The Best of Drugstore Beauty

The Best of Drugstore Beauty

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Drugstore products are a huge love in the beauty world - who doesn't love picking up a dupe for the latest high end craze for more than half the price? Over the years of testing and trying many a drugstore product, I have collated a list of my favourite picks from the high street...

FACE

BB Cream : Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector

I always become a fan of light coverage products in the Summer as heavy makeup is a no-go for me in the warmer months. The formula is light and fresh on the face, creating a beautiful dewy look to uplift my dull,dry skin. This product balances out my red complexion and gives a glowing effect. I love how this works with my skin - the smell is heavenly too!!

Foundation : L'Oreal Infallible 24H 

My drugstore foundation go-to alters on a regular basis so you will probably see this for a couple months and something better will arise - I will be sure to let you all know. Anyway, this foundation is currently a saviour in my daily routine; giving me my desired sleek, full coverage winter face and not drying out my skin throughout the wear period. A wonderful addition to my makeup collection.

Concealer : Rimmel Wake Me Up 

Concealer is another area I like to change ever few months just to try something different. However, I always seem to come back to Rimmel. This concealer just has something that brightens, conceals and hides my horrendous under eye bags/blemishes the best. I couldn't recommend this inexpensive product enough!

Powder : Rimmel Stay Matte

A cult favourite. Unless you've been living under a rock your entire beauty life, you will have heard hundred and thousands of people talk about this so I won't bore you to death with the same repetitive comments. Just a powder that compares closely with most high end ones - great for achieving a flawless matte complexion.

Blush : E.L.F Baked Blush in Peachy Cheeky

One of my favourite drugstore blushes has to be one of E.L.F's stunningly formed baked blushes. The formula is incredibly pigmented with glimpses of peach, pink and glitter sparkling on the apples of your cheek. This is a definite product you need to get your hands on this spring/summer!

Bronzer : Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick

I always tend to purchase high end bronze/contour products as they are the only formulas that seem to work for me. All but this drugstore bronzer have left my cheekbones is a muddy, flaky mess! This shimmer brick has been compared to the infamous Bobbi Brown ones, with multiple glimmering bronze/copper shades perfect for warming/defining those cheeks. 

Highlight : Rimmel Wake Me Up 001 Flush of Pearl

My favourite highlight from the drugstore is this liquid formulated beauty from Rimmel, again. Rimmel seem to have some of the best facial products within the drugstore - shoutout to Rimmel!! These different colored highlights are suited for all skin tones and add a pop of sparkle to the tops of your cheeks and under the brow bone.

EYES

Brows : Beauty UK High Brow Definition Kit

Many people often dimiss Beauty UK, even myself if I'm honest, as I just don't hear anyone talk about their products much/at all. After being given the brow set from a friend, I gave it a try and honestly used it for an entire year. There is a powder, wax, setting powder and black shadow shade in the palette, along with a angled brush applicator. Hands down the best brow product from the drugstore....EVER.

Mascara : Revlon Lash Potion 

Lengthening and giving my lashes heaps of volume are something a mascara has to obtain to win me over completely. This mascara exceeds my expectations immaculately; I would completely compare it to my beloved Smashbox Full Exposure mascara, which is my favourite mascara of all time. It just does my eyelashes wonders without the horrible clumping effect mascaras can sometimes create.

Eyeliner : Rimmel Exaggerate

Eyeliners are always a hit or miss for me; I either 100% rate them or absolutely hate them. Rimmel Exaggerate has a fairly sturdy, nifty nib to create thin, winged liner looks. The liquid formula can sometimes get messy but the opaque, black finish is something you cannot miss out on.

Cream Shadow : Maybelline Color Tattoos

Another huge favourite in the beauty world are the Maybelline Color Tattoos; my favourite shade being 'On and On Bronze'. This sparkling copper eyeshadow base works a treat as a primer, lasting the entire day without any creasing on the lid. Also a fab product if you're in a rush and want to add some quick colour to your lid. 

Eyeshadow Sticks : Kiko and Rimmel Scandal Eyes

Super travel-friendly eye products are the ever growing ranges of shadow sticks drugstore brands are bringing out. I cannot stop raving about the pigmentation of the Kiko and Rimmel shadow sticks; the color payoff is exactly what you see in the tube and the lasting power is as equally impressive.

