New in: Charlotte Tilbury

2015 was the year that I finally discovered Charlotte Tilbury. I had been longing to try her highly coveted makeup line for too long and after picking up a couple of lipsticks last year I soon became hooked. Over the last months of 2015, I got my hands on a few newbies to add to my ever growing CT collection.

First up, back a couple of months ago I finally got my hands on the gorgeous Filmstar Bronze and Glow palette. I had my eye on this for so long and was so excited to finally get my hands on it. I have to admit it was a slow start as I didn’t really use it much, nothing bad but I just never had the time in the morning for extra products and I didn’t want to use it up for everyday wear as it’s just too damn special. However when Christmas rolled around it was the perfect opportunity to give this some proper use! The palette has a highlighter powder and a sculpting (contouring) powder. The highlighter is a gorgeous champagne pearl shade which a lot of people seem to consider pretty full on although honestly I don’t find it like that. I think it is a lot more subtle and a lot more wearable for everyday wear whilst still offering good pigmentation. The contour side is the perfect light toned contour/bronze shade that whilst has shimmer running through it, doesn’t appear noticeable on the skin. Again this is really nicely pigmented and the formula for both are super lovely, soft and fine. It also gives me pretty damn good cheekbones so I am very happy! It is a splurge product but such a lovely little luxury to own!

It will be no surprise to you that I do love a CT lipstick! I mentioned my others here and here. When John Lewis had a little 10% off during Black Friday weekend I just had to pick up something from the line considering it is never discounted! I have had my eye on a few shades from the Matte Revolution line to add to my collection although in the end I settled for Amazing Grace. I won’t bore you all again with how great the formula for these lipsticks are but lets just say they are incredibly creamy and comfortable to wear, basically amazing. The shade Amazing Grace is completely different from anything I already own. I like to think of it as the perfect lipstick for those who want to wear something bold but are a little scared particularly red shades. It is a gorgeous tea rose red-y shade that offers a pop of colour but nothing too in your face making it perfect for everyday wear. It is one I know I will get lots of wear out of especially as it is such a unique colour!

Lastly, If you remember seeing my Christmas wishlist you may recall seeing that little CT palette! Of course I obviously got my hands on it! The palette in conversation is the Dolce Vita quad. The palette itself is truly gorgeous likewise with every other CT product. Each shade is categorised in order for help with application which I just think is such a good idea. So, the first shadow is the prime shade followed by enhance, smoke and pop. This palette has very warm tones with a rich burgundy shade and a gorgeous copper glitter. The shades are super easy to blend and work with and the burgundy shade in particular is truly gorgeous on the lid. The pigmentation is pretty good although I can’t deny I was a little disappointed in the glitter shade. I was expecting a high pigmented shimmery copper shade especially when you see the swatches on the website although that couldn’t be further from the truth. It is essentially a sheer glitter, emphasis on sheer, it doesn’t work with a brush as it doesn’t pick up and put the product down well therefore it is one for using with your fingers. Even then it seems like a waste of time as if I want glitter, I want glitter, there is no point in a sheer wash of glitter over the top of the other shades. Despite the glitter letdown, the palette is still very beautiful and I can’t even hide the fact I want another CT palette in my life!

Are you a fan of Charlotte Tilbury?

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2015 Beauty Favourites: Eye & Lip Products

Now that you’ve seen my base and cheek favourites from the year of 2015, it is time to move on to the second and final half of my yearly beauty favourites. This time around I am talking about my favourite eye and lip products from 2015 and again a lot of these will be no surprise to you! So I am going to quit rambling and get on with it!

Eyeshadow

2015 was the year of eyeshadow for me. It was always the one product I neglected because I never really understood the difference it made and I never had much of an idea on how to apply it either. Although last year saw me finally pick up a few blending brushes and get blending to something that actually looked half decent. Now we have reached the end of 2015, I can’t even go without eyeshadow, it is my favourite thing to apply and I am truly obsessed with buying more eyeshadows.  After hearing so many rave reviews I just had to try out the By Terry Ombre Blackstars and I am so glad I did. These are just incredible. It took me a while to truly appreciate how good these are but they are seriously one of the best eyeshadow products I’ve ever used and the best eyeshadow sticks. I have the shades Misty Rock (which I spoke about here) and Bronze Moon which are two truly gorgeous and unique shades. The formula though makes these even more amazing, they are seriously creamy and glide on super smoothly and are super easy to blend. If that’s not enough, they last for ages too. So yeah, I quite like them!

In terms of palettes, 2015 was definitely the year I became a real life eyeshadow palette hoarder. I just love a good palette! Whilst there was a few I could have mentioned, there was two that really stole my heart this year and two I know will become long term favourites. First up, the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette which I raved about here. This was such a surprise love for me as it was so super affordable yet such great quality. The colour range is just perfect and right up my street. I am still so impressed with this and it is definitely one that everyone needs to pick up.

