My Everyday MakeUp Routine!

I love watching everyday makeup routine videos but when you aren't a youtuber there is only so much you can do with a camera! Welcome to my blogger version of my everyday makeup routine on the occasion I actually wear it..

I always reach for my Urban Decay De Slick first to banish the oily skin. I follow that with one pea sized pump of Urban Decay's Naked Skin foundation smoothed in with my Real Techniques powder brush.

 I have quite bad dark circles under my eyes so I apply a little bit of benefit's erase paste under my eyes with a topshop concealer brush and a little dab of my finger. To get a little bit of colour from Benefit's Havanna blush on my cheek bones.

 Lastly I tackle my very minimal eye look with a couple of coats of my favourite mascara, Barry M Lash Vegas and a dab of Revlon Lip Butter in Cupcake and that is my very minimal and probably very boring make up routine!

My Everyday Make Up

Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation - £27.00, Urban Decay Good Karma brush £19.50, Collection 2000 mascara £2.99, EOS Lipbalm £4.99

I feel like I haven't done a make up related post in ages, that makes me a bad beauty blogger. *slaps wrist* I feel like it might be time to do a sort of mini updated everyday make up routine even though I don't actually wear make up everyday..
My make up has become somewhat minimal with it consisting only of three actual products and one brush.
On my face I have started to use Urban Decay's 'Naked Skin' liquid foundation which I received for Christmas last year. Despite being (poorly) matched at an Urban Decay counter to a shade 3, which made me look a little on the orange side, I re-matched myself down to a shade 2 that happens to be a perfect match to my actual skin tone. Urban Decay describe this foundation as 'weightless' and I have to agree, you can barely tell its on your skin unlike some foundations that can feel like you've packed on the whole tube even if you haven't.
I apply the foundation with Urban Decay's 'Optical blurring' brush, another fabulous creation by those make up masterminds! I love this brush. It's super soft, cleans easily and does exactly what it says on the tube. It blurs any imperfection perfectly to hide them away and make them less noticeable and for someone with problem skin like me you can't ask for much more. 
For eyes I'm currently using the collection 2000 'Longer lash lengthening' mascara. I am really liking this for long, bold yet still natural looking lashes. Of course I am still relying on every beauty bloggers essential the EOS lip balm, mine is the passion fruit one, yummy! 

Eyeshadow Pallet Storage!

Martha Stewart Desktop Organiser - £14.99 - Staples

I found this desktop organiser a while back and knew it would be perfect for housing my growing collection of eyeshadow pallets and it will look lovely perched on top of my new make up table (when I eventually move house.) The back section is perfect for keeping larger pallets such as the costal scents and z pallet. The smaller one with the MUA pallets in is good for keeping smaller ones in or even standing brushes up in and of course the longer section at the front is just made for the NAKED pallets, it also now has my MAC pallet in it too. This organiser is the most useful thing ever, you could actually use it in your office or for any make up collection as well as magazines. 

Ever used anything non- make up related to store your make up or brushes in?

XC

Limited Collection Make Up + Giveaway!

Marks & Spencer is a store most people would typically associate with older people and to an extent that assumption would be true. However, a while back they took the leap into introducing the Limited Collection range which is targeted at "the younger generation." It offers a fairly good sized range of fashion forward clothing, shoes and accessories at reasonable prices. Recently the Limited Collection branched out into producing a make up line and whilst in store the other day I picked up a few items to give them a try.

 Powder Blush 'Melba' - £4 - Link!

At £4 you couldn't ask for much more from a blush. This is highly pigmented pale pink blush with the slightest amount of glitter in the pan but when swiped on the cheeks no glitter shows up, thus avoiding any awkward "5 year old at a birthday party" glitter faces. The blush is available in 5 shades.

All-In-One Mascara - Black - £5 - Link!

I was pleasantly surprised by this mascara as initially the brush looked a little cheap and the amount of product on the brush was little however once applied to the lashes they instantly looked volumised and lengthened like the tube claims. 

Lipstick - 'Chiffon' - £5 - Link!

First impressions of this lipstick were that the packaging was quite tacky looking however the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" springs to mind here. The lipstick is highly pigmented and glides onto the lips with ease. Staying power is a good few hours before reapplying is needed. The lipsticks come in a range of 22 shades so there is something for everyone.

