Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette Swatches

I received the Too Faced Chocolate Bar for Christmas and I thought I would swatch the palette and include a mini review! 

I believe it was £39 and my Mum got it for me from Debenhams, but it's also available online if there's not a Debenhams near you.

There are 16 shades, including 6 matte and 10 shimmery shades. I feel this palette has the perfect amount of neutral shades, highlight shades and brighter colours. The shimmery shades are more pigmented than the matte shades, which is to be expected. There was also only a tiny bit of fall out with the darker shades. 

The packaging, especially the box, is so pretty and feminine, and the smell of the eyeshadows is just amazing! I'm a massive chocolate fan but if you're not then the smell might bother you a bit, although personally I don't think it's over powering at all. 

Swatches left to right - top to bottom 

Thank you for reading :) 

2015 Make Up Favourites

My love and passion for make up has definitely grown a substantial rate over 2015, and starting my blog in July was one of the best things I have ever done. It has not been an easy year but having my blog has kept me going and given me a purpose even in the darkest of times. 

Anyway, enough of that, today's post is going to be my 2015 make up favourites/best purchases. I absolutely love all of these products and have been my most used this year!

My absolute favourite primer and foundation that I've bought this year has to be the L'Oreal 24h Matte Foundation and the Mattifying Base. I have been using both of these, along with the LA Girl Pro Concealer and the Make Up Revolution Contour Palette pretty much every day since I've bought them, I would 100% recommend them!

I have been loving shimmery blush this year, and my two favourites and most used are the Soap and Glory Love At First Blush and the Make Up Revolution Blushing Hearts blusher. They are both so pretty and give the skin a natural healthy glow. 

I'm sure Champagne Pop is in a lot of peoples 2015 favourites! It is such a beautiful highlight, along with Mary-Lou Manizer. I've actually only got into using highlighter this year and these two are definitely my favourites, and will be for a long time! 

My favourite gel eyeliner this year has to be the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner. I personally find gel liner easier to use than a pen and my eyeliner skills have definitely improved as a result. 

The Soap and Glory Smoulder Kohl has been my ultimate favourite pencil eyeliner. It lasts all day and has the bonus of being waterproof! 

My two favourite mascaras this year have been the elf 3-in-1 Mascara and the Maybelline Lash Sensational. They are very affordable which is a huge bonus, I just wish I could get elf in stores in the UK! 

I feel my eyebrow game has definitely improved this year, and that is partly down to the products that I've been using to fill them in. If I want quite full brows I have been using the Milani Stay Put Brow Color, which I absolutely love! If I want a more natural look I have been using the NYX Brow Pencil. Some days I use both of them together, and I'm sure they will carry on to be my favourites in 2016! 

I have been loving dark mauve nude lips this year and these two have been my go to lipsticks. On the left is the Clinique lipstick in the shade Bare Pop, and on the right is Sultry Sienna from Cover Girl. 

You may have seen me rave on about how amazing the MUA Single Eyeshadows are on Instagram, so of course they would feature in my 2015 Favourites! They are so pigmented and beautiful, and for only £1 the quality is incredible. 

I've also been loving the Mabelline Color Tattoos as a base for my eyeshadow and to make my eyes really pop! 

Finally, my two favourite eyeshadow palettes of 2015 have been the Lorac Unzipped palette and the Naked Smoky palette. They are both so incredible and are definitely worth the money!

Thank you for reading and Happy New Year! 

What I Got For Christmas! 2015

For today's post I thought I would share what I got for Christmas.
I would just like to say that I am in no way bragging, I am so grateful for everything I got. It's been a difficult year for me and my family and just being around the people I love was the best present I could have asked for. 

I got this beautiful Ted Baker chest that has the most stunning make up! It is so girly and feminine, I absolutely love it. 

My main present was a new camera. I am completely obsessed with it and beyond grateful. I'm so excited to start using it properly for my blog photos and to films video for my YouTube channel!

I was also given this beautiful hamper full of my favourite beauty products. It was such a thoughtful present!

I am a massive Frozen fan so of course I received some Frozen themed presents!

I also got a couple of reading books. My Mum knows that I've read every book in the house and I can't wait to read these!

Last but definitely not least, I got the Naked 2 palette from my Fiance and the Chocolate Bar palette from my parents. I'm so grateful to have received both of those!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and link below your What I Got For Christmas posts because I love reading them! 

NYX Matte Lip Cream Collection

I am a massive NYX fan and I absolutely adore their matte lip creams! They are so pigmented and last all day without drying out my lips (unlike other liquid lipsticks). I would love to own all of them one day, but for now, I thought I would share the shades that I do own. 

The swatches were taken in natural lighting and have not been edited.

Left to right: Tokyo, Milan, Cannes, London, Monte Carlo, Copenhagen and Transylvania

Left to right: Tokyo, Milan, Cannes, London, Monte Carlo, Copenhagen and Transylvania

My Favourite Highlighters

For today's post I thought I would share with you my three favourite highlighters and also include swatches! 

