The High end make up and beauty products out there are strongly liked by many people and I do agree that they are really good quality in general, but not everyone can afford them so I decided to compare high end and drugstore products in three different categories. I decided blush, lipstick and lip gloss. I apologise for some of the bad quality pictures my camera did not want to focus for certain pictures.
The first category is blush.
I selected the blushers -
- MAC satin blush in Peony Petal
- Collection Little Mix Perrie Blush
- Urban Decay Afterglow blush in Rapture (I will be posting a full review on this later this week)
Left to right MAC, Collection and Urban Decay.
I personally really like all three of the blushers, and many will say that the higher end products are not worth it but I disagree as I have never found some of the blush colours anywhere else. I use the collection blush as my everyday blush usually so it proves that price is not everything. You can get make up that is more affordable and get a really great product. However I am not saying the high end products are not worth there money as I believe that they are but I love all of these equally but the product you buy depends on your budget.
Next is lip gloss.
The lip gloss I selected were:
- Model's own hyper lips in premiere plum
- Collection Little Mix Perrie lip gloss
- Urban Decay revolution lip gloss in Liar
Top to bottom - Model's own, Urban Decay, Collection
I personally really like the Collection and Urban Decay ones as the Model's own one is a bit too sticky. I really like the Collection one for an everyday lip gloss or to put on over lipstick but if you were looking for long lasting and with high levels of pigmentation then you can not beat the Urban Decay one out of this selection. They are definitely worth the money either way but if you want cheaper but higher pigmentation I have heard that the MUA luxe are good for that depending on your budget.
The final category is lipstick.
For this I selected four which span across the price range:
- MUA lipstick (not sure which shade)
- Model's own festival lipstick in the shad Main Stage
- Rimmel Kate lipstick in 107
- MAC lipstick in Candy Yum-Yum
Top to bottom - MUA, Rimmel, Model's own and MAC.
I personally would recommend the Model's own, Rimmel and MAC as they all have really great staying power and are all a really nice consistency and you do not have to keep going over to get a solid colour. With the MUA one you have to go over the colour multiple times to get a solid colour, but if you want a very pale base colour then this would be perfect.
Hope you liked this.
Until next time,
Laura x
We all go through hard times in life, it is what you make of it that counts.
Everyone deals with their problems in a different way, but I've learnt the hard way that bottling them inside as a way of dealing with it will only make it worse. One of the best things to do is find someone who you trust and can confide in and tell them how you feel and what caused you to feel that way.
Personally, I also have a notebook full of ways telling yourself how to deal with these issues and, as someone who suffers with anxiety as a repercussion of earlier issues, would thoroughly recommend also finding a way to cope yourself because you may not be able to see that person that day or for a few days afterwards, so it is always worth finding a way that you can deal with it even in the short term.
For me I also found a couple of ways to rely on for escaping the world whether for an hour or a few minutes any break can be worth while. I use music and books as my way to escape the world, with a simple book I can escape this world into a place where I can feel safe and not have to face reality, for a small time anyway. Music that has been my salvation I honestly do not know where I would be without it and I am being entirely truthful if I say that music really did save my life, it was my safe haven and always will be the lyrics always found a way to express how I was feeling even if I did not know myself.
Hope this was helpful and remember you are stronger than you think.
Until later,
Laura xxx
I'm sure if you had been reading my blog posts you will have realised that I disappeared for a little over a week. I am sorry about that, I went on holiday to Cornwall and could not post.
To make up for it there will be two posts today and then I will resume as per usual from tomorrow.
Until later,
Laura xxx
I recently purchased a couple of Urban Decay products from their summer collection and figured I would review them for you.
I bought the Revolution High Colour Lip gloss in the shade Liar, which is a really pretty pink toned nude (I am going through a nude phase).
First of all the packaging, I love this packaging I haven't seen anything else on the market like it. An oval shaped container for your lip gloss, I thought it might be a bit of a pain to hold as it is not cylindrical but it is just as easy as any other you may find.
The applicator, I think it will be an either you love it or hate it kind of applicator as it is a paddle applicator which some people will not like at all. It was a bit odd to use when you first put it on but after a couple of uses you don't find it odd at all anymore.