Nail Varnish mini set - 'Pink Mix' - £6 - Link!

Does this not just scream summer nails at you!? It did for me, hence why I got it! I love the look of these little mini sets, available in two shade sets. The packaging is so nice and goes well with the colours inside. I currently have the purple and pink on my nails right now ready for my holiday. Love these! 

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I am giving away a set of the nail varnishes, mascara and a couple of other surprises to one lucky person! 

How To Enter!

- You MUST be following me on GFC

- Write a comment down below featuring the words 'Enter Me' 

- For an extra entry tweet about the giveaway (@ItsCharrX) something like "Just entered @ItsCharrX's giveaway for a chance to win some limited collection make up" include a link ect.. 

- Giveaway will be running Internationally from Saturday 8th July 2012 until Tuesday 24th July 2012.

Good Luck!

XC

Clinique High Impact Mascara!

I'm currently on a little mission to shop my stash because it is massive! I have bought so much make up over the last few months that its about time I started using it all up. I started using the Clinique high impact mascara recently after my last mascara ran out, I am annoyed at myself that I didn't start using it earlier because it is amazing! Clinique claim that this mascara is a "multi benefit mascara that adds maximum volume with definition and length effortlessly" I agree to an extent. At £16 for a full sized tube it's pretty good value for a high end brand and I completely agree with the maximum definition and length which you may be able to see from the above picture, my lashes look super long and defined after just one coat. I find that this mascara really opens up my eyes and would be perfect for creating a doll eyed effect if it was layered a few more times. I don't feel like the lashes are showing "maximum" volume, perhaps with more coats it would but I think two is enough for me! The brush is pretty thick which helps to separate the lashes so there are no awkward joined together lashes or massive clumps, what more do you need!?  
Clinique's high impact mascara is available online and in most boots, debenhams and house of Fraser stores at their clinique counters for around £16.
XC
Not sponsored, purchased by me. Clinique have no idea I'm doing this.  

Everyday Makeup Routine!

I was pretty strict when picking out my products for this post, I debated including eyeshadows that I occasionally reach for but instead I kept it to products I wear, without fail, every day. So to start with I spray my face a couple of times with Urban Decay's 'De Slick' setting spray and once its dried I apply a pea sized amount of Rimmel London's Fix & Perfect primer all over my face. I use collection 2000 concealer, along with Sigma's F70 brush, on any particularly annoying blemishes then get to the foundation, 2 pumps of 17's miracle matte foundation applied with ELFs flat top buffing brush. To set my foundation I use Rimmel London's match perfection pressed powder and Sigma's F30 powder brush to dust it lightly over my foundation. Using the sigma F40 angled blush brush to apply vivo's baked blush in 'Peaches & Cream' before spraying my face with De Slick to set all my make up and brushing on two coats of what ever mascara I am using at the time, currently collection 2000 super size mascara. 

Very quick post for me today, time to get some work done!

XC

Beginners Make Up Kit!

Now I am aware most of you are fairly clued up on all things make up but I'm kind of hoping that someone out there, or their friend/ little sister will find this the slightest bit useful.

 When you first start out with make up you really want to keep things as simple as possible until you really get the hang of things. Chose a foundation in mouse or non liquid form because it can be applied super easily with your fingers and blended out with them too, just make sure you have the right shade! Keep eyes and lips simple with a neutral coloured duo to sweep over the lids and use a basic lipbalm or light coloured lipgloss if you want to add some colour. Use a light blush for the cheeks because you really don't want to look like a clown! A sweep of mascara will add a nice bit of definition to the lashes. In regards to brushes all you will really need is a blush brush and an eyeshadow brush, for now. Make up remover wipes are a must, start taking your make up off every single night so you are keeping your skin clear.

Feeling more confident? Why not consider adding more colour variation to the eyelids, lips and cheeks with a neutral eyeshadow pallet, light shade of bronzer and a pale coloured lipstick (you don't want to leap in with the bright red lip just yet) Pencil eyeliner is a good place to start if you want to add a little more to the eyes. Concealer will hide any blemishes you have and a Primer and powder will help to set your foundation and keep it on your face for longer. Adding more brushes to your collection, try a big powder brush when setting your foundation and some varied sizes of eyeshadow brush to create multiple colour looks one your lids. 