The Urban Decay Naked palettes will always be mine and everyone else’s one true love. I am lucky enough to own all of them including the newbie Smoky palette although I truly fell for the second edition (review here) to the Naked lineup and I think I can call it my favourite of the four. The taupe shades are just so beautiful and are so versatile for everyday wear or an evening look. Of course the quality of Urban Decay eyeshadows are also just truly incredible!

Mascara and Brows

These next two products are probably quite obvious mentions if you are a regular reader of SBL. First up, my mascara pick has to be the Benefit They’re Real. I truly realised why this is such a cult product half way through the year after trying it out and then switching my choices up. I eventually came back to this and I just love it. It just adds oomph to my lashes and adds length and volume and paired with my Shu Uemura eyelash curlers it is dream come true lashes!

Another Benefit product came to the rescue in saving my brows. I picked up Benefit Gimme Brow (review here) during the year and it has just became my go-to for brows. It is so easy and convenient to simply swipe through your brows but it is still pretty buildable and really defines them. I’ve actually pretty much finished my tube of this which lasted so long (considering the size and cost is off putting!) so I will definitely be repurchasing this!

Lip Liner and Lipstick

Lip products will always be my one real love when it comes to beauty so I did have a little difficulty narrowing this down. 2015 was the year for lip liner and Mac’s liner options will always remain top for me. Their Soar lipliner became a staple in my collection and a cult product for many beauty enthusiasts. The gorgeous mauve plum-y nude shade is just the perfect undercoat to so many of my favourite lipsticks so is a no brainer really. The formula is great too and glides on smoothly to create a good base for lipstick.

Speaking of Mac, I will always have a love for a good Mac lipstick. I’ve enlarged my collection quite a bit over the year and grown a few favourites. I have a love for the mauve My lips but better kinda shades and Mac Mehr is the perfect fit. It is a little more intense than just a basic nude especially when combined with Soar but it is such a gorgeous and unique shade. The matte formula is also long wearing as you would expect but still comfortable without being drying. Another Mac fave was Mac Plumful which I picked up at the start of the Autumn season. This is my first in the Lustre finish but it is super comfortable and moisturising on the lips. The plum-y pink shade is also so gorgeous and different to anything I own.

Nars are one of my favourite makeup brands so it was no surprise I was going to love their matte lip pencils. I honestly think these are one of the best lip products around. They are so long lasting it is unreal but still feel comfortable to wear as well as coming in a collection of pretty shades. I have quite a few but I thought I would just mention two of my ultimate faves from the year. Whenever I need a red lip, I always go for Nars Cruella, probably my favourite ever red. It is quite a deep red but one you can rely on to stay put whilst you eat! The other shade was my Summer love, the unfortunately limited edition Iberico which is a gorgeous orange-y red. A shade that is totally unique to my collection and one I can’t wait to wear again come Summer time!

Last but not least, 2015 saw the discovery of Charlotte Tilbury. I finally took the plunge this year and picked up a couple of her gorgeously packaged products that soon developed into an addiction! I now have four of the Matte Revolution lipsticks and I can say they are truly worth the splurge! The matte formula is not what you would expect, they are seriously creamy and so comfortable to wear. As I said I have four shades from the line up but a couple of my faves are the truly gorgeous Lost Cherry; a beautiful bright coral red perfect for Summer (review here)and Miss Kensington; my perfect nude.

What was your favourite eye/lip products from 2015?

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September Favourites

Another month gone by, another time to round up my monthly beauty favourites. I feel like September is the last month to really say goodbye to the tinted moisturisers and coral shades in order to prepare for the darks shades and matte complexions ready for Autumn. Looking at my favourites this month I really have went for more Summery and natural picks perfect for an everyday minimal makeup look. I have found some great products this month that worked a treat during the Summer months and hopefully will work well into Autumn and I won’t have to push them to the back of my drawers.

Starting with base, there was two base products that worked perfectly in giving me a flawless complexion over the month. Firstly, I pulled out my Topshop BB cream again to start getting a little more use out of it. I reviewed this a while back now here and at that time I was a little in the middle with this one. I liked the coverage but the shade and application didn’t always go down well with me. Since I started using this again I have just been loving it. It seems so different from when I started using it. The shade seems to be a little better suited especially when I’ve piled on the bronzer and with my skin improving lately it blends in really well and sits perfectly on my skin. It’s also so great for during the day whilst I’m working as it is super lightweight but also has a beautiful glow to it and lasts really well too! Hopefully if the shade still works well with me, this will be one I will keep using into the new season!

