Mid-Month Favourites

Hello again :) 

Sorry I've not blogged in so long and then have uploaded two posts in one day, but I thought whilst I was on a bit of a roll I'd do my favourites.

First up is the new 17 Falsifeye mascara, which promises to give 'voluptuously thick, curvy lashes' and I've got to say that for me, it absolutely delivers! It's got a really over sized brush which helps to coat every lash and prevent clumping, the only down side to this is that I really struggle to apply this mascara on my lower lashes as it tends to just go all over my eye! The formula is quite dry really which suggests I won't have this mascara for too long =\ but I guess it helps to prevent clumpiness.

The next product is my Heaven and Earth MUA Professional palette. I've done a full review which you can find here. I just wanted to add that I've used this palette nearly everyday since purchasing it and I'm still really happy with it :)

The next product is another one that I have mentioned before, its the Natural Collection Colour Foundation in Porcelain. I just think for £1.99 it's absolutely brilliant, it's the perfect colour match for my skin tone and it blends really nicely with my new ELF Powder Brush or with a traditional foundation brush. It doesn't last all day and does need touching up at times, but for a day to day foundation to wear to work, college or out to the shops I think its really good. However... I think they have a very limited variety of shades so I think a lot of people will struggle to get the perfect match for their skin tone.

The next product is an old one that I go through phases with, I tend to fall back in love with it after I've given it a good wash and a bit of TLC, and that would be my ELF Total Face Brush. It just seems to get better with age, it never sheds any hairs and it's still really fluffy. Love this brush.

And last but not least are two products from Boots Botanics Range, a Skin Brightening Toner and also the Organic Cleansing Balm, which is on the same lines as the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. I haven't used toner for years it's just been a step that I've completely bypassed in my skin care routine, however I thought this one looked quite nice and I was picking up the Cleansing Balm anyway so thought I'd try it out. So far so good with this product, its got a lovely scent - as all of this range do - and feels really natural and just a nice product.

The Cleansing Balm is so so nice, I've not tried the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish yet, but I aim to do so when this one runs out. It comes with a little Muslin cloth to buff the product onto the skin which helps to remove make up and give your skin a really deep cleanse. I've noticed improvements to my blemish prone skin after just a week or so, so I would definitely recommend this product.

That rounds up my favourites for the past few weeks, its not quite on time for July favourites but didn't want to wait till the end of August so its a middle of the month job I'm afraid! 

Hope everyone is well and let me know  any products that you're enjoying in August!

Hannah Elizabeth xx

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

ELF

Hey everyone!

I thought I'd do a post on the cosmetics company ELF, I started buying their products around two months ago now and I'm totally hooked! I first heard of the company on YouTube with some of the beauty guru's talking about ELF products so I thought I'd place an order and see what I thought!

One thing I really love about ELF is that they are so generous and regularly have great offers on, for example 20% off the whole site, free delivery or free products if you order over £10. Considering how inexpensive ELFs products are, I don't think think I need an excuse to place an order with them but it really is a great incentive - I once placed an order and received a 32 pc eyeshadow palette for free, when they normally cost £9!

So anyway... into my favourite products.

This was one of the first products I ordered, its the Eyebrow Kit from the Studio Line and is £3.50. I've only ever tried eyebrow pencils before so I was really excited to try out this duo set with the eyebrow wax to define and shape my brows and then the powder to fill them in and to set them. 

I have literally used this every day since I've had it, and there is still loads of the product left! My eyebrows are quite a strange colour in a way, that they don't match my natural hair colour and are much darker, so I'm always really conscious of eyebrow products that enhance this and darken them too much, but this eyebrow kit is perfect for me!

The next product I love is the Natural Lash Kit Falsh Lashes in black (£1.50). I don't often wear false lashes as I think they can sometimes be a bit too dramatic, but the title kind of drew me in so I thought I'd try them out! I think using the word natural is inaccurate as they are really full and long, but I do actually really like them! I've used them twice now, and have ordered another set. I don't like the eyelash glue that comes with them, and its a really small tube, but I just used my eyelure glue instead and they look really good! 

Like I said, I don't wear falsh lashes often and do sometimes struggle to apply them, but I found these no different from any other brand I have previously tried and once they were on they lasted all night!

Another product I've tried and loved, is the Candid Coral Blush from the Studio Line (£3.50). I've really started getting into blusher and have been looking to try out a few of these blushes from the studio line for a while! This particular one is really highly pigmented but has a lovely natural look when applied on the apples of your cheeks.

I really want to try out Pink Passion and Peachy Keen so will have to get them ordered and do a review!

The next product that I really love is the Black Cream Eyeliner from the Studio Line (£3.50). This product is always sold out so I absolutely rushed to order it when I saw it was in stock. I've never tried a cream or gel eyeliner before, I usually wear a pencil or the eye liners that have a felt tip style applicator, but I love this product.This eyeliner is so opaque, as you can see in the photograph it is a really true black and that is how it looks on application. It stays on well throughout the day, maybe a touch up if you were going out at night time would be required but its a really good eyeliner!

The small angled brush is great too, because its angled it allows you to get really close to the lash line and it helps to glide the product along the lid!

The final product I want to talk about is the luscious liquid lipstick in perfect pink. The colour is really nice and the product itself is glossy and moisturising without being sticky, but I think calling it a lipstick is a little bit inaccurate. Not that the naming matters too much, because it's still a great product - and it also smells like mint which I like! 

 love how they look they are all glowing :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading about my favourite ELF products and I'd love to hear what everyone else's favourites are!

Hannah Elizabeth