Volumizing Mascara: Flawless by Sonya

Hey. So I was in the market for a new daily mascara. My Maybelline Falsh Lash Effect one was almost empty and I decided that after months of sticking to the same one I would try a new one!

As some of you might be aware I've started a new venture and decided I'd give my own product a go! As you can see from the photo, the Volumizing Mascara from the Flawless by Sonya range gave me great results.

On first application I was really impressed with the non-clumping formula and how easy it applied. When I saw the brush I wasn't sure I would get on with it as I'm usually a plastic wand type girl rather than the bristled brush. However it did a great job at separating my lashes!

One important thing to mention here is that, like all the products I sell, it's completely organic and natural ingredients so no hidden nasty chemicals in there!

At £20.54 it falls into the high-end makeup sector but based on its great formula and its easy application I would definitely look into repurchasing. I also love the packaging. Very sleek and understated. 

You can purchase the Volumizing Mascara here. 

*Please note: All the products come with a 60-day money back guarantee, so if you were unimpressed with your purchase then you can get a full refund. 

x

UD Basics Palette Review/Look

Hello.

Urban Decay knew what they were doing when they created this Naked Basics palette, let me tell you!

If you saw my Urban Decay Haul, you'll know that I actually picked the palette up as part of a package. It was coupled with the UD Flushed Palette, which to be honest was the one I was most interested in. I thought the Basics Palette would just be a nice bonus...

Wrong. The first time I used it I knew it was going to become a firm favourite of mine. I love how all but one (Venus) are matte shadows and the colours all compliment each other so well.

The ultra cute sizing of this palette makes it even easier to reach for when it comes to travelling. It's ideal for me, being between homes as a Uni student! The next time I go back to my student house I doubt I'll even bother lugging back my Naked1/2 palettes back with me...instead I'll grab this little guy!

I've literally been using the Basics Palette almost everyday since I first cracked into it and I've developed a bit of a system in terms of how I use it.

My favourite eye look at the moment, pictured above, is achieved by using all 6 of the eye shadows. And yes, I know my skin isn't great on the photo but what can I say? I have troubled skin :( So please ignore the spots and what not and look at what I think is a pretty natural eye look :P

I work along the palette in the order they appear from left to right.

1) I apply Venus to the inner corners, blending it across to about mid-way of my eye.
2/3/4) I blend Foxy, W.O.S and Naked 2 across my eyelids, building the colour and adding a bit of depth
5) I work Faint into the crease of my eye to create a subtle definition. I find using a good blending brush (like the Mac 217) ideal for this part.
6) When I'm happy with my eyelids I use a angled-eye brush to line my upper lashes with a bit of Crave to create a slightly thicker lash line without the intensity of a liquid/gel liner.

Done.

It's a very quick simple everyday look...sometimes I skip step 6 depending on the occasion.

I love how blend-able the eye shadows are, as always with Urban Decay, and I would recommend this palette to anyone. If you haven't tried Urban Decay eye shadows before I'd say this is a good one to start with and it's not a bad price at £20 :)

Travel home make-up

Hello lovelies :)

So, last week was half term in Nottingham which meant I got to go home...see my mum & dad and all that :P

Above is what I call travelling light. In fact, I did take more makeup home but I decided to only include what I actually used whilst there!

I love my Paper Planes by Disaster Designs Wash Bag...it's not only cute in the form of a parcel but it's rather large so it can hold a lot. I bought mine here. 

I'll start with essential brushes. 

From the left is my Mac 129se which I love for applying blusher; 

my Sigma f82 rounded top kabuki great for foundation; 

another Mac 129se to apply my face powder; 

a cheap angled-eye brush for my brow kit; 

and finally the brilliant Mac 217 blending brush for eye shadow.

Face stuff.

From the left... No More Shine Setting Spray by Skindinavia. This is one of my holy grail products. A must have to keep my makeup in place and take away that powdery finish. I ordered mine from the Skindinavia site but it's cheaper here.

Pressed powder by 17. It does the job and it's pretty compact :)

Enzymion moisturizer from Lush. I love the citrus-y scent, it's brill for oily skin and helps prep my face for makeup. 

A Bobbi Brown blush in Slopes. Pretty colour.

bareMinerals Matte foundation. I used this the most whilst home...on those days when I wanted a lighter finish.

Benefit's Porefessional. This is a brill foundation primer...however I only used it once as I find it doesn't work too well with mineral foundation.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere...I love this foundation A LOT. However I only needed this heavier duty foundation on the one occasion whilst home.

Lastly, Mac's Studio Finish concealer. Very important for me, especially with my recent acne outbreak!

Eyes.

The Naked palette by Urban Decay. Enough said. 

Max factor's Clump Defy mascara. I'm enjoying using this purple tube atm!

Urban Decay's 24/7 glide on eye pencil. I'm all about the black eyeliner and this one is a beauty. It has serious staying power. Next to it, I also took home my liquid eyeliner by Rimmel which I used on the same occasion as my Chanel foundation (I went pubbing it :P)

Benefit's Brow Zings has been a part of my essential makeup for over a year now and I can't imagine ever not using it!

Liiiips!

As you can see I was quite strict with myself in terms of lip products. 

Generally I just used Lush's lip scrub in Popcorn flavour. This is simply delicious and it helps keep my lips nicely exfoliated. 

Afterwards I'd put on a bit of my Pomegranate lippy lip balm, from The Body Shop, to moisturise my lips and keep them nice and soft.

Finally, on more special occasions, I applied my Revlon Just Bitten Kissable balm stain on top to add a pop of colour. I love the build-able red colour that the shade Romantic gives!

