Match made in eyelash heaven, They're Real! Benefit Mascara & Sephora Eyelash Curlers.

I've been meaning to put up this post for, well, a long-ass time now! (excuse my french) And as someone who has been on a mission to find a mascara to lengthen my short-pointy eyelashes, I think I can say, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I bought the They're Real! Benefit mascara awhile ago now after reading a lot of good reviews about this product. So one day whilst impulse buying (nothing new there!) I picked it up along with a Sephora eyelash curler. When I got home and tested this combo out I literally was beaming with excitement as a walked in the living room fluttering my eyelashes to Clément asking does he notice anything new (us girls love to keep our man on his toes with the "notice anything new?" test haha). 

Normally I'm not a fan of plastic/rubber wands but this one leaves just enough product on your lashes without clumping and separates them nicely. It really added the extra "wow" factor to my usually short and straight eyelashes and kept the curl from the Sephora eyelash curler in really well. If you are like me and have quite straight lashes I would definitely say curl your lashes for maximum effect with this product.

It's a little steep at €24 but definitely worth it if you're looking for the long lashes you've always dreamed of!

See you soon! 

Nars Andy Warhol Flowers Tutorial

Hey everyone! 

Here is the super easy Nars Andy Warhol Flowers palette tutorial that I promised on Wednesday after my review on this product, and I'm a woman of my word! I hope you like it :) (please excuse my brows)

My eyes haven't been primed just foundation has been applied all over the lid. You can do this look before you do your foundation as there is some fallout along the way (I use my foundation brush to brush away any fallout). I always do my foundation first out of habit though, its just how I roll! I used only one standard eyeshadow brush for this look, I always see the professionals using multiple brushes for blending and what-not but it really wasn't difficult just using the one.

So let's get down to business! First I have applied the pink champagne colour all over the lid, patting it onto the centre of my lid and then blending it out along the socket line of my eye and as my guide I stop blending just about where my eyebrow ends.

Then I take a very small amount of the dark brown colour of the palette onto the brush, you can always go more intense later if it's not enough. I place the brush onto the outer part of my eye, gently bringing this colour about three quarters of the way in. But not to the very corner of my eye, I want to keep this part of the eye nice and bright. I then bring it under the eye just about half way along the lash line. Keep blending these two colours until there are no harsh lines.

Dark brown

dark brown and champagne blended

This is the part I love, applying the beautiful purple grey shadow as it makes this eye make-up a little more interesting than a bronze eye look. The grey detail on the top fades once you start to use this colour and you're left with the purple grey colour underneath. I blend this colour directly on top of that dark brown shadow and bring it slightly higher towards the brow and again under the eye. 

Purple/Grey

champagne, dark brown and purple grey blended

We're nearly done! Making sure there is no purple left on the brush (I use the back of my hand to take off any excess colour from the brush) take a small amount of the white eyeshadow and brush it along the brow bone just to add a beautiful highlight . I take a little bit more of the white and add it to the inner corner to brighten that area and just underneath the eye to where the purple and brown end to make it seamless. 

white

champagne, dark brown, purple grey and white highlight

Give those lashes a lick of mascara and hey presto! you're done! you could make this look more intense by adding a black eye pencil to the water line or a liquid or gel liner along the upper lash line, the worlds your oyster! I hope this wasn't to hard to follow and if you try this out with this palette or with similar colours of your own, please leave a link because I would love to see :) 

Finished look!

Sorry for the poorly lit photo, I didn't know whether to include a full face picture of the look and I took this picture later in the day so I didn't have any natural light. But you can kind of see how it looks with the rest of the makeup. I didn't do anything special with the rest of my make-up, I wore the Bourjois lipgloss I talked about in the natural everyday look post and a rose nude/nude pink blush in the colour 125 which is very subtle by L'oreal which is just called "Le Blush" and comes with a little brush to apply, very handy!

"ALL IS PRETTY" Quote from Andy Warhol on the mirror of the palette


Don't forget to leave all your links below so I can check out all your lovely blogs :) You can find this Andy Warhol Flowers Palette in Sephora here.



See you soon!

Katie xxx

Easy Everyday Make-up Routine

Hey everyone! As I promised, this is the start of Friday tutorials! To start with I thought I'd do something I know best, my everyday make-up look, it's super quick and easy, no need for hundreds of brushes or 5 different eye shadows. This look is simple, natural and it get's me through those days when I don't totally want to scare people in the street when I go bare face. This look is just to bring out your natural beauty instead of masking it :)

no make-up, argh!

Nivea Visage Day Cream for sensitive skin

It felt a little scary to put a picture up of myself with no make-up, but then I realized its not such a big deal. Every girl feels the same way, and there's nothing to feel bad about. Beauty comes from the kind things we do for others, and it's not measured in the amount of make-up I have on. I know that sounds a bit cheesy but I really do believe that. So lets embrace the naked face! You're all beautiful ladies :)

Sephora Eyebrow pencil in 01 blonde and Sephora foundation brush

 This is one of the two brushes I use in this look, I bought it from Sephora and it's their own line of brushes. I have to say I absolutely love it, it might lose a hair now and then, but it's really soft against the skin and buffs in foundation lovely. As you can see I start in the centre of my face and I apply a pump on the back of my hand, sometimes two, and work my way from the centre to the hairline and jaw line so I'm not left with ny harsh edges.

