Lip Pencil, Young Blood - Review

So in Rome I picked up this Lip Liner Pencil in "Truly Red" by Youngblood. I'd been looking for a bright red lip liner for a while, and thought I'd give this a go.

It was quite pricey and above what I'd usually pay (€17.00). Truthfully, I made a mistake pricing it and only realised the correct price after it had been put through the till, and I ended up just going with it. It is £11.00 on the UK site.

It did go on soft and smooth, and seems very pigmented. Exactly what I was looking for. When I do go for a red lip I want it to stand out. 

Here it is on. To show the true colour I never applied any other shade of lipstick, just blended it with some Lush Ultrabalm. 

This photo was taken quickly in our apartment toilet, so apologies for the poor quality. 

Here is the uncropped version in case anyone would like to see it "full face" for any reason. Yes that is a toilet in the background and yes my hair is messy and scraped back. I'm not too glamorous. 

The liner did feel lovely and soft on, and has great pigment. I'd go as far to say that it also looks lovely, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Have a nice day everyone!

PS. Keep up with me on instagram here.

Finding Cruelty Free Make Up - In Italy

Rome, to be precise. I've been lucky enough to say goodbye to the Scottish December and hello to the Italian December for a week. All I can say is that it's passing by too quickly. It's averaging around 16/17 degrees here (a lot warmer than home). 

I've noticed a fair number of makeup and beauty shops near the apartment when staying here, and tonight me and my mum ditched the guys for a little shopping. It's needless to say that checking out some of these shops was top of my list. 

Here are the combined makeup purchases of me and my mum. 

On the far left is the Butter Pencil from NIYO & CO in "Beige". This make had a varied selection of products and colours, and at great prices. (this was only €4.90!) 

Next is the Lip Liner pencil from Young Blood in "Truly Red". It looks lovely on and I will be doing a post on it shortly. 

The rest of the products were all from a make called "Kiko", who had their own shop. I was overwhelmed at the amount of products and colours they had in store. The pricing was cheap, and so far the quality seems high. 

The store was beautiful inside, but when I pulled out my phone for a photo I was quickly told that photos weren't allowed. 

My mum picked up two lipsticks, a blusher, and a creamy glitter nail polish. All can be seen in the photo above. I picked up a pinky nailpolish and two eye shadows. I've decided to do a separate post on the eye shadows, so I'll only look at the other products here. 

This nail lacquer was the perfect match for the lovely shade already on my nails. I got a polish done before I left for Rome and decided it's a shade I'd like to have myself. There seems to be no name for the colour on the bottle, but it should be on their website if interested. 

My mum was looking for a dupe of Benefit's "Sugarbomb" as she's went cruelty free. I think we found it today with Kiko's Shade Fusion Trio Blush in "03". When swiped on her hand in store it was very pigmented, but also blendable. 

There were too many different lipstick and lipgloss formulas to count, but I really think they have something for everyone. It proved so for my mum who picked up these two - the Crystal Sheer Lipstick in "412" and the Luminous Chrome Lipstick in "702". Both colours do look lovely, and the casing is pretty too. 

To the best of my knowledge all these brands are cruelty free. Young Blood display a cruelty free logo on their box, and I researched the other two brands online whilst in store. 

Shopping cruelty free doesn't have to be hard, and it doesn't mean the quality of product will go down. Honestly, I've found it the opposite. 

So I hope you're enjoying your December, whatever country you're in! 

PS. Keep up with me on instagram here.

Feeling Younger Skin Tint, Lush - Review

I go a little bit crazy whenever I go to Lush, and end up picking up products I don't really need. One of these whims resulted in me buying the product pictured below - Feeling Younger. A gorgeous, pearly skin tint with a lovely glow.  

Due to its light colour it's completely wearable on pale, porcelain skin (like myself). Its blendable formula means it would suit darker tones just as well. 

                      

As you can see it has a pearly, almost metallic shine. Only a little is needed, and when wearing I usually just dot it onto my face. 

                              

I'm not convinced my camera picked up the product great here, but it has great shine. It's completely buildable if you're not a fan of the "natural" look. 

