Cloud 10 Beauty | ft. Sleek & Blank Canvas

Cloud 10 Beauty | ft. Sleek & Blank Canvas

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Changing my makeup routine is something that occurs seasonally, especially the transition from the cool winter tones to vibrant summer shades. Summer is all about colour for me - I love to spice up my eyeshadow routine by adding a splash of colour to my crease or applying a dramatic orange lip. Either way, I am always excited to increase my Summer appropriate makeup collection. As you will see throughout the next few months, many of my upcoming posts will show you how I like to style my clothes, what I get up to and of course, my go-to makeup of the ever-loved season of Summer.

Today's post includes a beautiful little palette chaperoned by a very practical blending brush...more onto that later. First, I'm here to talk about Cloud 10 Beauty - an incredible online online retailer, similar to Feel Unique, that sells some of the nation's most popular brands including : Sleek, Bioderma, Bourjois, theBalm, EOS, Eylure, Sigma and many other worldwide favourites. Want to know the products I received in my first ever parcel from Cloud 10 Beauty? Then carry on reading, I'm sure you will love the palette as much as I do... 

Sleek Eyeshadow Palette - Storm

Storm - one of the most raved about palettes since I bought my first product Sleek product. I was ecstatic when I received this; an array of deep colours that push me out of my comfort zone. I'm not one to wear lots of bright, 'out-there' shades, as I don't think they suit me but I do love to add a pop of colour to an Summer outfit. This palette will do just the job because the blue and green shadows are toned down, allowing those who aren't as comfortable at pulling off crazy colour, like myself, the chance to branch out a bit more. Prior to this package, I own and have tried Sleek shadows before so I was expecting great things from this palette. The creamy and highly pigmented formula enabled the product to be applied onto both the lid and the crease with ease. Pigmentation is something I love about eyeshadow; the product can last for ages as you only need the tiniest amount on your brush. Also, the chalky texture allows efficient blending - when I first swatched the Sleek shadows in store, I was scared about the chalky feel. However, the product is easily blendable and simply to work with. I would also recommend applying this before face makeup as you can get a lot of fall out on your cheeks. Finally, the palette is filled with matte and shimmer shades - the shimmer are so pretty for evening wear and the matte shades are insane as transition colours. My favourite shades are Sand Storm (a golden glitter), Perfect Storm (a rose gold) and Storm Cloud (a cool-toned green, not my usual type but I think it will look pretty against dark eyes). 

Blank Canvas Cosmetics - Eye Brush E10

Cloud 10 Beauty clearly thought about practicality when they generously sent a blending brush alongside the palette. This was exciting as I had never used, or heard of, Blank Canvas Cosmetics before; an Irish Cosmetics brand that sell brushes, applicators and makeup products. The brush sent was perfect to fit comfortably in my crease, not too big and not too small. The thin, fluffy bristles allow product to be swept over the lid, creating a soft finish as well as being flexible to fit into the crease. E10 was utilised to my advantage; this is simply because I do not get on with the doe-foot applicators present in drugstore, and even highend, shadow palettes. They always apply products too cakey onto my lid and feel rough against my skin. Fortunately, Blank Canvas Cosmetics had soft-haired brushes that left my lids in good, healthy condition, as they should be! Haha! If you want to pick up a bargain, definitely head over to Cloud 10 Beauty through the link above as all eye brushes are below £10 which is insane for the quality you are given.

Let me know if you wish to see an in-depth eye look revolving around these two products, either on my blog or my upcoming Youtube channel.

Do you own anything from Sleek or Blank Canvas? What is your go-to eye look for the Summer?

Lots of love

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This post is in collaboration with Cloud 10 Beauty; however all opinions are honest and my own.

Luxury Products You NEED In Your Makeup Bag

Luxury Products You NEED In Your Makeup Bag

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Over my years of makeup hoarding and testing loads of different products, I have come to terms with what works for me and what looks like a complete disaster. Recently, I've been trying to narrow down my makeup into a very small 'ten products you can't live without'. However, I found this too challenging, as I'm a huge lover of both the expensive and affordable makeup. Therefore, I would like to bring to you part 1 of my favourite makeup products of all time. 