Bourjois brush concealer in beige

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in number 52

Here I've hidden those sexy under eye circles with Bourjois Healthy Mix brush concealer and tapped gently with my finger to blend. Next I fill in my brows, I havn't quite perfected them yet, and I desperately need an eyebrow palette because I'm currently using an eyebrow pencil and it's not exactly the right colour for me. So this is what I do for now to fill in places of my brows which are lighter than other parts. http://marthadoesmakeup.com/ has a great post on this, and has beautiful eyebrows herself so I'd really reccomend popping over there if your in need of some eyebrows help like me!

Rimmel Glam Eyes in 130 Tribute

I have then used my rimmel Glam Eyes all over the lid in this beautiful colour, it's a bronze colour with a purple under tone to it so it's beautiful for green and blue eyes. It's been in my make-up bag for so long and I totally forgot about it, then I popped it on one day and now I'm in love all over again! I used just a normal eye shadow brush that I bought from the Gallerie La Fayette, so any eye shadow brush is good for this. I lay the colour in the centre and outer part of my lid and then I gently blended it into the inner corner and up into the socket of my eye. 

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara

 I use Lancome Doll eyes masacara to really open up my eyes and lengthen my lashes without clumping. The brush is just perfect! check out my January favourites where I mentioned this amazing product.

Maybelline Dream Touch blush number 05

Before I apply the lipgloss I take the tiniest dab of blush on my finger,  apply it to the apples of my cheeks and then blend slightly upwards onto the cheekbone, if I think it's too much I use a finger with no product and blend a bit more until I have achieved a soft flushed look on the cheeks. (sorry I forgot to take a picture of this stage, forgive me!)

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder and Bourjois Powder Brush

 I then go on to powder the centre of my face with Rimmels stay Matte powder with my powder brush by Bourjois. I love this powder, it does'nt leave any cakey effect to your foundation but keeps the places you want matte all day long!

Bourjois 3D Effect lip gloss in number 51

Swatches of Maybelline Touch Blush and Bourjois 3D effect lipgloss 

Swatch of Rimmel Glam Eyes in 130 Tribute

This lip gloss by bourjois is really subtle and pretty for everyday wear. It does have a slightly sticky feeling to it, but its so glossy I just love it anyway and it only has the slightest pink pigment running through it so I think it's just so flattering on the lips.

And thats it! Easy as that! It's almost a no make-up make-up look, just a fresh and awake look for day to day. You can add your favourite product for lips with a more colour if you prefer than an almost total nude lip or you can just wear a yummy lip balm which I do most of the time! Hope you enjoyed this look. I'd love to know what are your everyday go-to products so please leave a comment! And if you have done an everyday make-up post I'd love to see so leave all your lovely blog links below!

Hope you have a great weekend everyone :)   See you soon!

Katie xox 

January Favourites !

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm going to do a January favourites for you today (after a long ponder and many swatches). I'm trying to get into the swing of blogging but every time I have an idea, I'm always having second thoughts if it's interesting for you guys. So I'm just throwing this January fav's out there and hope for the best! Also, I love monthly favourites on youtube, its a good round-up of products without tons of info. It's a good way to not forget products you love, by the time Christmas comes around again we could have forgotten the little pleasures we had from products throughout the year. Think I'll put it in my diary too. So, let's get this January party started!

Just a little side note, there is a lot here because a lot of things were Christmas presents. In my next monthlies it might just be a couple of new products that I've tried. I really hope you'll enjoy this post and maybe you'll get an idea of new things to try, enjoy!

Perfume- Lola by Marc Jacobs

Shampoo and Condioner- Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care

Foundation- Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum 

Hand Cream- The Body Shop Wild Rose Hand Cream

Mascara- Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes

Eyeliner- Maybelline Gel Liner

Eyeshadow- Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Shadow

Nail Varnish- OPI "my very first knockwurst"

Lip Stain/Balm- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in "Crush"

Concealer- Healthy Mix Illuminating Brush Concealer

Blusher- Maybelline Blush Touch in No.05 Berry

Moisturiser- Bioterm Blue Therapy Cream 

Top to Bottom- 24hr Tattoo, Blush Touch, Just Bitten Kissable

The 24hr Color Tattoo shadow is absolutely gorgeous, I love the bronzy colour I bought because it's so versatile and easy to wear for an everyday look. Just sweep the product across your lid with your finger and it's that easy. It's also good as a base to intensify other colours in similar tones that you can apply over this gel shadow. I think it's a great little product that I've had a lot of use from. 

The Dream Touch Blush is my favourite blusher ever I think (so far). I'm just really into creamy products so I love the formula of this product. Again it's super easy to apply, no need for brushes so you can bring it on the go with you. Dab a little with your finger to wherever you like to have your blusher, may that be apples of cheeks or cheekbones to lift the face. A little goes a long way with this product, it could be very easy to go over board with it. Gently blend over cheeks with finger and your good to go. 

