When to splurge and when to save on makeup

Makeup has become some what of a status definer.

There is definitely makeup snobbery out there.

I come across so many bloggers pushing ridiculously expensive cosmetics that they call their "ride or die" products. A palette they just "can't live without"

However, I think there are things that you really do not need. I'm almost the opposite to said bloggers. While I do like to induldge in beautifully packaged products. I am very proud of my penny saving pickups.

Sleek, Kiko, MUA, Bourjois Seventeen, Collection, Soap&Glory are all in my makeup bag. I use their products everyday. All of which are fantastic quality at affordable prices.

I regularly choose these products over some of the more expensive ones I have in my collection.

However, there are some products I do not scrimp on. Here is how I splurge and save on my makeup.


Foundation  - Splurge.
I do splurge on foundation. This started because I was abroad in South Africa in 2008 and I couldn't purchase a foundation light enough. The only company I could find that suited my skin tone was Estee Lauder. Ever since then I have used Double Wear. I've tried many other foundations from NARS to Maxfactor and I have to say I've found some terrible expensive foundations - YSL in my opinion you suck. But I have also found my new favourite, NARS Sheer glow. I keep trying drugstore brands and whilst there are some great formulations out there, colour range is still an issue. They tend to cater for light to medium skin and don't offer neutral, cool and warm tones. Its just light, medium, dark. Its a bit basic. I am a firm believer that base is everything. Its like building a beautiful house with no foundation... Its not going to last. Nor will your makeup if your base isn't right.

Concealer - I think you can save here. If you can get a good colour for you I believe some savings can be made. I do however have very minimal eye bags/dark circles. After having extensive acne treatment I no longer suffer with spots. So concealer is not a huge part of my routine. A little under my eyes in a triangle to wake my face up is all I need. I use a MAC concealer £15 but I also use Rimmel wake me up concealer under £6.

Powder - I can totally save on powder. Ive got very pale skin and I can use a translucent powder. If you have a deep skin tone you may struggle to use one from boots. I do find that translucent powders can give off flash back in photographs. Keep that in mind when applying. A hugely popular trend is the Banana powder - Ben Nye and Anastasia Beverly Hills do them. They Ben Nye became a must have of every You tuber. Ladies... Its yellow. Like pure yellow powder. This is not good for everyone. It will not suit all skin tones. This is a prime example of Instagram trends pushing a product and people wasting their cash. I do have oily skin and I like to control the oil with primers and setting sprays rather than layers of cakey powder.

Eyeshadows  - SAVE
Honestly ladies save, save, save. If you wipe your finger over the powder and its the same colour on your skin as it is in the tin you have a winner. There are cheap and expensive products alike that are not pigmented. Do not waste your money. If you find an inexpensive shadow with great colour pay off buy it. If you want to put it into a pallet to hide where its from do it. I am in love with Kiko eyeshadow sticks and Sleek palettes. They are awesome. They cost between £6-£8 and are very pigmented. I also love the Maybeline colour tattoo pots. These are £5 each and really last all day. Great for a base of an eye shadow look or even just blended out to create a simple smokey eye. Barry M shimmer pots. I've blogged about these before. They are great, no need to spend over £20 on a loose pigment.  Of course if there is a colour that you see and you love and its expensive go for it. I use my naked smokey palette every day. At £38 for 12 shadows I think it works out quite reasonable. However the £27 I paid for one Armani cream shadow... yeah that was stupid.

Lip Stick - SAVE
Yep save away ladies.
MUA do some brilliant liquid lipsticks for £3. You do not need to spend £20 on a lip colour you will wear for a season or worse.... once.
I have all of the MUA shades and it cost only a little more than a MAC long-lasting liquid lipstick.
I like Natural collection for bullets at £2 each. I also use a lot of KIKO products. For plumping glosses it has to be Soap&Glory. If you are worried about Makeup snobbery then sure go and buy your favourite lippy in its shiny gold case. But for all the other shades why not take them out and press them into a pallet. It looks like something a makeup artist would have. It removes the shame of the crappy packaging. Plus it makes it super easy to take 20-30 shades on holiday with you. You just need a lip brush and you are good to go.
You can get the empty palettes on Amazon - Have a look.

Eye liners  - Pencil liners  - Girls go save! Seriously. If its not drawing smoothly then heat up the kohl with a lighter. Most pencil liners smudge and have decent colour pay off. Rimmel do a great nude shade - not white. It is great for lining the water line to open up the eye.
Liquid liners - again slap addicts go and save some pennies. I love a good glitter liner. I can't help it I am a magpie when it comes to anything shiny. Urban Decay do some lovely ones but you can save at least a tenner and get the same thing from Collection. At just £3 each they are worth a try. There are plenty of shades to choose from, silver, gold, blacks, blues, pink and purple. I'm sure you will find a shade you are looking for. Black liquid liners are also easily replaced. No need to pay through the nose. Just check the applicator. Some brushes are awful. I tend to choose the ones with a felt tip style nib. Rimmel does a great one .