The next base related product is from Clarins and a product I mentioned in my recent Clarins Haul post here. It is of course the Clarins Instant Concealer. This is just the perfect under-eye concealer I’ve ever used. It is so incredibly lightweight but still offers a good whack of coverage. As it is a really thin consistency a little goes a long way and it blends in like a dream. A concealer that I think will get a lot of loving from me for a long time to come.

To add a little colour to the cheeks, I’ve been loving the Clinique Cheek Pop in Melon Pop. I mentioned this here alongside it’s matching lipstick. This is such a gorgeous blush and so summer appropriate. The coral-y peachy pink shade is super natural and soft looking on the cheeks and the formula is super fine so doesn’t feel overly powdery or too much. As Autumn swings around I may have to turn back to my dusky rose shaded blushes but I definitely need to pick another one up from the range as they are so lovely!

Finally, there is probably no surprise here when I mention this well loved lip combo. I talked about these two in my Nude Lip post here and it’s been the one lip look I’ve worn for the majority of the month. Charlotte Tilbury Miss Kensington lipstick and Pillow Talk lip liner really are the perfect nude lip and as I’ve been in need for something work appropriate during the month this combo has worked perfectly for the natural makeup look. For those light makeup days, this is two that I can always rely on.

What has been your favourite products this month?

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A Charlotte Tilbury Haul

So if you seen my birthday beauty wishlist then you may remember knowing that I had my eye on a few Charlotte Tilbury products. Although let’s be honest here, I always have my eye on Charlotte Tilbury products! Anyway if you follow me on Instagram then you may have seen that those items got well and truly crossed off the wishlist! So after doing a bit of testing (obviously right the minute the postman sent them through the door) I thought I would share my thoughts on my new CT pieces that have heart-eyed emojis written all over them.

First up is one of her amazing matte revolution lipsticks from her Summer 2015 Norman Parkinson collection. As you can see I went for the nude option being Miss Kensington. Her matte lipstick range really is like no other. With a creamy smooth application and a comfortable feeling on the lips it’s hard to believe it’s a matte formula. The shade Miss Kensington is the perfect nude. It is one of those ‘my lips but better’ shades. It really is a perfect everyday shade with an amazing moisturising formula.

Probably one of the most hyped Charlotte Tilbury products going is her Lip Cheat lip liner in Pillow Talk. With a lot of lip lining loving (major tongue-twister alert) going on recently I had to pick it up. The shade Pillow Talk is again the perfect ‘my lips but better’ shade. It really is a very natural pink shade that matches super well with my own lip colour. The formula is super creamy and glides easily on the lips therefore creating much fuller lips is a breeze. It also works as a perfect nude combo alongside Miss Kensington.

Lastly, I picked up one of her Colour Chameleon eyeshadow pencils. The shade range is specifically aimed at different eye colours to help enhance your eyes. For each eye colour, there is a day and night shade option so naturally I picked up the shade Champagne Diamonds, a day time shade for those with blue eyes. Obviously you don’t need to stick to the suggested shades but I loved the look of the champagne toned shimmer. The shade is just gorgeous and looks perfect in the inner corner. As a light wash over the lids it appears a little too sheer on me and more just glittery but built up heavily it can create a gorgeous shimmery lid that would look beautiful during the festive season! The formula isn’t as creamy as the By Terry counterparts but being a lot cheaper it still has a easy glide on formula that can be easily blended out. I am totally up for trying some of the more intense shades out!

Are you a fan of Charlotte Tilbury?

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Birthday Beauty Wishlist

So while August may mark the month of going back to school, the ending of summer it also marks something else special (for me anyway). August is my birthday month *celebration dance* So of course that means lots of cake and the perfect opportunity to have a little splurge on some of my wish list goodies. Like all us beauty junkies, the beauty wishlist is never ending but I thought I would share with you all some of the products at the top of my list that hopefully I will pick up during the month as a little birthday treat!

First up is a new lipstick from Charlotte Tilbury cause you can’t have a wishlist without CT and if you’re gonna treat yourself this is the definition of treat yo’ self. Now I do have a couple of CT lipsticks that I would love to get my hands on but Miss Kensington, a gorgeous nude pink makes top of the list as it is a limited edition release… even more reason to purchase! The formula of these are amazing and this colour is so up my street!

Now I constantly hear about how amazing Mac eyeshadows are yet I haven’t purchased a single one. I am so desperate to start my own palette and I want to make a little quad first. Two eyeshadows I would like to get my hands on are Blackberry and Cork which both look super pretty! What Mac eyeshadows do you recommend?

Now time for the ultimate lust worthy product. The gorgeous Tartelette palette. Now I have heard so much regarding the Tarte brand but I’ve still not made a purchase since its pretty tricky to get a hold of in the UK. Luckily though QVC are a UK stockist of Tarte and one item I am desperate to get a hold of is this gorgeous all matte palette. I was never much of a matte eyeshadow fan with my heart more towards shimmery finishes although the look of this palette completely changed my mind. I just need matte in my life. Annoyingly though this is now out of stock, please QVC I need this palette, its my birthday!