Revlon have won me over with this little beauty, the Just Bitten Kissable lip balm/stain. With its soft texture and super pigments I just think it's great value for money. Smells of mint so if you don't like minty tastes this might not be for you. I like this product because even after a long time of the beautiful deep red, wine colour, it turns into a soft pink colour so your lips aren't left total bare after it wears off.  This stain could be the centre of attraction with your make-up look, with a subtle eye and bold lips, or you could go wild with both eyes and lips for a gorgeous evening look. 

These products look great worn together by the way!

Biotherm Blue Therapy Face Cream (age defying)

So I know I'm only 21 and shouldn't need anti wrinkle creams yet, but this product was a freebie from my boyfriends job so why not give it a whirl?! Although I do have laughter lines under my eyes because in general I have quite puffy eyes. So this product is perfect for that! It smells like a dream, to me it smells of fresh cucumber. Its texture is just like rubbing heaven on your face. Absorbs quickly and leave face feeling soft and pampered. I don't use it everyday because I want to prolong the experience. I use my usual light Nivea day cream in those days. This is definitely a win!

Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner (and brush)

Here we're onto the magical eyeliner that is by maybelline. Going to keep this one short and sweet. It's amazingly easy to use for total eyeliner novices like me. It's super black, doesn't smudge during the whole day and comes with this handy brush to apply! Et Voila, what more could you want from your eyeliner.

Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes

I have to say I've never tried a higher end mascara before, I'm a drug store kinda-gal, but I really do love this! It gives the appearance of long, vollumised lashes without clumping. It's great at separting the lashes and gives a wide-eyed effect. The major plus for this mascara is the brush. It's just pefect for those tricky inner corners of the lashes and those fiddly bottom lashes too. The only con is that it does have some dropout under the eyes after hours of wear. But I'm still yet to find a mascara that doesnt do that. The packaging its gorgeous and I just can't say enough good thing about this one!

The Body Shop Wild Rose SPF 15

So it came to that time of year again where my hands were in desperate need of some relief. With the cold snowy weather I needed something quick, so off to the body shop I went! I found a three pack of hand creams so gave one to my grandma and one to my boyfriends maman, and kept this gorgeous rose scented one for myself. As you can see this product has quite a dent in it because I couldn't get enough of it. I'm not the moisturising type usually, I'm just far too lazy. But the smell of this hand cream just made me reach for it a lot. As the name says it's wild rose scented and it's beautiful. In those cold winter days, smelling this hand cream reminded me of spring and summer when roses start to bloom and it was just a great pick me up. Highly recommend! Looks like a cute little paint tube as well.

OPI "My very first Knockwurst"

This could possibly be my favourite OPI nail varnish ever. The colour is just my cup of tea. Subtle pink grey in colour and so flattering against the skin. I love how this nail varnish makes my hands and nails look. It's just one of those colours that make hands look so dainty and elegant (and I am not blessed with those hands naturally) so yes, it's my fav polish ever ever ever !

Lola Marc Jacobs

This perfume is just a perfect scent to me, I'm just addicted to Lola by Marc Jacobs and I think Lola is such a cute name too. I am really no good at describing scents but as the bottle would suggest it is a floral scent. But to be more specific I looked on the Marc Jacobs website to get the exact magic formula of scents that made this perfume. 

Top notes: pink peppercorn, pear, ruby red grapefruit

Mid notes: peony, rose, geranium 

Base notes: vanilla, tonka bean, musk

So if those smells tickle your fancy why not try it out ! And I've also spritzed some of Marc Jacobs other perfumes at counters before and they're amazing too.

Dove Nourishing Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

Not going to say much about this because shampoo and conditioners aren't the most exciting of things to talk about really. But I had to put it in the post because I really loved it this month. It's as it says, nourishing! I have really dry hair naturally and even more from dying it a few months back. I'm never happy with shampoos and conditioners normally, but for a drug store one this is pretty good. After one use my hair felt so much better, softer and easier to manage, must be those oils in it they're talking about! 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Illuminating Concealer Brush

I love Bourjois. I love the name, products, packaging, they're formula's, I just love Bourjois. So it's no surprise I love these two products. Even though this is in the January favourites, the Foundation has been a favourite since it appeared in supermarkets and drug stores. It's so nice to wear, it just feels like you have nothing on your face but has a really nice coverage. It's a satin finish so just need to powder the centre of the face and leave those cheeks looking gorgeous and luminous. 

The healthy mix concealer its just perfect for those under eye circles, for me in doesn't completely eliminate them, but definitely makes a big difference. The amount you want to disperse is really controllable with the twisty end that pushes the product through the brush. And that brush is really practical too. Both these products have natural goodness in them, so you could say it's an "au naturel" look if people say you have a beautiful glow. Who needs to know? ;) 

Thanks for making your way through this very long post, I hope you enjoyed it. I loved reviewing these for you. If you've tried any of these I'd love to hear your feeling about them too! And I'd love some recommendations if you have any. See you again soon!

Katie xox