A Different Type of Eye Liner

I jumped on the bandwagon and purchased Benefit's They're Real Push Up Liner admittedly I'm a little late on it, but I am there none the less. And in all honesty, I had set my expectations pretty high for this product and I am someone who will always choose gel liner over liquid liner even if it does take a little longer to apply. With this is in mind, I was super excited to try this out and I was kind of disappointed.

The concept of this eye liner is great, a gel liner in pen form, fool proof right? Not for me. I couldn't get the hang of using this at all, and I don't know if it's because I avert from using liquid liner pens and so I'm used to the old brush and pot of gel liner which I find a lot easier! But it's not just the application of this of this liner, I found that the formula wasn't what I expected it to be. For someone that has oily lids, I went through all the processes of primer, shadow and the liner, but it still dried out and smudged/rubbed off in areas! 

I still went on to use this liner to see if different techniques or application would help the overall hold of this on the eyelid, but alas it didn't. I tried a thin line which admittedly seems to be the best way to go with this because there isn't as much there to rub away, but as soon as you want to use this for a more dramatic look with a thicker liner and winged out end, it just doesn't work; well at least not for me.

I will continue to use however, just for thin lines because the applicator does mean that the liner is as close to the lash liner as possible which is amazing for definition, but one think I do truly love about this liner is the colour, it is a true black. I have plenty of black eye liners and I must say that the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner in carbon black is another that is truly black but for a pen applicator liner, I think Benefit have done well with this colour! 

Overall, I would probably recommend this to people who don't have such oily lids because the potential of this eye liner is great, but I just feel like I won't reach for it as often as I will my other eye liners. If you are looking for something that is truly black and are into the pen application style then I would say this definitely is for you!

Have any of you tried this eye liner? What do you think of it?

A Mini MAC Haul

I'm not sure what classifies as a 'mini' haul but for the purpose of the title, we will say that this is a mini haul! Just recently, I've fallen in love with MAC all over again (not that anybody doesn't love it) and this saw me purchasing some new things that I've had my eye on for some time and other things that were rather spontaneous! 

When I was recently browsing the MAC website, I found myself adding lot's of new products to my favourites but there was one product that I had been thinking of purchasing for quite some time now! And this product is the MAC Mineralize SkinFinish Natural which I have seen so many bloggers rave about at the moment and I think this is what finally made me decide to buy it, unfortunately I couldn't order from the website (as it was out of stock) but I managed to pick up from the nearest counter! However, I did end up ordering more products from the website and I've been waiting to try out these products because I wanted to get this post up! Which means I'll probably be back with some kind of review of the products mentioned!

The first thing I bought is rather boring but I feel it's going to become a staple for me as I'm doing a lot of travelling to London in the upcoming weeks and this is the Pro Palette Eye Shadow x 4 and this just means that I can pop my eyebrow colour in there along with three other shadows and that's all I have to take with me instead of taking any of my larger palettes with me! But even for home use, I can keep the colours I use most in this palette which is easier for access. Speaking of eyeshadows, I decided to order another pan for my current palette and decided on the shade Shroom which is a very neutral shade that I will most likely wear all over my lid with a brown shade going through the crease! I like this shade though as it's one of those that isn't too matte nor too frosty, a win win situation!

There's seems to be a running theme with my online purchases so far, because yet again I have something that is for the eyes. Now this product is a holy grail for most but I have seen some people who don't like it, but it's something I've wanted since I first started buying from MAC and this is the 217 Blending Brush and finally I have it! It is the brush that is able to blend eyeshadow even if it's owner can't, or so it's been said! I am very excited to use this and see whether to the hype has been worth it and maybe buy more..!

I'm one of these unfortunate ones that has very obvious dark circles under my eyes so I'm always searching for a concealer that not only hides the circles but keeps them concealed for quite a while! And after searching through endless reviews on different concealers, I ended up ordering a blogger favourite and that is the Pro Longwear Concealer. And I have to admit that I was so eager to try this, that I did end up using it the day it arrived and then I placed it back in the box ready for writing this post! It did impress me though, covered up what I needed covering and looked very natural and not at all cakey on top of my foundation, I think I've found a winner!

Along with these purchases, when I opened the box, I also found two samples and these were the Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara and the Prep + Prime Skin, and I haven't thought about ordering either of these products before, so I will give them a go and see how I get on with them!

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Spring has Sprung!

With Spring quickly making an appearance in the UK, even though it's not all that warm at the moment, I thought it was only right to browse through the trends for this year! After looking through plenty of articles on the internet after various fashion weeks in various city's, there was many trends that are set to make an appearance for both the Spring and Summer of 2014.

Now, some of these trends are something that I don't feel I could personally pull off because they are a little out there, but they are certainly some trends that I will be trying out! And if I'm honest, I'm swaying more towards the hair and make up trends rather than the fashion trends which are something I've never really seemed to follow!

