High-end Products Worth The Splurge


beauty-makeup-high-end-worth-splurge-nars-urban-decay-naked-palette-smashbox-primer-becca-charlotte-tilburyI love a good splurge. I think we have all gathered that by now. As a lover of high-end and luxury beauty products I thought I would share some products that I believe to be worth the splurge. Spending your precious pennies on a beauty product can be risky business not knowing if it will perform to your expectations or not. So if you are somebody who doesn’t buy a lot of high end products or if you are hoping to make a little splurge soon then hopefully my picks can give you a little reassurance. Even if you are a luxury fiend then maybe my picks will also offer a little push to go splurge some more, sorry!

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I couldn’t not mention one of the most hyped up high end products! The Urban Decay Naked palettes are hugely popular and for good reason. Having built up my collection of them all, I can definitely say that they are truly worth the hype and the splurge. Whilst all of them may not be necessary, I think the original palette is a great all-rounder. Full of warm bronze-y neutral tones, its a palette for everyone. Whilst the shade range is great, the quality of the shadows is also incredible. Urban Decay have really nailed a great buttery long lasting eyeshadow formula that every beauty lover needs to try! My full review of this palette here.

Charlotte Tilbury Lipsticks

I love a good lipstick especially a luxurious one. It’s always nice to treat yo’ self to nice new lipstick and what better than the queen herself Charlotte Tilbury. Her makeup line is truly exquisite and her lipsticks are no exception. Both her matte and moisturising creamy lipstick range are incredibly impressive. The matte formula is one of the best matte formulas I’ve ever tried with a seriously comfortable application and finish. Perfect for people who aren’t particularly fond of the feeling of many matte lipsticks. Her K.I.S.S.I.N.G range is also really nice offering a moisturising formula that is pretty impressive in terms of longevity! They are pricey but so worth it in mu opinion! My favourites include Bitch Perfect and Lost Cherry.

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

I always struggle with drugstore foundations and I truly believe that splurging on a base product is so worth it! High end foundations tend to offer a much better formula in terms of how it applies and also the lasting power which is very important in a foundation. My particular favourite is Nars Sheer Glow, a great all round base. It offers a satin buildable finish that doesn’t cling to dry patches or look cakey on the skin. It also has impressive longevity making it a great reliable foundation. Definitely one to try! My full review is here.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighters 

Highlighters are just everything, right? For me, nothing quite beats the Becca formulation. Their highlighters are like no other. I have two of the pressed highlighters in Opal and Champagne Pop and my goodness are they beautiful! The give off a serious killer glow to the skin with incredible pigmentation. Although the creamy buttery texture is what makes these even more amazing. They glide on so beautifully on the skin without looking powdery or with chunks of glitter, just like smooth gold!

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

Oh how I love a good primer. From what I’ve tried, I’ve never actually found a good drugstore primer that works and none that can beat my love for the Smashbox one. I feel like this primer is a bit of a love or a hate thing but what it achieves is so impressive. The texture is probably the thing that bothers most people out of preference but for me I quite like it. It doesn’t feel greasy or slippy on the skin and leaves a smoothing effect perfecting for starting makeup. The longevity powers it has though is what makes this. Paired under foundation it takes my makeup lasting hours longer than it would have without. It is basically magic!

Nars Creamy Concealer

Another incredibly hyped product but for good reason. This concealer is well worth the extra pennies. The thick but creamy formula works wonders on blemishes and spots offering full coverage that isn’t cakey or clingy. It also wears well throughout the day unlike many other concealers that get a little drying as the day goes on. Despite the thickness, I don’t find this drying at all although I personally don’t like the texture for under the eyes however on blemishes it is a dream! Full review here.

What are your favourite high end products?

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2015 Beauty Favourites: Base & Cheek Products


2015 Beauty FavouritesIt’s that time for a mammoth of a favourites post! With 2015 over and done with, it’s time to look back at some of my top beauty products from the year. If you are a regular reader around these parts then most of the products may not be a big surprise to you! This is actually the first time I have ever done a whole yearly favourites so as I have so many products and didn’t want to bore you all with an essay of a blog post I have split this in to two parts. Today’s post will look into my favourite base/cheek products so foundation, concealer, blush etc. Then on Wednesday I will be rounding up my favourite eye/lip products. So I will stop blabbing on now and get on with my 2015 favourites…

Primer

There is only one primer that has ever really done it for me. That is without a doubt the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. I mentioned this already just last week in my December Favourites but this is holy grail level for me. I tried out a sample of this at either the end of 2014/start of 2015 and in one try I was completely blown away! I was of course also super happy to pick it up during a flight this summer were I got it for a pretty bargain! This primer creates such a velvety soft finish to my skin which lets my foundation slip on top super easily. It makes my makeup last super long like crazy and it still manages to keep my base looking fresh and flawless. Couldn’t recommend it enough!

Foundation/ Base products 

There is three base products that I truly fell for this year. All of which will be no surprise to you! Weirdly enough each one has a completely different finish from one another but it means I’ve got something good to cover all bases. First up, the tinted moisturiser lightweight base. BareMinerals Complexion Rescue stole my heart during the year with its flawless skin in a bottle formula. This is one for a good skin day as it does have a much lighter coverage. Although it basically gives you better skin, it is super glowy and fresh and makes you feel like a VS Angel, pretty much! Check my review for that one here.

