Homeware Haul

I've really started to get into homeware and changing around the colour theme in my bedroom. As you will be able to tell from the pictures below, I've been loving adding green details and finding unique, rustic items. 

The black wooden tray is from H&M Home and the photo frame is from Debenhams. 

I got this letter rack from Debenhams, but as you can see it fits my eye shadow palettes perfectly and has two drawers for storage. I love how unique it is and different from the standard acrylic storage.

I got this little cactus from a local garden centre and this plate is from H&M Home.

The green wire basket is again from H&M Home, the 'You Go Glen Coco' print is from Coconut Lane (use the code 'charwbeauty20' for 20% off the entire site) and the 'Eat Sleep Blog Repeat' print is from Lily Rose Co.

I found this copper wire basket in Tkmaxx and I am OBSESSED with it. It's perfect for storing beauty products.

You Go Glen Coco' print is from Coconut Lane (use the code 'charwbeauty20' for 20% off the entire site).

The 'Eat Sleep Blog Repeat' print is from Lily Rose Co.

Benefit POREfessional matte rescue - First Impressions

Benefit very kindly sent me this product and I thought I would share with you guys my first impressions on it!

I have combination skin and if you read my blog you will probably know that I like my face make up to be completely matte. I personally don't like a shiny/dewy look regardless of what time of year it is etc.

 I have been using the POREfessional face primer for a long time and it's probably my favourite primer ever. So obviously when Benefit sent me this I was so excited to try it out! 

I first applied my make up at 11.30AM. After washing my face I applied the POREfessional matte rescue all over my face, focusing especially on my T zone. I loved the gel formula and found that a little went a long way! It instantly mattified my skin and also looked noticeably smoother. 

I then primed my face using the POREfessional. I noticed that my pores had been significantly reduced/blurred and my skin looked very smooth. 

For foundation I used the Rimmel Match Perfection. Now I deliberately used a foundation that was A) my least favourite and B) wasn't mattifying. I was interested to see whether using the matte rescue would work with this foundation. I used a damn Real Techniques sponge, Collection concealer and the Rimmel powder. 

Straight away I noticed that it hadn't caked and that my pores were nearly invisible. Also my face was completely matte even before I set it all with powder.

So far so good!! 

It is now 2:45PM and my face is still completely matte even around my T zone. My pores are still hiding away nicely! 

4:05PM: There is a slight hint of shine around my nose but it is barely noticeable. Usually by now my skin would look quite shiny and blurgh.

5:40PM: My T zone is starting to look slightly shiny  now, but again it's nothing that bothers me too much. This foundation usually looks like crap on me at this time, so I am very impressed! 

8:00PM: Make up is coming off now. My T zone is looking more shiny as I thought it would, but it's definitely made this foundation more wearable for me!

To conclude, if you have combination or oily skin then I would definitely recommend this product. Use it with the POREfessional primer and a mattifying foundation and it's a dream. 

Kiko Single Eye Shadows

Infinity single eye shadows 

Left to right: 404, 225 and 244

Standard single eye shadows 

Left to right: 138, 102 and 137 

I am personally a massive single eye shadow fan, especially when the quality is good yet inexpensive! 

I remember a while back someone commented on one of my pictures saying that the KIKO infinity single eye shadows (that can be put into a custom made palette) were better than the standard ones. 

I originally bought the standard ones in the shade 138, 102 and 137 back in November and absolutely loved them. I went back to the KIKO shop in Romford last week and saw that the Infinity single eye shadows were half price... so of course I bought some! I was intrigued to see whether these were more pigmented and blend-able than the standard ones.

Personally I feel that there's nothing in it. The Infinity packaging is a lot less bulky and easier to store, but apart from that the pigmentation and blend-ability is pretty much the same. I also love how KIKO have such a wide range of shades available . There is very little fall out with their eye shadows and they apply beautifully. I would definitely recommend, especially if you're obsessed with eye shadow like me! 

How I Edit My Instagram/Blog Photos

My favourite part of blogging is definitely taking photographs and editing them. It can be quite a long process but I find that it's worth it.

First of all I take all of my photos with my Canon 700D and edit them on my Samsung Tab S 10.5. I always use natural lighting when taking my photos and my background is usually just plain white or wood. 

So, once I have taken a load of pictures, I will upload them on to my tablet and go through them, deciding which ones I want to keep. I will then upload the photo that I want to edit on to VSCO.

I always use the same filter so that all my pictures have a consistent theme. My favourite is HB1, and I usually keep it on 12 as I love the effect. 

I then adjust the exposure by 1 or sometimes 2, depending on how over exposed I want my picture to be. For this picture I just increased it by 1. 

Next I will crop my picture so that it is square.

