Five Things I’m Loving | January 2017

I’ve mentioned on Instagram a couple of times recently but I’m currently attempting a ‘try not to buy’ rather than a full spending ban (I’d be sure to cave if that was the case!). With that in mind, I think posts like this will be cropping up a lot more as I get around to actually using the products I already have rather than buying new things I don’t need! It’s pretty makeup heavy this time round but here’s what I’m loving at the minute!

NYX Slide on, Glide on, Stay on and Definitely a Turn on Waterproof Colour Lip Liner in Nude Suede Shoes £5.50

Ridiculously long name aside, this is an amazing lip liner! I first saw it featured on Havanna’s YouTube channel and I ordered it soon after because it looked a lot like Charlotte Tilbury Pillowtalk lipliner to me! While it’s not quite the same, I love this in its own right! Like the full title says, it's creamy, applies easily and sticks around for a decent amount of time! Nude Suede Shoes is a beautiful pinky nude that goes with so many of my lipsticks and I love it with CT Bitch Perfect. The formula is gorgeous and I definitely want to get my hands on a few more of these!

Swatches l-r: Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillowtalk, NYX Nude Suede Shoes

Soap and Glory Archery Brow Tint and Pencil in the shade Brownie Points £10

Although the Archery 2 in 1 brush and pencil seems to get most of the attention where S&G brow products are concerned, there is something special about this one that keeps me coming back! It has a fine felt tip end and a screw up pencil on the other. I like to go in first with the felt tip end to build up more colour with some fine strokes then go over my brows with the pencil to add more shape. I always store this in a tub with the tint at the bottom to keep it moist so the colour doesn’t run out as quick! The pencil side is slightly thicker than the Archery 2 in 1 and feels a little waxier so helps to set hairs in place too. Overall, the lasting result is a natural, full brow and it’s made me want to explore brow markers a bit more as I love the result! See my review of some of Soap and Glory’s brow range here!

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

This is the second tube of this I have gone through and it’s such a lovely primer! I got both in beauty boxes ages ago but I’ve only recently opened this up and fallen back in love with it! It has a lightweight gel/cream texture, sinks in quickly, feels hydrating but doesn’t make my oily skin oilier and its smoothing without having a silicone ‘slip’. I did notice with my first tube that the quality of this went downhill the longer I had it open and it does have a 6-month expiry date so I’ll be trying to stick to that because it does such a good job of extending the wear of my foundation and making it look fresher for longer!

Vincent Longo Water Canvas Creme-to-Powder Blush in Swan Lake* RRP £33.50

I have been appreciating this so much more now its Winter and my skin is more dehydrated than usual! This has the most beautiful, unique crème to powder formula and feels amazing on the skin – it’s so cooling and refreshing! I like to use a Zoeva Cream Cheek brush to apply which makes it easy to build up the pigment. Swan Lake is a lovely natural pink shade with a slight silver shimmer and it lasts all day on my combo skin giving a healthy flush of colour! Its oil free, fragrance free, non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic and cruelty free and though its more expensive than my usual blushes (not counting my Hourglass palette!) it’s well worth the money as it’s so long-lasting and I barely have to touch the product to get payoff! I love this on my oily/combo skin so I can imagine those with drier skins would fall in love with it too!

Seventeen Miracle Matte Oil Free Loose Powder £5.49

A few months ago, I went on a powder buying session because my skin was getting too used to my beloved No7 Perfect Light pressed powder and I ended up buying this from their baby sister brand. Now I’m not the biggest fan of loose powder as it’s so much messier but I’m a convert for this stuff! It’s a very lightweight powder that doesn’t add any extra colour to my face, it just makes my makeup look better! I still get a bit of shine round my nose at about lunch time which is common for me but with this I can just add some more powder and it doesn’t look like my foundation is separating or rubbing off! It’s such a great price too and I have a feeling it will last me ages!

So, there’s my round up of my current favourites! Have you tried any of them? Tell me what you’re loving at the minute!