On the left, there is of course the amazing Champagne Pop, which is a must have for any Jaclyn Hill fan! I finally was able to get my hands on it in the UK and it is simply beautiful, as you can probably see from the swatch below. 

Next is The Balm's Mary Lou-Manizer which is probably my all time favourite highlight. As you can see from the swatch in the middle, it is slightly cooler toned and frosty compared to Champagne Pop, which is perfect if you have paler skin.

Finally is Benefit's High Beam, which is a liquid highlighter and is lighter and pinker than the other two. I would say that this would look lovely on all skin tones and is more natural looking, which is perfect for every day make up! 

Champagne Pop, May Lou Manizer and High Beam

Thank you for reading :) 

Winter Beauty Essentials

Today's post is all about my winter beauty essentials! With Christmas coming up it's the perfect time to indulge and pamper yourself with some lovely beauty products.  

I am OBSESSED with all of Soap and Glory's products, so of course I was going to include some of them in this post! 

Clean On Me - This shower gel smells amazing and is so creamy and moisturising. I've gone through at least two bottles of this stuff and it is definitely an essential through out the winter!

Hand Food - So I think pretty much everyone loves this hand cream, and honestly it is the best one I have ever tried! My hands can get really dry when it's cold and this is the only product that keeps them soft. 

Deep Cleansing Milk - This is the second bottle I've used of this and it is my favourite cleanser that I've tried! It removes all the make up left on your skin and unclogs pores, leaving your skin feeling amazing! 

Heel Genius - I tend to forget about my feet when I moisturise, but recently they've been quite dry after spending all day on my feet at work. After only one use I noticed my feel were so soft and moisturised, it's pretty much a miracle product! 

Snow Fairy - Let's be honest, it wouldn't be right to not include this shower gel in my winter beauty essentials! It smells amazing and as it's only available around this time of year, I had to stock up on them. The smell can be quite over powering after a while, so I tend to alternate with the Ted Baker Body Wash as shown in this picture. This is such a luxurious shower gel and the packaging is so beautiful. 

Japanese Cherry Blossom Fragrance Mist - I got this body spray from Bath & Body Works when I was in America and I've only just started using it because I can't get it in England! It's one of my favourite scents and I wish I had got more. 

Thank you for reading :) 

Favourite Christmas Nail Polishes

Christmas is just around the corner so now is the perfect time to share with you my favourite nail polishes for the winter and Christmas! 

Barry M Speedy - Dead Heat 

This shade is a beautiful bright red which is perfect for Christmas. It also dries super quick so you don't have to spend ages painting your nails! 

Maybelline Color Show - Brick Shimmer

I absolutely adore this colour. It's a combination of gold and copper, which would be lovely for a Christmas party. It wouldn't be Christmas without gold sparkles! 

The Body Shop - Crimson Kiss

This shade is a burgundy/dark red nail polish, so if you're not too keen on a bright red, this would be perfect for you! 

Barry M Silk - Forest 

This dark green colour is the perfect sparkly Christmas green shade, and it would go so well with a red nail polish if you wanted to go all out on the Christmas theme!

Barry M - Persian 

Purple isn't a traditional Christmas colour but this nail polish has the perfect combination of shimmery gold and purple. 

Fearne - Ruby Cotton

I'm not entirely sure whether this collection still exists, but this shade has to be my favourite nail polish for Christmas! It is a beautiful deep red with gold and red shimmer, so pretty!

Thank you for reading :) 

Christmas Make Up Essentials

I'm kind of struggling to get into the whole festive mood at the moment, so I thought I would play some Christmas music and share my make up essentials for Christmas!

Red Lips

So it wouldn't really be Christmas make up without a classic red lip! I've included three different red lips that are very festive. 

First of all is the Clinique lipstick in Cherry Pop. This a classic cool tone pinky red that would be perfect for a Christmas party or meal as it's long lasting and very pigmented.

In the middle is the Kiko lipstick in the shade 06. This a darker, red wine shade which would be lovely to wear again to a Christmas party or on a night out. This shade is not as dark as it appears, so it is definitely a wearable colour for this time of year. 

The last shade is the Soap and Glory Gloss Stick in Berry Gorgeous. This a very sheer red shade and is a gloss rather than a bright lipstick. This would be great to wear on Christmas day as it's not too OTT but still looks very festive!

Eye Shadow 

Swatches left to right: Kiko Eye Shadow in 102, Milani Eye Shadow in I Heart You and MUA in Hunter Green

The classic Christmas eyeshadow colours are obviously gold, red and green! All of these shades are drugstore and whilst they're affordable, the quality is still amazing and they're extremely pigmented! I particularly love Hunter Green by MUA! It is such a perfect Christmas green. 

