ELF Haul

Hey everyone, got lots of things to talk about today so I'm going to split into two posts - an ELF haul and also a very late July Favourites!

ELF had a 50% sale off on all products on their website around a month or so ago, I missed out on it last time but kept checking their twitter page to see if they had a similar offer on - and lo and behold, they had another 50% off code which clearly is too good a deal to resist!

You had to spend £30.00 to qualify for the voucher so I got a few things that I've wanted for a long time, such as the stipple and powder brushes! I received my order last week so have had a good opportunity to test out these products and make my mind up on what I think of them.

From left to right on the photo, I'm just going to mention what the product is and my first week thoughts :)

1. Waterproof Lengthening and Volumising Mascara in Black. I wanted a waterproof mascara for work really, cause it can get really warm at my work and sometimes my mascara kind of melts off a bit so thought a waterproof one may do the trick! It certainly doesn't melt off, but I only really found it lengthened my lashes rather than add volume too. The wand is really long too, which helps to apply the mascara as you can get close enough to coat every lash. For £3.50, or £1.75 that I paid, it is a good mascara but I don't think it's one I'd go for again, as I prefer more dramatic lashes than this particular mascara creates. 

2. Studio conditioning lip balm SPF 15 in Mellow Melon. This lip balm is so different to what I thought it would be, the consistency is much creamier and more pigmented and opaque than I had thought! It's a lovely glossy finish, and it also contains an SPF to protect lips from the sun, and natural ingredients that help to repair dry lips and leave them in a lovely condition.

3. Studio Blush in Pink Passion. I love this blush!! In the picture below, I've really heavily swatched the blush on the right and blended it out to the left - you can see how pigmented these blushes are they're incredible! You do have to have a light hand when applying it but it blends out like a dream, it's a really lovely true pink colour that and really brightens up my make up routine!

4. Mineral Lipstick in Natural Nymph. I have completely ruined this lipstick already :( it has snapped off so I've not been able to use it much. I'm gonna try and find a little tub to put it into and just use a lip brush. With the few days I had with this lipstick, I was starting to really like it! Its a really creamy formula but with a matte finish, its a peachy toned nude so it doesn't leave you looking really pale which is always a win :) Definitely would look into picking up more of the lipsticks from ELFs mineral range.

Top: Gypsy
Bottom: Natural Nymph

 

 

 

 

5 and 6. Studio Powder Brush and Studio Stipple Brush. Since buying the Powder Brush, I have used it every day to apply liquid foundation or tinted moisturiser. It makes applying these products so quick and hassle free, not having to worry about the streaks that a traditional foundation brush can leave. It leaves skin looking really polished, and on someone who has better skin than mine probably quite perfect. It's a flat top brush that is so dense, ELF recommend using this for liquid or powder products and also suggest that it is perfect for contouring. Definitely a new favourite of mine :)

Sorry it's so dirty - you can see its already so well loved :)

 

Now onto the Stipple Brush... I'm just not 100% sure what to do with it really it isn't particularly dense, so for me its no good for applying liquid foundation. I've also tried it with a cream blusher and it seems okay, but yeah I'm not really sure about this brush I may just need a bit more time to play around with it.

7. Matte Finisher Clear Nail Polish. I've tried this out twice now, once with a dark navy and then another time with a red and I really like the effect! It was a bit of a quick and messy application both times, so I didn't really do it properly but I like what I've seen so far!

8 and 9. Eyelash and Brow Wand and Blending Eye Brush. The eyebrow wand is pretty basic really but does its job nicely! The blending eye brush is really good, I've had the eye shadow brushes from ELF before and was pretty impressed so thought I'd pick the blending brush up as well.

10. Lipstick in Gypsy. This lipstick is from the basic £1.50 range and the website says that it's a 'deep cool pink sheer' and has a rather different looking swatch to my lipstick that has been delivered - it's more of a raspberry colour and I wouldn't say its sheer its quite a strong opaque finish, as you can see in the swatch above with Natural Nymph. In fairness though, it's a really lovely lipstick - a pretty colour and a nice formula.

That's everything that I ordered from ELF - all for £15 with the 50% offer on! Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and I'll probably be doing my Favourites post after this one so keep an eye out for that :)

Hannah Elizabeth xx

Fragrance Direct Haul/Review

Hey everyone!

I thought I'd upload another post that I've been planning on doing for a couple of days now, which is a haul of some products that I ordered from Fragrance Direct! I was looking to pick up some new make up brushes, I really wanted the ELF stipple brush and powder brush but they've been sold out for a while now, probably because of the 50% discount code from a couple of weeks ago that I failed to take advantage of *sob sob*.

