My New Go-To Denim

So a while back I mentioned that the TopShop Leigh Jeans were my jeans of choice and, while I've been buying and wearing that style for years now, they just weren't cutting it for me anymore. So say hello to my new pick of the denim patch: River Island Molly Jeans.

These are more of a true denim than the TopShop Leigh style so they're not as skin-tight on the legs which I think makes them a bit more flattering and comfortable. They're also a full length rather than an ankle grazer, (I always used size-up on my leg dimensions when I bought the Leigh style as I want a full length leg). They come in loads of different colours but my favourite is the standard light-wash blue denim with light distressing.

My only problem with these? The pockets are fake. Why oh why River Island?

Brows on a Budget

This is a post that I've been working on for months. Mainly because brow products are kind of on the same level as mascara in that there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to the brow product problem. Everyone seems to like something different and the selection on the high-street is notoriously sparse. So I've tried to pick things that are a little bit different in the hopes that there's a bit of something for everyone. So here we go:

Firstly, if you like a classic, non-waxy pencil, I have 2 picks for you: the Soap & Glory Archery Eyebrow Pencil has reined supreme on this blog for a while now. It's an automatic pencil and the spool-y on the other end is lovely and it really is my personal favourite and I suggest you pick one up if you can find a Boots that has it in stock. However the one annoying thing about the S&G is that it only comes in 2 shades, so if there isn't a shade that suits you in that range I'd recommend the Kiko Precision Eyebrow Pencil. A little bit harder to find but you can pick it up online if you're struggling and they often have offers on their international shipping which is nice. This one isn't automatic and the brush on the end isn't a nice as the S&G, but the texture is lovely, it's a really fine nib and theres a decent shade selection.

If you like a pencil that's a bit waxier, again I have 2 picks. The Bourjois Sourcil Précision Eyebrow Pencil is my favourite waxier pencil, it's a manual pencil with a manageable nib but again, the brush is a bit pants. It's automatic partner would be the No7 Beautiful Eyebrow Sculpting Pencil. It has an angled nib which makes for a speedy application and the consistancy helps hold the brows in place so, again, a nice pick for those in a hurry.

For those in need of a brow gel, I like the ModelCo More Brows. It's a tinted gel that adds a nice hint of colour and holds the brows into shape. It also seems to have some of those fine fibres that the Benefit Gimme Brow has so it plumps up a sparse brow a little. Also, it plays nice with other products, I can layer this over a pencil product on days where I need my makeup to last without looking like I've gone overboard.

And the hardest thing to offer a review on when it comes to brows: a brow kit. Personally, I'm not a fan of them. The need for layering product is time consuming for me and I never really feel like I can achieve a natural looking brow from a brow kit. That being said, the L'Oreal Brow Artist Genius Kit is very comparable to the Benefit brow kit and so I think it must be a winner. The way I like to use this is to use an angled brush with the powder to fill in the brow, and then I roll the spool-y in the wax and brush them through to set and it's a look I can work with.

High Street Hero's - The Make-up Edition

In a bid to write posts that were maybe a little more budget-friendly, I've lined up what I'm calling "High Street Hero's" for this week, which is going to be a series of 3 posts that are basically a "15 under 15" type post. I wanted to put a price limit on it because I've been noticing recently things I like in Boots that are high-street brands are creeping up in price ever so slightly, and now L'Oreal eye-creams are on par price-wise with brands like Kheil's and I didn't see the point in recommending products like these as "budget" offerings.

So to kick things off we'll start with the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks, particularly in the shades "Nudist" and "Plum Jam". These are the perfect no-fuss lip colours that you can generally apply without the need for a mirror. They're sheer and super glossy which makes them a good comfortable lip colour and while they don't hang around too long they are pretty much my make-up jogging-bottoms equivalent.

One that everyone and their nan will have mentioned on blogs and YouTube channels a like is the Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner Pencils. If the colour selection for these was as good as the range of Urban Decay 24/7 Liners, I'd have given up on buying UD liners long ago because they are pretty much just as good. The Rimmel ones come in a decent array of colours and my picks from the range are the nude, the taupe and the bright blue.

A product that I've harped on and on about on this blog is the Maxfactor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Mascara. It's just a brilliant mascara for length but it still gives a little bit of volume and (most importantly) makes my limp lashes hold a curl without the need to go waterproof.

A couple of Soap & Glory base products that you'll have also heard me mention on multiple occasions are their Solar Powder and their One Heck of a Blot Powder. The solar-powder is a blogger-rated bronzer and it's lovey. As a pale-complexion girl I often struggle to find bronzers that work for me but as this one has the 2 shades in 1 I've really been enjoying using it. The one-heck-of-a-blot is now my go-to setting powder, have recently repurchased for the 3rd time!