Also, I've been thinking about uploading my top 10 drugstore products of all time over on my Youtube Channel to coincide with this blog post. I'm starting a Youtube Channel in the next few months as I am so close to saving up for a new, good quality camera. I cannot wait to start making videos and hopefully receive a positive response, as I've been sooooo scared to do this. If you are interested in watching my future youtube videos, don't hesistate to click on the link above or type 'CharlotteEmilyXXXX' to find my channel and subscribe. Leave a comment below if you do!

On with the fun stuff...

FACE

Without a doubt, I always prioritise my highend base goodies over my (also-very-loved) drugstore ones. Personally, I feel that they provide such a luxurious feel on the skin, alongside creating an effect that lives up to their high prices. I'm 100% a full coverage girl and my NARS Sheer Glow fulfills my every need; with a smooth, silky finish, even complexion and long-lasting power, this foundation is one to settle anyone's 'flawless finish' needs. Accompanying Sheer Glow comes my trusty NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. Nars base products really work on my skin, building a firm base with a glowing radiance that counteracts my dryness. This concealer does my under eye circles wonders - illuminating my dull areas (under eyes, around my nose) and my T zone to highlight the centre of my face. 

Powder products are definitely my safety net when it comes to adding extra definition to my face. Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess, which you are probably sick-to-death hearing about from me, is a dream to blend when contouring, accentuating the hollows of my cheeks and structuring my face. The tiny golden flecks running through the product makes it perfect for the summer months when you want your face to glow under the sunlight. Blush is something I have love-hate relationship with; I am horrendously bad at applying the correct amount to my cheeks so I tend to avoid wearing it. However, after picking up MAC's Melba at the beginning of 2016, creating a soft, flushed effect has never been so easy. The warm, peach undertones form a natural look on my cheeks, something I've been wanting to achieve for months years! Saving the best till last - highlight!!! MAC'S infamous Soft and Gentle and The Balm's Mary Lou Manizer are the highlights you will always find lurking in my makeup bag; I alter between the two depending on my makeup look. If I've chosen cooler tones on my eyes/lips, I will opt for Mary Lou. Alternatively, Soft and Gentle compliments warmer tones so I pop some of that on my cheeks when I'm wearing a copper shadow and I'm good to go :)

EYES

Finding a single eyeshadow palette that I adore with all my heart was a challenge - I own many a shadow palette so it was very difficult to decide which met all my criteria. The Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette won! This was simply because it met everything I could ever want in a shadow palette - a mixture of matter and shimmers, intense pigmentation, all wearable/versatile shades, a variety of colours, a handy mirror and sleek packaging to fit in your makeup bag. I will honestly never stop raving about this palette because I love it soooo freaking much! My most used shadow is definitely Creme Brulee - it creates a gorgeous golden lid colour for those days where you just cant be bothered to spend 113432 hours perfecting your eye makeup.

LIPS

Another very difficult product to condense into my top favourites were my lipsticks. Fortunately, I've managed to narrow my choices to my top 3 lippies - a deep pink, a nude and a dark shade. Starting from the left, Charlotte Tilbury's stunning rose-gold packaging holds my all-time favourite 'your-lips-but-better- shade - BOND GIRL. This cool-toned, mauve pink is perfect for everyday wear but can also look glamorous in the evening too. The versatility of this lipstick is endless and it will never leave my purse/handbag/pocket no matter where I am. Nudes are my fall back if I'm wearing little makeup or don't want to draw any attention to myself - Chanel's Satisfaction is always something I go back to when I acquire a nude lip. The creamy formula feels incredibly luxurious on your lips and lasts for several hours, not something many lip products can do. Lastly, MAC's Dark Side is a more recent discovery; the dark, red/purple undertones really complement my ivory complexion and leave a thin, yet intense, satin finish.