LIPS

Lip Crayons : Revlon Colorburst in Elusive and Standout

There are only a few drugstore lipsticks that I find moderately okay - they never seem to do me any favours. 1. They dry out my lips. 2. They are usually matte and sink into my lip lines. 3. The formulas are usually horrendous and they last for abuot 10 minutes. Due to my bad experience with drugstore lippies, I can only turn to lip crayons. Revlon have a fab range of matte and glossy crayons to hydrate your lips, making them feel/look gorgeous. Elusive is a pretty, natural pink whereas Stand Out is a bold, striking and deep red shade.

Liquid Lipstick : Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in Parisian Passion and Rio Rush

Revlon have it in the bag from lip products. They also have these liquid lippies, which I must say have very mixed opinions, but nonetheless I absolutely adore these. The deep purple, Parisian Passion, is my favourite and complements Mac's Rebel a treat. I love glossy, non-sticky feeling it has on my lips, as well as a bold colour finish. 

PALETTES

Blush Palette : Makeup Revolution

Makeup Revolution have some incredibly cheap but good quality blush palettes. Some of the shades may seem slightly chalky but with a little bit of blending they create a pretty flush in no time. I love this palette as it holds the exact array of summer shades you could wish for. It also had two shimmer shades at the end, one being a fabulous cool-toned highlighter.

Eyeshadow Palette : Sleek Au Naturel

Sleek are definitely the best place to purchase drugstore shadow palettes. They have an insane amount of different palettes to chose from, covering absolutely anyone's taste. My favourite is the Au Naturel palette because it has gorgeous cool-toned, dark shades for the Winter months just passed. I will be planning to pick up a more summer-themed palette from Sleek for the upcoming seasons. Does anyone have any recommendations?

What are your favourite drugstore products? Have you found any dupes for your high end faves?!

Lots of love

The Best Drugstore Full Coverage Foundation

The Best Drugstore Full Coverage Foundation

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If you know me, you'll know my undeniable love for a full coverage face - especially in the Winter! I just love having a 'perfect' complexion; although my skin rarely has spots, it is very discoloured and my overly red cheeks aren't at all appealing if I do say so myself. To solve this issue, I am constantly purchasing foundations that I hear are great to form an airbrushed, smooth base and this time I found one from the drugstore - a definite rarity!!!

In my time of trying out drugstore bases, I have never turned to Revlon. I have absolutely no idea why I didn't, as I luuurve Revlon eye and lip products! Anyway, I've seen numerous people rave about this foundation over the past few months so I thought I'd give it a go...

The Revlon Colorstay foundations are available in an array of colours and formulations, suitable for every skin type. I opted for combination/dry because I mainly suffer with dry patches in the Winter, however my T-zone remains oily all year round...great! This formulation works effectively on my skin, giving my complexion a warm, winter glow. When it comes to application, I either use a damp beauty blender or the dense-bristled base brush to blend into the skin. Due to the formulation being extremely smooth, it makes blending a dream.

A full coverage is achieved with two thin, even layers - this hides any blemishes and corrects any discoloration. On an average day, this base lasts for 10 hours before slipping off the face (without powder) and roughly 12-14 with powder keeping it in place; therefore does not match the claim, for me, on lasting 24 hours. But who even wears foundation for 24 hours, eh?! The only other flaw I've faced with the Revlon Colorstay is that there isn't a pump so you have to pour the product out. This can be very impractical and get quite messy in my makeup bag.

Overall, I totally recommend this foundation to anyone who is lover, like me, of full coverage bases or those who like skin-specific foundations. Revlon are the one to visit!

What foundation are you wearing this Winter?

Lots of love

Charlotte x

5 Beauty Products You Need This A/W

5 Beauty Products You Need This A/W

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If you are living in the northern hemisphere, you will know that it is time to hide away those vibrant corals and replace them with those ravising reds and berries. 