Feel like experimenting with foundation? Try a liquid or a gel foundation with a medium to full coverage to prevent it looking cakey. Don't try and apply this with your fingers try out a stippling brush or a buffing brush to really blend it all in and reduce the chance of streaky lines. Blend down onto your neck so you don't have that awkward foundation face line.

Feeling like a pro? Start experimenting with liquid tints as blush and highlighters or cream highlighters but remember, don't go crazy on them because clown and pearly bright are not good looks. Less is always more, always! If you have oily eyelids then get a eyeshadow primer to help the looks last all day. Setting sprays are a must, they really do help keep your make up locked in place all day. They come in different ranges depending on your skin type. So useful.


Okay, well I hope someone finds this some what useful! Potentially wont be blogging again until Saturday as I'm going to see McFly tomorrow and have some college work potentially due in on Friday, busy busy! 
XC  

NYX Haul!

My original beauty spending ban is now over due to me now not going to Florida in July (boo!) So to mourne I am allowing myself to spend a bit on make up. I have wanted to try Nyx Cosmetics for the longest time but had never got round to actually putting in an online order until a few weeks ago. 

I originally wanted to put in an order for mainly eyeshadows and jumbo eye pencils but instead I opted for a bit of variety. I chose one jumbo eye pencil in 'Strawberry Milk' which is a pretty, slightly shimmery pastel pink shade which looks great worn alone over the entire lid. The other eyeshadow I chose was an eyeshadow in 'Aloha' a lovely golden taupe colour which looks amazing alone or paired with a light brown colour in the corner of the eye. I am becoming quite a fan of blushes recently so of course I picked up a blush in 'Peach' which although it looks quite bright in person its actually quite a pale, build-able colour which looks really natural on the skin.  

Like most people I am a sucker for lipsticks and glosses so of course they would be added to the basket. First up is the standard Nyx circular lipstick in 'Athena' It is a really pretty pink lipstick with a slight shimmer in it, I would say its more of a night out lipstick than an every day wear one due to the shimmer however, still a lovely shade. The Nyx lipgloss in 'Pink Frost' seems to be a token gloss around the beauty community and I can see why. This is a creamy, slight shimmer, pink gloss that gives lovely colour to the lips. Thankfully it isn't a sticky gloss so no need to worry about your lips sticking together or stray hairs getting caught up in it.

I have only ever used ELF's skin coloured eye primer to prime my eyes before but when I spotted this on the Nyx website I figured it would make a nice change. I believe this is the pearl white version, it also comes in skin colour and just white, and I am a huge fan of this. The white pearl colour really brings out the eyeshadow colours on the lid and makes them more prominent. You only need the smallest amount to do both eyes so the small pot will last forever!

Are you a Nyx fan? What are your favourite products? 

XO 

Depotting MUA Eyeshadows & Z Pallet!

Who's ready for a picture heavy post? You are? Great, lets get started. In today's post I am going to cover two things, Depotting and the Z Pallet. I decided a while back that I was going to invest, I use that term as it was £15, in a Z Pallet so I can depot all my MUA 12pc pallets and condense them into one place.


DEPOTTING: 

You Will Need: Your eyeshadows, A Pin, Some tin foil and a Straightener.

A lot of people use candles to depot but I decided to use my straightener as it causes less damage to the bottom on the pallet and doesn't smell as strong of melting plastic. 

Place the tin foil onto of the hot straightener and place the pallet on top, hold it down for between 40seconds to a minute to give the glue on the bottom enough time to soften up and loosen off.

Once the glue has softened up take a pin and run it around the edge of the pan to loosen it off, it should just pop out of the pallet if the glue is soft enough if not nudge the pin slightly underneath the pan to dislodge it slightly. If all else fails and you have a particularly stubborn eyeshadow chuck it back on the heat for a few more seconds. 

Once I had depotted the eyeshadows from 5 MUA pallets I stuck little magnets on the bottom of them as I found the magnetised bottom of the Z Pallet doesn't hold the pans that well. I got a roll of sticky magnets from hobbycraft for £3 and just cut them off.

My completed pallet. Mathematicians among you may realise that this pallet only holds 45 colours and 12 colours x 5 pallets = 60. I did end up throwing some colours away either because I destroyed them when trying to get some out of the pallets or they were really similar to a colour I already have in depotted. Some may see that as a waste but I found that cutting them down and having a variety of colours meant that I could make more use of them. 