What are you favourite high end makeup products? Do you have any dupes for the products I mentioned above?!

Lots of love

5 Simple Ways to Eliminate and Disguise Facial Impurities

5 Simple Ways to Eliminate and Disguise Facial Impurities

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Having a flawless complexion is something that us girl's dream about, day and night. Although we should, and are told to try, our uttermost hardest to embrace our imperfections, it is very difficult when you have a huge spot in the middle of your forehead. Personally, I am not very confident in my skin so I like to find tips and tricks to help me feel more comfortable in myself. Here are few things I do to help my skin feel clean and flawless!

1. I'm going to start with something I am 100% guilty of (as you can evidently tell from the images above) - CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES. Washing your brushes is such a simple thing that we all forget to do - I always delay chores like this because it literally takes me forever to wash and dry all of my brushes. However, by taking the time to clean your facial brushes, it can seriously help your skin. Oils and bacteria swiftly build up in your brushes over a short time frame and we all know what excess oil and bacteria leads to...SPOTS!

2. You've definitely all heard this before but maintaining a skin routine, personal to your own skin type, is beneficial when trying to eliminate impurities. Fortunately, I don't suffer with any extreme cases of spots or 'breakouts' but whenever a lovely spot forms on my face, it's HUGE! To try an avoid this as much as possible, I have a little routine consisting of cleansing water, eye make-up remover, cleansing lotion and moisturizer for my dry skin. Although I don't recommend this, I sometimes take my makeup off using wipes when I'm feeling lazy. There is no harm doing this but just make sure you have nights where you cleanse your face properly to avoid sleeping in makeup overnight. That is literally the WORST mistake you can make.

MY DRY SKIN ROUTINE

Firstly, I pour a small amount of Garnier's Micellar Cleansing Water onto some cotton pads and remove the majority of my base makeup. Following this step, I use the Garnier Fresh Eye Make-up Remover to take off my mascara, liner and eyeshadow. After my face is makeup-free, I take my Skinology Cleansing lotion and apply a generous amount to my face - this helps to remove any excess makeup that might be deeper in the pores or that I may have missed. Finally, Garnier's Moisture Match for Normal/Dry skin is my ultimate dry skin saviour. I have non-stopped used this since the day I bought it. The creamy, smooth formulation is to die for and the smell reminds me of holidays!

(P.S This post isn't sponsored by Garnier, I just loooooove their skincare)

3. One of my favourite ways to disguise my spots is to smother my under eye circles and spots with  concealer. OK, maybe 'smother' isn't the right word but I can't help applying several layers of my two favourite under-eye concealers to hide the darkness. I highly recommend 'L'Oreal Lumi Magique' in light and Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat in '02' if you're looking to highlight dark circles. Their formulation is a dream, blending evenly into the right creases and areas on my face I wish to be disguised.

Alternatively, if I have more time, I like to use my colour correction palette from E.L.F Cosmetics. Usually, I apply the green concealer onto my cheeks. Green concealers are designed to neutralize red tones on the face and this seriously helps to minimize my rosiness. However, avoid using this on dark spots/areas as this can accentuate those areas, making them more visible. The pink concealer contrasts the green - wear this on dark circles or spots to gain coverage but not on areas of redness.

4. I guess this number 4 is sort of a hack? Cold metal is a great wait to counteract redness on the skin. Therefore, if my skin is particularly red, I place a spoon in the freezer and leave it for 10-15 minutes. This seriously helps to reduce the redness on my cheeks and it is such a simple and quick way to achieve an even skin tone.

5. My favourite of them all. If you are feeling unconfident in your skin or with a particular spot on your face, drawing attention to other areas is key. Personally, I love to use dark colours on my eyes or lips to accentuate them. Tip: Use your favourite facial feature to your advantage - whether it be your cheekbones, lips or brows - flaunt your most-loved feature by using makeup products to enhance them. I love to wear dark lips so above are my top 6 lips I switch between when my skin is being disastrous.