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.

Danielle xx

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Long Lasting Summer Makeup with SEVENTEEN

Morning everyone! Today I thought I’d talk through a few SEVENTEEN products I think are perfect for creating a long lasting summer makeup look! Long lasting makeup is something I look for all year round but especially in the summer when it’s hot and my makeup has a tendency to melt or transfer!

SEVENTEEN Stay Time Foundation with SPF 25 in Soft Ivory*

First up is foundation and after hearing so much hype about this recently I just had to try it – a foundation that promises full cover and up to 25 hours wear has my name written all over it! I’m happy to say that this doesn’t disappoint! It’s quite a thick formulation so I like to use a damp Beauty Blender to make sure it spreads evenly over my face and the coverage is so good I don’t even feel the need to use a separate concealer for spots! Almost unheard of with me! I've been wearing this to work on really hot days and can’t get over how well it lasts on my oily skin, I do set it but find with other foundations they can separate round my nose very quickly, something that this doesn’t do, hurrah! From what I can tell, the shade range in this is very pale so if you are darker skinned you may struggle to find a match. I have the shade Soft Ivory which is perfect for me when I don’t have any fake tan on but I will be hoping my nearest Boots sorts out their testers soon so I can find a darker shade for when I tan!

SEVENTEEN Stay Time Pressed Powder in Fair

I’ve had this for a while now and am happy with how well it works to mattify my skin. The powder itself feels super smooth and has lasted me ages! I do wish it came in a translucent shade though, I have the shade Fair and it can look a little patchy if not careful, it could be my overzealous application of powder though!

SEVENTEEN Skin Wow! Concealer in Fair*

I’m so impressed with this and have become a little obsessed over the last few weeks! I used it every night on holiday as I didn’t sleep well so this faked a bright eyed look for me! When I first swatched it I didn’t think it would be brightening enough for under my eyes but how wrong I was! I usually do a triangle under my eyes and sometimes down my nose and on my cupids bow then go in with my Beauty Blender and love the effect it has! I usually just use concealers under my eyes but see much more of a difference with this! I love the packaging too, it’s so eye-catching but I suppose it will be hard to tell when it runs out!

SEVENTEEN Stay Time Foundation in Soft Ivory and Skin Wow Concealer in Fair swatch

SEVENTEEN Define and Conquer Contour Kit in Medium*

I love the packaging of this, it’s so NARS-esque! The product inside is brilliant too, the powders are so soft and easy to blend! The highlight shade is matte – perfect for setting under eyes and although the contour shade always looks very warm in my swatches, once it’s on my face it’s a really natural shade that I like to apply under my cheekbones and up towards my temples to give my skin a little extra colour!

SEVENTEEN Blush Powder in China Pink

This is probably the one product I don’t love the packaging of! It’s very ColourPop in that it’s a screw top but as it’s a powder formulation I don’t see why it can’t be a click and close, it would save more time! However, I am so impressed with the pigmentation it offers and how long lasting it is! It still looks as fresh at the end of the day as it did at the start! There is also a great shade range and best of all – it’s only £2.99!

SEVENTEEN Define and Conquer contour kit in Medium and Powder Blush in China Pink swatch

SEVENTEEN Powder and Blush Brush

This was a free gift with the powder and blush mentioned earlier which you might have seen in this haul (SEVENTEEN do great offers!) and it’s such an underrated product! It doesn’t necessarily make my makeup last any longer but its super soft and the perfect size for applying either blush or contour!

SEVENTEEN Brow’s That! Brow Kit

This was the first brow kit I think I got from the drugstore, and it’s still one of the best in my opinion! It contains a wax, brow powder and highlighter as well as a pencil and mini brush to define your brows. The brow shade is the perfect cool toned brown that works perfectly with my colouring and the highlight shade does have a shimmer to it but it’s really subtle! The wax is slightly tinted and helps to set the brows making them last all day!