For a more fuller coverage, night out option and just overall incredible foundation, Nars Sheer Glow wins hands down! I had been desperate to try this foundation for far too long and finally took the plunge earlier in 2015 and I am ever so glad I did! The shade Mont Blanc is the perfect fit for my skin and coverage is super buildable. It also doesn’t include SPF so is perfect for nights out! Just a perfect foundation in my books, check my full review here.

Lastly, a surprise new favourite came my way from the drugstore not too long ago. I don’t usually get on well with drugstore foundations although this seemed to work a dream with my skin. The L’Oreal Infallible 24h-Matte is the foundation in question. I never ever swayed towards matte foundations, with glowy and satin finishes more up my street but this formula is just great, it’s not too matte and has a nice natural look whilst still providing good coverage. At an affordable price, it’s such a great everyday option, check my review here.

Conceal & Correct

Concealer is always something I had been on the hunt for, something that provided good long lasting coverage without caking. The Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer seemed to fit the bill. This is just the perfect concealer for me when covering blemishes, it offers great coverage and is super blendable with a thick consistency. The fact I am now running out makes me feel pretty darn sad! I don’t know how to deal without my Nars concealer! Check my full review here.

At the start of the year, corrector is something I would never have considered. Not just because I wouldn’t have needed it but also because I probably never knew what it was. That was until the Bobbi Brown corrector made its way into my life. I get discoloration under my eyes and I turned to trying the cult BB corrector in a bid to fix up my blue under eyes. This product works wonders on me, the creamy formula is super easy to work with and blends in nicely on the skin without caking or creasing. It offers really great coverage too and hides any noticeable discoloration.

Cheek Products

At the start of the year I never cared so much for bronzer. I never really seen the need for it although that was until I tried The Body Shop Honey Bronzer. This is hands down one of my best makeup discoveries ever. The shade is just so perfect for my fair skin and isn’t too warm at all. As well as giving my skin a bit of warmth, it also adds shape and definition which I just love. It is also a complete bargain!

This year also saw my love for blush grow. I don’t know why I love it so much but I have always been forever looking for more blush to add to my collection. In 2015, I finally tried out the well hyped Hourglass brand. After getting my hands on the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit, I got to try out a couple more blushes and other products in their powder range. The one that I truly fell for though was Mood Exposure, a gorgeous mauve plum shade which looks super natural on the skin. The formula for these are also unbeatable! Check my review of the palette here.

What was your favourite base products from 2015?

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December Favourites


December FavouritesIt’s favourites time again and also the final favourites post of the year! How scary! Although keep your eyes peeled for a special favourites post coming next week! Back to the festive month of December though, I picked up quite a few new exciting bits and pieces over the month which I am truly loving and also fell for some products that I already had in my stash! So without further ado, here is my December favourites…

If you read Monday’s monthly roundup post, you would remember my mention of starting a Makeup Geek palette. Not too long ago Beauty Bay started stocking Makeup Geek eyeshadows much to my excitement. These single eyeshadows have been so raved about from the likes of Jaclyn Hill who even stated that they were her all time favourite eyeshadows (even better than Mac!). Obviously for that reason I had to pick up a few! The shadows are super affordable and there is such an incredible range to choose from. I have five shadows so far and I also picked up a large Z Palette to put them in. Jaclyn is so right, the quality of these are so amazing and they last so long on my oily eyelids! If anyone has any shade recommendations, fire away! A few of my favourites have to be Peach Smoothie, Prom Night and Homecoming! I now can’t wait to start filling up my palette!

Speaking of Jaclyn Hill and exciting UK launches, Becca Champagne Pop finally made its way over to the UK! Yay! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so excited about a makeup product before and I even pre-ordered it as soon as I seen it on the Space NK website, sad I know! It is so easy to see why this is such a raved about highlighter. The peachy champagne-y shade looks gorgeous on so many skin-tones and the formula is a complete dream to work with, super buttery smooth. It is pretty intense but I just love it so much that I’ve basically been wearing it everyday,but I mean its Christmas so why not!

A more surprising favourite this month is the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I say surprising as I really didn’t get this product when I first tried it. Although I’ve found myself using this everyday over the month and it just seems so perfect for blending out concealer and ensuring my base is flawless. I do really want to try the Beauty Blender though now as I hear that one is far superior…

One thing I just have to have at Christmas time is a bottle of Lush Snow Fairy! I just can’t go without my precious amazingly scented Snow Fairy at this time of year. It just makes me feel so Christmassy and I couldn’t help but stock up during the Lush sales!

Another product that I’ve came back to is my holy grail primer! Nothing will ever beat the Smashbox Photo Finish primer. With nights out and parties during the month, this primer came to the rescue by helping my makeup last that bit longer and still look fresh by the end of the night! It creates such a smooth base to the skin which allows makeup to glide on beautifully and basically is the key to a flawless base!

I also finally discovered Anastasia Beverly Hills this month. After spotting a 20% off deal online I just had to get that contour palette! I picked up the original contour kit in the lighter shade and I have been using it constantly over the month. The powders are super blendable and last so well too. After I got my eyebrows done not too long ago and my beloved Benefit Gimme Brow is on its last legs I wanted to try out something new. I picked up the Dipbrow Pomade in Soft Brown and it’s became my new go-to. I don’t want to go into too much detail with these products as I will be having a separate review post coming soon but both are well loved new additions to my makeup routine.

What have you been loving this month?

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