~Makeup Revolution 'Rebel with a Cause' ~ MAC 'Rebel' ~ Too Faced Melted Velvet ~ MAC 'Dark Side' ~ Makeup Revolution '100% Vamp' ~ Nars Audacious 'Charlotte' ~

What do you do to eliminate spots? What is your favourite skincare product?

Lots of love

Brand Focus: Essence

Brand Focus: Essence

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Today's brand focus is a brand that has rose dramatically in popularity over the past few years. Prior to receiving my Essence goodie bag, I had only ventured as far as their liquid glitter eye products and lipsticks so I was extremely excited to see what else they had to offer. Already, I was expecting good things, as I was rather impressed at the quality of their lipsticks, despite the inexpensive pricing.

Essence are a cosmetic company that are sold exclusively in Wilkinson's in the UK; however, when I went to Ireland a couple of years ago, they were selling Essence in a shop called Pennies (I believe it's the equivalent of Primark in England). 

EYES 

'Plump NO CLUMP' Mascara ~ Drugstore mascara is my go-to! I've never found a highend mascara that is any better than one I love from the drugstore; so quite simply, I just stick to the cheaper option. This worked very well on my lashes, giving added volume and lengthening too. 

Long Lasting Black Eyeliner ~ Eyeliner is something I always struggle to apply - I cannot perfect the 'winged' liner no matter how many times I try. However, I'm also a lover of eyeliner in my waterline and below to my bottom lashes to intensify an eye look. Thus, a long-lasting black eye pencil is what I need. I've wore this out once so far and was rather impressed by the results. The liner didn't budge for a good 5 hours, alongside maintaining the same pigmentation from when I first applied.

LIPS

XXXL Nude Lipgloss in 'Soft Almond' ~ I always turn to matte lips in the Winter, despite my lips deteriorating in the cooler months. This has literally ruined my lips and I completely regret not opting for lighter options, like lipgloss. I really love subtle lipglosses to add a shine to the look - a layer of this would look incredible on top of a nude lip! Perfect for the summer!

'Soft Berry' Lipliner ~ This may actually be the favourite product I received from Essence. I am a huge fan of nude lips, like most of the female population at the minute, so was thrilled to be gifted with the PERFECT nude liner to accompany my MAC Velvet Teddy lipstick. Soft Berry is a muted mauve-pink that doesn't budge from the lips all evening. I like to apply the product on my lip line and in the corner of my mouth to create a soft, ombre gradient.

NAILS

'The Gel Nail Polish' Base Coat 

'The Gel Nail Polish' in 'My Love Diary'

'The Gel Nail Polish' Top Coat

Nail Polish is something that always seems a chore to me. However, whenever I buy new polishes, I cannot help but quickly apply them. My go-to colour to wear on a daily basis is nude - it's just perfect for sixth form and every day wear because of the versatility of the colour. This makes matching your nails to your outfits a solvable issue. Anyway, these gel polishes were something I was excited to get my hands on. I love gel polish and have had my nails painted with 'shellac' many a time - I couldn't wait to try it on myself. Unfortunately, I didn't capture a photo with them on but the product lasted on my nails for 6 straight days. Usually, drugstore nail polishes chip within a day or two so this was a huge difference from me. Get your hands on these while you can girlies!

Have you purchased anything from Essence before? What are your favourite summer nails polishes?

Lots of love

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These products were received in collaboration with Essence Cosmetics. All opinions are honest and my own.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade | REVIEW

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade | REVIEW

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Brows are one THE most important part of my makeup routine. Unfortunately, I am one of those people who suffer with sparse brow hairs; therefore, they are difficult to shape when I get them waxed whilst further costing me an eyebrow tint for the beautician to ever SEE the hairs they need to wax. 

Finally, after many years of trying out awful brow pencils and powders, I have at last found the formula to satisfy my brows righteous needs...

Formulation - The highly-pigmented formula aids smooth application onto the brows - the creamy texture allowing the product to glide with ease. Also, the 'gel' is thick so a little product goes a long way; realistically, one dip covers one of my brows.