SEVENTEEN Falsifeye HD! Mascara in Blackest Black*

To make my makeup extra-long lasting I would have picked a waterproof mascara because that’s what I usually go for but I love how lengthening and separating this is! It also doesn’t flake or wear off (unless I rub at my eyes but then whose doesn’t after that!). This wouldn’t be one for anyone who likes lots of drama from their mascara but if you are going for a natural look and want to look wide awake with lots of length, this is gorgeous and not clumpy at all!

SEVENTEEN Eye Shadow Mono in Brown

I am the first to admit that I am a bit of a snob when it comes to eye shadows and I usually go for higher end formulations but at £3.89 I had to check out SEVENTEEN’S range! I went for the shade Brown which is a gorgeous metallic - you guessed it - brown shade! It’s lovely and pigmented, applies easily and lasts all day (though I do use the NARS Smudgeproof primer)! Definitely worth a try!

SEVENTEEN Lip Crayon in Bold*

This is such a gorgeous bright coral perfect for summer! I find that it gives a nice shine but it’s not overly glossy so it’s more long-lasting than other lip crayons I’ve tried!

SEVENTEEN Mono Eyeshadow in Brown and Lip Crayon in Bold swatch

See my last posts featuring SEVENTEEN here and here! 

What’s your favourite SEVENTEEN product? Is there anything here you’d like to try?

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.

Danielle xx

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SEVENTEEN Christmas Gift with Purchase 2015

Hi everyone, I wanted to get a post up today with a gift with purchase that’s currently available in Boots! If you spend £6 on selected SEVENTEEN products you get a free pouch with three makeup brushes! Here’s what I bought!

  

SEVENTEEN Stay Time Pressed Powder

I go through powder quite quickly and my Holy Grail powder is No7 Perfect Light pressed powder, being that SEVENTEEN is meant to be the baby sister brand of No7 I thought I would try one of their powders. I went with Stay Time as I like mattifying powders that help make my makeup last and so far I’ve been really impressed with the stay time (geddit) of this powder! I have it in the shade Fair and although I do prefer my setting powders to be translucent, this doesn’t add any noticeable colour to my face and I’m really impressed with its lasting power!  

SEVENTEEN Blush Powder

The packaging of the blusher is not my favourite thing in the world as it’s a screw cap and I just find it more fiddly than anything but the range of colours is great and I had a hard time picking just one! I eventually settled on China Pink which is a lovely bright matte pink colour that has a great amount of pigmentation and lasts all day on my cheeks! The best thing about these blushes – they’re only £2.99!

l-r Blush in China Pink, Stay Time powder in Fair

The GWP includes a black glitter pouch with three makeup brushes, one for cheeks, eyes and lips. They are all a lot softer than I was expecting and the cheek brush works well to apply the blush evenly, the eye brush is great for applying a darker shadow colour in the outer corner and the lip brush has been perfect to use to apply the lip products in my In the Balm of Your Hand palette!

Have you seen all the Christmas makeup GWP’s in Boots at the minute? This might not have been the only one I bought! Did you get any?

Danielle xx

SEVENTEEN: Old and New Favourites!

Hi everyone! I've got a few quick reviews and swatches today of some of my old and new favourites from Boots own brand SEVENTEEN! Keep reading to see what I love from the brand!

First up are some old favourites of mine that I absolutely love. The Phwoarr Paint heavy duty under eye concealer in Fair (£5.49) comes in two shades of which I have the lightest. It is a very thick and creamy concealer that covers dark circles really well! As with other cream concealers I have, I like to use this with my ring finger in order to warm it up and blend it under my eye. I really like setting this with a separate powder I will talk about later in this post but this ensures it doesn’t settle into any fine lines around the eyes and that it lasts throughout the day. I also sometimes use it to conceal spots too and it does a good job at this as well!

