want a pop of colour on the cheeks. It's really soft and easy to blend, it is very pigmented though so tread carefully.
I think they are both brilliant blushers and for the price you can't really go wrong. However, I think when my Nars Deep Throat finally goes to make up heaven I will re-purchase it. None of these fall into the 'perfect everyday blush' category. 
The L'Oreal and Rimmel both have a bit too much shimmer to be everyday (I have the same problem with Nars Orgasm - that is a serious statement blush!).

What is your favourite blush? What is your everyday shade?

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Face of the Night #1

I wore this make up out a couple of weeks ago and think it is great for going for dinner or drinks with friends!

The first thing I did was to prep my skin with Nars Oil-Free Primer, which I don't rate very much. When this runs out I think I'm gonna try the Laura Mercier equivalent. I also popped a bit of my Bobbi Brown Corrector in Porcelain Peach on my dark circles. I love this.

 After this I used my Stila Stay All Day foundation is the shade Fair 2. I applied it using my real techniques stippling brush. This foundation is really nice but my skin is so oily it just doesn't 'stay all day' as it claims. The shade is a great match though! It is good for drinks out with friends but not much else for me. I used the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer in shade 2 to cover any redness, my dark circles and my (many) spots. 

 I filled in my eyebrows using my Rimmel eyebrow pencil in dark brown which I really rate! It's really quick and simple and looks really good. I set them with Urban Decay brow gel, the writing has all worn off and it's not clear any more!! It's been on to-buy list for some time now...

Next onto the eyes, I began with the Nars Eyeshadow Primer, which is fabulous! Then using a Mac 217 I sweeped Mac Nylon (a shimmery white) eyeshadow all over my lid, then lightly worked a bit of Satin Taupe  

(shimmery greige) into the outer corner, quite lightly as I wanted the eyes to be quite simple. I used L'oreal Super Liner in Black Vinyl to line the upper lashline and winged it out into a flick. I then lined the upper and lower water lines with the Rimmel Scadeleyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Black. These are AMAZING! I have the nude one as well and they stay put on the water line a really long time! I curled my lashes using my Models Own Eyelash Curlers which are incredible and really, really cheap! I used Maybelline 'The Falsies' mascara in Extreme Black on my upper lashes and my Clinique Bottom Lash mascara on the bottom ones. Both of these mascaras are incredible and I can't recommend them enough!

Next I went back to finish the skin. I powdered the foundation using Mac Studio fix in NW15 which is a tad light but as I used Nars Lugana Bronzer to warm up my face and contour my cheekbones it wasn't an issue. Both these products are amazing - I can't believe I hit pan on the bronzer already! I used Nars Orgasm blush on my cheeks and Mac Mineralise Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle down the centre of my nose to slim it down and a little bit in the inner corner of my eyes.I didn't put it on my cheeks as the blush is already really shimmery.

I used my Rose&Co Strawberry Crush lip balm on my lips, which I have had for ages and is still going strong! I finished the look off with a Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in shade 320 Funtime Fuchsia.

If you managed to read all of that post WELL DONE! It's taken me ages to write but I have quite enjoyed it! 

Have you ever done 'Face of the Day/Night'? What's your favourite going out look?

Top 5 Spring Everyday Lipsticks

L-R MAC Creme Cup, Chanel Boy, Revlon Sweet Tart,
Topshop Whimsical, Rimmel Kate Moss 101

L-R MAC Creme Cup, Chanel Boy, Revlon Sweet Tart, Topshop Whimsical, Rimmel Kate Moss 101

 Spring has to arrive soon! I am sitting here in a bobble hat - inside! The weather has been so cold recently and I just can't stand it anymore! By thinking about favourite Spring lipsticks maybe we can trick ourselves into thinking it's sunny? Well it's worth a try..

 I'm a bit of a lipstick fiend, I am always trying out new brands, formulas and colours - happy lips, sad bank balance. 
In my head every time Spring come round I imagine myself floating about in pretty dresses with perfect hair, a tinted moisturiser and a pretty pink lip. 