Welcome to Autumn everyone! Autumn is my favourite time of year due to so many reasons: the nights get darker (not great for taking photos with the poor lighting - but I love it!), the temperature becomes cooler, the knitted jumpers come out along with all the gorgeous autumnal colours. I'm a huge fan of all the autumn trends both in the fashion and makeup industry; so today, I would like to cover my top 5 things I love and you NEED this A/W on the beauty side of things.

During the cooler months, my skin always thinks it would be funnier to go VERY dry and make my makeup cling to patches on my face - FAB!!! To try and avoid this in 2015, I've prepared myself by keeping my moisturizers, primers and radiant illuminating creams at the ready. Garnier and Simple do some great skin goodies for an affordable price!

Another way I like to stay radiant and glowing is using golden toned highlighters. I feel these work best in the winter months as it brightens paler skin. These two high end must-haves are probably the most talked about highlighter and I completely understand why so many people talk about them. Even better, these two products work incredibly together; layer MAC's soft and gentle over Benefit's Watts Up and you're good to go!

Warm, plum blush shades are what you need this Autumn/Winter. They compliment golden highlight and deepen the cheek colour to make you have a flawless complexion. I'm not usually a fan of loose powder products but this E.L.F Blusher in PLUM really does me wonders at this time of year.

Eyeshadows are my favourite to change up seasonally, especially when Autumn comes around. Taupes, maroons, cranberries, coppers and golden glitters are the colours to go for - they correspond to the traditional autumnal shades and look great both daily and nightly. I absolutely love taupe and cranberry colours in the crease of my eye; they help to contour the lid so much and create the prettiest effect. Also, I adore wearing golden glitters on the eyelid too because of how simple is it to create.

Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for - my favourite berry red lips for this Autumn/Winter. Want a matte finish? Go for Rimmel's Kate Moss lipstick in 107 or the Nars Audacious lipstick in the shade Charlotte! If you're looking for a more satin finish then you definitely want to opt for Mac's Rebel or Makeup Up Revolution's Rebel With Cause - how ironic that they have similar shade names?! Lastly, if you're a glossy type of gal, I totally recommend visiting Revlon and picking up Parisian Passion from their Lacquer range. 

What are your must-have beauty products for A/W?!

Lots of love

What I Got For My Birthday 2015

What I Got For My Birthday 2015

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On Friday the 4th of September, it was my birthday and indeed was spoilt again by my wonderful family, friends and boyfriend. I'm very appreciative of all my gifts and this post is not in any way boasting about my fortune; I just wanted to share with you all my gorgeous new makeup bits and bobs, some fashion items and other things I received over the course of my birthday weekend. Some of the presents below, I bought with birthday money as I preferred going to London and chosing some things I wanted myself. Let's get started...

Makeup

My bestfriend is an honest God for buying me Urban Decay's latest Naked Smoky Palette release. I was so happy and overwhelmed that she got this for me, as they are pretty darn pricey. I'm in love with the colours and names, as always! Cannot wait to review this in the near future; URBAN DECAY are an honest blessing to the makeup world.

The left purchase was one I made my own in London; I've been wanting to try the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils for too long now and I'm so glad to finally have my hands on one. The pigmentation is insane and I'm a sucker for crayon-styled lip products - they really aid appliance, I think. My boyfriend was so sweet and bought me this Nars Eyeshadow that was out of stock a couple weeks back when I wanted to buy it in London. Nars Callisto is a gorgeous icy silver/pink shade that will perfect in the winter months.

Mac's Mehr seems to be a new craze recently?! Well, from what I've seen over instagram and youtube, a lot of people are hyping of this MAC number. I thought this would be great for sixth form as it is a neutral, classy pink/mauve shade. This is also another purchase of my own from Selfridges, I just couldn't leave it, could I?!

Another friend, Karis, was absolutely fabulous and gifted me these two Urban Decay products. Urban Decay are possibly my favourite high end brand, along with Mac and Nars, and I was so happy to receive these beauties for my birthday. On the left is a recent want of mine - Daisy from Wild Flower Makeup uploaded a review on this and I couldn't help but swoon over this popping purple colour (BITTERSWEET). Additionally, I've become an avid lover of these eyeshadow (see my recent purchase here. A pretty space grey silver with glitters running throughout (MUSHROOM).

