NARS Gaiety Blush

 

I'm lacking in the blushing department so whilst I was browsing the NARS counter in Selfridges I thought that I would get a new NARS Blusher! They have some great shades in their collection but as soon as I saw this I knew I HAD to have it. I love the NARS packaging for their powders, you all know I like a good mirror in my compact and they are just so sturdy so you don't have to worry with them being in your makeup bag and getting all messed up. I personally don't have that problem as you know I'm a weirdo and I keep my products in their packaging as long as possible!

The Beauty Blender: Friend or Foe?

I have had my eye on this for so long and although I could have bought this online, I wanted to see them in the store before I puchased one. Yes, I am strange like that but I prefer to see things before I buy them. This is one of the Limited Edition Valentines Day Beauty Blenders that come in red and I preferred that over the white one I could see. I noticed the normal ones come in a bigger packaging but I think that I like this smaller packaging as once the Beauty Blender has been dampened it grows in size so the little pot becomes like a stand for it so it doesnt have to touch a dirty work surface etc.

Now, I know the question you're dying to ask, how does it compare to the Real Technique's Miracle Complexion Sponge? Well, there is no comparision. This so much better than the RT's sponge and that's suprising coming from me because I LOVE the Mircle sponge, but I can't deny it, I bought 2 and the second time I bought one, it didnt bounce back and it didnt apply make up on my face aswell as the first one did so my impressions went down a little from then. Don't get me wrong, I have most of the RT's brush collection and I think they're amazing but their sponge isnt as good as the Beauty Blender. 

I like the finish the BB gives my foundation but the real magic happens with my concealer. Getting the right tool to blend in my eye concealer is realy hard for me, I suffer really bad from creasing and powder can just make it cake up in the fine lines so much more. The BB blends out the product whilst picking up the excess but still giving it the coverage that I need to conceal my dark circles. I also like how soft it is around my eyes, I have quite sensitive eye skin so this feels nice around that area as brushes can feel quite harsh.

I picked this up from Selfridges for £15, so it's a little more expensive than the RT's sponge, but I think its worth it.

Do you have the Beauty Blender? What are your thoughts?

My Current Skincare Routine

Just want to say that Origins Skincare has completely changed the happiness of my skin. The Origins GingZing day cream and eye cream give my skin the most amazing glow, it is unreal! I also love the smell and the consistency is perfect for the morning time, not too thick which is good for foundation after. I added in Nivea's Express Hydration Primer too as I love it not only as a primer but for that extra bit of hydration is AMAZING during the winter months as I've noticed that although I have oily skin, my skin does start to suffer when it gets colder!

The Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins night cream is seriously just something else.. from the smell to the consistency, it really is something else! I've noticed my skin looking plumper and more hydrated in the morning after smothering my skin with this the night before. I swear by it! I got all of my Origins skincare from a limited edition gift set in November so unfortunately its now sold out but you can still search their selection here.

You can obviously see at a little Garnier loving going on too. I like to keep my cleaner and toner simple. I've tried high end and drug store and espeacially with toner, I haven't seen a difference. I am tempted by the Clinique Cleansing Balm though, so maybe i'll be eating my words! I like the way this makes my skin feel after using it, as it just feels clean and fresh. I actually use the Garnier 3 in 1 Eye Makeup Remover too, but i've just run out of that. 

The face wash you see there is a product I seriously swear by. I love how clean it leaves my skin feeling, I love how I can use it as a face wash and a mask if I'm having some problem areas and it has really targeted a few problem areas I have. The Garnier PureActive 3 in 1 face wash is only £3.99 at Superdrug at the minute so you'll be a fool to miss out!

What is your skincare routine?! Let me know!

London Wishlist

I'm going to London on Friday and although I need to be saving at the minute, it's not often I get to shop in London as I'm busy seeing family or something but I have some time to waste before Matt finishes work so I thought its about time I actually buy from treats! These are the things that I have been dying to get for the past few weeks.

I know this is the U.S site but I love the Victoria's Secret undie's and there is a store on Bond Street that is absolutely AMAZING. I think that the English version is £20 for 5 pairs which I think is a bargain! I also really love the sizings for them too, they fit me perfectly which is difficult when they're in Small, Medium and Large. 

