Four New Additions

At the start of the year I found myself in one of those moods where I just wanted to have a massive clear out in terms of my dressing table. I admit I was hoarding an unrealistic amount of skincare that I knew I wouldn't use anymore, and a lot of eye shadow palettes that were sitting away being unloved and unused.

Instead of getting rid of the palettes I don't use anymore, I decided to pass these to people who I knew would use them and love them. Which means I have found room for some of the palettes I'd been keeping my eye on, without feeling guilty for having a ridiculous amount of palettes not being used enough.
The first one I've added to my collection is one that has actually been in the beauty industry for a long time now and it is the Jeffree Star Blood Sugar palette. This is a palette where I just didn't know whether to take the plunge or not, it has a lot of extremely good reviews but I just didn't know if it was worth the price point. Then Christmas rolled around and I thought I would ask for it as a present and now I am the proud owner of a cult classic palette from Jeffree Star Cosmetics.

Another palette that follows a similar colour scheme is the Urban Decay Naked Cherry, and I am a huge fan of Urban Decay shadows anyway and own almost all of the palettes so I felt like this was something that I would eventually pick up even if it wasn't right now. But I love the colours in this palette and until this and Blood Sugar palette entered my collection, I didn't have a huge variety of pink toned palettes that were a formula I liked to use. 
One that I have owned for a couple of months now but haven't had too much of a chance to experiment with is the Morphe James Charles palette, which just caught my eye. I told myself I didn't need it and I wasn't going to buy it but I just couldn't help myself seeing it in person, this palette has everything and I can't wait to start playing around with this and using all the different colours.

The last palette and the newest to the collection is the Sosu x Keilidh Cashell palette which is the perfect palette for a natural eye look, but also has pops of colour for those who want to add this into their looks. The size of the palette is great as well, and I'm excited to start using this and see what I can come up as I have seen so many different looks being created with just this one palette.

A couple of these palettes I have used a few times, a couple of them I have yet to test out but I'm sure I will letting you all know how I get on with them once I've given them a fair test run. Have any of you tried these palettes? Love, hate, gimme your thoughts in the comments!

Most Used Palettes

I'm always so used to writing about all my favourite products as a collective, and so I thought that I would break it down and just write about my favourite palettes. So here's a mix of eyeshadow, contour and highlight palettes that I love and use all the time!
The first palette I love using is one of the newest ones in my collection I think, and it's the Urban Decay Naked Heat which I must say might just be my favourite out of the Urban Decay palettes! As someone who wears a lot of warm brown and orange tones on my eyes, this palette has everything that I love! And as all the other Urban Decay palettes, the pigmentation is amazing but it's still so easy to use and blend no matter how advanced you are with eyeshadow!

A brand that I continue to love is Anastasia Beverly Hills, and I have a few palettes that I continuously use from them! The first one is their Pro Series Contour Kit and I have mine in the shade light/medium which does work well for super fair skin although they could bring out a few fairer shades I think! I don't tend to use the banana shade in this because it just doesn't work for my skin, but the middle contour shade is the perfect colour for me, and the highlight is so subtle and pretty! If you haven't tried this palette, I would highly recommend to anyone who is into contouring and highlighting.

Another palette from this brand is a cult classic, and I feel like it would be wrong to not include it, as I can't imagine not having this and of course its the Modern Renaissance palette! This is the original eye shadow palette that everyone has and loves and if you don't own it yet, you need it! Filled with warm tones (which we all love) but you have the  lovely pops of colour that can spice up your eyeshadow look! This is a palette I could definitely take travelling and not need anything else!

The last palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills is the newest to my collection, and this is the Sugar Glow Kit and as someone with super fair skin, highlights for my skin are difficult to find! And I bought this one mainly for the paler white and pink shades but I've found that the other two shades also work so nicely on my skin and can be doubled up as eyeshadows so I do get my wear out of all these shades! But they all have a lovely buildable formula and so I find that I can this for day time wear or night time wear, and they all blend in to the skin so nicely!
The last two palettes I have to talk about are both from Morphe which is the brand that just blew up on social media and everyone seems to love them! The first palette is another cult classic and this is the Morphe 35O which everyone and their dog owns! And if you don't own this, you probably should, because it's something that can work for everyone, it's filled with all the warm tones you could want from a palette! All the Morphe shadows I've tried have been incredible for the pigment whether its the matte or shimmer shades, and all the shadows are so easy to blend and this palette is no exception, and there's definitely a reason that this palette is always sold out!