I like my pictures to be cooler toned, so I always turn the temperature down by 1 or 2, depending on the photo. 

Finally I will increase the sharpness so that my pictures look extra clear and crisp. I tend to increase it to 6, sometimes less. 

After I've finished on VSCO, I will open it in Pixlr and add a watermark to my photo. 

It's now ready to upload to instagram or add it to my computer to use on my blog!

If you have any further comments, please don't hesitate to ask :) 

Products I Regret Buying

Above are a few products that I unfortunately regret buying. Luckily I didn't spend too much on them. I do however still use a couple of the products, so it's not all doom and gloom! 

MUA Velvet Lip Lacquer  

I had quite high hopes for this liquid lipstick as I love MUA's eye shadows, but unfortunately this product just didn't work for me. It dried patchy and appeared to have cracked, making my lips look really dry and blurgh. It also didn't stay on for long at all compared to other liquid lipsticks. It's a shame because the colour is beautiful, but the formula just didn't do it for me. 

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Spray 

I usually love all of Soap and Glory's products but I really didn't like the sugar crush scent. To me it smells like 7UP and disinfectant which is never ideal! I wouldn't purchase their products in this range again. 

ELF Concealer 

I got this concealer in the shade fair thinking that it would be pale enough for me, but I was wrong. This concealer is actually darker than my foundation, so it's a no from me!

Collection Bronzer 

Again another product that didn't suit my skin tone. This bronzer is unfortunately too orange for me and I struggled blending it in. I will definitely be sticking to my Nars bronzer!

Anastasia Riviera Highlight 

Who would ever regret buying an ABH Highlighter?! Well, I do. When Beauty Bay announced that they were selling them in the UK I straight away jumped on the band wagon and ordered one. I was so excited to receive it but was left disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful highlight and the quality is amazing, but the shade is just way too dark for me. I can get away with it as a blush, but that's it. </3

Maybelline Super Stay Powder in the shade Ivory

 Most of my foundations are in the shade Ivory and match me pretty much perfectly. I have kind of yellow undertones on my body but my face is pinker. This powder is a) way too dark to be ivory and b) way too pink toned. So another no. 

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation 

So I stupidly bought this foundation because my favourite YouTuber at the time raved on about it. Little did I know that I shouldn't have trusted her. But anyway. That's a story for another day. I tried to like this foundation, but it doesn't last well, it went cakey and patchy and just felt gross. My first impression of it was actually okay but after using it again it just didn't work for me. 

High End vs Drugstore Highlighters

Left to right - The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, Becca Champagne Pop, MAC Soft and Gentle, Anastasia Riviera and Benefit High Beam 

Swatches left to right - The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, Becca Champagne Pop, MAC Soft and Gentle, Anastasia Riviera and Benefit High Beam 

The top two highlighters are from the Make Up Revolution Ultra Contour Palette and the Ultra Cream Contour Palette. 

The bottom three left to right are: Make Up Revolution Golden Lights, Make Up Revolution Peach Lights and MUA Shimmer Highlighter. 

Swatches left to right: highlighter from the Make Up Revolution Ultra Contour Palette, cream highlighter from the Make Up Revolution Ultra Cream Contour Palette, Make Up Revolution Golden Lights, Make Up Revolution Peach Lights and MUA Shimmer Highlighter.

I decided to pick 5 high end highlighters that I own and 5 from the drugstore. As you can see, none of the lower end products are dupes for the higher end ones. However, the point of this post is to show that when swatched, it is not obvious which ones are £5 and which are £35. 

Apart from High Beam, all of the high end highlighters are very golden and warm toned. The cheaper highlighters are all cooler toned and lighter. To be honest, I'm not sure why I spent so much money on highlighters that actually don't suit my skin tone. I use the Make Up Revolution highlight from their contour palette nearly every day, which only cost £8. 

I am realising that I probably only got the more expensive products because they are so popular on Instagram and in the beauty world. But in reality, I use the cheaper highlighters a lot more and they all cost under £10. Don't get me wrong I do love Mary-Lou Manizer and High Beam, but the other three products I actually rarely use. 

So my point of this post is to show that just because the majority may love an expensive product, but it might not actually be right for you. 

The Balm Voyage Vol. 2 Palette

Eye shadow swatches - left to right/top to bottom 

Swatches - left to right/top to bottom

Lip & Cheek swatches - left to right

I picked up this beautiful palette from Tkmaxx for only £16.99. Whenever I'm in town I always look in there to see if they have any new make up that hasn't been opened or swatched. I was really lucky to find this palette and I have been using it for the past couple of days. 

I particularly love that it has eye shadows, highlight, blush, bronzer/contour and lip products all in one palette. As the name of the product suggests, it is perfect for travelling with and I will definitely be taking this to NYC with me! 

