Caving in to the By Terry Ombre blackstars

I couldn't wait any longer! I have been swooning over these for a long time now and although rather pricey, I managed to find a 20% off code for feel unique.com and purchased two colours:
no.6 frozen quartz
no 15 ombre mercure

I have to say that they are beautiful. I have tried a lot of drugstore alternatives to these eyeshadow sticks but I don't think any of them are quite as good as this. They are so shimmery and last really well without smudging/ creasing. They also look great with eyeshadows as well to build up more colour or to create a smokey eye. I also like the shades brown perfection and misty rock but they were sold out... probably a good thing as my bank balance could have taken a big hit!

What is your favourite shade? Have you tried any alternatives that you think are just as good?

thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

Kiko haul

I recently visited the Kiko store in Westfield Stratford and picked up a few things to try that caught my eye.
I bought:
Tribal soul baked blush (left) £14.90
Mosaic blush no.1 Inspirational rose coral (centre) £11.90
Essential Bronzer no. 200 warm melange £17.90
Kiko crystal eyeliner no. 02 technological brown £6.90

I have seen Lily Pebbles talking about the mosaic blush but the other items are something that I haven't seen much about.
Firstly, I really like the magnetic packaging of the two wooden baked products. Although rather large (maybe not great for travelling) I love the big mirror and it is quite satisfying when the lid snaps on.

The bronzer is definitely a bronzer rather than a contour shade as it is quite warm. I really like it. Once you have got through the top layer, it becomes slightly less shimmery which I prefer. I don't think I will ever get to the bottom of this, it is gigantic! 

Next up is the tri-bal soul baked blush. This is a lovely peachy pink when you swish all of the colours together. You could use the shades separately as well to create a highlight, blush and bronzer on the go. The packaging for this is a good size and again comes with a handy mirror.

The mosaic blush does not disappoint, the colour pay off it very good with a lovely pinky coral colour. There were four to choose from and I was stood watching these in the shop for quite sometime deciding which one to go for. I liked all of them! No.2 was also very nice but unfortunately it had sold out. 

Lastly I picked up the Crystal eyeliner in no.2 technological brown. I have a few eyeliners from Kiko and I really like them. This is part of the 'generation next' line which I have not tried before. It looks beautiful and the staying power is incredible. I had to scrub this off my hand after a whole day of shopping.

I look forward to wearing all of these products. Kiko have brought out so many lovely things recently. Have you tried anything that you really recommend?




Thanks for reading

Katherine
xxx

The Verdict: Buffing Brush V Miracle Complexion Sponge with photos

I have been using a buffing brush for quite sometime now to apply my foundation and much prefer it to a flat brush. Recently I picked up the miracle complexion sponge in boots on a 3 for 2 and decided to put it to the test. Could this beat my buffing brush? Let's see:

As you can see from the photos and close ups, I definitely prefer the finish with the miracle complexion sponge. It was much more gentle on my skin and allowed me to press more product on without it looking cakey. I think this is brilliant and I have to say that it has really impressed me. As I have dry skin it was far less irritating as you can press on the product rather than buffing it in. The different sides of the sponge allow you to do 3 things in 1. It has:

• Rounded sides blend large areas of the face with a repeated dabbing or “stippling” motion.

• Precision tip covers blemishes and imperfections.

• Flat edge for the contours around the eyes and nose.

This photo is taken with the Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow primer and Light Wonder foundation in no.3 fair.You can buy the sponge here for £5.99

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

A review of Charlotte Tilbury's Light wonder foundation

I recently purchased the light wonder foundation from Selfridges after seeing it appear on many blogs. I think foundation has to be my favourite beauty product that I always like to try. Having dry skin makes it tricky sometimes to find a foundation that does not stick to dry patches or look cakey on the skin. I have had the Wonderglow primer and the airbrush flawless finish powder since Christmas so I thought it was about time to complete the trio. I have to say that I am impressed! The foundation has SPF 15 and is a light foundation that hydrates the skin without looking too thick. I really like this with the wonder glow primer underneath as it adds a lovely dewy finish that lasts really well. I use the powder just on my T zone to stop any shine. Here is a photo of the foundation without any primer or powder to give you a true picture.

2015 really has been the year of great foundations. I've made three discoveries of foundations I love. Why not find out about the other two I love here

thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

Spring greens

I have recently become obsessed with green nails for the Spring months. Here are my favourite four green polishes:

Tanya Burr Litte duck

Nails Inc The New White Swan Street

Topshop Nails Valley (not online but available in store)

Essie Maximillian Strasse her

What are your favourite nail polishes for the Spring? Are there any new ones I should try?

thanks for reading

Katherine 

xxx

Charlotte Tilbury Haul and swatches

Last weekend I went to Selfridges and accidentally ended up buying a lot of Charlotte Tilbury products!

