Whats in my makeup bag? - Plus mini reviews

I thought I'd show you what currently lives in my makeup bag which I use every day when I'm just going to work and don't have time to do much with my makeup. I need to just get it on and get out the door. There is a mixture of higher end makeup and drugstore products - one of which has become one of my favourite mascaras from No 7 which I will be repurchasing.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation, Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer and Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation - £30
Lightweight and like the name says, looks like skin. Blends effortlessly and has a light to medium coverage. It is best suited to normal/dry skin. I really like this foundation, in fact I love the range of Bobbi Brown foundations as there is something suitable for everyone. Considering I am shade 3 in the colour range (I have a light/medium skin tone) which is the 5th shade from lightest, there are plenty of shades to try - Alabaster (0) being for the fairest skin and going to deep dark skin with Chestnut (9), a total of 16 shades!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - £5.49 Boots
This has what Rimmel are calling an 'Anti-Fatigue Effect + Radiant Glow' which is supposed to make your skin look brighter and more awake. What that means in reality is that there are teeny tiny light reflecting particles in the product which bounce light off your skin creating to effect of radiance. Does it work? Yes it does. I like to use it under my eyes because of this, my permanent dark circles could do with a bit of brightening up. I don't use it on spots though because I don't want to be doing any highlighting of them. The coverage is pretty good, most people would find it substantial unless you are like myself - the only thing that is going to rid me of dark circles completely is Photoshop.

Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer - £10 Boots
This is a creamy concealer which includes two shades plus a setting powder and powder puff. The lighter shade of concealer is a bit more whipped and creamy as it is supposed to be used under your eyes to brighten them up and the texture making it easier to apply with no drag. The darker colour is supposed to be used on blemishes. I'm not too keen on using it under my eyes as it can look a bit crepey and sit in the fine lines due to my dry skin. It does work really nice over spots and blemishes though as it melts into the skin seamlessly. The powder is way too light and doesn't look like a transparent powder at all to me so that bit in my opinion is useless to me plus it is not as finely milled as I like. The colour range is appalling too, there are only two colour combinations to choose from, leaving anyone who has dark skin left out.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, Topshop Blush Head Over Heels, Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner,
No 7 Lash Adapt Mascara

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - £21
I've been using this powder for ages now. It is a great colour match for my skin tone and the powder is really finely milled. You can use it super lightly or apply it heavier. I've even applied it on it's own to even out my skin tone when I was in a rush. You get a ton of product in the pan too so even though it is quite expensive, you wont need to repurchase for a good while. There are 10 shades in the range and many people may find that they can cross over two colours because they are sheer.

Topshop Blush in Head Over Heels - £6
Topshop blushers are becoming really popular and I really like them too. This one is my favourite one because it gives a lovely natural glowy colour or you can build it up to become stronger. I love how the Topshop blushers set and still retain a slight dewiness. For the price of them, you can't really go wrong.

Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner - £14
I love a really inky black non flaky/smeary/runny eyeliner. I'm a fan of the feline flick so I need something that will stay put all day and not rub off if I get hot or run if my eyes water. I used to use a MAC Superslick but this one is cheaper and performs the same. It also has a different applicator, this one has a fine brush so you can get really thin lines but may require more practise and the MAC one has a tapered sponge applicator. I always found that the sponge would make me draw the line a bit thick at the flick and I'd have to remove and redo. This is one better for me. Oh and a lot of people find liquid liner hard to do, I've never had much problem with it but find pencil liners really hard to use unless I smudge them haha. The long handle of this one does make liquid much easier, it is like using a pen.

No 7 Lash Adapt Mascara - £12.95
This is a mascara I have really enjoyed using. It makes my lashes so full and voluminous. It doesn't flake on me and barely moves if I have watery eyes. Obviously it is not waterproof and it failed the onion chopping test (which my boyfriend found hilarious) but honestly, I don't like waterproof because it is so damn difficult to get off and I hate rubbing my lashes with remover. This one suits me perfectly well and even though it doesn't beat my favourite mascara, Chanel Inimitable Intense, Lash Adapt gives me just what I want from a mascara and the price isn't too bad. Oh and it lasts well too, usually a tube of the Chanel will dry out in a few weeks, making it useless. My Lash adapt is almost empty and I've used it for the past 3 months.

What's in your everyday makeup bag?

