a tale of two bronzers...

It's fair to say I've been on a bit of a bronzer binge lately. First it was contours, then it was Nars Laguna, now it's two of MUA's bronzer offerings. Although I don't usually try the budget drugstore brands, after my Makeup Revolution success and being pleasantly surprised by Sleek blushers (turns out everyone was right about them) I dipped another toe into MUA. I admit I would have tried more from this brand before but the stands in Superdrug are always empty, does anyone else have this issue a lot with Superdrug in general?

Anyway, on to the review. The first one I tried was the Mosaic Bronzer which has a really lovely patterny bronze in different colours. As you can see with the swatch, its quite subtle with more of a sheen than a shimmer, but as you might tell from the pictures it has a lot of pink tones in it. All over my face this pink hue just doesn't look right, but I am absolutely loving it as a subtle blush. Girls who don't love blush, this is for you. Its sooo pigmented one swipe is all you need, and it just gives a really nice glow which complements the bronzer perfectly. A hidden gem although not for what it thinks it is!

Mua Mosaic Powder Sunkissed Bronzer, £2.50

Say hello to my favourite bronzer of the moment. I bought this on a whim as it was absolutely huge, only £3, and unlike most drugstore bronzers it is completely shimmer free and quite cool toned. I've been applying this with a giant fluffy brush over the high points of the face to look subtly and naturally bronzed, but a little buffed into the hollows of the cheeks looks perfectly natural too. Plus I love how big it is, perfect for one swirl and go. Plus the pattern is pretty cool too. I urge you to pick this up just to try it, it's a dark horse that deserves a hype. Love it!

Mua Bronzer Bronzed Perfection £3.00, here. 

At just £5.50 for the pair, it would be a crime not to...

Charlotte xxx

whats on my face? effortless glamour that stays put!

I'm not one for doing makeup tutorials really, the thought of me on video scares me way too much at the moment! However, I love reading what products other people use and see them in action so here's my version of a tutorial, more of a Whats On My Face...

I personally love this look but it's not one I do all that often but I think a subtle eyeliner flick and red lip is so classy and glamorous, but also looks quite effortless. It also goes perfect with my favourite outfits which are usually very black. Boring eh!

For the base I used Mac Studio Fix as I was going out for a meal and then clubbing, so I needed something that would stay, but any base would do for a daily look. Next I used Benefit Brow Zings as per usual to fill my brows. Nothing too out of the ordinary so far. 

But for the cheeks I used a new product of mine, the Illamasqua Sculpting Duo which I am a little in love with, it's so natural but as you can see above makes an impact. The highlighter gives the most natural sheen and is one of the most skin-like shades I have come across. To line the eyes I used another Illamasqua favourite in their Gel Eyeliner, with a Models Own angled liner brush, and then slightly shaded the socket line with a dark brown shadow and blended well. Any would do, as with all the products really, but my personal favourite is from Urban Decay's Naked Basics. On the lower lash line i used a little black eyeshadow from the same palette to smoke it up slightly and rebalance my eyes (I look really wierd with only top eyeliner). I only went for a subtle flick as I was shading underneath, but if you can wear it bigger is better in my opinion! Finished with lashings of Lancome Hypnose. 

On the lips I went for a new favourite, Bourjois's Velvet Rouge in Hot Pepper, which I've raved about enough already. I finished off with a little Max Fix + to set it all in place and headed out for a night on the tiles!

I love this look as it's so simple but glamorous! Do you have a favourite quick and easy night out face? Let me know!

Love Charlotte xxx

makeup revolution haul...

After the success of the Iconic 3 dupe for Urban Decay's Naked 3 which I raved about here, I thought a little Makeup Revolution haul was in order. There's quite a lot to discuss here so I'll get down to it...

Essential Shimmers Palette- I didn't need any more naked dupes (although I admit I was tempted) so I thought I'd go for one of the more original offerings. I didn't want anything with too many mattes as we all know budget mattes aren't the best so instead I went for this. The quality is really lovely again, especially as this only cost £4, all a decent size and easy to use. I have found them all to be a little warm in tone, not that this is a bad thing but something to be aware of if you wanted something cooler. There's lots of golds and amber variations in here. 

Awesome Eyeshadow and Eyebrow Palette Disappear Till Tomorrow- Wow, that's a mouthful. This one is another popular one among bloggers, and I can see why as it has a nice mix of easy shimmer and matte neutrals with darks and lights, allowing you to go subtle or dramatic depending on what you fancy. Although I don't know anyone with yellow eyebrows, the darker brow shade is also fab to for filling in and it's really nice to have it a palette with shadows. It makes it super easy for travelling and that's what I've been reaching for every time I wanted to take makeup away with me lately. The name says it all really - you can pop this easily into even a small bag and disappear till tomorrow. A travel hero. 

