4 Ways To Use A Facial Oil

While having dry and dehydrated skin I thought I would finally get round to buying a facial oil, not only do these provide moisture to the skin but also your favourite products! I have 4 ways in which you can use your facial oil to make life a bit easier!

1. General facial hydration - The first way is the sole purpose of the oil; to moisturise and hydrate the skin. I use a moisturiser but felt like it wasn't enough hence my reasoning behind buying an oil. 

2. Add it to any dry creams - For me theres nothing worse than trying to conceal, highlight or contour with a cream that drags across your skin. Add a bit of oil to it and it transforms it! On the swatches below the left shade has oil mixed to it whereas the right does not.. can you tell how drying that is?!

3. Use it with a beauty sponge - When you've got your cream highlight and contour all drawn out add some oil straight to your wet sponge and everything will literally melt into the skin and blend so dreamily together. 

4. Add it to foundation - This foundation really shows my dry patches and drags across the skin ever so slightly but when mixed with a facial oil it looks so much more glowy and healthier. It also works even better with a beauty sponge too! 

Paige, x

MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter

You will all know by now how much I love to highlight and contour so it was only a matter of time before one of these illuminating pens wondered its way into my collection. Honestly I'd heard about the YSL one but I didn't actually know MAC did anything like it until I seen Sabrina on YT use one. 

I picked up the shade light boost as I thought that would be able to give me the highlighted look I was going for. Its like a regular concealer shade but with more yellow in it and light reflecting glitters. With this I thought it would be matte however with it being glittery it goes on matte but then appears really oily and dewy and I constantly have to apply powder on throughout the day. In the areas I apply this it also makes them so dry which is such a disappointment. 

Another thing that disappoints me with this is how bad it creases under my eyes no matter how much powder there is, which isn't really a good look. I personally think there are much better products out there to highlight with and I will not be repurchasing this. 

Paige, x

Real Techniques Haul

I've been really getting more into general face products recently and after purchasing a few new powders, blushers and highlighters I needed some brushes to go along with them! I was going to get some Zoeva ones but in the end I just decided to stick with Real Techniques!

I picked up the powder brush and two blush brushes. 

Powder Brush:

This brush is huge and great for powder as I feel like it can cover the whole face in just a few seconds. I've been using this for bronzing and even contouring too and it creates such a flawless finish as it distributes product so evenly and creates such a flawless look. I love how soft this brush is, I almost didn't want to stop applying product because it felt that nice on my face. I've washed this a few times now and had no sign of shredding so I'm genuinely happy about that! 

Blush Brush:

I got two of these brushes- one for blush and then for highlighter. For highlighter this is my favourite brush I've ever used as a quick swipe across the top of my cheeks gives the most prettiest glow that isn't too much nor too little. Again like the Powder brush it's incredibly soft and so gentle on the face. I like this as it doesn't pick up too much product so you can build your look up- instead of applying way to much product and then trying to tone it down! It blends well too so if you do go in a little heavy handed don't worry! This also hasn't shed yet either.

I would recommend both of these brushes as they're so soft and give the most airbrushed, flawless finish! 

Paige, x

Cheap Treat Tuesday

When looking through my make up collection powder is something that is seriously lacking; I have the odd powder bronzer but no actual powder for all over the face.  As you all know I love the dewy look however sometimes I do over do it a little- i.e. getting too happy with MAC Strobe Cream!

I was originally just going to pick up a Rimmel one however I came across this palette and thought why not, it surely cant be that bad! I got this for just under £5 which is such a bargain especially as it comes with six different shades!

I like this because it has the really pale shades all the way up to bronzing and contouring colours. So far I'm really loving this palette. I use the white to set my under eye concealer, the two middle shades for all over my face and the warm shades for bronzing. I love going in with an over sized powder brush and just giving my face some colour! For the price I didn't expect much especially in terms of pigmentation- but as usual I was wrong. A light hand really takes the product far and seeing as the pans are huge this is going to last me so long! 

I think this is a great palette for beginners, people who don't usually wear powder or just anyone in general! I personally don't think its worth paying well over double the price of this for the likes of an Anastasia one as this is honestly amazing!