Jess, another close friend of mine, obviously listened well too when I mentioned my lust for Mac's Nightmoth Liner. I didn't have any dark lip liners so I struggled to pull off dark lips all night long. Thanks to Jess, I don't have to worry about my dark lippies smearing/cracking over my lip liner throughout the night. 

When in Superdrug, I noticed many a deal so what other can one do but to take advantage?! I decided to nab this very wanted foundation when it had been reduced to £10 this week. The finish of this is amazing and very good for people like me who love a full coverage.

Jess very kindly bought me this second gift too. She was very thoughtful and matched Revlon's Miami Fever Lip Lacquer to my very bright Mac Lady Danger. These would look incredible together; a hot glossy lip would look insane in the evening. 

Other Beauty

Aidan also bought me this Body Shop product from one of their new ranges. A woman wiped a bit 
on my hand outside the store and I was woo'ed at the scent and softness. This is a fabulous moisturizer for both the face and body; I can't wait to be using this throughout Winter when everything seems to dry up.

Garnier Micellar Water and Eye Makeup Remover minis were extra additions to my superdrug basket. Everyone always talks about the micellar water so I thought I would give it a go - makeup wipes really irriate and redden my face. Time for a change, eh? I will be sure to let you all know how I get on!

A long-term friend came round on my birthday and gave me a present which I thought was super sweet. She gave me the loveliest set of Jack Wills fragrances..looking forward to trying them out!

Fashion

GREY JUMPER - H&M 

PINK SATIN BLOUSE - H&M

BLUE AND WHITE PINSTRIPED PINAFORE - URBAN OUTFITTERS

LONG TUNIC WHITE TEE - URBAN OUTFITTERS

BURGUNDY TURTLE NECK DRESS - URBAN OUTFITTERS

As seen in the first image of this post, I also bought a new school bag from Wallis in BHS. I loved the basic colours, making it universal, so it is very easy to match to every outfit. Ironically, I adored the grey snake print, considering I'm absolutely terrified of snakes - I HAVE A PHOBIA!!!

Miscellaneous

Another thoughtful idea from my very-loved boyfriend were these two books. I love how qwerky and different the books are in Urban Outfitters and these two were the best picks. The one on the left sounds so interesting and I can't wait to read all the different feelings and hopefully relate to the author. 'THE GOLDEN RULES OF BLOGGING' will be a great late night read to keep my blog posts in ship shape. Thank you Aidan <3

Megan thought up this great idea to buy me a brownie baking mix in a jar. If you didn't already know, brownies are my absolute favourite and the jar just makes it so much better; who knows what I'll store in it once I've made the delicious treats?!

Finally, my boyfriend's mum was so so kind to buy me a new pandora charm for my bracelet. This has my birthstone - Sapphire - in it and I can't love it anymore that I already do!

My final thing I couldn't quite photograph was the main present from Aidan. He bought me a MUJI aroma diffuser with wonderful scents to fill my room with and help me relax. The beautiful smells could easily send me off to sleep and most definitely will help me with the stress of A levels over the next two years! Oh, I'll also start my driving lessons soon as I've just turned 17..aaarrghhh!

Thank you for reading, sorry it was a long one today :-)

Lots of love

Pink // Worldwide Rainbow Outfits

Pink // Worldwide Rainbow Outfits

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Outfit  ~ Evening

Good evening all, I have a special little post today that involves 14 other lovely girls. We all got in contact by the wonderful Myah Skeete (www.myahrebbecasblog.wordpress.com) and have brought to you a collab which involves copious outfit colours. I got lucky with the colour pink - if you do not wear pink, no fear, scroll to the bottom of this post and click on one of my fellow collabers who happens to be styling your desired colour choice. Some of us have even included a few beauty bits and bobs related to the outfit/colour too!

My outfit is what I would call, 'evening-appropriate'. A gorgeous tight-clung, long-sleeved bodycon dress, perfect for summer because of the girly pastel pink shade. I paired the dress with nude suede shoes (LOL) and a nude, gold chained clutch bag. Personally, I'd wear this to a summer party; the bag is ideal due to it being lightweight and compact, which helps limit myself, and probably many of you, to carrying only the night's essentials (lipstick, powder, phone etc).