Eye Dusts- These pigments have really impressed me. I love the high density finish you get with using pigments instead of shadows and even though only £1 these are no different. They can be blended to give a soft finish or pressed into the lid for full on colour and unlike a lot of pigments out there these come in nice neutrals as well as the regular bright paint box colours too. I picked up Virtuous and Agonise, but I can see a lot more of these coming my way. 

Blushers- I picked up one powder blusher for £1, in Wow. This is a bright pink shade that requires a light hand to apply. Lovely and pigmented, although not the best at blending. I like this for looks with more simple eyes and lips where the blush can do to the talking. The baked blushers impressed me much more, they are so so pigmented. I picked up Hard Day and Loved Me The Best, which are both shimmery pinks that work well on the cheekbones as a blushy-highlight. To be honest once blended both are very similar, with Loved Me The Best just providing a little more warmth. They remind a lot of Mac Skinfinishes, but without the hefty price tag. Picking up at least one of these is a must. 

Pink Lights Highlighter- I'm not sure why this is called pink lights as it's actually a very unique lilac shade, very cool in tone. Everyone is raving about this but I'm not so sure, it seems to be a bit too silvery on my skin, although I can't fault the amazing pigmentation. I imagine pale skintones will suit this perfectly. Despite the colour I like the formula and will be trying the other colours in the future.

Again I'm really impressed with this brand and left wanting more. Let me know what you think of Makeup Revolution...

Charlotte xxx

worth the hype? nars laguna

I recently gave in to all the hype around Nars Laguna and made a purchase, although what I make of it might not be what you're all expecting.

 First off, Nars packaging, need I say more? Beautiful and simple as always. I also really like the tone of this bronzer, not too orange (although not suitable for contouring my skin) and really subtle. But I also found this a little too subtle. I wouldn't say I had a medium skin tone but I seem too dark for this to really show up without building up a good few layers of the stuff. I much prefer a big sweep with a big ol' powder brush for a wash of colour. I still do like it, especially for pale days, maybe in Winter this will get more of a look in. But it just hasn't been love at first swipe like I expected. The formula is buttery soft, but I wanted a little more pigmentation in there which I just didn't get when I applied it to my face. Don't get me wrong I like it, but it won't be my go-to bronze this summer, especially not with the high price tag. I'll be in no hurry to repurchase. Sorry Nars, I dostill love you, but Laguna doesn't love me!

What do you think of Nars Laguna? What's your holy grail bronzer?

Charlotte xxx

dug out from the stash: soap and glory arch de triump

I'm about to make a not so secret confession. I am a beauty hoarder. Hardly breaking news. But here in a new feature on GAB I've decided to hunt through my stash from time to time to bring you the best bits from a very big collection that seem to have got lost along the way. If you're a fellow blogger, or fellow hoarder, you'll probably be all too familiar with getting caught up with the hype or in a trend, loving a product for a couple of months then moving on to the next thing. Or in the never-ending search for bigger and better things, our once favourites get a little bit neglected. Soap and Glory's Arch de Triumph is a perfect example. 

First things first, what an amazing product name. Ten out of ten for another brilliant play on words from S&G. Probably one of the first brow pencils I ever bought, this pencil houses a brow pencil on one end which is a really nice cool shade, perfect for my (and I imagine a lot of people's ) natural shade as it isn't too warm. Its also quite hard in texture, which I really like in a pencil for brows as it allows you to draw on tiny lines to fill in areas unlike some softer offering which end up as once big dark line. The only niggle I have is that it is a tiny bit thick for me, I prefer a thinner offering. But the reason I really love this product is the highlighter end. It's gorgeously creamy and unlike a lot of highlighters really matte which makes it really natural when blended into the brow bone or even down the nose and center of the face, contour style. It's really good for contouring the T-zone as you won't leave people wondering if you're looking Kardashian-esque or just a bit too oily, as some shimmers can. I wouldn't it on the cheekbones, simply as it's too small. The colour is a dead ringer for Benefits High Brow highlighter pencil, and in fact the packaging in quite similar too, with both Soap and Glory and Benefit rocking that kitsch retro thang. 

But why buy this over High Brow (which I also love, FYI)? The price. Both products perform exactly the same, but at £9 Arch de Triumph is £6.50 cheaper than benefit with the added bonus of a brow pencil too. The fact that it's double ended also makes it great for travelling. 

I'm so glad I had a rake through my stash and put this baby back into my everyday makeup bag, I'm really loving it. Although I don't think the brow pencil is about to give my powder a run for it's money, the highlighter is once again a daily staple. 

Find Arch de Triumph here, for £9. 

Charlotte xxx