And the last palette I have to talk about, is possibly my favourite out of all of them, and this is the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill which was unbelievably difficult to get hold of and still is! But it's the one palette I take everywhere with me because it's got all the warm brown tones that I love, but its also filled with an array of colours to brighten up any look, and the shimmers in this palette really pack a punch so I don't feel like you can go wrong with this one! I also love the first two pale shades in the palette as they make such an incredible for on the face as well as the eye!

Do any of you own any of these palettes and love them just as much as me? Or do you have any palettes you would recommend me picking up, I'd love to know in the comments!

A Makeup Shakeup

I'm someone who gets so comfortable with routines and having a semi organised lifestyle, and this is no different for my makeup routine. However, just recently I've been finding myself trying out n

ew (and old things) and leaving some of my former holy grail products behind and so I thought I'd let you all in on what new stuff has been making changes to my face!

Something that I always seem to struggle with is finding a foundation that works for me for a long period of time, and so I feel like I'm constantly on the hunt for something new or just mixing a bunch of foundations together to see what works! At the moment what seems to be working for me is my very loved No 7 Beautifully Matte Light foundation which isn't anything new however, I've been mixing it with the Urban Decay All Nighter  and this combination together just seems to look flawless on my skin and last for such a long time! And I have to say that I don't think I'd go back to using the Urban Decay one on it's own as I found that it could be very drying on the skin and this is coming from someone who suffers with oily skin!
The next product that's new to my routine is something that I wish I had started using when it first launched! And this is the Benefit Hoola Lite and I can't thank Benefit enough for bringing all us pale skinned girls a bronzer that we can actually use without the worry of  looking orange! And I was someone who was determined to use the original Hoola even though I knew it was waaay too dark for me so I couldn't be happier that I now have the pale version in my life, because it's such a beautiful bronzer that just glides on effortlessly and can easily be built up or left as a light wash of colour depending on personal preference! High recommend for all the pale skinned girls out there!

As all makeup lovers will know, if you have a ridiculous amount of eyeshadow palettes, there's always gonna be some that you forget to use and somehow I stopped using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance  and I really don't know how! But I've just recently picked it up again and fallen back in love with because I haven't stopped using it since! I don't even feel like I need to ramble about this product too much though, because it's been raved about by near enough everyone and if you haven't tried it out yet, I dunno what you're waiting for!
After finishing my last primer, I decided to try something new and I had seen a lot of people trying out The Body Shop Instamatte and I have been loving it so much, I'm now on my second tube! Being a silicone based primer, I use this mainly on my t-zone and I've found that it's really helped with the application of other products on top and it also helps with the longevity of makeup considering my skin is very oily! This product can also be used for a variety of things such as an eyeshadow base, a topcoat for lipstick to mattify a can be used on top of foundation for an oils that need controlling through the day! 
Something I've been using from the drugstore for a while now is the Rimmel Insta Contour Stick in the shade light and I feel like I've fallen in love with this! As someone who does like to cream contour, this is such a simple product to use! But I do have to admit, I only use the contour side of this, because I don't really feel like the highlighting side does anything. However the contour side is so creamy and easy to blend which makes it so good for every day use, and it also isn't too dark for my skin which is always a bonus!

I have also finally found a highlight that works so well with pale skin and it's the Ofra x Nikkie highlight in the shade Glazed Donut. It's an almost white highlight and I just find that it gives a lovely sheen on the skin for everyday use but its something that can also be built up to give a really intense glow on the skin! And I just find myself using this almost everyday because its so easy to use and goes with all the makeup looks I do!
These are just a few of things in my routine at the moment that I am loving, have any of you tried these products and love them as well? What are you favourite things to use in your collection?