Paige, x

LA Girl Pro Concealer

After watching Chloe (Glitteralittle on Youtube) mention these concealers that she uses for contouring and highlighting I wanted to have a closer look! I picked these up on eBay for only £3 each! 

When it comes to contouring and highlighting I feel like you can never have too many products in your collection! They're all so different and create completely different looks. my favourite being a slightly bronzed dewy look. Therefore to create this I like to use cream products! I picked these up in the shades Porcelain and Toast, which is the shades Chloe uses. 

For highlighting I purchased the shade Porcelain; which is extremely light however it works as it blends like a dream and just really brightens up the whole under eye area. With this I'm not sure if its just a one off but I feel like its quite hard to get the product out but when it does eventually its so creamy and the fact that only a small amount comes out means its so easy to work with and you can build it up if you want! I especially love the way that its dispersed through a brush too which means its so easy to just 'draw' on your face. I also use this on my forehead, chin and down my nose which is so handy especially with the brush!

Toast is the shade that I picked up for contouring; its just the right colour and doesn't have any orange undertones or show a 'muddy' effect. This blends so beautifully and really does create a bronzed glow. I think this is definitely my favourite way of contouring, its quick and does the job perfectly!

 I really like these concealers and want to try the green one next!

Paige, x

The Balm Haul & Review ; Mary-Lou Manizer & Bahama Mama

The Balm is a company which I've seen, heard and read so much about and is a brand that is constantly raved about here in the beauty community. With brands that I cant get in person I tend to shy away from a little bit as there's only so much you can rely on the swatches on Google for however when it came down to The Balm I didn't hesitate. 

I'm obsessed with highlighters so that made the Mary-Lou Manizer first on my list and I also needed a new contour shade. I was originally going to repurchase Benefits Hoola however I noticed this was a dupe hence why I picked it up!

As for the packaging oh my god they're to die for; don't get me wrong the likes of MAC and KIKO are my favourite types of packaging but these are so cute. They really remind me of Soap and Glory with their play on words and vintage effect. Mary-Lou is a very sturdy compact and has such a huge mirror, Bahama Mama is cardboard and whereas I don't mind I think it would of been better in other packaging. 

The products themselves are stunning too and will definitely be a staple in my make up bag. The highlighter is a beautiful golden champagne colour which is my favourite colour for a highlight! It's shimmery but doesn't have huge chunks of glitter in either. I feel like this is such a natural shade and a little certainly does go a long way. Seeing as you only need a little amount of product I think its worth it for the money as it will take you ages to get through! It's also extremely blendable which is great for us heavy handed girls! This can also be used in different ways; such as on the eyes with Bahama Mama in the crease. I dont feel like this makes me look oily either which is a bonus and I actually prefer this over the MAC Soft & Gentle highlight!

As for the Bahama Mama Bronzer I personally wouldn't use it as a bronzer but more for contouring. It's quite sheer but buildable- I like this with a contour shade just in case you go in too dark to start with! On my skin tone this doesn't look muddy or have any orange undertones and is just the right 'tan' shade. I like to use this with a natural hair brush as I find that it picks up and transfers the product much more naturally and effortlessly. I don't particularly find that the staying power is that great but I don't mind touching it up throughout the day. 

All in all I love these two products and can't wait to try more from The Balm Cosmetics!

Paige, x

Cheap Treat Tuesday - W7 Chubby Contour stick

When I was given a gift card for Boots for my birthday I instantly knew what I wanted - the Clinique Chubby Contour stick. After nearly a month of waiting for it to come back in stock I found this W7 version on eBay. As it was only £2.95 my original thought was that I could buy them both and compare them however I absolutely love this so I thought I may as well keep the gift card and find something else to buy! 

I've never tried anything from the W7 line before but I'd heard a lot about their primers and eye shadows and when I seen this I thought there couldn't possibly be any downfalls about this product. 

Its's pretty much exactly the same as the Clinique version although this ones more matte and not as creamy but I have no complaints about that. Contour is really in at the moment and I think its here to stay so I like to try my hand at a few different ways of doing it. This way however is the easiest and most effective, I literally just draw on my face and then buff in with my Expert face brush. 

I thought this might give a bit of a muddy look especially as its matte but it doesn't! It makes my skin look so glowy and my structure look so defined! I really recommend this product and cant wait to try more from their range! 

Paige, x