Anyway, I looked online at Fragrance Direct, and saw that they stocked Royal brushes so thought I'd try them out! As always, I couldn't stop myself at just the items I was looking for and ordered a few extra goodies :)

So I'll quickly talk through the brushes and then move onto the other products I ordered!

Left to right: Royal Enhance 'Powder Brush', Royal 'Foundation Brush', Royal 'Blending Brush', Royal 'Eyeshadow Brush', Revlon Vital Radiance 'Brow Brush', Revlon Vital Radiance 'Concealer Brush'

I'll go through the brushes from left to right, as they appear in the photo above! So starting with the powder brush at £2.50, the bristles are super soft and I've been using this for powder blushes rather than for a setting powder or mineral foundation. It's made from synthetic fibres and the domed shape also really helps with application as it distributes the perfect amount of product. I love this brush, definitely a new favourite of mine!

Next is the foundation brush, also at £2.50. Now I don't have a lot of experience with different types of brushes for applying foundation and have only really used make up sponges, a traditional foundation brush and my trusty fingers to apply it! But as far as foundation brushes go, I like this one. It doesn't shed any bristles, it's 'stiff' enough to apply all over the face in areas around the nose and eye. The ELF one I've had before is a little too flexible really, so this one is much better in my opinion!

Next up is the blending brush with is £1.50, I'm not 100% sold on this one. I think it's a little too stiff to be able to blend out eyeshadow without kind of stretching out or irritating the skin around the eye!

The eyeshadow brush is definitely one of my favourites, and probably will be my go-to brush for eyeshadow from here on in! It's super soft and the brush head is quite large really, and perfectly shaped allowing you to sweep all over the lid. I recommend this brush, and would definitely re-order as its so affordable at £0.99!

The next two brushes are from Revlon, the first one being the Brow Brush at £1.50. So far I really like this brush, I've been using it with 'Boxed' from my Oh So Special palette from Sleek and it's the perfect combination for me! It's momentarily replace my ELF eyebrow kit, but I will definitely be returning to using it at some point because I do really love it. It's really great because its angled and quite firm, so I reckon this brush would be perfect for detailing around the eye as well, such as running a colour along the bottom lash line!

The next brush is the concealer brush, again from Revlon at £1.50. I've never actually owned a concealer brush before so I think I need to have a bit more of a play with it to figure out if I like this one! I think maybe I've been applying too much product and the brush isn't really blending it out enough, we shall see!

The next few products are just a mix of things I felt like trying, and they were all super cheap so why not! The first item is a lipstick from Bourjois for £1.99, its the Docteur Glamour Lipstick in Rose No17. It's a lovely summery pink colour, and it's very moisturising on the lip which is great. I think some of the products on Fragrance Direct, including this one, are products that discontinued from the main lines of cosmetics companies so definitely go and check out the website for any favourite products that have been difficult to find or have been discontinued over the years!

 

The next product is from Calvin Klein, Fragrance Direct actually stock a load of CK products such as foundations, lipsticks and loads of other stuff, and they are all at really discounted prices! The product that I picked up is a primer, the 'Whitening Treatment Make Up Base' in matte and it was £3.99, reduced from £19.50 -bargain! I've used this a couple of times now, and I have to say when I first tried it was a bit disappointed that the product itself is actually shimmery, even though it says it's a matte finish. I have to say though when applied to the face, you use the tiniest amount of the product and it blends out beautifully over the skin. It's not shimmery at all once blended in and is the perfect base for then applying foundation. I've never used a base primer before, and I'm so pleased I picked this one up as it really helps your make up stay in place throughout the day! This product also comes in a moisturising base and pearly base.

The next two products are Ciate nail varnishes, the first is just a base coat and the second is a Nail Paint in Victoria. I've done a really shoddy job of applying 'Victoria to my thumb nail that you may see featured in some of these photos lol! I am doing my nails properly later and will apply the base coat and then Victoria on top. Being honest, I'm not too excited about it as it's a colour that is very similar to some nail varnishes I already have but never mind! The base coat also worries me a little as it looks almost gloopy but like I said I'll give it a go!

The final thing that I ordered is this amazing packet of tissues, with Lady Gaga as a cat!!! I actually ordered these for my friend, as she was looking at a top with this design on and when I saw these on the website I just had to order them for her. Not too exciting I know, but I just think they're really cute!

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this post and I definitely recommend you check out the website as they've got some really great products on their at really great prices! You can find their website here: http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/

Another thing I would say it that delivery is super fast and only £1.99!

Hannah Elizabeth xx