All About Blush

Hello and welcome to my Realm of Beauty. 

Today's post is all about blushers. I don't have a very big blusher collection to be honest, but the ones I use I absolutely love and swear by. So let's just get started.

#BlushAndGlow by Collection, Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette, Kiko Shade Fusion Trio Blush 01 and my trusty Estee Lauder blush brush. 

#BlushAndGlow by Collection: this palette is freaking amazing. Not only the blush shades are gorgeous and wearable, the contour and highlight shades are also super easy to work with.
I don't personally use the contour shade that often, but when I do I can trust that it's not gonna be too ashy or too orange. It's just the perfect shade to give your face some dimensions.
The highlighter is very subtle (as you can tell from the swatch) and pretty, so it's perfect for everyday makeup look on those days where you feel like your skin is looking too flat.
The blush shades are so beautiful and wearable. They are just the right pigment. Not too intense so you feel like you can't work with it, and not too colourless so you can't get any pay off from them.
All the shades blend really well. They have the right balance between powdery and creamy at the same time. You don't get any excess powder anywhere on your face. They also last all day. After a whole day of teaching when I get home I still have a good colour on my cheeks.
All of this for only £4.99?! Are you kidding me? The quality of these shades are seriously out of this world and I'm sure so many high end blushers will fail to even compete.
The only thing that's a little bit of a let down is that this is the only palette they do, which is bad news for women of colour.

Swatches of the #BlushAndGlow Palette. The highlighter is too subtle to really show on camera. 

No7 Highlighter and Contour Brush: I thought it would be fitting to include this brush after talking about #BlushAndGlow. This brush is really soft and practical. It blends the contour powder really well. However, when it comes to applying the highlighter I feel like the brush is too full to really give you the glow that you want on your cheeks. I would have preferred it to be thiner and less condensed.
It also makes it difficult to highlight the nose.
This brush is available at Boots for £14.00. Which is a good price for 2 good quality brushes.

Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette: this is such a pretty palette. Whilst I don't think any contour brush is small enough to fit in the contour shade properly, I think this is a perfect product to have a blend of all those colours on your cheeks. So I use it by swirling my brush over all 3 shades and it gives the most beautiful effect to the cheeks. It is glittery, so not ideal for daytime use (unless you like that). The highlighter is my favourite part of the palette. It's so freaking gorgeous. 
This palette comes in 3 shades: Defining Nectars which is a peachy shade; Defining Nudes which is more of a nude and brown palette; and the one I have Defining Roses which is a palette of gorgeous pinks. 
It is a bit on the pricy side at £28.00. But I got mine as part of a Xmas gift set for only £16!!! If you're looking for a shimmery blush and you have the money to spend I'd really recommend it.

Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette, Kiko Shade Fusion Trio Blush 01

Kiko Shade Fusion Trio Blush 01: this is the matte version of the Clinique palette, so it's perfect for daytime wear. Again I use this by swirling my brush in to get all the colours. It blends like a dream and stays on all day long. Really high quality and for a very reasonable price of £10.90. 
The packaging is also really cool, with a magnetic lid. 
It comes in 6 extremely versatile shades, from very pink to very nude. You definitely should check them out. 
The only downside to this would be availability. I'm lucky enough to live in a city with a separate Kiko shop, but I understand that might not be the case for most of you. But you can place orders on Kiko's website. 

That concludes this post lovelies. Thank you for visiting my blog. Make sure to follow me on social media, links found on the right hand column, for updates and beauty talk. 

See you soon x

Complete Skincare Guide

Hello and welcome to my Realm of Beauty.

Once again, I apologise for the long absence. But now is my half term and I've done all the photography for my blog for the next month or so. So hopefully, I'll be back to regular upload schedule.

I'm starting with a post that I've been wanting to make since before Christmas. I fancied a big change in my skincare routine and visited the Lancôme counter in time for their glorious Christmas boxes and generous gifts to remedy that. I've always been a huge fan of their skincare and makeup. There's always something about the first brand you're introduced to that makes you fiercely loyal to them.

On top of the Lancôme products that I'll be sharing with you, I've been using a couple of the same products as before and some new additions that have completely outperformed the rest of my skincare products.

