Make Up Monday!

Hey lovely ladies! Hope your Monday isn't going too bad so far.. In a bid to make it a little less dull, I myself decided to sport a red lip, just because I can! I got some funny looks when I went up town to do a few bits, but who cares!
Besides that, there wasn't any particular make up I had been loving this week, mainly because I was really wearing the same bits as last week.
One thing I did really like though was a brush. And no before you ask, it isn't a Real Techniques brush, (we all know by now how good they are.)
Instead it is the EcoTools Large Powder Brush.  I had previously heard of EcoTools but had never tried any of their products, so when I saw this brush in TK Maxx for only 6.99 I decided to pick it up! I've been having really problems with shine and redness on my nose and although I do use powder I had only been using the little sponge that came with the one I'm using at the minute, (Rimmel Stay Matte if you're curious).

The brand itself are renowned for being leaders in  eco conscious beauty products, and are favourited by celebrities around the world. Their brushes are 100percent cruelty free, have recycled aluminium ferrules, and sleek bamboo handles. Not only this, but they are so so soft! It sounds a little strange but I just sat stroking it for a few minutes after taking it out of the packet, its that soft! Anyway weird girl part over, on to the actual brush itself. It has a large brush head which is packed full of hairs and it makes it so so easy to apply powder1 Its slightly tapered aswell which helps disperse the powder more evenly over the face. Like I said I had been using the little sponge that came with the powder to apply it, but since I started using this I've realised that the sponge actually just caked the powder on and it didn't look natural. This brush just mattifies the skin and gives a nice looking natural looking finish to your make up without looking too heavy or caked on.

I picked it up on a whim in TK Maxx, and really didn't think it was going to be that good, but I'm so impressed! It does say it was originally 16.99 so I definitely got a bargain! I've no doubt that I shall be picking up more from EcoTools in the future!

What have you all loved this week!
Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx

My favourite brush!

Make Up brushes have only in the last year or so really made an impact on my regular make up routine. Previous to that, I would have used make up sponges, you know those kind that you'd get in the 2 euro shop in a big bag? Ya, I know. And I used to wonder why my make up was gone only hours after putting it on!
2013 was the year that I discovered Real Techniques. If you haven't heard of the Pixiwoo girls, then seriously, I'm ashamed! OK that's a joke. But really, they are the most amazing brushes, for ridiculous prices!

                                                               The Pixiwoo Girls
Made with synthetic bristles, these brushes are so soft, and are 100 percent cruelty free.
To make it easy for us amateurs, the brushes are colour coded, eye brushes have purple handles etc.. The names are also on the handles, so again it makes the whole make up application a lot easier.
My favourite at the minute has to be the Expert Face Brush.

It has a wide, circular shaped brush head which makes it so simple to apply and blend product, especially cream products.
My favourite way of applying foundation is to dab a little bit on to my hand, and then dot it on to my face and then use the brush to blend it in. For me it saves having too much build up of product on the brush, and also cuts down on me actually using too much product.
I just love everything about this brush, its light and just so simple to use. Even for someone who doesn't have a clue about make up, you honestly can't go wrong with any of these brushes!
If you are someone who doesn't have a clue but does want to give brushes a try, the PixiWoo girls have a vast array of demo's with the different brushes on the website, or on the YouTube channel!
And then when you consider the price, there really is no excuse not to give them a whirl! They are so inexpensive, the Expert Face Brush is only 13.29! They are readily available too in Boots, or on www.Cloud10Beauty.com.

What are your favourite brushes?
Thanks for reading,
Alisha
xxx

Whats in my make up bag!

So for any of you that don't know or aren't on Instagram, Cloud10Beauty are doing a 'beauty photo challenge for the month of October, and I've been dying to do one for ages so I decided I'd give it a lash! The reason I decided to do this post is because one of the challenges is a 'what's in your make up bag' post, so I figured I'd go one step further and do a blog post on it aswell! I have a large quantity of make up, which at the moment is stored in my wardrobe in various different vanity bags and cases, so this make up bag is the one I keep the products I use every day in, and I try to switch it up every so often.

So first of all, the actual make up bag itself is one I got when my parents were on holidays, and it came free with a fragrance purchase from Roger and Gallet. I've only started using it recently, but its a good size, and I can fit a good amount into it, a lot more than what I have in it at the moment! 

Now, onto the good stuff! :)

First up are my make up brushes, which as you can see is made up mainly of Real Techniques brushes! I'm in love with the blush brush, its so so soft, and applies just the right amount of product! The rest of the brushes are all eye brushes, and the long black handled one is a Kiko one I picked up last week, and the short silver handled one is a Sigma travel sized blending brush, and the other two are just ones I picked up cheap! But they do the job so I cant complain! :)

And onto the face!For my days off work, or when its really hot, (which isn't a whole lot in this lovely country), I opt for a BB cream. At the moment I'm using this one from Catrice, alongside the Maybelline Dream Fresh one, and if I'm honest I prefer this one! There's more coverage without it being too heavy, where as with  the Maybelline one, it doesn't cover up any redness or blemishes or anything which is disappointing for the price of it! And this Catrice one is only 6 euro! 