A Month In Photos, January

one. I made a post all about the gorgeous En Taupe palette from Zoeva

two. my most recent post which is all about my January favourites features these products

three. some of the items that were featured in my yearly favourites

four. a few more of the products from my 2015 favourites post

five. I was feeling a seriously bronzed look and shared some of the products I used for this six. a few pieces from a face of the day, using another beautiful palette from Zoeva seven. I found my old camera and decided to post a photo of myself which is very unlike me! eight. my absolute favourite palette at the moment, I need to buy some more shadows for this soon

April Favourites

The months keep going quicker and quicker, it honestly feels like I was writing my March favourites about a week ago! But yes, we are here again in this transitional month where I feel like I have changed up my make up routine a little bit and so this is what I've been enjoying using...

A foundation that I'd been eyeing up for quite a while now is the Maybelline Superstay Better Skin and the only reason I'd put off from buying it was because the colour range wasn't too great! However, I decided to just pick up the lightest shade which is very pink and luckily my skin tone has a very pink undertone, but I do have to bronze my neck a little because the foundation is still a little but too dark! Problems of a pale girl! I may do a full review on this in a few weeks as this claims to help the look of skin from three weeks of using it. I also like to apply this foundation with the Sigma F80 which I believe everyone should own because it just makes blending foundation so easy, especially if they have a thicker consistency!

A product that I've started to rave about is the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil which is a drugstore dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz which I also love but if you can pay less for something that does the same thing, why not?! I also just find it so easy to use, and I love that one end has a spoolie so if I go anywhere and need to take my make up bag, I know I don't need to take a separate spoolie which is always handy! The only downside to this brow pencil is that it only comes in two shades and I find that the blonde one works for me but I could see why some people wouldn't be able to use these due to not having a colour that would match!

Bourjois is a brand that I love, however being ridiculously pale, the foundations don't work for me as they are always too dark and so I was sceptical about trying the Healthy Balance Powder, purely because I knew that those also come in different colours and I didn't know how much of the colour transferred onto the skin. I picked up the lightest shade (which I think is 51) and so far I have been loving it, and I don't find that it makes my foundation look any different and it leaves your skin looking healthy but sets the foundation well! It also comes in a tiny compact with a mirror so easy for use on the go, which makes this winner all round!

Another product for Bourjois is the Bronzing Primer and I love this because we all know that when the weather gets warmer, the cream products come out to play, and this seems like a dupe for the Soleil Tan De Chanel which has been on my wishlist for the longest time! But I love this because it really warms up the skin without making it look too muddy, and it's really easy to blend in because of it's texture! I tend to use the damn sponge to blend it in because it makes it look a lot more natural!

As the weather warms up, it means that oily skinned girls like me have to make sure that whatever we put on our face is going to stay in place, and so this means that I've been using the old faithful Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray which not only sets my makeup for the day but also controls the oil which is great because I don't have to worry about the possibility of the make up on my face disappearing! Another product that I decided to start using again the other day was the Revlon Highlighting Palette in the shade 002 which is great for a blusher and highlight all in one for those lazy days, and I love that it doesn't give off too much colour because it means you can build it up without it looking too much.

My last favourite for this month is the iPhone 6 Plus which I decided to get myself to replace the 5s, and I am loving the bigger screen, it makes things so much easier, and I find that I can now blog on the go due to having a phone with a bigger memory as well! I know that the 6 would have been big enough but I'm one of those people who just has to take it one step further!

I hope you enjoyed this months favourites, what have you been loving for the month of April?

Abigail
xo

Winter Lips

I love the cold months, it means that the darker lipsticks make a reappearance with all varieties of red and berry tones to indulge in, however with the weather as it is at the moment, the chap sticks are coming out ready for preparations.

Rimmel London Kate Moss in 107: now, I love a good berry lip as much as the next person and I remember a couple of years back, I would never have gone near dark lipsticks as they were waaaay out of my comfort zone! But alas, I fell in love with this lipstick and its ones that pretty much every female owns! But this is a lipstick that isn't too dark for daytime wear, I love the fact that it's matte and a good matte considering its a drugstore brand!

