Cruelty-Free Blushers

 

Blusher definitely used to be my weakness. I have so many from when I used to collect them that it's kind of ridiculous. But anyway, I thought I would share my favourite high end and drugstore cruelty free blushers with you!


High-end

NARS Deep Throat and Too Faced Sparkling Bellini 

NARS Deep Throat and Too Faced Sparkling Bellini 

I think nearly everyone knows that NARS and Too Faced are famous for their stunning blushers. My two all time favourite high-end blushers are therefore NARS Deep Throat and Too Faced Sparkling Bellini blush. Unfortunately, NARS are owned by a parent company that aren't cruelty free, but Too Faced are 100% cruelty free, so it's all about personal preference! 

Drugstore

B. Blusher in Macaroon, NYX Peach and Milani Tea Rose

B. Blusher in Macaroon, NYX Peach and Milani Tea Rose

Sooo these all look kind of similar but again it depends on which brand you prefer buying from. B. are 100% cruelty free and vegan, Milani is 100% cruelty free but I'm unsure about their vegan status, and NYX themselves are cruelty free but are owned by L'Oreal. Also the NYX blusher is the most pigmented out of the three.

Rosie For Autograph in English Rose

Rosie For Autograph in English Rose

This blush is available in the M&S beauty section, so it's technically drugstore but at £14 it's closer to high-end prices. It's also a cream blush and looks very natural on the skin, and is 100% vegan and cruelty free!

Which one's your favourite? 

Lip Monthly Subscription Bag | July

My July Lip Monthly bag arrived yesterday and I'm so happy that all their bags have contained products that are cruelty free! 

If you didn't already know, Lip Monthly is a relatively new subscription service that send out 4-5 FULL sized lip products every month. It costs $12.95/£9 per month but you can get 55% off your first bag with the code 'CHAR55'. This months bag had an overall retail value of $74/£56, so you'll be saving a lot of money! Lip Monthly also offer free worldwide shopping.

This subscription bag is a great way to try out different brands whilst only costing a tenner a month. The July bag featured two full sized lipsticks, a stunning eyeshadow and a lip enhancing product. I'm going to be completely honest and say that I won't be trying out or using the Cougar Perfect Pout. I personally think that it smells like bleach and I don't feel comfortable putting that on my lips . It retails at £29 so I'm sure it's alright to use, but personally I just won't be. With that aside, both lipsticks apply and look beautiful on, as well as being really good quality. The loose eyeshadow is definitely my favourite. It's a stunning shimmery purple/burgundy with a hint of gold, which really compliments my blue eyes!

Left to right: City Color Lipstick in Heartbreaker, Mirabella Lipstick in Cherry Shine, Cougar Perfect Pout (it just looks like a clear gloss) and Bellapiere Shimmer in Cinnabar

Left to right: City Color Lipstick in Heartbreaker, Mirabella Lipstick in Cherry Shine, Cougar Perfect Pout (it just looks like a clear gloss) and Bellapiere Shimmer in Cinnabar

*this post contains an affiliate code* 

Too Faced Eyeshadow Palettes | Comparisons

I've had quite a few people ask which Too Faced palette is my favourite, and my answer is always the original Chocolate Bar palette. I own three of their palettes and thought it might be helpful to swatch them all and compare them! As you can see, there are definitely some shades that reoccur in each palette, and I personally don't think it's vital to get all three. 

The top palette is the Original Chocolate Bar palette, the middle is the Chocolate Bon Bons palette and the bottom is the Sweet Peach palette.

 
  

A Nude For Every Occasion

Birthday Suit - Saturated Colour  

A warm toned neutral nude glossy lip vinyl 

Tranquility - MUA 

Slightly darker 'your lips but better' nude in a matte finish

Adore - Milani  

The perfect matte nude

Bedtime Flirt -  NYX 

Another matte shade perfect for everyday use

Teddy - NYX 

A very dark, matte brown nude

Celebrity Skin - Jeffree Star 

A cooler toned, mauve matte nude

Cannes - NYX 

A very warm nude, perfect if you're uncomfortable wearing a red lip

London - NYX 

A light, almost beige nude

Praline - NYX

A beautiful, browny nude gloss

Bare Enough - Soap and Glory 

The perfect nude gloss 

Which one's your favourite? 

Cruelty-Free Highlighters

I am absolutely obsessed with highlighters and luckily for me, some of the best available are cruelty-free! 

So for today's post I thought I would share my favourite highlighters. Whether you like high-end or something more affordable, powder or cream; there's a highlighter for everyone! 

Drugstore 

Left to right: Make Up Revolution Golden Lights and Peach Lights, MUA Iridescent Gold and Pink Shimmer

Left to right: Make Up Revolution Golden Lights and Peach Lights, MUA Iridescent Gold and Pink Shimmer

These four highlighters are all available in Superdrug for £3 each. They are of course very very similar, with only a slight difference with the pigmentation and shades. I personally prefer the Make Up Revolution highlighters, but for £3, you can't go wrong with any of them! If you prefer a more subtle highlight then the MUA ones may suit you better. 

High-end

Left to right: Champagne Pop and Mary-Lou Manizer

Left to right: Champagne Pop and Mary-Lou Manizer

I think we would all love to spend hundreds of pounds on high-end highlighters, but in reality, that's not possible for the majority of us. So my two favourite expensive highlighters are of course Champagne Pop which is £32 and Mary Lou which is £16. If you are looking to invest in a luxury product then I would 100% recommend either one of these highlighters! 

Cream/Liquid Highlighters

 

Left to right: ROSIE FOR AUTOGRAPH Starstruck Highlighter and Soap and Glory HOCUS FOCUS

Left to right: ROSIE FOR AUTOGRAPH Starstruck Highlighter and Soap and Glory HOCUS FOCUS

Finally, if you're looking for something a little more natural and subtle, then a cream highlighter is a must have. The Starstruck highlighter is £15 and Hocus Focus is £11, so more expensive than your average drugstore product, but totally worth it in my opinion. 