Blusher  - HMMMM this is a tough one. Really cheap powder blushes are bad because they can be very dusty and not very pigmented. I tried the Makeup Revolution ones and i found them chalky. However, bourjois blushes are beautiful. I also like Maxfactor and Loreal. I tend to use 2 blushes. A pink and a more apricot colour. As I use the same every day I don't mind spending on a more expensive product. I love Estee Lauder blushes. They last forever on the skin and in the compact.

Contour - the key to saving is chosing the right shade and remembering not to pick a product with shimmer. You want a matte cream or powder. Your contour shade should not be the same as your bronzer. Contour is creating a shadow to enhance your face shape. I like to use a product a few shades darker than my skin tone and with a more grey than orange undertone. I really love Smash box contour sticks. They are easy to use and blend really well. However I have used eyeshadows in the past and it looked really lovely on the skin. You can also use a foundation a few shades darker. You do not need to go and spend £50 on a contouring pallet. Trust me, there will be one or 2 shades that you use and the other 4 will be no good. These pallets are great for people who do makeup on others. For personal use they are a  big old wast of money.

Highlighter -  I like to save on highlighter. I love my Seventeen highlighter. It is great. Its not glittery. I hate glitter. Shimmer not glitter. Thats my motto. I tried the liquid highlighter High Beam from Benefit  - I wasn't impressed. One product I do like which is super super expensive is hourglass ambient lighting powder. These are more of a finishing powder. They give you a lit within glow that can be produced like no other. Its not a wet shiny finish, nor is it uber sparkly. Its unique. Its expensive but this is where I spend my money. I actually use a combination of cheap and expensive. The liquid illuminator under my foundation and the ambient lighting powders to finish.

Mascara - Save. Whilst I'm not saying a £2 mascara will be AMAZING I think spending about £6-£12 will be more than enough. I just tried a Dior mascara and all it does is crumble :-( I will stick with my Bourjois waterproof one seconde mascara. Mascara is only good for 3 months and it also dries out really quickly. Placing the product on your lashes close to the eye where you can get infections and sty's means changing the product regularly is paramount in preventing infections from reoccurring. Why spend £30 on a mascara? Also if you are a false lash user then there really is no need to waste your money.

Pretty much I spend on my foundation everywhere else I save my money. I do splash out on cosmetics but usually when I've tried and tested them and only on shades that I will use regularly.

Why be a snob when you can be savvy? 

Laura Geller - Roman Holiday

Today I'm going to do a review of the Laura Geller Roman holiday collection.

I am going to do my best to keep it short and sweet. If you want to to talk about a product in depth please message me. 

So who is Laura Geller... You may be a die hard fan and think this is a crazy question. Or, you could be like me and have only recently discovered her makeup. 

Laura Geller is a New York makeup artist who in my opinion has created a really beautiful product line. 

I fist discovered her product on QVC in 2015. I stalked Instagram and youtube for months until I plucked up the courage and the pounds to purchase her gilded honey highlighter. If you haven't got it - get one. Especially if you are a fan of the J-Lo glow. Girl you will not be disappointed. 

From that purchase came this one. I got this from QVC costs between £45-£60 but you get a lot of cosmetic for you cash. 

Inside you will find:

Baked Balance-N-Glow illuminating foundation - choice of shade - Expires,18 months

Baked Eyeshadow Palette  - Baroque, Cafe, Roma - Expires,18 months

Brow Gel Pencil - universal -Expires, 24 months

I-Care Eyeliner - Black - Expires, 24 months

Style lash Lengthening Mascara - Black - Expires, 6 months 

Color Enriched Lipstick - Rouge Audrey - Expires, 24 months

Pout Perfection Waterproof Lip Liner - Tulip - Expires, 24months

Color Drenched Lip Gloss - Pink Razza - Expires, 24 months 

Inside the box reads

Roman Holiday

The timeless enchantment of a Roman Holiday:

This seasons signature look is all about the perfect canvas, a bold brow and rose kissed lips. This lavish collection of artisan-baked formula's and effortlessly gorgeous shades is the ultimate beauty gift. 

I have to say this is one of the prettiest packages i have treated myself to. 

I love Audrey Hepburn. I think her makeup style was effortlessly glamorous. She her her style and it was bold. Those eyebrows were amazing. She looked feminine and still today decades later she is recognised as a beauty icon. 

Now to the products. 

