Yesterday's Outfit + Make-up + Bonus

Here's a different post than what you're used to seeing in this blog... the outfit and make-up I wore yesterday night:

The whole outfit (Jacket - Next, Dress - Little Mistress, Shoes - Dorothy Perkins)

Jacket details on the sleeve (left) and lower back (right)

Close-up of eye make-up

For make up I used the following items:

Face : Rimmel Lasting Finish Loose Powder Foundation in 100 Ivory

          Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer in 103 Soft Honey 

          Max Factor Creme Puff in 85 Light 'n' Gay

          Rimmel Powder Blush in 004 Pink Rose

          Peach blush from Technic Palette

Eyes : e.l.f. Eyelid Primer

          Twilight and Sand Dollar eyeshadows from Estee Lauder Palette

          Dark Peach eyeshadow from Collistar

          Gold eyeshadow from Collistar

          Rimmel SpecialEyes Mono Eyeshadow in 030 Smokey Quartz

          elf Earth and Water Mascara Duo in Noire

          elf Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil in Boldly Bronzed

Lips : Revlon ColorStay lipliner in Nude

         Deborah Milano Rossetto 24 Ore in 13 Creamy

Brushes : elf Studio Powder Brush

               Fraulein 38 Fan Brush, Eyeshadow C-Brush and other eyeshadow applicators

               elf Professional Blending Eye Brush

As promised, here's a bonus *WARNING* nothing make-up related but still can be categorised under 'Beauty'...

... a tiny hedgehog which my boyfried saw whilst we were driving! I never saw one in my life and I am still amazed at what a beautiful creature it is! They have such a cute face ^.^ My boyfriend picked this little one up to avoid him from being run-over by cars and put him safely in a field across the a road.... I'd say it is a good deed for the day! Happy Sunday everyone :)

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NOTW: All that glitters...

... is not necessarily gold! But in this case it is! For this week, I created an Autumn-inspired manicure with of course Autumn colours, and let's face it... who doesn't have gold come to mind when someone says Autumn? Leaves are also something we seem to connect to Autumn automatically as it is during this time that they change to beautiful golden brown shades and shed from the trees. I incorporated these two elements in this manicure which may be a bit time consuming, but in my opinion is really worth trying.

Here are the step by step instructions how you can do it yourself!

1. Start off with a clear base coat (Florelle Nail Strengthener)

2. Apply two coats of a gold nail polish of your choice. I particularly like a coppery gold, so I opted for elf Cosmetics Nail Polish in Blush. It is better to apply two thin coats rather a thick one for a smoother finish. Remember to let coats dry thoroughly in between applications.

3. Apply one or two coats of a sparkly gold glitter polish depending on how much glitter you want.

4. Now, for the leaf design. I used elf Cosmetics Nail Polish in Chocolate to create the basic design starting by drawing the middle vein of the leaf all across the nail by means of a detailing nail art brush. I chose to draw mine diagonally to make it look more life-like. Then proceed to draw the leaf body and small veins on the inside. You can draw which ever kind of leaf you want, but since I am not a very good artist, I opted for a simple leaf on each of my ring fingers.

5. To add a bit of playfulness to the design, draw tiny swirls with the same brown polish or a bronze polish to suit your taste. I stuck with the same polish.

6. With and orange nail polish and a dotter, create dots on the rest of your nail wherever you want and also apply the orange nail polish on the inside of the leaf in between the small vein marks.

7. Seal in the design with a clear top coat (Florelle Glossy Top & UV Protection) and you're done!

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Review: CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Trio in Cafe' Au Lait

I've had this eyeshadow trio for ages and I reach for it very often because it is versatile enough to be used for day and night looks. It is the only product I own from CG because we don't get them in Malta and shipping from the US is expensive to buy them from the internet. Back to the review.

This trio comes in a blister-pack and on the back are two looks that you can create (at least mine came like that as like I said, I've had this for a long time). The actual trio is what you would expect it to look like; a plastic case with the three eyeshadow pans and a double ended sponge applicator (one end is pointy, the other is round).