Before we start with the post, let me just be clear that I don't shy away from spending money on skincare. If you look at my makeup collection, it's 75% highstreet/drugstore and 25% high end. But when it comes to skincare I tend to splurge more. That's because I'm a firm believer in the importance of looking after your skin from early on (I started having a routine since I was 25). I always cleanse and use a toner, no matter how tired I am or how late at night it is. I always moisturise and use a night cream and I've just started adding eye cream to my skincare regime. I'll be 27 in a couple of weeks and my skin does not look older than 18. And yes some of it is good genes, but skincare has had a huge role to play too.

So let's get started, shall we?

Cleansers and Toners:

We all know that cleansing should be an essential part of any skincare routine. There's something very satisfying about coming home and taking your makeup and all the dirt and pollution off your face. It makes you feel refreshed and relaxed, it's the equivalent to taking your bra off!

I personally like to alternate between 3 cleansing techniques: using Bioderma Micellar Water, hot cloth cleansing with Clinique's Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm , and Lancôme's Douceur Cleanser.

I won't go into much detail with the Bioderma Micellar Water because it's simply one of the most well known cleansing products out there. It's kind to skin and eyes alike and it hydrates your skin as well as taking the excess oil off. I use it when I feel too lazy to cleanse with my Clinique cleansing balm, and want to save my precious Lancôme cleanser.

The Lancôme's Douceur Cleanser has a beautiful creamy and light texture to it and it makes your skin feel very hydrated after use. Its cleansing power is matched by none. I use this every morning as the first step of my routine and every time I see some dirt and oil on the cotton pad! Keep in mind that I have a nigh time routine that involves cleansing too. But I guess your skin gathers impurities while you're sleeping and this cleanser is a wonderful way to kindly wipe that off and prepare your skin for the day ahead.

Lancôme due: Tonique Douceur (£23) and Douceur Cleanser (£23.50).

Clinique's Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm is one that you need to be in the mood for. The method to use with it is known as the 'hot cloth' cleansing method, where you soak a 100% cotton cloth (doesn't have to be from Clinique) in hot water while you rub the cleanser on your face and eyes with you finger tips. After that you rinse the hot cloth and dab it on your face, making sure it stays on for 5 seconds on each area. You then rinse the cloth with cold water and repeat as before with 5 seconds intervals. The reason why you finish off with cold cloth is to minimise and close your pores.
As you can tell, that might be a lot of effort if you're too tired and can't be bothered to go through the whole ordeal. But it's worth it for those times when you feel your skin could use this routine, especially when those pores are looking extra large and attractive! Which means you have a build up of dirt and oil in them that need taking care off.

Clinique's Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm (£22) + 2 cotton cloths.

Now, some of you may ask what about exfoliating? Well, I used to exfoliate everyday (I know, very bad), until I was told by a skincare professional that exfoliating too much makes your skin produce more oil and so it becomes more prone to acne and blemishes. She told me to cut the exfoliating down to only once a week and rely on cleansing for the rest of it. And since I've done that the oiliness of my skin has reduced significantly. So yes, do not exfoliate more than once a week. It's really not good for your skin.

Also I just wanted to say that if there's one area I will happily go to drugstore for, it would be cleansers. There are some wonderful products out there, for example the Soap and Glory Cleansing Milk. The only reason why I'm using the Lancôme cleanser is because it was given to me as a gift at the counter. I do not believe I will repurchase it again because while it's an amazing product, I know I can find a cleanser just as good at a more affordable price.

When it comes to Toners, a lot of people forget its importance and forgo it all together. Toners are designed to complete the cleansing process, to restore and repair the surface of your skin after cleansing and put back in some of the essential ingredients for a fresher and smoother skin.

My current toner is Lancôme's Tonique Douceur, which again was given to me as a gift. It's very kind to skin and leaves it feeling soft and refreshed and removes all the last traces of makeup. However, it ends at that and doesn't really accomplish what a toner should. And that's because it doesn't have those essential ingredients in it and is basically just water, glycerin and rose water. 
Recently I've purchased La Roche-Posay Serozinc Spray, which is a toner for oily and blemish-prone skin. I will report back here after I've used it long enough to form an opinion about it. 

Just remember before purchasing a toner to avoid one that has alcohol in it and one with fragrant extracts. And if you want further help and detail just visit Paula's Choice Skincare. 

Serums:

Serums are the gems of the skincare industry. The right ones will do wonders to your skin, from hydrating, to glowing, to repairing. The list is endless. So you could say which serum works best depends on the individual and their needs. However, with these two wonderful holy grail products, I doubt there's one person in this world that wouldn't like to benefit from their properties. 