Jennifer xx

My first water marble AKA Birthday Nails

So last month it was my 23rd birthday. I decided to do something different on my nails that I'd never tried before and had wanted to do for a while. Water marbling! I've read that a lot of bloggers found it hard to get it to work for them at first but I got lucky with the colours I'd chosen and it worked first time. (Subsequent attempts have been failures haha)

The colours I used were all from China Glaze - I'd read that they tend to work well for water marbling. They were For Audrey, Electric Beat and Blue Year's Eve.It took me two hours to finish but it was worth it :) Only two nails weren't as nice because I smudged them when pulling them out of the water.

If you want to see some brilliant tutorials for different designs, please look at Colette's blog My Simple Little Pleasures and check out her YouTube page. She is so talented at marbling and you will learn so much from her. She also deserves more followers and subscribers.

Jennifer xx

Urban Decay Vice Palette

Most makeup lovers will have at least one Urban Decay palette in their collection, they are so popular - especially their Naked palette. Now, if you are someone who likes their neutrals but also playing with brights, you need to get this one. It is fantastic. Really.

Almost every single colour in this palette is gorgeous, well pigmented, easy to apply, blendable and long lasting. It does however have a couple that aren't as great, one being pretty nasty for fallout and pigmentation - Jagged - shame because it is a lovely colour in the pan. I still don't feel let down though. Every single colour in this palette is brand new and exclusive to it which is great because a lot of UD palettes have crossovers. It is fantastic value at £42 for 20 shades and a double ended eyeshadow brush and all housed in a lovely palette complete with a full size mirror. £42! Bargain!

Read on for more and swatches.

Whimsical Ideas By Pam - Kee-Wee

Today I have an indie polish to show from a brand called Whimsical Ideas By Pam. Kee-Wee is a really fun looking polish. I love green so had to order it. It is a lime green with silver and green hexagonal glitter plus some bright green micro glitter. I love how the jelly formula gives it so much depth with the layers of polish over the glitter. And I only used two coats so you don't need to layer it so much like some jelly finishes. It also dries really glossy.

Pams bottles are so nice too, I love the labels and the bow details. I really like the shape of the bottles too with the tall cap. She has made them very unique compared to other brands on the indie market.

Slightly out of focus but hopefully you get the idea.

I ordered from her a while back although she now only ships within the US. US customers can find the details on her Facebook page and place your orders by emailing her with your list which she will send you an invoice for. Each polish costs $10.

Jennifer xx

P.S. most of my future posts wont have as nice photos as these, I no longer have access to my Mum's macro lens for my camera so making do with the lens that I have :( I need to save up over £500 for the one I used for these shots (Olympus 50mm F2 Macro Zuiko ED).

Happy Halloween!

Hope you are all having a great Halloween if you celebrate it. Here are the nails I did for the occasion.

Colours used:
China Glaze Liquid Leather
Barry M White
Barry M Red
Essie Orange It Obvious?

Jennifer xx

Pahlish - Fire in the Taco Bell

First off, the name of this polish is so funny! In case you don't know, it is a reference to the song Danger High Voltage by Electric Six (video link at the end). I always find the song funny.

Anyway, this polish by Pahlish on Etsy and Llarowe is a gorgeous jelly glitter. It has a tangerine orange jelly base filled with fuchsia squares, fuchsia holographic hex, pink/gold shimmer, fine pink microglitter and sheer purple iridescent hex glitters.

As it is a jelly, it is sheer so you can either apply 2-3 coats (I used 3 in these swatches) or apply over another polish such as a creme to make it more opaque. It is supposed to look squishy and give the glitter depth through the layers of colour. It is such a pretty colour and the glitter just glows. I love all the different colours. It is easy to apply but do leave it to dry a bit between coats so not to drag any glitter or move the base.

Pahlish is a really lovely brand too. Shannon's shipping was fast and it was packed really well. Obviously there was a little wait as Pahlish is a US based company and I live in the UK but some indie companies I have ordered from have taken a while to actually send my parcel, making it take ages to arrive. I also like that the Pahlish Etsy store is often well stocked so you don't need to wait long between restocks and you can quite easily get what you are after rather than it be a race to get in first with only 2 bottles of the same colour available.

Pahlish colours are $9 each (£5.73 approx at time of writing) and available from Etsy and Llarowe

Jennifer xx

Drawer of Lovely Indie Polishes

Spot the brands!

Jennifer xx