I have been so crazy about bath bombs lately and I've seen the new Lush Valentine's Day collection and I just have to have that Unicorn Horn -  it looks absolutely amazing, I love a multi coloured bath! I have also been eyeing up a lip scrub lately too, I need sort out these winter damaged lips!

It has to be done.. I'm a little fussy about buying more expensive makeup without having a few swatches and knowing exactly what colours etc that I want. I'm slightly swaying towards The Golden Goddess from Selfridges as they seem like colours I would commonly wear. I can't wait to see the stand!

I've never used a Cleansing Balm before but I've heard that they are amazing. I have quite oily skin so I'm hoping that this will help and i'm looking for something else to cleanse my face. I have a £20 Boots voucher so I'm going to pick up the Clinque Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm just to see how I get on with it. 

I hate to admit it but I don't actually own a Beauty Blender.. this needs to change! I've been looking to get one for ages but I am genuinely too lazy to order it so I plan to pick one up from Selfridges. I've heard they completely change the way your make up is applied, I'm looking forward to putting it to the test.

And the necessity.. 

A pump for my Nars Foundation! I need to remember to pick one up as I don't have one and if you read my last post then you would know that it really annoyed me. I've been smacking foundation on the back of my hand for the last month and its driving me insane so i'll pick one up when I go past a Nars counter.

Is there anything else I need to get whilst I'm there?! Let me know!

All About That Base..

A new base upgrade was a long time coming. I've never experimented much with high end foundations as I wanted to get matched and that meant going to a Debenhams or John Lewis etc which is around 45 minutes away so I only really go when I have lots to get.

When I was doing my Christmas shopping, I popped in House of Fraser and accidentally stumbled on the Nars counter... Okay, we all know it wasn't an accident but I thought that I deserved a little Christmas present too?! Don't act like you didn't buy yourself a couple of treats either!

I've had my eye on a number of foundations for a while but I suffer from really quite oily skin so the Nars Sheer Matte foundation seemed like a good place to start. 

I wasn't originally going to buy the concealer but I felt that as I was buying the foundation, I should buy that too to give me a whole new base routine instead of mixing and matching. Besides, I have stuck to the same concealer for a very long time now so it's nice to shake it up.

Firstly, the foundation has its pros and cons. The pro's are the coverage is build able which is something I'm a really big fan of as I like to change my coverage for the weather or the occasion I'm going to. Another pro is the wear. With my skin being oily, this foundation bodes so well with it that it lasts a good amount of time. It sinks into the skin beautifully and gives a lovely, natural finish. The con is that it doesn't come with a pump. Now this may not be much to you, but when you live 40 minutes away from being able to get hold of a pump, it's highly frustrating. I could order one online so it's not too bad but I'm going to wait until I get to a Nars counter next Friday. I was excited for the foundation but peeved when I got it home to find no pump!

I got the concealer in the same colour as the foundation because I suffer from just dark under eyes, I needed to cover and conceal rather than highlight so I want to our base something else to give me that night effect - let me know if you know any good ones, I'm thinking one of the MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter's but let me know if they're worth it!
The consistency of the concealer is great, good coverage, it does crease but all concealers crease on me, even MAC Pro Longwear so its not too much of an issue.
Overall, I'm loving the combination of the two, it's nice to have make up for weekends or special occasion and there is so many pro's to this foundation. If you're looking for a new base combo, go check out the Nars counter!
Does anyone else have the Nars Sheer Matte foundation? Let me know your thoughts! 

Review | Sleek Blush in Rose Gold

I was lucky enough to have received a blusher from the Product Testing team a few weeks back and I've finally got around to showing off this little gem. I've never had a sleek blush but I think that they could be collectible item as they are so cute with a mirror (which always earns points with my) and they come in such a wide range of colours.

This colour is a beautiful coral tone with a gold shimmer and would be perfect for the warmer skin tones. I would imagine that you could really achieve the peachy bronzed look really well with this blusher during the summer when you have a tan. Unfortunately, I'm on the rather pale side which is annoying as this isn't the best colour on me BUT fear not. I never let makeup go to waste.