...And that's a wrap!

Disappointing Products!

Hello beauties :)

This week is half term in Nottingham, so I left my uni abode and came back to home comforts for a bit! 

And, upon opening up my make-up storage (currently a weird shelved wardrobe thingy magig) I was surprised at how many products I'd left behind, like the 'Renford rejects'...Give me a comment if you remember this classic 90's kid programme! :P

But on closer inspection I realised why they'd been forgotten and thought about how disappointing each of them had been. So, maybe in an attempt to prevent others from suffering the same disappointment I thought I'd share what they were and tell you why I don't like them, or why they aren't worth the money. Of course, it's only my opinions so you can take my advice as you will. With a pinch of salt if you wish? :P

If you'd rather watch me talk about these products click above! But if you fancy a read...scroll on down :)

First up, MAC's Cleanse Off Oil. Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of you might love it, but for me I just can't get on with it! Agreed it does literally 'melt off' your make-up without any effort, but for me it also finds a way into my eyes and temporarily blinds me! No matter how carefully I try to remove my eye make-up, it seeps in somehow. Give me Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish any day thanks!

Goodbye cellulite?! Hmmm. I'm afraid it's true...I fell for the gimmick. I mean as if there's a product to essentially disguise fat cells?! Sure it gives a nice cooling sensation, application is pleasant, and I suppose it helps to moisturise your skin but hard work and exercise is the only thing I've found works in regards to cellulite. Don't fall for the nice idea like me!

Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Mascara. To be fair I think Rimmel are actually doing a fab job at the moment and are definitely in the running for the best high street/drug store brand imo. But, I guess there's always the odd anomaly or 'blip'. The brush is far too big for my liking and this makes application really difficult and darn right fiddly. I'm not a big fan of the formula either which seems to take ages to dry, but perhaps that's to do with the many a clumps this attracts?! It's cheap and cheerful at £6.99 but nope, it's not for me!

Avon's Colour Trend...eye shadow/liner stick? Had this one a while and only used it once...says a lot really! The quality of the cream shadow and crayon liner just isn't great. It blends...with effort, but there's nothing that nice about it. Just a big thumbs down to be honest!

Nicola Robert's Dainty Doll WHITE Foundation by Jelly Pong Pong. Yep, I guess the shade is enough to put you off, unless of sure you're Snow White. But I thought maybe the idea behind this would be to mix it with those foundations that are perhaps a little too dark for you? Waste not want not and all that. Wrong. In fact this questionable foundation contains serious sparkle! I mean I like a bit of shimmer and all that but not over my entire face! It's just odd. Enough said. 

Laura Mercier's eye lash curlers. I'd say be aware of these. Sure the design is really cool and you think 'ahh they're so compact and nifty', but they over-curl like a bi-atch. They don't fit my eyes particularly well either and I remember them to be fairly pricey. I'll stick to my bog-standard cheap curlers for now I think!

Lip stains/ lip pen markers. I guess this isn't all that personal to Maybelline's Color Sensational and Max factor's Lipfinity versions, but they dry out so quick! I mean under the month mark. And then you get that scratchy feeling when trying to apply them. I don't think I can warrant the money for just a few week's worth of use. However, I must say the Maybelline one smells absolutely delicious...like summer fruit berries! Yum.  

Max factor's Lipfinity two step duo. I really like the concept of this, with the glossy texture drying quickly. Application is fairly easy and it leaves a nice finish. It seems to withstand perhaps more than many lip products but it's staying power starts to crumble after an hour or two...literally crumble. You're left with a flaky peeling effect that looks to me like you either haven't applied your lipstick well or indeed you have the driest lips ever known...I mean seriously grab yourself a Carmex quick! These aren't personally looks I like to go for, so I'll pass on this. 

And that's a wrap...some of my most disppointing purchases!

Max Factor's Clump Defy

Pictured before going to University :)

Hello! So, I blogged about buying Max Factor's Clump Defy Mascara and as I promised...here's my review of it.

I've been a fan of Max Factor mascaras for a couple of years now...with the False Lash Effect taking 1st place in my mascara collection for the whole of 2012, and much of 2011 tbh!

When I heard this new guy had hit town I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd have him in my collection! Not too sure why it's a male, or why I'm giving a mascara a gender but hey ho! So, when I saw that Boots were doing a special offer, £11.99 reduced to £7.99, it gave me that extra push to buy it.

The brush is fairly similar to that of the False Lash Effect with its plastic spread out bristles and feels pretty similar when applying. However, the Clump Defy brush differs with a curve and the brush head is slightly smaller. It reminds me a little of the Maybelline's Falsie's brush, shape-wise.

When first using the mascara I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Unlike many new mascaras, that are quite wet and perhaps over-coated with formula, I found this one didn't seem to have as much product on the brush as I would have liked. However, as I often find, the second use of a product is always a little easier, especially with mascaras that tend to need a little 'breaking in' as it were.

I've been using this product near on every day now and I really like the results it gives. It really lives up to its name as I haven't experienced any clumping whatsoever! The brush is really easy to work with and makes applying mascara to the tricky parts of the eye a piece of cake.

I usually find the lashes towards the inner corners of the eye pretty fiddly, with most mascaras creating a 'blobby' issue with too much product taking hold. However, this isn't the case for the Clump Defy, making it really easy to restrict how much product goes on. And for this reason, I have to move my False Lash Effect mascara off its pedestal and give the Clump Defy 1st place!

Well done Max Factor, another brilliant mascara!