Colour - Not being able to buy Anastasia in England is such a pain when choosing colour matches. Therefore, I tentatively trusted Google Images to supply me with the correct colour match. To my luck and fortune, I succeeded and the shade 'Chocolate' matched my brows perfectly. This shade is slightly warm toned, complimenting my pale/ivory complexion. Finally, it is simple to create the gradient effect (dark to light from ends to where the brows meet) - all you need to do is apply more product onto the end of your eyebrow.

Angled 12 Brush - This brush has saved my life; it gives me ultimate precision when crafting my eyebrows, simple application due to the thin bristles and angled shape, and accompanied with a spooly to help tame those annoying stray hairs!! I would 100% recommend picking this up along with the Dipbrow Pomade. I totally plan on purchasing one for gel liner too. 

Sorry for the cringey selfie, but this is what the product looks like on my brows.

Have you tried the Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade? What is your holy grail brow product?

Lots of love

Winter to Spring Makeup Transition

Winter to Spring Makeup Transition

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When a new season comes around, it is absolutely vital that I alter my makeup bag to fit the appropriate weather/theme. In Spring, I can't help reaching for all my favourite pastels, pinks and shimmers. Here is what you are most likely to find in my makeup as we change from Winter to Spring...

Although I'm a sucker for full coverage foundation, I can't help opting for this incredible BB cream from Garnier. This leaves my face feeling light, even and fresh - the smell is an added bonus, it reminds me of being on holiday!! The lightest shade matches my skin colour perfectly too; I always seem to be paler than pale after undergoing the cold Winter. 

When it comes to complexion, I'm not one to go for intense contour and excessive highlight in the Spring, unless I'm going out in the evening of course. To create a more subtle bronze/contour, I use L'Oreal's Glam Bronze Eau De Soleil for slightly definition. The formulation is very liquid-y and can be messy, so be careful otherwise it will go everywhere - TRUST ME!!!

Jasper Rose by Bourjois is the one to go for if you like pink, rosy cheeks like myself. The powder formula is highly pigmented so you don't need to apply more than two strokes onto your cheek to create the desired effect.

Finally, face-wise, I'm into dewy highlight; Rimmel Wake Me Up Shimmer Touch in Flush of Pearl is supposedly a great dupe for Benefit's well-loved High Beam. The liquid formula forms a dewy, iridescent glow on the cheek bones which instantly draws sunlight. 

During this time of year, all of my pink-based eye shadow palettes come out the drawer and become much more utilised. Recently, I've been loving my Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette as it contains both winter/spring appropriate shades to take me from one season into the next. My fave shades definitely have to be Salted Caramel, Creme Brulee and Haute Chocolate.

 Also, I love to use my Bobbi Brown Pink Opal palette for a quick shimmer on the lid - this can add a glitz to your makeup if you don't have time to go create a whole eye look. This would also work as a beautiful, pink-toned highlight!

Finally, my Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in RSVP gives the perfect base for a Spring eye shadow look. I cannot stop using it throughout the season, whether I'm wearing eye products over the top or not!

Leaving the best till last...LIPS! Pink seems to be a running theme in my posts whenever Spring hits us... Anyway, Mac's lustre finish lipstick in Lovelorn is essential in my makeup bag throughout this time of year. Pink lips are so feminine and really lighten my complexion; this blue-toned pink also makes your teeth look insanely white.

In the warmer months, I like to delve into my lipgloss collection - I have such lovely shades but am always hesitant to use them in the Winter, as the wind just blows my hair onto my lips and it is a NIGHTMARE. Urban Decay's beautifully encased LIAR lipgloss is part of the infamous NAKED collection - the colour is less dramatic than the lipstick so would work for those who are tentative at wearing vibrant colours.

Don't forget to check out my Winter to Spring Fashion outfits post! 

What products do you always reach for at this time of year? What is your go-to Spring lipstick?!

Lots of love