Foundation- It's a powder based foundation. Not my usual preference. Its a baked powder 9 grams in total. The packaging is cute and easy to open. I applied this with a buffing brush a kabuki would work too. This powder is luminous! I know it said it on the box but it really is. I would consider this a light coverage. I did also try this as a setting powder over the top of a liquid foundation. It gave a beautiful soft glow to my skin. This would be quite lovely on more mature skins that don't need coverage for spots but want to  balance their skin and look radiant. This foundation alone would not be good for someone who like medium + coverage or who wants to conceal acne. I chose the shade fair. the lightest shade was porcelain, fair is a little warm for me. I should have gone with porcelain. 

Eyeshadows -  These are adorable. Baroque is a neutral shade, great all over the lid or as a highlight. Cafe is a milky coffee shade and Roma is a deep plum. All of the eye shadows are shimmery and a very smooth buttery consistency. They blend easily and would work on many skin tones. These tones could work for every day or be build up to create an elegant evening look. 

Packaging is adorable! There is also a small mirror inside and a sponge applicator which is shall throw away. 

Brow gel pencil - It's a light brown cool tone shade. Its not heavily pigmented I'm assuming because its gel pencil rather than just a pencil. The finish is meant to be lighter and more natural. Which it is. Its double ended one end has a decent spoolie the other is the brow pencil The lip of the pencil doubles as a sharpener. I like the fact Laura has included everything you need to do your brown in one product. Very ingenious. 

Eye liner - Another double ended product which I love. Its a general black liner which you twist up to use, it is really smooth when applying. It says its waterproof. I am yet to have worn this for more than 6 hours. however, so far so good. One end is the liner and the other is a very professional feeling smudge stick. soft applicator head. I say this because so many I get are too rubbery and cause the eye to drag, I hate that!

Lip liner - First off this is my colour. Thank you Laura. Secondly its a creamy pencil that glides on easily. It says its waterproof and so far its not left my lips. I filled in my lips with this first then applied the lipstick and then a dot of the gloss in the centre. I really wanted to try everything lol. 

Lipstick -   I love it when companies engrave the bullet. I think it looks so chic. 

The colour matches the liner perfectly. It glides onto the lips offering great colour pay off and feels really moisturising. This is a me lipstick but I think it would look great on darker skin tones also. It's a universal rose shade that pretty much everyone can pull off. 

Lip gloss -  This is a highly pigmented lip gloss with tiny gold shimmer running through. You could use this on its own without the lipstick the colour pay off is so good. Again it matches the other lip products in the collection. I'm a bit over the liquid lipstick craze and really welcome a good gloss. 

Mascara - This is a true black shade. This product has thrown me a little bit. I opened up the product and instantly looked at the wand. Its skinny. I usually think the fate the better when it comes to mascara wands. Its also made of the hard plastic bristle -  I tend to go for something fluffier. However, I'm converted. I love this mascara wand. It combs the lashes, separates them and distributes even coverage of mascara. Amazing for the lower lash line too. I really like this mascara. My other concern was that it isn't waterproof. I tend to go for waterproof mascaras to stop them smudging under my eyes. So far it hasn't smudged so looks like this product is also a winner!

Overall I love this box. The colours are wearable. All the formulations are easy to use and have a beautiful finish.

The foundation I am still getting used to. As this is a first impressions review its hard to give you much more detail. once I've been using a foundation for about 2 weeks I tend to have a better idea of how I really feel. I didn't use any concealer, contour or highlight. All I added was a little pink blusher. 

I may come back with an in depth foundation review in the coming weeks. 

Here's a picture of me with all the products. I hope you liked the review. 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. 

Have a great week dolls! 

xoxoxo

April Birchbox

Birch box is my monthly treat - amoungst other things. I am rather spoilt. But I do love these arriving each month.

This months box is so pretty!

Inside is the following:

Benefit Dew the Hoola  - Its a bronzing liquid. No shimmer and a velvety smooth sheer finish. Great under, over and mixed in foundation. Packaging is stunning. But I wouldn't expect any less from Benefit. The usual price for a full size is £22.50. A little goes a long way. Especially if you are very pale like me. 

Kueshi foot cream - Full size £12. I can't stand the smell. It has tee- tree oil in it. It feels medicated and reminds me of spot treatments from my teens. Sadly I find the smell so off putting I couldn't care less if the product is doing any good. Will not be using this in the future. If you like tea tree then you may want to give this a try. 

Cynthia Rowley eye pencil  - £11. Its a black eyeliner. Not sure what else to say. It's a true black pencil liner which will smudge easily. It glides on to the eye without dragging. I have used this several times and I like it. Definitely something I will use again and again. 

Balance me tinted wonder eye cream -  full size £20. This is an eye cream that also works as a colour corrector for dark circles. Its a yellow/orange toned cream that will help brighten and hydrate the delicate eye area. It claims to plump, firm, and battle signs of ageing. It feels nice on the skin but it didn't absorb very well for me. It took an extra few minutes. Being an orange tone I found it looked kinda bad on its own. Better under makeup. If you really suffer with dark circles you may want to try a product in a more orange tone paired with a concealer. You can use this product AM and PM. I prefer my benefit or Estée Lauder eyecreams as they feel more nourishing and moisturising under the eye. I used this for 10 days and my eye balls started to feel quite dry. I can't say it is definitely this product could be my mascara but my eyes none the less have felt a little irritated. 