The only criticism I have is that it doesn't work brilliantly with my mineral foundation. I think this is due to me either using too much product, or not letting it set into my skin first. Saying that, it's no worse than any other highlighter/luminiferous I've used. It's just as effective as Nars "The Multiple" in chantilly or Benefit High Beam (which I tried before going cruelty free). 

Feeling younger is definitely a cheaper dupe for these brands, works just as well (if not better) and is probably a whole lot better for the skin. Next time your in a Lush store swipe some on your hand and watch it gleam! 

PS. Keep up with me on instagram here.

Concealer and Colour Corrector, Everyday Minerals - Review

Everyday Minerals is a natural, cruelty free make-up brand made in America. They specialise in mineral make-up and I have to say that they are good at it. They also have very affordable prices. 

I once made the mistake of ordering straight from America and being hut with import tax after a 2 week wait on delivery. I now order online from a UK stockist, ecco-verde.

So I am reviewing the products pictured above, which made up the "Creamy Concealer Face Kit" . These are: (from left to right) the Multi-tasking Concealer, Jojoba Colour Corrector in sunlight, Jojoba Colour Corrector in mint and the Concealer Brush. 

The multi tasking concealer is soft, blendable, and works well with my mineral foundation when covering up spots. You could use this over or under foundation. I usually use it over foundation just to make minor corrections, but if I have a large blemish I use it under foundation so it blends well and doesn't draw attention to the area.

It isn't pigmented enough for under my eyes alone (fair skin = big, purple bags), so I decided to mix it with the sunlight jojoba corrector. 

This corrector is a lovely, blend-able yellow, but go easy so you don't leave any noticeable yellow areas on your face. I use this under my eyes to counter the purple skin, and although it does help I've still to find a product that will banish them. Again go easy under the eyes, as too much can create lines you never knew you had. 

The mint colour corrector is great for countering redness, although again go easy or it will leave a greenish "tint" to your face - especially when using pale make-up like myself. I dot a little on any red, angry spots with the concealer brush, and brush some with a kabuki across any red areas on my face. Along with mineral foundation, it does help them disappear. 

The concealer brush is soft and hasn't gave me any irritation at all. It is small and I prefer using it when concentrating on covering just a spot or a small area. I'd definitely keep another slightly larger concealer brush. 

Overall I do love these products and they've worked their way into my everyday make-up routine. I'd repurchase them all unless I found a better alternative (I am on the hunt for some colour correctors that come in bigger tubs). The multi tasking concealer comes in a variety of shades, and there are also other colour correctors for tackling your skin complaints. If it's something your interested in, give them a go. 

PS. Keep up with me on instagram here.

Herbalism, Lush - Review

Firstly, I'm going to apologise in advanced for the appearance of some of my Lush products. I have a box and a bag that I keep them all in, and things tend to get a little worn.

Now that's out of the way, I'd like to talk about a wonderful cleanser/exfoliater I've been using from Lush. 

Herbalism, I'm led to believe, is best for combination and oily skin types. It does lightly exfoliate, which is ideal for us with combination skin that sometimes needs a bit of a scrub. Herbalism, along with some other Lush cleansers, has a unique type of "formula". It appears as a green paste and has a strong, earthy scent. 

To use I simply pinch a small amount from the tub, splash some hot water over it and rub it between my hands until it becomes a "milky" texture. Then I  lightly massage it onto my face. I use this after removing any make-up or dirt with olive oil (it's great!). 

So what do I think of herbalism? I've been using it for around 4 months now and I do enjoy it. It isn't a miracle product that gives me amazing skin overnight, but it has noticeably reduced my oiliness. The gentle exfoliation isn't harsh, and keeps skin soft (and slightly red, if you're as pale as I am). It doesn't leave your skin with that "squeaky clean" feeling either, which I'm personally not a fan of. I don't want to strip my skin of everything. 

Personally I would recommend this as a cleanser, as I did repurchase. What I would recommend first is reading up on their other similar formulas, such as "Angels on Bare Skin", "Let the Good Times Roll", "Dark Angels" or even the limited edition "Bûche de Nöel". The pasty/milky formulas seem to work great on skin, and each of the different cleansers offer their own benefits. Find yours!

PS. Keep up with me on instagram here.