My go to foundation since the autumn crept in is  this Stay Matte foundation from Rimmel, and I love it! Its a mouse foundation, so the teeniest bit will do your whole face, and the coverage is amazing!

I always use a primer before applying my make up, and I've just recently finished a Smashbox one which I adored, but I won't pay 30ish euro just for a primer, to me its mental. So I'm trying to use what I have for now, and this My Base illuminating primer from Essence does the job of keeping my make up on all day, and is dirt cheap! 

For powder I use this much raved about Stay Matte powder from Rimmel. I don't use it when I'm wearing the Stay Matte foundation because that would be much too cakey for me, but I'm using more sheer products I'd always use this to mattify my face!

I'm currently using 2 concealers, the Maybelline Fit me for any blemishes or redness, and the Eraser Under Eye concealer also by Maybelline. Apologies for the grubbiness of the packaging, but both of these are on the go a while now! 

For eyes I have these 2 gel eyeliners by Catrice in both brown and black. I used to use these every single day but during the summer I just went with shadow and mascara, so now that the winter is back in I'm going to try and get a bit more use out of them, because they are actually really good! 

I've two mascaras on the go aswell at the minute, the Rimmel Scandalise, and a random one from NYC which I cant tell you the name of because the writing rubbed off! Both of these are coming near the end of there life, so I'm just trying to get a bit more use out of them before then! 

Also in here is my must have NYX eyeshadow primer. This stuff is amazing! It makes my eyeshadow last from for the full working day and a bit more, which is great! 

I currently only have 2 blushes in my bag, 'Flushed' from Sleek and I think this cream  MUA one is called Dolly, or something of the sort! Both of them have amazing pigment and are perfect colours for the transition into autumn/winter.

These are two of the most recent additions to my lipstick/gloss collection, a lipstick by Essence and this lip gloss from W7. Neither have been used yet, so I will have to test them out fairly soon! 

Lastly I just have a few random bits! An eye cream from Nivea, a tin of good old Vaseline, (aloe vera if you don't mind), and a tin of deodorant! 

So there you have it ladies, that's what's in my make up bag... For the moment!! 

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx

Kiko Wishlist

So I'm off on my holidays next week and I cannot wait! I'm heading to Torravieja which is just outside Alicante in Spain and there is apparently a mahoosive shopping centre not too far away from where we're staying! So me being me, of course I had to do a bit of research! The shopping centre is called 'La Zenia Boulevard', and is home to one of best friends Primark!! So of course I will be stopping off there for a look, in fairness it would be really rude not to, wouldn't it?
But the shop that excites me most is Kiko! Turns out there is a Kiko store in the shopping centre too, so I've been looking online to see what might catch my eye when I get there, because otherwise I'll get too excited and buy loads more than I probably should!
If your not familiar with Kiko, it's an Italian professional cosmetics brand which offers amazing quality products for really reasonable prices!

So first on my list is some of there loose pigments. Mac do probably the most well known pigments in the beauty world, but these ones from Kiko only cost 5.90! (euro) I'm loving the look of the neutral colours, which are number 1 Nude Beige, 10 Light Taupe, and finally 18 White Gold!

I am a complete and utter blush fanatic, at one stage I had 11 blushes in my everyday make up bag! Which is a bit extreme really considering there's only 7 days in the week, and I tend to wear the same one every day anyway!  Lately I've been really getting into cream blushes and this Velvet Blush Stick looks lovely! There's a shade called 'Verve Peony' that looks like it'll be a really nice colour for Winter, a slightly dark pink! Its 7.90 so its not a bad price either! 

Everyone seems to rant and rave about MAC's 'Fix Plus Spray' for keeping there make up in place and for freshening it up during the day. I'm yet to try that, but this Make Up Fixer looks like a nice alternative at an even nicer price! Its 7.90 and its got rave reviews on there website, so fingers crossed! 

There Smart Lipsticks look absolutely amazeballs! At 3.90 they're a fantastic price, but I have a serious problem in that there's so many different colours that I'm going to have a serious task trying to choose which colour to go for! I'm looking a nice plum shade for autumn/winter, so I think I'll have to just try them out in the store! 

I've had a quick look at the make up brushes also, and the prices are really good! I havent really seen anything that's jumped out at me in the line of brushes though, but I may check out the eye brushes when I get there! 

So that's really a round up of what I'm hoping to pick up when I get there, but to be honest I'll probably come out with twice as much! That is if my boyfriend will have enough patience to let me go in after I've raided Primark! ;)

Thanks for reading,

Alisha xxx