Parlour de-tangling leave in conditioner spray. Full size is £17. I have used this before. I like it. Smells nice but not sure what of. Hairdressers is my best description. I have fine hair that is a bit damaged and dry. I need leave in conditioning sprays and this one is light. It doesn't weigh my hair down. I prefer my Redken products but this is better for me than the Aussie Miracle range which tend to weigh my hair down making it flat. The product doubles as a heat protector. Apply to damp hair, comb through as style as usual.
This makes a great travel product. Will be keeping it in my overnight bag.

Overall a good box for me. 4 out of 5 stars. The foot cream let me down. If you like tee tree then this could be a 5 out of 5 box for you.

Let me know what you got in your birch boxes this month.

Till next time XOXOXO

Time to spring clean!

It's that time again. You've spent the last week or two in a chocolate induced coma.

Maybe like me you're just starting to come round to the idea that "spring cleaning" is a thing and it needs to be done. 

If so where better to start than your cosmetics. 

It's amazing how many of us have really old makeup in our possession. 

We probably have brushes or sponges with deadly bacteria festering in some forgotten bag or worse, in use! 

I'm not here to judge. Stones, glass houses and all that. 

But I am here to offer some tips on cleaning your brushes and the expiry dates of your beloved makeup products. This blog is all about expiration dates as I do waffle on coming soon will be the cleaning of brushes. 

These days pretty much all cosmetics will have a shelf life on them. Just pull any thing out of your kit and you will see a jar and a number. This indicates how many months you should keep a product once open. 

These are just a general guidelines. All products will vary and it is best to go by what is written on the tin. 

Mascara- 3 months 

Liquids - 6-12 months 

Powders- 24 months 

Here's why, mascara has a short life span because of the nature in which its used. It's placed directly into the lashes where common infections occur. Such as stys and conjunctivitis.  It is important never to share mascaras. If you do you must offer the other person a disposable wand. If you get an eye infections of any sort it's important to throw away the mascara as you could pass the infection to the other eye or risk the infection reoccurring. 

Me- I keep mine between 3 and 6 months. Usually because I have different mascaras on the go. I always throw them away if I get a sty. This is the main reason I don't spend a fortune on mascaras. Nothing worse than having to chuck a £20 tube. 

Liquids - Foundations, concealers, creams, lipsticks, etc. If they are a pump action in an air tight container they can last longer. If they are an open top like Estée Lauder double wear you may want to change more frequently. Lip gloss and lipsticks should not be shared unless you use a disposable wand or shave the bullet. Bullets can harbour bacteria. Make sure if you have a cold sore you do not use lip products. If you do I suggest throwing them away. You do not want to spread the infection. 

I am guilty as sin for keeping my foundations longer than 6 months. This is due to the fact that I don't use all of them in that time. I have several shades and finishes in my kit. I can't use all at once. Which I know begs the question, why have them?  But it's the same as why have more than one or two pairs of shoes when you can't wear more than one pair at a time. I want it. Simple. 

I do however, keep to a 2 year rule on the air tight containers and 12-18 months on the open ones. When it comes to concealers with wand or brush applicators I never use them directly on to my face. I sanitise my hands with hand gel them swipe the product into the back of my hand. I find the applicators a bit gross. If you are using a concealer wand directly onto your face especially pimples I would change it more frequently, same as your mascara. You don't want applicators harbouring bacteria and spreading it each application. 

Powders can be kept longer as they do not contain water. Bacteria like to grow in warm damp, dark places. Hence why mascara tubes are a breeding ground. 

If you use your powders such as eye shadows wet then reduce its life to 6 months. 

Eye liners if they are liquid have the same shelf life as mascaras for the exact same reasons. Pencils that you sharpen can be kept longer as you shave off the exposed product. Just make sure you keep the sharpener clean. You can keep these for about 1 year. 

Tips for keeping your cosmetics healthy. 

Keep your fingers out of the products as much as you can. 

Keep hands clean when using products

Do not apply makeup to infected areas such as eyes and lips. 

Use disposable applicators when possible. 

Keep products out of the bathroom. It's damp  and warm an ideal atmosphere for bacteria to multiply. 

Keep your brushes, sponges and applicators clean. 

Do not share cosmetics without using disposable applicators.

Check the label when you purchase a product for expiration.

Every season go through your kit and have a little clean out.



That's the basics Slap Addicts. Let me know what was the oldest thing you found.

Confession - mine was a very orange foundation from 2010 - EEK!