There I was swatching this little beauty, which can I add swatched amazingly, and I suddenly had a little  idea. Maybe I can't wear this as a blusher, but I can tell you now, It is stunning as an eye shadow. It would look amazing come summer time as it has that coral tone which compliments a warm skin tone so well. My tip would be to pack this on the lids and blend the crease out with a soft peach colour, wack on a set of lashes and you're sorted!
Although I cant wear it, I will definitely be looking into the other colours they have a available to add to my collection. 
Let me know if you have tried any of these blushers and what you think of them!

*Some of the items in this post were sent to me but all views are my own.*

Review | Makeup Revolution Stripped & Bare Pro Looks Eyeshadow Palette

How do they do it! There must be some serious smartie pants over at the Makeup Rev headquarters for them to come up with so many good palette ideas. This is one of the latest palettes in the new Pro Looks line and I really love how they have created this palette, they have laid it out so well for people that may not know how to match colours together that well. I remember when I first discovered eye shadow and it was a bright white shimmery one that I put on my lids and thought I was SO COOL. Then I found out that you tend to use more than one to create a more blended look. It does take time to really understand what shadows go together  but once you do, it so fun to experiment. These three looks are beautiful! I have created a look from the first section because I couldn't resist as soon as I received it!
I used the middle pink toned colour as a crease colour and buffed that out with a fluffy brush. For the lid, I use the lighter gold tone colour two thirds in and used the darker the gold shade on the outter corner to give a little deffinition to the look. I then used the shimmer highlighter shade on the inner corner and the matte highlighting shade on the brow bone. This is just an easy example of how to use the shadows but you don't have to use all of the shadows, just the pink in the crease and on the lid then the shimmer shade on the top would look lovely! I need you to excuse my brows in this picture - they are so cray as I haven't had them threaded in soon long. Its a bad browfie I know but I needed you guys to see how pretty these shadows are!
Like I said before, the new Pro Looks line has three palettes in, this one which is a more subtle toned selection shadows which you can buy here. The other ones are more of a smokey look palette which some bolder colours in which you can buy here and a very bright look palette which you can see and buy here.
Ill be creating two more looks from this palette so keep an eye out!

Do any of you guys have this palette or any others in the Pro Looks line? Let me know!

                                                   *Some of the items in this post were sent to me but all views are my own.*

Review | Makeup Revolution Mermaids Vs Unicorns Palette

Look at the colours.. This is one of the latest palettes from Makeup Revolution and boy have do they just keep getting better and better! Just look at the shimmery, intensly pigmented goodness swatched on my arm! (can I just add that its actually not easy to take a photo like that, this is how much I love them!). This is the Mermaids VS Unicorn Palette, so its a mix of shimmery green and aqua tones at one end, blending into the tourquise blue shades to give the Mermaid theme. Then at the other end of the palette there are some beautiful mystical colours for the Unicorn side of things. Deciding which end of the palette I love the most is truely quite difficult, I love the aqua colours but my favourite shades have to be the dark blue with the navy shimmer thorough it and the royal blue colour. We all know I'm going to have to counjour up some smokey eye look with this palette! Watch this space..

Of course once again, this palette is so cheap at only £4 which is insane as I am baffled how they can sell such good shadows for such a little price. I love most of the palettes from Makeup Revolution and mainly the bright coloured ones because I love to be out going with my eye makeup and I think everyone should be too. Don't be scared to be out going with your eyeshadow colours especially when you're wearing a black outfit, it'll give you that something extra.

You can buy the palette here (because I know you want too).

Keep an eye out for a look with this palette, once I actually have a second to stop I will create something mystical!

I hope you're all having a great start to 2015 and let me know your thoughts on this palette.

                                                    *Some of the items in this post were sent to me but all views are my own.*

2014 Best Beauty Bits

I have to embarrassingly admit that some of these items are a little too loved but I cant help it! This is my first year of blogging and I have found so many amazing products that will definitly be repurchased once they run out. I'm not sure whether these posts are supposed to be about the best products that came out in 2014 that I loved or products that I loved in 2014 but still, I love all of these products!