They are: Lancôme's Advanced Genifique Serum and Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair. 

Lancôme's Advanced Genifique Serum: this beautiful serum, which is designed for all ages and skin types, helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and put radiance and healthy glow back into your skin. The most wonderful thing about it is how the result is catered to individuals. My mom uses it to make her skin look younger and reduce the appearance of her fine lines, and it really works. I use it to inject some healthy glow into my skin because it can look often dull and lifeless with all the anti-oil makeup and products I use. Not to mention, it's taken care of any fine lines that have started appearing with age. 

You simply use it by massaging it into your skin with your fingertips. It takes 1 minute max for your skin to absorb it all in and be ready for moisturiser. 

It really is an amazing product and I'll be purchasing it over and over. Believe the hype it's got since its release. 

Lancôme's Advanced Genifique Serum (£59)

Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair: this is one of those products that are worth every single penny. A true holy grail. I'm just sad I didn't discover it sooner. The clue is in the name. It's an advanced night serum that's designed to repair your skin. You could say it kind of activates your skin and its natural repairing properties while you sleep and helps renew it overnight. I have seen the result myself and it's miraculous. My skin is firmer, toned and radiant after each use. What's more is that it makes my blemishes disappear over night, which is not something it's advertised for! I could just wake up in the morning and not do my morning routine and still be fine. It's that good.
You use it in the same way as the Genifique serum, by massaging it into your skin until it's absorbed. 

Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair (£50)

I realise that these two are both very expensive products, but they do last you a very long time because all you need is 1 drop.

Moisturisers:

A skincare essential we can all agree, moisturisers are as diverse as all the skin types and needs out there. 

Mine are divided between 3 types: Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel, Palmers Cocoa Butter Night Renewal Cream, Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel. 

Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel: this is a moisturises I swear by. It's one of the best skincare items people with oily skin can and should have. The gel texture helps your skin in absorbing it very fast, so it doesn't add to the shine and oiliness of your face. But at the same time, it keep your skin hydrated all day. 

Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel (£30)

Palmers Cocoa Butter Night Renewal Cream: this is one I use once every 2 nights, alternating between this and my Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair. It's one of the more affordable products on my skincare shelf and I absolutely love it. I love the hydration it injects in my skin and I love the result I see in the morning after each use. It is an anti-ageing cream, which means it firms your skin. The smell isn't the best, but you learn to get passed it once you've seen its wonderful results. 

Palmers Cocoa Butter Night Renewal Cream (£7.99)

Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel: this one is a very new discovery, thanks to Tati from GlamLifeGuru. I love this woman so much and I trust everything she says. Which is why I was so quick to buy this product after she mentioned it in one of her videos. This hydrating gel is IDEAL for oily skin. It's fast absorbing and so freaking moisturising you feel like you've just used invisible oil on you skin. I say invisible because it doesn't show up on the skin at all. It disappears once you've worked it in and keeps your skin hydrated all day long. 

I have a real problem with using primer after I've done my routine. Because some parts of my face will just become flakey out of nowhere, like my skin has suddenly crossed from oily to dry. 

But since using this B5 gel, I love putting primer on. It just glides on so perfectly and wonderfully.

Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel (£41.56) available from Amazon.

Eye cream and suncream:

I've only recently started using eye cream and that's because I was starting to notice fine lines appearing under my eyes, plus my stressful job means more noticeable dark circles and signs of fatigue.
So naturally the first brand I went to to try on my first eye cream was Lancôme. The eye cream that I purchased is Lancome Genifique Yeux Eye Cream Youth Activating, which came in a Genifique Christmas set. So it has the same anti ageing benefits as the serum. The moment you put it on you feel your under eyes tightening. It reduces the appearance of those fine lines and dark circles and generally makes you look more well rested. It is a fantastic product which I recommend to everyone.

Lancome Genifique Yeux Eye Cream Youth Activating (£40)

Lastly, we come to sun screen. I have always hated putting sun screen on my face. It makes me look too white, it doesn't blend into my skin, and if I get one with moisturiser it makes me looks greasy.
So when I came across La Roche-Posay Anthelios AC Anti-Shine Matte Fluid SPF 30 I was like thank god, I'm grabbing that. 
The formula is fantastic when it comes to tackling that annoying shine and oiliness. It really does stay matte all day. The only issue I have with it is that it doesn't blend very well. I guess that's the downside to a suncream which is designed to be dry and matte. So I tend to combine it with my moisturiser and then put it on, which works perfectly. It just takes a tad bit longer to work into the skin until it's absorbed. 