Also I adore the packaging. I love the retro images and bold colours, and of course the mirror is very handy. This palette is also very light weight and slim, so again it's pretty much the perfect palette to take away with you. 

My only criticism would be that there was fall out with the darker shades and some shades were not as bendable as I would have liked. 

Apart from that, I would definitely recommend this palette. The Balm is one of my favourite brands and as they are cruelty free, I will definitely be using more of their products in the future. 

Red Lips

It is coming up to that time of year again... Valentines Day.

Now I'm not the biggest fan to be honest, and me and my partner probably won't do much but I thought I would share with you some Valentines Day inspired lip products. 

Yup, you guessed right, red red red and more red. 

Left to Right: NYX Lip Cream in Monte Carlo, Milani liquid lipstick in Romance, Clinique Cherry Pop, Barry M Gelly Lips in the shade 1, Rimmel Provocalips in Play With Fire and MUA Lip Liner in Red Drama. 

 Left to Right: NYX Lip Cream in Monte Carlo, Milani liquid lipstick in Romance, Clinique Cherry Pop, Barry M Gelly Lips in the shade 1, Rimmel Provocalips in Play With Fire and MUA Lip Liner in Red Drama.

Cruelty Free Make Up Favourites

So I'm going to start off by saying that I am definitely not an expert when it comes to cruelty free make up. The products that I'll be talking about in this post are to my knowledge, cruelty free, but I do realise it can be quite complicated with parent companies etc. 

 I actually own more cruelty free products than I originally thought which I was happy about!

All of these make up products are particular favourites of mine, and are also cruelty free.

Single Eye Shadows 

All of these single eye shadows are very affordable but most importantly are cruelty free. 

NYX, MUA, Milani and Colour Pop do not test on animals and also make extremely good quality products that are reasonably priced. Win win! 

Face Products 

I use my B. Pressed Powder every day and have been for the past year. This cruelty free brand is exclusive to Superdrug and again is super affordable. This powder is also vegan which is an added bonus! 

The ELF Golden Bronzer gives the skin such a beautiful glow and is a must during the summer months. They are also of course cruelty free. 

My two favourite cruelty free blushers are the NYX blush in Peach and the Milani blush in Tea Rose. 

The Balm is another one of favourite brands and they are also cruelty free! I love using Bahama Mama to contour and of course Mary-Lou Manizer to highlight. 

Eye Shadow Palettes 

I actually own a lot of cruelty free palettes so it was difficult narrowing down my favourites. 

Too Faced are of course a more expensive brand but the Chocolate Bar palette is incredible and definitely worth the money. They are also cruelty free which makes me love this palette even more. 

Make Up Geek are also a cruelty free company and do the most incredible eye shadows. 

Wet N Wild, Make Up Revolution and ELF do some amazing palettes as seen above. They are extremely affordable and do not test on animals. 

Lip Products 

NYX, Milani and Too Faced again do some of my favourite cruelty free lip products. 

Another cruelty free product worth checking out is Jeffree Star's liquid lipsticks. They are cruelty free and vegan!

Eye Products 

My favourite eye brow products are all cruelty free. I love the Milani Stay Put Brow gel for days when my make up is heavier. If I want a more natural look then I will use my NYX Micro Brow Pencil or their Brow Powder. 

The B. Smokey Kohl Eyeliner and the ELF Mascara are both products that I use on a daily basis.

I will be honest and say that apart from Barry M's nail polishes and this liquid eye liner, I do not really like any of their other products. This eye liner is brilliant however, and lasts all day without smudging or fading. 

If I have got any of these brands cruelty free status wrong then I do apologise. Please comment below if I have! 

NYX Haul

So I recently picked up a few bits from one of my favourites brands; NYX. I had quite a lot of points saved up on my Boots card which always come in handy now that they sell NYX online!

I've been looking for a setting powder and stumbled upon the NYX HD Finishing Powder. I haven't tried it yet but I have high hopes for it! I also needed a new eye shadow primer, so I'm excited to try this one out, especially as it's waterproof. 

When I was in America I picked up a NYX Micro Brow Pencil and somehow managed to use it up! I very rarely finish a product, so of course I had to repurchase it. The only issue was they didn't have the shade that I got in America, but Ash Brown was as close as I could get. I also wanted to try one of their normal brow pencils. I got this one in the shade Taupe but it's really warm toned so I've been struggling to make it work unfortunately. 

Now these lip liners are amazing. They are insanely pigmented and the colours I got are stunning. I will definitely be purchasing more of these! 

These liquid lipsticks are new I believe so I picked up two of them in Vintage and Cherry Skies. I haven't actually tried these out yet but when I do I can do a full review on them!