Heres the run down:

MAC Blusher in Warm Soul

L'Oreal Collection Privee Lipsticking By Cheryl

Soap and Glory archery in Brownie Points

Maybeline Fit Me Concelear 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

MAC MSF Soft and Gentle

Makeup Revolution Eye Like Angels Palette

Rimmel London Wonderfull Mascara

L'Oreall GlamBronze

MAC Lipstick in Politey Pink

YSL Lipstick in Number 1

Makeup Revolution Awesome Double Flick Eyeliner 

There's been so much I enjoyed this year and everytime I picked something up, I noticed something else that I loved. 2014 was all about the glowing skin and the nude Kylie lip. I have discoverd some great lipsticks this year, inculding my first MAC lipstick, my first YSL lipsticks and the completely elusive L'Oreal Collection Privee Cheryl lipstick. They have all become staples in my lipstick collections and if someone had asked for a recommendation I would use one of these.

As you all know, I love creating a lot of eye looks and the Makeup Revolution Eyes Like Angels Palette has such a great range of colours and the consistency is great. To top off my looks I use the Makeup Revolution Eyeliner because it just pulls a look together and this liner has completely changed my game! I feel like finding a good mascara or brow product that works for your is something quite hard to come by. The Rimmel Wonderfull Mascara has a great brush on it and I love the formula, if you haven't already tried it then I would really recommend because I have seen the difference in my lashes. The Soap and Glory Archery is seriously like no other brow product I know, I really love the brush tip with the brow tint as it individually coats each hair giving you a fuller looking brow effortlessly. 

The Maybeline Fit Me Concealer has been my absolute go to for months now, I love the consistency, the coverage and the colour match is spot on so its great for a cheap everyday concealer. The MAC Blusher, MAC MSF (highlighter) and the L'Oreal GlamBronze has been my go to finishing touches since about April now and I wont be changing it up for a long time as they just all blend to well together. A quick tip, the GlamBronze actually rivals high end bronzers as it is so soft and bendable!!

Of course, I had to throw the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette in there too because we all know that it has been a high point of the makeup world this year. Yes, it is a little costly but it is so worth the purchase, all of the powders perfect my look so well.

I would love to know what your 2014 favourites were, please leave your links below!

Review | Makeup Revolution GIRL PANIC Palette

If I could pick any type of eye shadow palette from the Makeup Revolution range it would have to be a Salvation Palette. This palette is very bronze toned and its a great every day colour palette, that you can smoke out towards the evening time. All of the Salvation Palettes offer 18 very pigmented shadows, 6 matte and 12 shimmer so there is such a wide range of looks you can achieve. All of these Salvation Palettes come in at £6 so you're getting a good amount of eye shadows for such a small price. The bonus is with these palettes is that you get a huge mirror so make up on the go are possible. I created this look using the palette, I started with Naked Through as the blending transistion shade, followed by a mix of Hypnotic and Mesmerised through the crease. I then used Chelsea Mayhem all over the lid and on the lower lashline which gives it a beautiful bronzed shimmer and it applied beautifully pigmented within a few swipes. I really like highlighting the inner corner of my eye so I used By Invitation as it has the same tone as Chelsea Mayhem so it blends well. To finish it of, smoked out my lower lashline with the the same shimmery colour Mayhem and also the Makeup Revolution Double Flick Eye Liner which is amazing and makes liner so much easier.

You can purchase your palette from the Makeup Revolution site here!

What are your thoughts on this palette or any of the Salvation palette line?

                                             *Some of the items in this post were sent to me but all views are my own.*

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

The last few days have definitely been a time to reflect on 2014. It's important to evaluate what happened in the year to decide how you want to make the next year a better. I defintely had some high points during this year including the start of Pretty Chit Chat. It's so nice to be apart of a community that is so welcoming and its made be grow as a person. I love the fact I get to natter about makeup all the time and no one will get bored! I'm looking forward to 2015, I have set some goals to encourge me to achieve better things. New things are ahead for 2015, I'm a little scared as I really hate change but i'm definitely looking forward to adjusting and growing even more as a person. I hope that all of your 2015's are amazing and you achieve great things! If there was something that was stressing you out, making you sad or making you angry yesterday, then leave that in 2014 and only take the good into 2015.