The product, I love the quality of Urban Decay products as a rule and this one was not any different. The pigmentation of it is impressive and I really liked it but it might be worth using a lip liner underneath if you wanted it to stand out or look perfect. I bought this colour because I knew I wanted one of these lip glosses but wasn't sure what colour and this was the shade the lady who served me was wearing. She also used an Urban Decay lip liner in Naked 2 and it did make it look like a more perfect lip, but I like it either way. I am going to continue using this product at see what it looks like with a number of different looks.
Hope you enjoyed my review.
Until next time,
Laura x
These cupcakes went down a treat when I made them so I figured I would share the recipe with you all.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 225g (8oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 225g (8oz) caster sugar
- 225g (8oz) self-raising flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
For the filling
- 75ml (3 fl oz) lime juice
- 400g (14oz) tin condensed milk
For the meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 75g (3oz) granulated sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F/ Gas mark 4)
- Place 18 paper cases in a muffin tin
- Place all cupcake cases in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and smooth about 2-3 minutes.
- Spoon the batter into the cases.
- Bake for around 20 minutes.
- Remove tins from oven and leave to cool for around 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes and cool on a wire rack.
- For the filling, combine the lime juice and condensed milk in a small bowl.
- Remove the top of each cupcake and hollow out a small hole.
- Spoon the filling into the hole and replace the top.
- For the meringue, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
- Add one third of the sugar and beat for one minute.
- Repeat until all the sugar has been added.
- Increase the oven temperature to 230°C (450°F/ Gas Mark 7).
- Spoon or the pipe the meringue onto the cupcakes.
- Bake for five minutes until golden.
- Try not to store for more than 2-3 days in an airtight container.
There are many different artists I listen to and my recommendation this week is most likely one that will not be expected.
The song that has been stuck in my head and I have had on repeat lately is Little Mix Black Magic. I know that this will not be to everyone's taste but it is the song that I currently can not get enough of.
link to the YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkElfR_NPBI
link to iTunes preorder - http://smarturl.it/LMblackmagic
link to listen on Spotify (when available) -
http://smarturl.it/LMBlackMagicSpotify
Until next time,
Laura
May has been a month of favourites from a range of places, some of them may seem quite random but there is a reason behind all of them.
My first favourite this month is the book Love, Tanya by Tanya Burr. This book is amazing it has plenty of tips as to skin care, make up, hair products and has recipes at the back. This book also gives you an insight into the life and childhood and personality of Tanya who is such a bubbly person and she proves to you that it's ok not to be perfect and to not live up to societies expectations.
My second favourite this month is a music favourite. I have been really loving the new All Time Low album Future Hearts. I have loved this band for a long time now and this new album has made me love them even more (if that was possible).
My next favourite is a blush and it is the only blush I have been using for the past month and a bit. It is the Collection Little Mix Perrie blush. With me having fair skin some blushes I can find have too much pigmentation for my skin, but with this one I can achieve a natural look. It is a pretty blusher and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
I have also been loving the mango body butter by the Body Shop lately. I go through a lot of body lotion and body butter as I use them most days to moisturise but this is my current favourite.
Another product for skin care I have been loving is the face masks from Superdrug, they are good quality and at an affordable price. (I had to go buy more at the weekend as I was on my last two), one of my particular favourites it the Tropical Cocktail Peel-Off Mask. It leaves my skin feeling fresh and revitalised.
The final skin care product I have been loving is the Origins GinZing eye cream. This cream works wonders I apply it every morning and once it soaks in my bags under my eyes are not very noticeable. There aren't any other eye creams I have ever wanted to rave about or recommend as much as this one.
My final May favourite is the Barry M Gelly nail polishes. I recently bought four colours of them and they are such a nice nail polish to apply. If you are doing anything that means scraping or accidentally hitting your nail it will chip but that's the same as any other nail polish that isn't shellac or any similar polish.
(Left to right, Passion Fruit, Almond, Sugar Plum and Satsuma)
I think my current favourite would have to be Almond as I am going through a nude phase.
Thanks for reading my favourites.
Until next time
Laura