Let me start with a quick word on the applicator. It has lasted me this long and survived all the washes so it's definitely good quality. The pointy end got separated once during a wash but I fixed it back in place with some glue and it is still there so yeah, bonus points for a good applicator.

On to the eyeshadows. I'm a huge fan of neutral eyeshadows cos you can never go wrong with them so its no wonder I love this trio so much! 

Close-up of eyeshadows and swatches (swatches are the other way round)

It's clearly visible that they are very pigmented and not chalky at all. From left to right (according to swatch), they are Sugar Rush (matte), Mocha Latte (pearl), Double Espresso (pearl). I use Mocha Latte a lot because it is an excellent base colour to work with (you can tell from the photo above how much I use it, luckily I have a couple of dupes for it).

The eyeshadows have a good wearability and last me all day (with or without a primer). They are easily blendable and buildable to suit one's taste.

Have you ever tried any CG products yourselves? How do you feel about them?

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Review: Senscience Brilliant Defence

Here's a short hair-related product review for today! Senscience Brilliant Defence has been accompanying me from summer to summer and I use it even in winter. Basically, it is a UV hair protector spray that can be used both on wet and dry hair. I like to carry it in my beach bag to protect my hair while I'm at the beach mostly but I also use it to give my hair some shine when needed.

Basically, you get 200ml of product in a slightly curvy bottle (I guess it's to resemble the company logo) with a pump spray dispenser.

I think 200ml is a good volume because you only need a few sprays (otherwise the hair will turn greasy) and this product has a 30 month expiry period, therefore good value for money.

The product is transparent and has a nice smell, very similar to that of setting hair spray. I think it really does its job because apart from leaving my hair smelling nice all day, I never had dry hair in summer caused from exposure to the sun's UV rays.

Like I said, I also like to use this spray to give my hair some shine when it needs it. My hair is oily so I tend to wash it frequently. Despite giving it a treatment every once in a while, it may lack shine due to it becoming overly dry from washing. For me, this is the only product I need to revive it in no time!

Overall I really recommend this product especially for summer hair care if you want to prevent your locks from becoming burnt from the sun. Sescience is a salon-exclusive brand and is found in leading hair salons.

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Review: e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush

OK, so I now there are loads. loads & yet again more loads of reviews out there about this brush be it blog posts or videos; that's why I got it in the first place, to see what all the hype/raving was about! Now that I have the brush and have been using it ever since, I totally understand the on-going recommendations!

First, let's see what the brush looks like:

It is a very dense flat-top brush and comes with its own brush guard and plastic pouch. The bristles are synthetic and are coated with anti-bacterial Taklon. Here are some pictures that compare this brush to my other powder brush from Fraulein 38:

You can easily see the difference in fluffiness and shape of the bushes... my Fraulein 38 one is more fluffy and dome-shaped than the elf one 

The elf one is slightly shorter... well it's an elf after all :P

Being so dense, this brush is great to use with both powder and liquid formulations, however I do not recommend you to use it with very pigmented blushers, bronzers, etc as it will give a blotchy effect. The best way to use it is by dipping it in the product, tapping the excess off and work your way inwards with buffing circular motions to ensure the best blending possible. 

Since it is flat-top, you can even use it to pick say bronzer or highlighter on one side of the brush only for contouring and precise application, and then use the same buffing movements to blend away. The ergonomic handle makes it very easy to control and achieve a flawless look.

I've had this brush for a bit more than a month now and during washing (and whilst in use for that matter), it has never, ever, ever shed a single hair!!! The only set-back for this brush is that being so dense, it takes ages to dry. I usually wash my brushes on Sunday morning, but by Monday morning, this would still be a bit wet. Apart from that though, I don't have any complaint what so ever about this brush. In fact, I can never raise enough praise for it!

I can't seem to stop reaching for this brush and I love it so much I'm going to get another one for sure! So I have to agree with all the other girls out there who raved on and on about this brush and suggest that if you don't own one yet, hurry and go get one from eyeslipsface.co.uk for a mere €4 for a brush that will last you probably a life-time! (just make sure you leave an extra one for me hehe).

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