Overall I think the large Z pallet is a good investment if you have a lot of pallets lying around cluttering up your make up collection that you would rather keep together. Now that I have got rid of 5 MUA pallets I have been able to divide my eye drawer better. 

XO

  

Coastal Scents 88 Warm Pallet

Like neutrals? You will love this! I have had this pallet for around four months and I love it a lot. I got my pallet from Amazon.co.uk for £23 which works out around 3p an eyeshadow, bargain? I think so! I find the colours to be nicely pigmented which means less is more and because they are smaller pans you use less of the colour so they last longer. This pallet contains a colour for every single look you want to go for so if you were going on holiday for two weeks you could take this and be set with a different look each night! Picture time..

I had considered buying another coastal scents pallet but I think this one has everything I could ever need from matte colours to shimmery ones. If you are thinking about getting any coastal scents pallets I highly recommend this one because it has the lot! 

Sorry blogging has been a bit scarce this week, I've spent a lot of time out with friends after college so I've been a little busy. I'll be better next week I promise! 

XO

Beauty Spending Ban

As you may have guessed from the title I am going on a self inflicted beauty spending ban! I have to say my mum probably had a bit of input by her constantly saying "Don't buy anymore make up, you don't need it!" but i still went out and bought more every time! (sorry mum!). My ban is going to be for 6 months because I'm pretty sure I won't last an entire year, baby steps..
My aim of the mini ban is to use up a lot of the products I already have and also save up some money for a potential trip to America where it will be blown in Target and Sephora, which surprisingly mum has agreed to (haha). I have given myself a little leeway by only purchasing things I desperately need like foundation and other everyday products but only when they run out!
By writing this out on my blog it means I have it in writing, I can revisit it and make sure that I'm sticking to it! Sorry this post is ridiculously short but I wanted to write this up, how about a mini update..

My braces are feeling fine now but one tooth really hurts! I have progressed from soup to skips, actual food hah! Today I had to do my sports nutrition assignment which was a presentation on an athletes 2 week diet plan. I chose Tom Daley and I got a distinction (equivalent to an A!) which I was super pleased with! It is mine and Matts almost year and a half anniversary tomorrow aka 1 year and 5 months so we are going out to dinner at TGIs which is quickly becoming my new favourite restaurant. On an adoption note, my parents have their preparation classes next week. Finally the process is back up and moving!

Hope you all had/have a lovely day!
XO

Vivo Baked Blush Review!

When I first heard Tesco had released another of their own Make Up brands all those months ago I have to admit I was a little sceptical because its Tesco and they are a supermarket, not a beauty retailer. I decided, after reading many reviews on various people's blogs, that I would hop in my car and drive the all of 5 minutes over the road to my local (and gigantic) tesco and see what all the fuss was about. The first thing to catch my eye were the baked blushes and I am so glad they did. 

L-R: Peaches & Cream (Shade 1), Rosy (Shade 2), Cinnamon Glow (Shade 3), Rouge Shimmer (Shade 4).

These are the only four baked blush shades available in the range and I had to buy all four coming in at £4 each. Compared to a lot of "drugstore" brands I think £4 is quite reasonable for a blush that size. Rosy and Rouge Shimmer are quite bright pinky shades where as Peaches & Cream is more of a, well peachy colour. I personally think that Cinnamon Glow could be used as a light bronzer if it is built up enough as it has more bronze tones to it than a blush. 

(click the picture to enlarge it fully) 

Here are some swatches so you can see what the shade pay off is from each of the blushes. When you first pick up the blush it looks like it contains a tonne of shimmer but when you actually apply it there is very little to no shimmer on your face which I think is really nice. 

Below are some close ups of the individual blushes..

Shade 1 - 

Peaches & Cream

This is one of my favourite shades to use. It gives a really nice warm glow to the cheeks. I have never owned a blush this colour before but I love it.

Shade 2 -

Rosy

Another favourite of mine which I have recently started to use a little more. It gives a really nice colour pay off with only the smallest amount of product.

Shade 3 - 

Cinnamon Glow

I am yet to try this blush out apart from swatching it on my hand. I can't wait to try this out as a light bronzer as I am not a huge fan of proper bronzers. This will be a great replacement.