 Highlight and Blush

Those of  you that follow me on Instagram (@charwbeauty) will know that I FINALLY got my hands on Jaclyn Hill's Champagne Pop highlighter! Now I can totally understand why everyone loves this product. It is the most beautiful highlighter I have ever used and I will be packing this on around Christmas! 

For blush I've chosen a MAC Sheer Tone Blush in the shade Breath of Plum. I think this would be perfect for Christmas as it's very natural looking and won't look too over powering with red lips, sparkly eyes and a lot of Champagne Pop on!! 

Thanks for reading :) 

Winter Skin Care Routine

Today I thought I would share with you my winter skincare routine! 

My skin has been all over the place recently, but I have found using these products have really controlled my dry and oily areas. I normally have combination skin but now I think it's more normal, I have no dry patches and my skin doesn't look shiny at the end of the day. 

Every morning and evening I wash my face with the Clinique Mild Facial Soap, which is for dry combination skin. I find this really cleans my skin well, yet it isn't too harsh and is still hydrating. I'm going to try out the oily combination version and will update on how that goes!

After washing my face I use the Simple Micellar water, which really helps to get off any make up that's still on my skin. I use this both in the morning and evening as I love how refreshed it makes my skin feel. 

In the evening I will then apply the Garnier Moisture Nourish and the Body Shop Vitamin E eye cream to keep both my skin and around my eyes hydrated. I find in the colder months around my eyes get very dry, so applying an eye cream is a must for me. 

I will then apply the Nivea Pearly Shine lip balm before I go to bed to keep my lips soft.

Every day I use the Superdrug Facial Wipes for normal skin to remove as much make up as I can.

Once a week I will use the Simple kind to skin facial scrub to really clean my skin and exfoliate it. I love this face scrub for the winter because it's not too harsh and doesn't dry out my skin!

Thank you for reading :) 

Morphe 35T Swatches

I recently purchased the Morphe 35T Palette from Beauty Bay and it's officially my new favourite palette! The eye shadows blend so well and are incredibly pigmented. It's perfect for every day use and it has a great balance of both matte and shimmery shades.

The swatches below have all been taken in natural light and have not been edited. I also didn't use a primer underneath.

Top Row - Left to Right

Second from top row - left to right

Middle row - left to right

Second from bottom row - left to right

Bottom row - left to right

Make Up Haul

There have been some great deals on recently so I simply couldn't resist picking up some goodies! 

Soap and Glory 

In Boots they currently have a deal going on where if you buy £15 worth of Soap and Glory make up products, you get three products in a little box for free. As I absolutely adore Soap and Glory, I picked up a brow pencil and a jumbo eyeliner. The free box comes with a shimmer blush powder, a gloss stick in the shade Berry Gorgeous and a mascara. 

NYX

I used some of the points on my Boots card and ordered these two gorgeous NYX eyeshadows. I got them in the shades Bad Seed and Wild Orchid. They are so pigmented and are affordable as well. 

KIKO

I went shopping in Romford with my cousin for her birthday and KIKO were doing a deal where if you buy three products, you get three free! I bought my cousin a few bits and I got myself three eyeshadows, a lip liner and a lipstick. Altogether I got 12 products for £20! 

I got the lipstick in the shade 913 and the lip liner to match in the shade 712. The eyeshadow on the left above is 137, to the right is 138 and above is 102. These are extremely pigmented and buttery!

Thank you for reading :)

Make Up Geek Eye Shadow Collection

Those of you that live in the UK, you have probably heard about Beauty Bay stocking Make Up Geek now! So as I'm obsessed with eye shadow, I made two orders; one when they first came out and another on black Friday when they had 10% off. 

I have included swatches of each eyeshadow below,which have not been edited at all and the pictures were taken in natural light. The shimmer shades are more pigmented than the matte shades as you can probably see below. Apart from that, they all blend so well and are very smooth to apply. I would say they're very similar to the Morphe eyeshadows, if not slightly better and more pigmented. 

Top row - left to right: Mango Tango, Poppy and Morocco 

Middle row - left to right: Cupcake, Cosmopolitan and Roulette 

Bottom row - left to right; Frappe, Creme Brulee and Razzleberry 

Swatches left to right: 

Mango Tango, Poppy, Morocco, Cupcake, Cosmopolitan, Roulette, Frappe, Creme Brulee and Razzleberry. 

Top row - left to right: I'm Peachless, Sorbet and Phantom 

Middle row - left to right: Latte, Bleached Blonde and Glamorous 

Bottom row - left to right; Mocha, Blackberry and Curfew 

Swatches left to right: 

I'm Peachless, Sorbet, Phantom, Latte, Bleached Blonde, Glamorous, Mocha, Blackberry and Curfew.

I also got two small Z Palettes from Beauty Bay because I thought they would be easier to store and travel with!

Thank you for reading :)