Of course I couldn’t just stick with one CT product! One product I’ve been dying to try for so long is of course the well hyped Pillow Talk lip liner. The formula of these are meant to be spot on and the colour looks gorgeous so why not! Also I love the look of her Colour Chameleon eyeshadow sticks! The shades are supposed work with your eye colour and make your eyes pop. Since I have blue eyes I would love to try Champagne Diamonds which is a beautiful champagne pearly shade that would lovely for both during the day and at night.

What’s on your beauty wishlist?

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July Favourites

It’s hard to believe I am writing another favourites post. July seemed to fly by and now its time to reflect on some of the beauty bits I have been loving over the month. There are a few summery inspired products, a killer eyeshadow palette and a couple of other essentials.

First up is the killer eyeshadow palette itself, the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette. After a bit of online browsing (the usual) I came across this stunning palette from Zoeva. Now I was never really interested in Zoeva as a makeup brand, more really for their brushes but this palette really captured my heart. The shades are just so me! Chocolate-y browns, bronze-y shades and that gorgeous cranberry colour that pretty much made me buy it. I am not going to ramble on too much about it as I will be giving you all a full review very soon!

Next up, is a pretty summery nail polish from the Essie Summer 2015 collection. The shade Chillato was basically calling my name. Its a pale yellow/lime colour which just screams Summer. As you would expect from Essie, it has a fab formula and lasting power. Again I will show you this one in more detail a little later!

Of course I couldn’t have this favourites post without mentioning my two new amazing lipsticks from Charlotte Tilbury. I did my first CT purchase this month and picked up the two lipsticks; Lost Cherry and Sexy Sienna. I reviewed and swatched them both here. The formula of these is amazing, no other matte compares! They are super smooth and creamy to apply and the two colours are just beautiful! It won’t be long before I will be making another purchase!

I also rediscovered an old favourite this month in the form of Soap and Glory Archery. It’s a popular one and for good reason. I used this a lot this month (until it ran out! weep!) and I remembered how great it was. S&G Archery was the first real kind of eyebrow pencil I ever used and it really got me into filling in my brows. It creates such a natural but fuller brow. It really is fab and a great place to start when looking for a eyebrow pencil!

Last but not least was a real life saver this month, the L’Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil. Frizzy hair and humidity is a no go. I was braced with a tough challenge of bracing the Spanish heat and dealing with my thick frizzy hair. It was difficult to say the least but this oil made things that much easier. I literally had to slather my hair in oil every night (and I am talking a lot of oil here!) to get it to cooperate in the slightest. My hair is very dry so it needed a lot of nourishment and moisture and this oil made it more manageable and much silkier. I can’t quite imagine my holiday without it!

What were you loving this month?

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Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Sexy Sienna & Lost Cherry Lipsticks

Hello everyone, I am finally back to normal blogging again after my holiday which I will speak about later. I have a pretty exciting post for you all today, a little look at the goodies I got in my first ever Charlotte Tilbury splurge. Now you may have already spotted these goodies in my What’s in my Travel Makeup Bag post but I thought I would give you all a more in depth look into the beauty that is Charlotte Tilbury. There is no denying the hype surrounding pretty much every CT product and I finally took the plunge to see what all the fuss was about.

The CT lipsticks are probably one of her most popular products being loved by every blogger going. So obviously being a lipstick lover I had to pick up a couple! With my holiday abroad coming up at the time I lusted after a couple of brighter shades perfect for Summer. I picked up the shades Sexy Sienna and Lost Cherry. Sexy Sienna is a beautiful pink-y coral shade inspired by Sienna Miller whilst Lost Cherry is described as a ‘pastel fuchsia’.

The two shades are part of the Matte Revolution range so as the name suggests they both carry a matte finish. Matte lipsticks usually have the tendency to be drying on the lips but the Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks have a formula like no other. This is by far the best matte formula I’ve ever tried. The lipsticks are super creamy and smooth to apply and feel so comfortable on the lips. It really doesn’t feel like your wearing a matte lipstick but you are still getting the longevity benefits. These are definitely some of the best lipsticks I’ve tried and I am now totally lusting after more!

I should also make a mention to the makeup bag I also picked up from CT. Since I was going away I really wanted a good bag and this beautiful crimson and rose gold one was top of the list. It’s so beautiful and I just loved putting my makeup in it. Charlotte Tilbury also do a similar bag that is cheaper that I now really want too cause obviously you can never have enough makeup bags, right!?

Are you a fan of Charlotte Tilbury?

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