Rimmel London Kate Moss in 01 & 30: these are both glossy finish lipsticks one being a deep red and the other being a wine colour - both the colours you would associate with the upcoming season! My personal favourite the 30 which the wine colour but either of these can be worn as a stain or a full on colour which I think is great for those who want to start wearing more daring colours because it doesn't have to be worn as a solid colour! I found that for shade 30 the Maybelline Colour Sensational Lip Liner in Midnight Plum works extremely well to line the lips!

L'Oreal Collection Privee Pure Reds in Blake's Red: one of the newest reds to come out in the drugstore and has been dubbed as one very similar to MAC’s Ruby Woo and I can see the resemblance and for someone who wouldn't want to pay out for MAC, this is a very good alternative and again for a drugstore brand, a very good matte lipstick that I find isn't too drying on the lips!

Collection Little Mix Lipstick in Perrie: a very cheap lipstick for those who are on a tight budget but still one that is in my favourites because I find the colour to be so unique considering the brand! The purple is one that is a lot lighter than the rest and can easily be wrong for a day or night time look and I find that this has pretty good staying power and is quite nourishing on the lips! I'd pick it up if you're on the hunt for lighter purple shade!

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Shame: this one is on the pricier end and one that won't be to everyone's likings, but last year I took the plunge and got the darkest lipstick I've ever bought! Now in the stick this looks incredibly scary and on the lips, it's still dark but it's one that I love to wear at night! You can bet that once this is on, it's going to be hard to get off but on the downside is that it's messy to apply and so a light and goes a long way!

MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo: my favourite lipstick of the bunch, there is no doubt that if I could wear this everyday, I would! Daytime or night time this lipstick comes out to play and if you like a red lip, you should probably go and pick this up! I also pair this with the MAC Lip Liner in Cherry which a perfect combination! 

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Colour Balm Stain in Crush: the perfect berry shade for the people who don't like a full on colour because this is a very balmy and glossy and does stain the lips so the colour can be built up to be opaque or just left very sheer on the lips! I also like this because the product comes in a chunky pen form and this makes it so easy to apply!

Do you have any lip favourites for the upcoming months? 

New Routine with Old Products

Entering the colder months can only mean one thing, a bit of mix up in the make up department and lately I have found myself reaching for the same products when it comes to my eye make up! And with only three staples (sometimes four, depending on laziness levels), it's becoming a quick and easy routine!

Remember when the Maybelline 24 hour Colour Tattoos made first made their appearance, well I was one of those who went and bought one in almost every colour and then forgot to use them as they got thrown to the back of drawers! But alas, I have found a use for them, and I'm beginning to wonder why I waited this long to start wearing them. The shade I have been wearing pretty much everyday (what a creature of habit I am) is On and On Bronze which yes, you guessed it, is a bronze!

Before I use the Colour Tattoo, I prime my eyes with the MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre, which I know seems crazy, using two cream shadows but I feel like these paints pots really do help keep eye shadow in any format in place, which is great for people like me with oily lids! But back to the contender of this post, I then put the colour tattoo all over the lid with a finger and then use a clean finger to blend out all the edges before adding any more to the lid if I feel like the colour isn't opaque enough.

After the shadow is how I want it to look, I use mascara and I haven't had a particular mascara that I've been using at the moment, instead of being using a variety but I am enjoying the Rimmel Wonderfull Mascara and the Maybelline Falsies Volume Express Mascara but those are the three main products that I have been using on a day to day basis. However, I have decided to add in a little bit of colour with the Urban Decay Naked palette on rare days, I have been taking the shade Half Baked and just placing that on the centre of the lid and blending out and this adds a lovely golden shimmer to the already bronze tones that are there!

This make up look is so quick and easy to achieve, I would suggest it to those of you who don't like to spend too much time of eye make up, or simply don't have enough time to spend on it because this is something that can be worn for pretty much anything!

How many of you have been hoarding the Colour Tattoo's in the back of the make up stash? Time to dig them out and start using them!