MAKE UP

A lot of the catwalks this year have had a similar trend when it comes to make up and the main theme seems to be keeping the face looking "au naturale" and this saw some of the models wearing no foundation or base at all and while I'm not brave enough to do that nor have skin that can be bare, I'm all for people who can make this approach to make up! Following along the lines of bases and foundations, Spring seems to be the time for dewy looking skin and this is something that is achieved with the help of a foundation! The foundation I've been using to create this is the NARS Sheer Glow but they are quite a few foundations that have been pushed into the spotlight at the moment that all do similar jobs!

Now something that I found a little strange were the blues, greens and purples that seem to be in for eyeshadows, and I can safely say that if you can pull this off, great, go for it because it would look great on certain people! But for me, I think I'll be sticking to neutrals for now! However, an eye look that is back in is the cat eye, and as someone who used to wear eyeliner with the flick all the time, I am rather happy that this look is back! I look back now and think why did I put so much effort into doing the 'cat eye' look everyday, but I will admit that it is something different and I wouldn't go back to winging it everyday! Just gives me something to spruce up my face during the Spring! 

Moving down the face, there are a few different colours that should be applied to the lips for Spring! As the darker berry and purple toned lipsticks leave the limelight, a lighter berry tone is making an appearance as well as pale pink tones! I've always been wary of pale pink as I don't feel they make much difference to my lips but I'm happy to try out both of these colours! Another colour that I personally think everyone should go up get themselves is orange! Now, it seems a little strange, orange lipstick but I've seen it so many of the models for this year and it works with all skin tones! I've already picked myself up an orange lipstick but for myself I've chosen one with a subtle peachy hint to it just so that it isn't so in your face!

HAIR

Hair is something that either goes right or wrong for me, there is no happy medium where my hair is concerned! But, horay, there are only two main styles that have hit the catwalk this year! Besides the good old slicked back ponytail, most models were sporting the dead straight look with the hair. My hair and dead straight aren't two things that shouldn't be put together, with naturally curly hair, straight is something I don't achieve unless I go to the hairdressers and have it done there! However, mermaid waves seem to be in as well and I would like to try this! I have no idea how well it would work on my hair, but I'll try anything once! I'll probably be hunting down tutorials for mermaid waves after this!

There seemed to be one one more common theme with the hair on the catwalk and I'm happy to say this is something that I already have! This is the centre part, and I know that this isn't for everyone! I was so scared when I first got my centre part and it took me a lot if courgE to actually go and do it, but I love it and wouldn't change it back now! However, if this is something that people feel uncomfortable wearing or believe it just doesn't suit them, don't do it, there's no need to conform to anyone's idea of beauty for a certain season! 

FASHION

I'd be lying if I said I was some kind of fashion guru, because really I'm not, nor am I one to conform with fashion trends! I'm usually a trend behind, but in trying to pull myself into some of the trends for this season (we'll see if this actually happens!) There are two trends that are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, one of these being bold colours and the other being more pastel/toned down colours! I've already decided that for myself, I do prefer the pastel shades but that's only because I feel they go with a lot more and I don't tend to tan so bold colours would make me look even paler! But I have seen some lovely items that are bold colours so I may have to try one piece at least! 

Flowers, now I'm beginning to believe this print can make a return at any season and almost everyone falls in love with it all over again! I say almost everyone because I am not a fan of the floral print! And it comes to Spring and Summer, it is near impossible to find clothes that don't have floral pattern on them! However, the more kimonos I see, the more I like the look of them and I could see myself buying a floral print kimono, which would possibly be the first piece of floral print clothing I own! 

Not only is that print in, but logos are in as well! I am quite partial to a logo tee, and I seem to own quote a few of ten, I just find tat they are usually very plain in colour and so that makes them easy to wear and you can wear colour with them to brighten the look up! I would suggest buying logo tees if you don't already own any! 

Fashion is something that is constantly changing and there is always new things being introduced, and just recently a lot of new fabrics have been seen to make an appearance. Two of these being something that everyone seems to love, one is lace and the other is 'sheer looking' fabric. I have been loving the look of sheer panels in clothing, I think they can make something look quite sophisticated by showing that small amount of skin but they can also be worn for causal events and they are very easy to style! I can see myself purchasing a few sheer panelled pieces of clothing! I love the look of lace clothing and for some reason I have never bought any! We all know that lace can look as causal or classy as you want, and I think it's just a nice versatile fabric that looks a bit different from everyday t-shirts! There is also a comeback fabric and that is the fabric that shimmers and shines in the light - something I'm really not a fan of! And although, this fabric did grace the catwalk on more than one occasion, it's not something that a lot of high street brands have been selling and so I don't think this will sell as well and the lace and sheer material pieces will! 

One more trend is for the lower section of the body and this is long skirts and strangely enough pleats! I feel like we're going back to the school days where pleated skirts were a must! I have recently seem some lovely looking long skirts and there are a variety of types to choose from, but I still don't think I'll be purchasing any for myself just because I don't believe they'd suit me personally!