La Roche-Posay Anthelios AC Anti-Shine Matte Fluid SPF 30 (£16) available at Boots. 

We have come to end of this blogpost. 
I hope you have enjoyed this very extensive skincare post. Let me know if you've found any gems that work for you. I'm especially interested in trying out new fantastic toners. 
My social media links are on the right hand side, make sure you follow me for updates and everything else. 

Thank you for visiting my blog.

See you soon x

Anastasia Beverly Hills - The Brow Wiz

Hello and welcome to my Realm of Beauty.

Today's post is going to be about one of the holy grails of beauty industry, and possibly the most loved brow product (from what I gather).
I am sure that many of you have heard of the incredible Brow Wiz. Even those of us who don't live in the US have, thanks to Instagram and beauty bloggers and vloggers.

I had my eye on this one for almost a year. I knew where I could buy it from (Cult Beauty), but I hesitated for a long time just because my Rimmel brow pencil was doing the job nicely.
However, when I decided to dye my hair red brown again, I thought I might as well go for it, I had waited long enough.

It took me a long time to decide which shade I wanted to go for. But from the reviews I read, it sounded like Chocolate (warm tone) would suit me more than Dark Brown (more ashy). So I purchased it in Chocolate for £15.50 from Cult Beauty.
First impression was a little scary. The shade was warmer and more red toned than what I would usually go for, but that was what I wanted. I also swatched it on my hand and found that it was a little hard to get any colour from it.
But thankfully, that was only the start. As soon as I started applying it in my brows it transformed them like nothing else. It's just so incredible how easy it is to use and how natural it makes your brows look. And yes, the pencil has a hard consistency, but brow pencils need be hard to give the best result.

This product is not for the girl who wishes to fill in all of her brows and achieve that very solid coloured, almost tattooed like brows we all see on instagram. If you are that girl, then I would recommend the gel version and not the Brow Wiz.
The Brow Wiz is a product that should only be used to fill in gaps in the brows. It should not even be used to draw the brows, although you can draw guide lines with it and then go in with the gel to fill inside the lines. The product is designed for small stroke motions, making it perfect to fill in the gaps, as you can see in the comparison picture below.

Top: with Brow Wiz in Chocolate. Bottom: my natural brows with visible gaps.

In addition to the great pencil, there's also a fantastic brush at the other end. I use it to brush down my brows, making the gaps visible. Then I go in with the pencil and when I'm done I brush them back in place.

All in all, there is a reason why the Brow Wiz is so loved. It truly is a holy grail of beauty and brows. And if like me, you have been hesitating to buy it, you can end it now and purchase it right away.

Thank you for reading this blogpost lovelies.
Make sure to check in next week for a new post. And follow me on social media for updates.

See you soon x

The Matte Lipstick Post

Hello and welcome to my Realm of Beauty. 

Today's post is going to be all about matte lipsticks.
I know in the past on my blog I have mentioned how I much prefer moisturising lipsticks to matte ones, but winter has made me want to try darker lipsticks whose colour pay offs are amazing. Moisturising and sheer lipsticks are known for not having much of a pigment or staying power. And I really like my dark berry and plum shades when it comes to winter time.

So I decided to experiment with combination of matte lipstick and lip balm or lip gloss (I will write a post on Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfecter soon). And I gotta say, I barely reach for my moisturising lipsticks anymore.

Of course Clinique Pop Lipsticks still remain my favourites. And they are both creamy and matte, which is just the best combination for me.
But I wanted to try more brands and different matte formulae.

Swatches from left to right: NARS Audacious Lipsticks - Audrey. Max Factor - Burnt Caramel. Maybelline Matte Lipstick - Devine Wine.

You may also have read that I am not a huge fan of nude lips. But after watching Lisa Eldridge's guide to nude lips, I decided to go for it and try one. So when I was at Boots I came across a gorgeous caramel shade at the Max Factor counter. The shade is called Burn Caramel, and it's a beautiful warm nude that compliments my slight olive complexion very well. What makes it even more wearable is the creamy texture of it, and the fact that it doesn't belong to a specific season. It's gorgeous all year round.
I am not a big fan of the packaging. The gold looks a little cheap and the material itself isn't impressive either. But who cares when the inside of it is so good, am I right?
Price is obviously affordable (£7.99), given that it's a Max Factor product.