CHARWBEAUTY IS ONE YEAR OLD!!

EEEK I honestly can't believe I've been blogging for a year! 

Starting this blog was honestly one of the best things I've ever done. It's opened up a world of opportunities for me, I've worked with some amazing brands and met some lovely people along the way!

I decided to start blogging a year ago because I was really bored and lonely, and I was in quite a bad place. If you've been reading my blog from the beginning then you'll have noticed that it's changed a lot. I guess my blog reflects how I've changed and grown as a person over the past year as well.

Probably one of the biggest differences was switching over to a cruelty-free and vegan lifestyle this year. I know it doesn't appeal to everyone but I'm so happy that I made the transition. 

So yeah, today's post is short and sweet! I'll be back to posting three times a week after the 21st (uni deadline). 

And thank you to everyone that reads my blog, comments, follows me on instagram and are just lovely and supportive! 

Here's a link to my first blog post... thank god my photography's improved lol.

Organic and Natural Make Up | First Impressions

The lovely people at Avril Cosmetics  messaged me asking if I wanted to try some of their products out! I of course said yes and was lucky enough to actually choose which products I wanted to try out. All of the ones I chose are vegan, and of course they are a cruelty-free company. Their products are made from certified organic ingredients and do not contain any parabens or other nasties. They have a list of all of their vegan products on their website if you're interested! 

Single eyeshadow in the shade Marécage and Terre. 

Eyeshadow palette - Nude

These eyeshadows are honestly some of the most soft, smooth, buttery and pigmented shadows I have ever used. I was really surprised at just how beautifully they looked; both when swatched and on the eye. I think the swatches speak for themselves! They also blended really well and didn't crease throughout the day. 

Concealer in the shade Ivorie and Foundation in the shade Clair

I really liked the concealer and it's very comparable to my NYX one (my favourite concealer ever). The shade was perfect for me and I found it really brightened my under eye area. It also didn't really crease and blended in really well using a damp beauty sponge. 

I had a bit of an issue with the foundation. The shade is slightly too pink for my skin tone but I found that easy to get around by mixing it with another foundation. The main issue was that it just didn't work being applied with a damp sponge. I found it separated a lot and just wouldn't blend in properly. BUT, I then tried blending it in with a foundation brush and this worked so much better. If you do try this then I would recommend really buffing it in to get an even coverage. I know not all foundations work with sponges, but it definitely worked with a brush. With that aside, it lasted all day without fading or looking oily which I was impressed with. It also didn't cake and actually looked quite natural once applied properly! 

Lip Monthly Subscription Bag | June

My June Lip Monthly Bag arrived at the beginning of this month and I'm really excited to share what was inside. If you didn't already know, Lip Monthly is a relatively new subscription service that send out 4-5 FULL sized lip products every month. It costs $12.95/£9 per month but you can get 55% off your first bag with the code 'CHAR55'. This months box had an overall retail value of $69.95/£45, so you'll be saving a lot of money! Lip Monthly also offer free worldwide shopping.

All of the brands featured in this months bag are cruelty free which is of course one of the main reasons why I love it so much! This month featured two full sized lip products, a full sized lip/cheek stick and a full sized highlighter. I have swatched all of them below! 

Left to right: Peony Cosmetics Highlighter in Pink Glow, Jelly Pong Pong Lip Butter, MD Lip Crayon and Be a Bombshell Lip/Cheek Stick in the shade Sweetness.  

Left to right: Peony Cosmetics Highlighter in Pink Glow, Jelly Pong Pong Lip Butter, MD Lip Crayon and Be a Bombshell Lip/Cheek Stick in the shade Sweetness.  

My absolute favourite product from this months bag is the Jelly Pong Pong Lip Butter. It is the perfect every day summer nude! 

*this post contains an affiliate code* 

June Favourites

My blog is one year old this month which is super crazy and I'm so grateful to everyone that clicks on my page! Anyway, today's post is my June favourites. It was a pretty uneventful month and guess what? I DIDN'T BUY ONE SINGLE BIT OF MAKE UP!!! Actually, the last time I bought make up was at the beginning of May, so practically two months ago... wtf!! I've pretty much only been buying vegan food, books and organic skincare products.

Make Up

Make up wise, there aren't too many favourites to talk about for this month. 

I unfortunately smashed my Make Up Revolution contour palette earlier in June, so I've been using the NYX Contour Kit instead.  It's actually very similar to the MUR one, I just hope I don't break this one! 

The Make Up Revolution Pressed Powder and the NYX HD Powder have been my favourite combination for setting my make up recently! I've noticed my make up lasts all day and doesn't look cakey like it sometimes used to. 

Another favourite from NYX is their concealer. It has the perfect amount of coverage without looking to OTT and doesn't crease 

Last but not least, I've been adding a couple of drops of Hocus Focus to my foundation and it makes my skin look almost flawless! It gives the skin a healthy, natural finish, rather than looking cakey or too thick. 

Beauty Products

The Dr. Organic Dead Sea Face Wash is honestly the best facial wash I've ever tried. It's not harsh at all, and my skin always feels so clean and fresh after using it. I'm so glad I discovered it! 

Another favourite is the Salt of the Earth Deodorant spray. It's a natural alternative to the usual drugstore deodorant that contains a load of nasties, and it actually works as well! 

The Aloe Vera toothpaste from Dr. Organic has been another favourite that I wish I'd discovered before. They do some amazing products!

Other Random Stuff

These four books have honestly changed my life and put a lot of stuff into perspective. I've still got a lot to figure out, but June saw the beginning of a new me.