Dress - Select (£14.99)
Shoes - Next (£22.99)
Bag - New Look (£14.99)
Lipstick - Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Elusive (£7.99)

 I find pink-toned blushes, eyeshadows and lips can really enhance the outfit. Here are a few makeup options that can add an extra little pink sparkle to your look: -

~~ LIPS - Mac Lovelorn - YSL 01 - Urban Decay Liar - Bobbi Brown Rose Blossom - Revlon Elusive - NYX Audrey - Tanya Burr Aurora - BLUSHES - Mac Fleur Power - Too Faced Sweethearts - Bourjois Jasper Rose - Benefit Rockateur - EYESHADOW - Urban Decay Naked3 - Bobbi Brown Pink Opal - Benefit RSVP - L'Oreal Naughty Strawberry - NAIL POLISH - Barry M ~ Mediterranean, Grapefruit, Pink Iridescent ~~

Don't forget to click on all of the girls blogs below, you won't regret it!!

Fellow Bloggers 

Myah Skeete - Brown - www.myahrebeccasblog.wordpress.com

Claire Ellison - Royal Blue - www.palmtreesandtaxis.weebly.com

Holly Banfield - Black - www.hollysbeautysecrets.blogspot.com

Katie Louise - White&Grey - www.katiecblogs.blogspot.com

Lily Rose - White - www.lilyroserichards.blogspot.co.uk

Yasmin Elle Banks - Monochrome - www.yas-elle.blogspot.co.uk

Frances Bates - Pastel Blue - www.royallyrouge.blogspot.com

Annabel - Lime Green - www.frankiesandgeorge.com

Ellie Colgate - Deep Red/Burgundy - thelifeandbooksofmissbackwards.wordpress.com

Hima - Army Green - www.myramblingheart.com

Maddie Browne - Retro Orange - loafersandlattes.blogspot.co.uk

Amy - Purple&Grey - dailypopularculture.blogspot.co.uk

Abi - Hot Pink - ladyhunter.co.uk 

Brittany - Maroon - brittanyfenton.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading <3

Love 

Everyday Natural Makeup Starter Kit

Everyday Natural Makeup Starter Kit

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 Products:

~ 'C' Makeup Bag - Primark

~ Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector - Light

~ Maybelline Anti Age Rewind Concealer - Light

~ Too Faced Sweethearts Blush 

~ Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil - Dark Brown

~ Revlon Lash Potion

~ Mac Prolongwear Paint Pot - Bare Study

~ Benefit Posie Balm

You know them days when you can't be bothered to cake your face in endless pretty products?? Yeah, I get them days. So..here are a few handy little products, both highend and drugstore, for those days when you're feeling that little bit lazy!

Personally, I would opt for a BB cream when I'm not going full frontal with my makeup; this gives a slight coverage, evens out my skin colours and makes me feel a lot more confident than leaving the house with no facial makeup at all. Although, if you do feel comfortable with your natural skin, then you could just pop a bit of concealer (the Maybelline one mentioned above is incredible) under your eyes/over blemishes and you're good to go! Finally, facewise, you could add a subtle warmness to your cheeks by applying pinky-toned blush - I love this one from two faces, the little shimmers are perfect for a natural glow.

Moving on to eyes, I will go very minimal with days like this. However, I cannot go anywhere without my brows filled in (comment below if you have really sparse eyebrows like me and know the struggle:(!) With a few strokes of the inexpensive Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil your brows will be looking on fleek (I'm sorry) in no time. If I want to balance the tones on my eyelids, I will just pat a small amount of the beautiful champagne coloured paint pot from Mac in Bare Study. Lastly, I will apply a single coat of the Revlon Lash Potion for a bit of volume and length on my lashes.

Last but not least, is lips - and 100% I will always go for lipbalms on natural makeup days. I love the small 'eos'-liked balms from Boots called Balmis or for a wash of colour, I will go for Posie Balm above ^. The colour is so flattering with simple face makeup and it totally completes the look.

I hope you enjoyed today's post and I will see you all soon.

Love