Brow’s That! brow kit £5.99

I feel like this was the original drugstore/highstreet brow kit! It was the first brow kit I owned anyway and I got it in one of Boots’ trusty free gift offers a few Christmases ago! I was actually using it to do my make up for New Year’s Eve at my friend’s house and she pulled out the same kit – we can’t resist a Boots bargain! It only comes in one shade but I find the colours are very cool toned and a great match for me, the wax and powder are not overly pigmented so perfect for an everyday look if you just want to define your eyebrows a bit. They can be made a little more dramatic if you also use the pencil before filling in with the wax and powder and I love the fact it’s so easily buildable and the highlight shade has a lovely shimmer to it that’s not too obviously glittery!

Mirror Shine lipstick in Beehive £4.79

I first bought this a few years back (when it was in the blue packaging – anyone remember?). Vivianna Does Makeup raved about it so I picked it up to see what all the fuss was about and fell in love with it! It is the perfect my lips but better nude, sheer, natural looking, glossy, moisturising lipstick and it’s a long standing favourite of mine! I haven’t done a top five favourite lipsticks yet but this would be on it! I love the new packaging too, when you open the lid a mini mirror pops out which is handy for on the go! I could apply this shade in the dark but it’s maybe more useful for the other shades in the range which I definitely need to check out!

Stay Pout lip colour in Audition* £4.49

These are SEVENTEEN’s long wear lip colours and Audition is a gorgeous bright pink blue toned colour (which makes your teeth appear whiter)! I am completely in my comfort zone with pinks as well as corals as opposed to reds and this lipstick applies so smoothly and sits so comfortably on my lips it doesn’t dry them out at all! It’s not totally opaque and I find I still have a little bit of slip on my lips which is probably why I like the formula so much as its not drying. It lasts a really good amount of time on me and you can layer it on for a really bright pink colour which I would for a night out or apply it lightly for a gorgeous stain that lasts hours and really brightens up the face!

Lip Crayon in Bold* £4.99

I love lip crayons like this for throwing in my bag when I want a bit of colour, moisture and don’t have time to look in a mirror to apply! It’s a gorgeous coral colour with loads of shine that’s so easy to top up throughout the day! Like I said, pink and coral colours are my go to, they suit me and I look healthier with a bit of colour on my lips! Saying that, I do want to give the berry shade a go next!

Define and Conquer contour kit in Medium* £5.99

I was so excited to receive this as I have eyed this up in Boots many a time and swatched the shades only to find they were all sold out! It seems to be one of SEVENTEEN’s most popular products and rightly so! I could not wait to get this out of the packaging! It comes in two shades, of which I have the darkest and originally I thought it was going to be too warm toned for me but thankfully I was wrong! This is buttery soft and blends like a dream leaving a realistic shadow on my cheekbone and no harsh lines! What I love most about this kit though is the fact the highlight shade is matte! I will get so much more use out of it and have been using it to set the my Phwoarr paint concealer under my eyes where it brightens really well! I love the sleek black packaging too!

Falsifeye HD mascara in Blackest Black*£6.99

Finally, we have the Falsifye HD mascara! I love the plastic wand which has two different sides, one with shorter bristles and one with longer. This really coats my lashes evenly and I like to twist this as I apply which really separates and fan out my lashes! It doesn’t clump at all and the wand easily combs through my lashes. I always do two coats with any mascara I use and this gives me so much separation and length! Although I would usually choose the waterproof version of any mascara I’m using, I've been so impressed with the staying power of this one! I don’t often put mascara on my bottom lashes but the size of this mascara wand would make it perfect if you did!

So there we have my old and new favourites from SEVENTEEN! They are always on offer in Boots and there really is no reason not to have a swatching session when they have so much choice at brilliant quality and reasonable prices!  They also have a ton of new releases making their way into stores and I for one cannot wait have a look at the new makeup brushes and powder blushers!

SEVENTEEN have also recently launched their Blogger Network which is free to sign up to and includes loads of product information, news, makeup trends and tips!

What’s your favourite SEVENTEEN product or what would you most like to try?

Danielle xx

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*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.