I bought:

Charlotte Tilbury lip cheat in Pink Venus £16

Charlotte Tilbury Brow lift in Grace K £22.50

Charlotte Tilbury Matte revolution lipstick in Sexy Sienna £23

Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon in Bronzed Garnet £19

Charlotte Tilbury light wonder foundation in no.3 fair £32

(click on the names for links to buy)

When I arrived at the counter I was lucky enough to get my makeup done for me by a lovely lady which made me want everything I tried! Here is a photo where I am wearing the foundation, eyebrow product and the bronzed garnet eye shadow pencil. On first impression I love everything but I will do a more in-depth review of these products once I have given them a good try. 

This photo shows the lip cheat pencil in the colour Pink Venus










This photo shows the matte revolution lipstick over the liner in the colour Sexy Sienna





Watch this space for a full review soon

thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

Incredible Holographic nails from Urban outfitters

I recently picked up this nail polish from Urban outfitters and I had to share it with you because I can't stop looking at my nails! It is so pretty! It almost looks like a foil and when the light shines on it they glitter and change colour from blues, reds, greens and yellows. It lasts well and I haven't seen anything quite like this before. It is hard to get the full effect from the photos but I seriously recommend this if you like sparkly nail polishes. This glitters it the light but doesn't contain actual glitter so it is easy to get off with nail polish remover too. Bonus!


You can buy it here for £12.

thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

My favourite Charlotte Tilbury products

Today I would like to share with you my favourite picks from the Charlotte Tilbury makeup collection. I have had these products for several months now and can honestly say that these 4 items are my favourite.

The Vintage Vamp Luxury eye shadow palette £38

This is a beautiful eyeshadow quad with a great inner corner highlight, glitter and 2 plum eyeshadow shades. I absolutely love the packaging of this. This palette looks great as an everyday look or with added glitter it can take you into the night. There are nine different palettes to choose from and each one has a video tutorial, swatches and ideas on the website. A great idea when you are looking to buy to products. You can watch the Charlotte tilbury video and buy this product here

Colour Chameleon in Amber Haze £19

This is one of my favourite eye shadow pencils. Charlotte has recommended this colour for brown eyes but I think this looks great on all eye colour types. Again there are 8 colours to choose from with beautiful photos and swatches on the website. This pencil lasts all day and can be smudged out to create a smokey look or used as an eyeliner. The only thing with this is I wish it would come in a twist up form as sharpening pencils can be a bit of a pain. Despite this I LOVE it! You can but it here for £19.

Full fat lashes glossy black Mascara £22

This is a lovely mascara. I recently did a review of the Benefit Roller lash Mascara here. However I do prefer this for a more everyday eyelash look. It elongates my lashes without looking clumpy or fake. The brush isn't plastic like the benefit one which I prefer. It is also a lot easier to get off. As you can see from the photo, it really opens up the eye and makes my lashes look so much longer. You can purchase it here for £22

Airbrush flawless finish powder £33

Last but by no means least, it is the airbrush flawless finish powder. I have talked about this in my current beauty favourites post. It is a lovely lightweight powder that sets my makeup without looking powdery. I have quite dry skin but often have an oily t zone/ chin so this works perfectly at matifying those areas . Again the packaging is beautiful in a rose gold colour. You can purchase it here for £33

I am really looking forward to the new colab collection with Norman Parkinson coming out in July. From seeing the sneak peaks on various blogs- I cannot wait!







I hope you enjoyed reading this post

thanks

Katherine

xxx

Topshop Spring Edit

Items chosen:

1. Moto oversized denim shirt £34
2. Sleeveless drape front blouse £26
3. Sporty stripe dress £45
4. Cropped waffle knit jumper £23
5. High waisted shorts £35 
6. Lips in lovestruck £8
7. Whitney Wayfarer sunglasses £16
8. Striped crop tee £14
9. Metal plate shopper £34
10. Klaxon cut- out shoes £52

This week has been a lot warmer than usual in London and I have felt the need to look at adding some new items into my Spring wardrobe. There seems to be a lot of lovely things on the Topshop website at the moment. Here are my top 10 favourites that I think will update your look for the warmer months.

I hope you like them. What are your top picks for Spring?

Katherine

xxx

My favourite discoveries of 2015 so far

So far there have been a lot of new discoveries for me in 2015. For me, it has mainly been face related items! Today I would like to share my top 5 and recommend that you try them out if you haven't already!