Next lipstick to try on my list was slightly (!) more expensive. I had heard so much about the NARS Audacious Lipsticks that I knew I could not go wrong with it. So I visited the NARS counter at Selfridges and picked up a glorious dark pinky shade called Audrey. I have fallen in love with this shade every time I put it on. It is beyond beautiful. And the formula of the lipstick is to-die-for. It's slightly less creamy than the Max Factor one, but since I save it for special occasions it doesn't really bother me.
The packaging just screams luxury. It's all in black with the signature NARS writing on it in shiny black. As if that wasn't enough to entice you, the lid is magnetic!
The price is on the high end (duh! it's NARS) at £24. But I think it's totally worth it. I am definitely going to pick up a more day time shade soon.

Last on the list was definitely hard to get. It is Maybelline Matte Lipstick in Devine Wine. This shade is so popular that everytime I went to a Boots or Superdrugs they had sold out. I finally managed to get my hands on one though. Out of the three lipsticks this one is my least favourite. The pigment will blow your mind but it is too drying for my taste. The other two go on with a creamy texture and then stay on the lips. This one goes on dry and stays dry. Not even my Burt's Bees can tackle the dryness of it. It also leaves a stain on my lips that's just not flattering.
The packaging isn't that impressive either. But I guess you can't expect luxury packaging from a product that's priced at £6.99.

My final verdict is if you are looking for a good drugstore matte lipstick, pick up the Max Factor one over Maybelline. Unless you value colour payoff more than texture.
And if you want to splurge and treat yourself, the NARS Audacious lipstick is definitely the way to go.

I'll leave you with a picture of me wearing Max Factor Burnt Caramel and NARS Audrey :)

We have come to the end of the post now my lovelies. Thank you for reading my blog. If you enjoyed it make sure you follow me on social media, all the links are on the right hand side column.

See you soon x

Charlotte Tilbury: The Vintage Vamp

Hello and welcome to my realm of beauty. 

I have been away for a long time. I think overestimated my ability to regularly update my blog and continue my teacher training at the same time. My job is very very demanding, in fact I'd go so far to say I've had the most difficult (academic) year so far.

I hope to have a better handle on my life though, starting with regular blog posts.

And I thought I would dedicate my first post after a while to one of the most expensive beauty purchases I've made in my life. I'm of course talking about Charlotte Tilbury's Eye Shadow Quad in Vintage Vamp. I was after this dreamy eyeshadow quad for a very long time, but wasn't really ready to pay £38 for it. However, when Christmas shopping time arrived I thought I would treat myself and go for it.

Beautiful packaging. 

What I like about Charlotte Tilbury is that she has different designs that comes in different makeup looks that one would like to achieve. Her Golden Goddess look for example is the most iconic of all. I personally love the Vintage Vamp face the most, just because it matches my personality and what makeup look I want to ultimately achieve.

The eyeshadows are very beautiful and luxury. The light pink shade goes over the lid, the lighter red shade is a beautiful cream colour and the dark red shade is to create a vampy smokey eyes by colouring the outer corner. I also use this for lower eyelashes to make the eyes look more dramatic. The gold shade is literally just gold shimmer that goes in the inner corners to catch the light. It's very subtle, which is what I like, but work wonderfully to complete the look.

Swatches and close up of Charlotte Tilbury's Eye Shadow Quad in Vintage Vamp.

The quality of the shadows are of course amazing. The crease shade blends like a dream and the darker red shade is very easy to work with. You can create a very dramatic smokey eyes look, or you can be more subtle with it and use it only slightly in the outer corner.

I always use my shadows on top of NARS pro eye primer. I have oily eyelids and no matter how good the eyeshadow is, it ends up creasing after an hour or two. So I'm not the best judge of how good an eyeshadow lasts. What I can tell you is that this palette stays on very well, it stays in place, the crease colour doesn't bleed on the lid, and it doesn't transfer to the brow bone either. I've worn it for 5-6 hours and in the end it still looks as good as when I applied it.

Finally, is it worth the money? If you wanted to treat yourself to something luxury that you've probably saved money for, I would say yes, go for it. This eyeshadow quad is the definition of luxury.

I hope you enjoyed this blogpost beautiful people. Make sure you follow me on the social media for updates, links are on the right hand side of the screen.

See you soon x