The L'Oreal True Match Foundation is an oldie but a goodie. I've been using this on-and-off for years now and I always come back to it. The shade selection is brilliant and it's one of the few high-street foundations that is a perfect skin tone match for me. Super pale girls might want to give this one a try.

Another foundation I've been really enjoying lately is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. While their lightest shade is definitely more my summer colour I find that mixed with moisturiser it gives a nice coverage that isn't too obviously dark on my complexion. I've been loving it now the wether in England has finally started to brighten up as it's giving my skin that slightly sun-kissed glow that we all crave this time of year.

My Holy-Grail brow product is the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil. While the shade selection leaves much to be desired I find that the shade "Hot Chocolate" works well for me. I love the thin-nibbed pencil and the spooly brush on the other end of the product is a very nice one. I do mix it up with brows quite frequently lately but I'm finding that I keep coming back to this one.

So for a while I didn'y bother with high-street eyeshadows as they generally only came in singles, so when you could buy a high-end palette where for £36 you got 12 shades and it worked out at £3 a shade, it made very little sense to me to be paying £5-£8 for drugstore single shadows. Then the L'Oreal La Palette Nude (Blush) hit the high-street and I found myself getting excited about high-street eyeshadows for the first time. Okay, so the pigmentation and blendability isn't as good as my much-loved Urban Decay shadows, but for what you pay, it's a beaut.

One that I've mentioned before but not for a while now is the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets, AKA my favourite high-street lip products ever. I have the shades "Hot Pepper" and "Frambourjois" but I'm also eyeing up "Olé Flamingo" at the moment. They're just a great long-lasting matte lip that's comfortable and easy to apply. That being said, avoid the shade "Grand Cru", have read many a duff review on that shade and it seems to really let the line down, hopefully they'll reformulate that shade eventually.

Another budget eyeshadow find for me was the Soap & Glory Lid Stuff palette. This palette does come in a few different shade ranges but I like the one with the more neutral shade selection just because those are the types of shades I reach for most often. Not as god a deal as the L'Oreal as you get 4 shades for around £10 but the shade selection and the quality of these for me is what sells it.

When it comes to blush, Maxfactor have got it down. I've got a couple of their cheek products and I think both are brilliant. For the powder-blush lover their Creme Puff Blushes are lovely, lots of bloggers compare them to the Hourglass Ambient Light Blushes but since I don't currently have one of those I couldn't validate that claim, my faouvirte shade from the range is "Nude Mauve". And for the cream blush wearer? Their Miracle Touch Creamy Blush, particularly in the shade "Soft Pink" is delightful. Blends nicely and gives just the right amount of colour, I like to apply this one with a Rela Techniques Expert Face Brush.

Another Maxfactor base product that I've been loving is their FaceFinity Primer. It's basically suerglue for your foundation and it also has SPF 20 so if you like your make-up to have some SPF to it, this is probably something you'd like. It glides on the skin like a moisturiser and dries down under foundation for a super long-lasting base.

And finally a fairly recent find of mine, the Soap & Glory Hocus Focus Highlight, this to me is very much like Benefit High Beam. It's a liquid highlight that can be applied before foundation, on top of foundation light a targeted highlight or, my personal favourite, mixed into your foundation for a subtle all-over glow.

My New Favourite Concealer

So my Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer was starting to feel a little dried out, and as much as I loved it, I wanted to try something new and I stumbled across this: the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. First of all, can we talk about the packaging? So sleek, so simple and so pretty. It just looks lovely in my make-up drawer. The texture is lovely, even more liquid than the Nars and just as good at covering.

The applicator is a bit strange. It's a doe foot like most liquid concealers but the nib is very bendy when you apply it to the face, this allows you to spread a thin layer over a bigger surface area if you apply a bit of pressure or for pin-point concealing just use a light hand to dot it onto the areas you need it. Its great. I usually apply it under my eyes and around my nose and then use my finger to blend it out (although you could probably use a brush or sponge). If i'm using it on blemishes I put the product onto my finger from the applicator and then dab it onto the spot for hygiene reasons.

The biggest selling point for this product for me is the shade selection. Being Urban Decay their base products go super pale and that was my main problem with the Nars. On a day where I was wearing a foundation that warmed my complexion up, I could just about get away with their lightest shade "Vanilla" but on a no-foundation day it came up so orange on my skin. I use the Urban Decay in the shade "Fair Neutral" and it's a pretty prefect match for my natural skin tone. Also works really well with my Loréal True Match Foundation, which is anothr one of those rare products that matches my skin tone pretty perfectly.