Shade 4 - 

Rouge Shimmer

This one has more red undertones in the veining of the blush and it honestly so pretty on the skin. It will give a beautiful rosy red blush on the cheeks which is perfect for the winter season. 

The Vivo range also has a tonne of 'Baked' eyeshadow colours, single and in pallet form which I am debating trying out in the future. If you are from the UK and live near a Tesco and haven't tried the Vivo range or even the blushes out before I highly recommend that you do because personally I love them and they have easily slipped their way into my every day routine. Let me know if you have tried any of the Vivo range out and which products you would recommend me to try!

XX

30 Day Beauty Challenge - Day 16

A Celebrity Whose Fashion You Don't Like

Taylor Momsen

What on earth happened to her!? She used to be so pretty and now she looks and dresses like she has been pulled through a hedge backwards. Her clothes and make up are just horrible! Sorry to any Taylor fans.

Make Up Collection!

Last Tuesday I posted about my Make Up Storage (take a look to see where I keep it all!) and said that I would show you what was in it all. I received a request in the comments on that post to include my brushes in that too so I have, Enjoy this long, Extremely picture heavy post! Please click the pictures to enlarge, I made the small to keep the post quite condensed. Let me know if you would prefer them bigger in the comments.

Brushes Part 1:

L-R: Topshop concealer, ELF blush, ELF foundation, ELF powder, ELF angled blending, ELF concealer, ELF stippling, ELF blending eye, ELF defining eye, ELF Smudge eye sponge, ELF brow comb & brush, ELF eyeshadow, ELF foundation, Clinique blush. 

Brushes Part 2:

Sigma L-R: E55, E30, F60, E05, E60, E65, E40, E70, E70, F30, F40, F70, F50, ELF flat top powder, Urban decay eyeshadow, Sigma blending.

It looks like I have loads of brushes when they are all laid out, oops!

Pink Stack, Top Drawer: Mascaras and Eyeliners

My mascaras range from ELF to NYC, to Covergirl to Rimmel. I don't really have one that I use as my staple! 

As far as eyeliners go I really don't use them much hence why my collection is very small. My most used is the ELF cream pot and small brush.

Pink Stack, 2nd Drawer: Eyeshadows

This is where I keep my single eyeshadow, quads and smaller pallets. My current love has to be the Rimmel eyeshadow mouse. Of course I have the urban decay primer potion!

Pink Stack, 3rd Drawer: Lipsticks

Another small collection of mainly 'drug store' products. As you can see I only have one, yes one, MAC lipstick! I'm working on building my collection but some of my favourite lipsticks are the ones from Rimmel and topshop! 

Pink Stack, Bottom drawer: Blush and Bronzer

I am not a huge bronzer fan so my collection consists of 3, however, as you can see I am a rather big fan of blush, especially the Vivo collection from Tesco. 

Silver Stack, Top drawer + Letter holder: Bigger Pallets

I have my Naked pallet, ELF pallet, MUA pretty pastels & Heaven and Earth pallets in my purple letter holder. In the top drawer I have the other four MUA pallets and a combo pallet from Marks & Spencers which I haven't really used, oops!

Silver Stack, 2nd drawer: Lipgloss

I have a range of lipsticks from collection 2000, TOWIE (yes, really), Rimmel, Barry M and ELF. I am thinking about purchasing my first NARS lipgloss soon, any recommendations on colours?

Silver Stack, Bottom drawer: Powders and Concealers

In this drawer I tend to keep back ups. I'm quite bad at seeing pan on a product then flying down to boots or superdrug to by a new one ready for when I run out! I have a few concealers that I have tried and replaced but haven't got rid of them in case I need to use them. Can you say hoarder? 

Drawer in Storage trolley: Everyday Make up!

So this is the final part of my make up collection, In the drawer in my trolley I keep all of the things I tend to reach for on an everyday. I find this so useful as it saves me from rummaging through every drawer to get out the essentials every morning.

Hope you enjoyed this very long, picture filled post! One more thing, I have a Christmas Giveaway going on right now! Click HERE to check it out and enter if you would like! 

30 Day Beauty Challenge: Day 2!

Favourite Bag That You Own: Click HERE to see a whole post of my favourite bag! 

Thanks for reading 

XX