Autumn Preparations

September is upon us and that means Autumn is coming and for anyone else like me, this is exciting. I've always been someone who enjoys the colder months and so knowing that winter is coming, I cannot wait! Not only am I excited because it's getting colder, but it means I can change what I'm wearing both make up wise and clothing wise.

With all the AW14 previews making an appearance, I've spotted a few things I'd like to pick up and it's also given me the chance to sort through my make up and pick out some items that are more suited to the upcoming months.

Blog Post ~ Autumn Preparations by abigailwilliams95 featuring black high waisted jeans

Blog Post ~ Autumn Preparations #2 by abigailwilliams95 featuring Miss Selfridge

Eye Spy

Something I've been spending (too much) money on lately is eyeshadow and for some reason it was always a product that I never really paid too much attention to before. After trying a range of products, I'm now questioning this!

Having possibly one of the worst skin combinations ever, I wasn't too sure whether these types of products would sit on my eyelids without creasing throughout the day or just disappearing altogether. But I bit the bullet and decided that I'd try it out and see what worked and what didn't! I started out by buying a Sleek palette in Au Naturel Nude and I have to admit I was impressed with the quality of the product considering it's a drug store product. The palette contains twelve different shadows that are highly pigmented, and I have found that these eyeshadows do last throughout the day even without the use of a primer. Before indulging in more eyeshadows/palettes, this was my go to palette every day because the colours work with everything, I would highly recommend this to people who don't want to spend too much on their eyeshadows or make up in general but want a variety of colour that still holds quality.

After trying a powder eyeshadow, I thought I would try out a more creamy based eyeshadow that I could use as a base colour to build up on, or just on it's on (if I'm feeling lazy). So I found the Maybelline Colour Tattoo when I was in Boots and bought two different colours, and rather quickly, I have built up a collection of these little pots. I went for colours that I could easily blend and were more natural and so I have Eternal Gold, On and On Bronze, Permanent Taupe, Pink Gold, and Metallic Pomegranate. I have yet to try these without using a primer first because I feel the creamy texture would crease easily on my lids, but I use Pink Gold a lot and build it up with other eyeshadows.

So, leaving the drug stores behind, I went out in the search of a decent eye primer and ended up in the Urban Decay section of House of Fraser... Ooops! Not only did I come out with a primer, but I also left with the Naked palette which I love dearly and I would recommend this product to everyone! I can use these eyeshadows with or without the primer, but I find that they stay on for a lot longer if I'm using the primer and I also find that the colour is a lot bolder if I have used the primer beforehand. This palette has colours that can be used for everyday wear or for night time wear and I must admit, I use this palette almost every day even if it's only for one colour. The pigmentation in the shadows is amazing and they shadows are so easy to blend, I can honestly say this palette is worth the money and I wouldn't hesitate in repurchasing it. 

The biggest splurge as far as eyeshadows go is MAC. Now, I decided that I would start my own palette, and so far I have six eyeshadows that I have kept in the neutrals zone and I will slowly build this up. But with the colours that I bought, I have to say that with the use of a primer, they will stay on all day and the pigmentation of these eyeshadows is unbelievable no matter what finish the eyeshadow is. I also found that with these eyeshadows they are so easy to build up and blend with each other to create a daytime or evening look and you can create what looks like a complex look with only a few of the eyeshadows. My go to look with the colours I have at the moment is Naked Lunch, Satin Taupe and Sable which make a really nice autumnal look. I also bought one of the pigment pots in Vanilla and I use this to highlight the inner corners of my eyes and also on the brow bone, and I love this product because it can just be put on with any eyeshadow colour and it accentuates the eyes that little bit more. 

As well as all these eyeshadows, I have recenetly purchased the Benefit they're real! mascara which I have decided I will use for evenings rather than a daytime look, because it does what it says and really lengthens the lashes and makes them seem thicker depending on the number of coats you apply. I recently stopped wearing eyeliner on my lash line as well so I thought why not start again and bought the Maybelline gel liner in Black Chrome and I haven't used this product in this colour but is a normal black with a slight shimmer to it which caught my eye, and I also bought a Rimmel Exaggerate eye liner which is liquid based and I now use this on a daily basis.