Top-Bottom: MAC Creme Cup, Chanel Boy, Revlon
Sweet Tart, Topshop Whimsical, Rimmel
Kate Moss 101

This NEVER happens. (1) I don't like my legs when they are free of black tights so light floaty dresses are a no no. (2) my hair rarely looks perfect and when it does it's only ever at night - why is that?! (3) Due to my acne scarring I always wear full coverage make up, even on roasting hot days (or day if you live in Scotland).
So the only thing I can really achieve is the pretty pink lip. I'm not a lipgloss girl at all! Having hair down to your belly button tends to mean just by thinking lipgloss you get about 100 hours stuck on your face - nice. (Saying that I do have my eye on the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector..).
I do like a Spring lipstick though so these are my top 5! 
First up, a veritable classic - Mac Creme Cup. If you don't have this buy it! It's the best everyday shade ever! You can see how much I have used it in the main picture. Its a blue toned, light pink. If you apply too much it can look a little, what I like to call, Drag Queen so be careful! It's cremesheen so super easy to just whack on. Brilliant - I love.
Next up my super posh lipstick Chanel Boy, I feel like a proper grown up when I use this. It's super sheer so I kind of use this in place of a lipgloss if I want something a bit lighter. It's a light pink colour, and again don't build it up too much as it goes a bit strange colour-wise if you do. This is very luxurious so if your looking to treat yourself this could be the one! It also smells INCREDIBLE, all Chanel beauty products do! Damn you Chanel luring me in with your beautiful packaging and amazing smells!!
Next up the super affordable but amazing quality of the Revlon Lip Butters. My favourite is Sweet Tart but I also have my eye on Tutti-Frutti - I do love orange lips in Summer! The product is really creamy and glides on smoothly but still has incredible pigmentation, if you don't have one of these you should seriously consider picking one up! They are a bargain at under a tenner!
I have loved Topshop Whimsical for a long time. A light fluorescenty-orangey-coral (my descriptions are just getting better and better!). I went through a stage of wearing it everyday last Summer. I think it's a bit different from pink which is nice and is super easy to apply (as are all Topshop lipsticks!), I love the formula! It smells amazing too! I'm a bit funny about smells, if I don't like a smell I can't have it anywhere near me, especially right under my nose! This smells lovely though! If someone asks me to recommend a good lipstick I always say this!
Last but not least the newest off all these Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick from the new Matte collection in shade 101. I like matte lips - I think they can look really chic if worn correctly.Its a light pink with a slight blue tone, it's really flattering on me and looks really sharp paired with lip liner. It's the cheapest of all three but I love it just as much!

Creme Cup (I call this
picture 'Jowls')

Boy (This one is called
'One fat cheek')

Sweet Tart (This is called
'Hey Meg, where's your
forehead?!)

Whimsical (This is one
is called 'One fat cheek:
The Sequal)

101 (I named this merely
NOSE.)

 Here's some truly awful pictures of me. Look at the last one - my nose is bigger than the moon urgh. I was super tired and couldn't be bothered moving to a place with good lighting.
I thought it was important to show what each looked like on me though but I do apologise for ugly mug!!

What lip products are you loving at the moment? Do you give pictures of yourself titles as well or is that just me?

Rimmel Extra WOW Lash Mascara

I haven't had the best of luck when it comes to mascaras. I have tried SO many, rarely buying the same one twice. I have super, duper long eyelashes and my sister always remarks how long they are but when, no matter what mascara you wear you get black smudges under your eyebrows, you can start to resent your lashes. I know, it's a hard life!!

I have tried many a waterproof mascara but they are such a pain to remove I have always given up with them. I came to the end of my tether when I forked out £18.50 on Benefit They're Real mascara and it made my eyelashes look AMAZING but because my skin is 

so darn oily within half an hour I had black all round my eyes. 

Then I was mooching around the make up stands in boots and spotted this one. I'd never seen anything about it but decided to give it a go seeing as it was one I'd never tried before and all I can say is thank goodness I did!! 

It is incredible!! The formula isn't too wet (normally I like really wet mascaras) but it isn't that dry that it's hard to apply. It's the blackest black and, even though it isn't waterproof, it doesn't transfer at all on my top lashes! On my bottom lashes it does transfer a little but I wear the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara anyway so this isn't an issue. The wand isn't too big (which I like) so the possibility of black dots all over your eyes is minimal. 

 I get a lot of 'are you wearing false eyelashes?!' comments which is always nice!! In the picture below I am wearing it on top and bottom mascara to show full effect.

I am fully converted to being a one mascara woman and just hope to God it's never discontinued. It's a bargain at £5.49 and available at boots, superdrug and other pharmacies.