 

The Balm  Mary Lou Manizer

This is a lovely powder highlighter which has a golden shimmer to it. It looks lovely on the tops of the cheeks to give you that glowing- I am fresh look.

It is available here for £17.50



Max factor crème puff blush in no.15 Seductive Pink

This is definitely a dupe alert for the Hour glass baked blushes. At only £8.99 this is brilliant. There are six lovely shades to choose from and I think I now have four of them! This has a great colour pay off without looking too powdery on the cheeks. They are currently on 3 for 2 at Boots so there really isn't any reason not to purchase them right? Click here for the link.

Bobbi Brown Intensive skin serum foundation SPF 40

I have recently done a review of this new foundation from Bobbi brown on my blog and I have to say it is brilliant. Please have a read of that post here for more information and swatches. I wear the colour sand and it is available here to buy for £39.

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush flawless finish powder

I received this as a Christmas present and have loved it ever since. This is a beautiful powder that gets rid of any oil without looking too powdery. I'm not sure if it is really worth the £33 price tag as I also love the Rimmel Stay matte powder which is a fraction of the price. However the beautiful rose gold packaging and the fact that I didn't pay for it makes it o so more appealing! You can purchase it here from Charlotte Tilbury's website.

Burberry fresh glow foundation SPF 15

And last but not least, you probably guessed it.... the Burberry fresh glow foundation. I recently reviewed this on my blog and I have to say the new releases of foundation this year have really impressed me. This has a lovely dewy finish with gorgeous packaging, very swoon worthy! It is available here to buy for £35

I would like to try the Charlotte tilbury Wonder glow foundation next. Have you try this? Any thoughts?

thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

Burberry fresh glow foundation review

 

Swatch in No.11 Porcelain

Today I am going to be sharing my thoughts on the relatively new Burberry fresh glow foundation SPF 15. After watching Lily Pebbles recently I had to look what foundation she was wearing in the Youtube description box and discovered that this was it. I have recently fallen for the new Bobbi Brown intensive skin serum foundation SPF 40 (what a mouthful!) so I had to be impressed even more that usual.



I have to say I am! I wear the shade No.11 Prorcelain which is the lightest shade they do. If you are

super duper pale, I think this may be an issue as this isn't the lightest colour foundation I've seen. It is very light in texture and has SPF 15. This foundation gives me a lovely glow. It feels lovely on the skin and lasts all day. I have dry skin and I have to say it does not stick to dry patches- result! I really do recommend this foundation. I would say it is a light coverage but can be built very easily to a more medium coverage. Compared to the new Bobbi brown one I think this is a fuller coverage and would perhaps suit more people as it is
a) cheaper (£35 not £39)
b) Easier to use packaging with a pump and let's face it beautiful as always Burberry
c) Slightly better coverage




You can find this foundation here

I hope you found this review useful. I would definitely recommend trying it next time you are near a Burberry counter

thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

My favourite red lip products

From left to right:

1. Revlon just bitten kissable balm stain 045 Romantic
2. Revlon colorburst lip butter 35 candy apple
3. Topshop lipstick Infrared
4. Rimmel lasting finish lipstick 170 alarm
5. NARS velvet matte lip pencil cruella
6. Bourjois rouge edition velvet 08 grand cru matte finish

Swatches:

I have not used lip liner here to give you the true colour of the lip products

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

My staple brushes that I couldn't do without

My favourite brushes from left to right:

• The vintage cosmetic company precision shadow brush
• MAC 266 brush
• Real techniques bold metal 201 pointed crease brush
• MAC 217 blending brush
• Zoeva 110 face shape brush
• Zoeva 102 silk finish brush
• Real techniques bold metal 301 flat contour brush
• Real techniques bold metal 100 arched powder brush

Here are the brushes from my collection that I use on a daily basis. I am a big fan of real techniques, MAC and Zoeva. Here is how I use my brushes:

The vintage cosmetic company precision shadow brush- For eye shadow under the eye

MAC 266 brush- for eye liner/ filling in my brows and lining my lash line with eye shadow

Real techniques bold metal 201 brush- For adding shadow in the crease of my eyelid

MAC 217 brush- For eye shadow all over the lid and blending out

Zoeva 110 face shape brush- For powdered highlighter

Zoeva 102 silk finish brush- For foundation

Real techniques bold metal 301 brush- For contouring

Real techniques bold metal 100 brush- For setting my makeup with powder

If you haven't tried any of these brands, I seriously recommend them. Click on the products above to take you straight to the link where you can buy them

thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx