Ellen May: beauty

Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts

8 Aug 2014

WHAT'S IN MY MAKE-UP BAG

This is a pretty self explanatory blog, it's what I've currently got in my makeup bag. For the most part, here are my tired and true favourites that have gotten repurchased over the years. These are probably the products I've used the most and have loved each and every single one of them. I'd be lost without any one of them, they are the current products in PANDORA'S beauty box right now.

L'oreal True Match Foundation - Most definitely my favourite summer foundation to date. It's light on the skin but still gives great coverage without clogging your pores, but allowing them to breathe. What could be better in the hot summer weather?

Bourjours BB Bronzing Cream - I love this product, it gives you a natural looking glow to your skin and as its a BB cream it does cover your face like a foundation, it soaks into your skin and leaves you with a flawless complexion. Plus it smells pretty amazing too.

Benefit PoreProfessional - I will not put on my make up until I have this beautiful product on my face. I bought it over a year ago now and will not let it out of my sight. It really does make a difference to your foundation, it real does make it last all day and all night with my make up moving or cracking. Its perfection in a bottle. You must purchase this for flawless looking skin.

Maybelline FIT Concealer - One of the many concealers in my collection. A girl can't have too many concealers right? This is actually the newest purchase to my make up bag, I only brought this a week or two ago but felt the need to add it to this blog because it's sensational. All the reviews i've read on it were right, it's great i carry it around with me everywhere for the occasional touch up throughout the day.

Gosh Powder Pearls - If you want a natural sheer tan glow to your skin, you gotta try this. I use this everyday whether I'm going out or not because it doesn't instantly make me look orange, it gives me that even summer glow that I am always looking for.

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush Peach - Everygirl needs a dash of colour on their cheeks to make them look awake and healthy. I've come to love cream blushes and bronzers recently and this by far is one of my favourites. I don't usually like applying a pink tones blushed to my face but this peach toned blusher is to die for. I've used and re-purchased this 3 or 4 time now and I still love it.

Bourjours Healthy Mix Concealer - Another concealer from my collection. I love this concealer because I love the bourjours foundation that goes with it, I love how it feels so light on my skin and the smell is gorgeous, therefore I occasionally will add a little bit of this concealer either to the mix with my maybelline concealer or on its own.

Rimmel Kate Lipstick Shade 113 - In my opinion, one of the best matte nude lipsticks I've ever found. I'm extremely fussy when it comes to nude lipsticks because i don't want it to look like i've just layered foundation onto my lips (not a good look ladies) but as soon I discovered this, I'm never going back to anything else. It's a perfect day time lipstick for any weather.

MaxFactor Extentions False Last Effect Mascara - An old old old favourite mascara of mine, I've repurchased this a billion times over, I think this was one of my first mascaras I used when I started getting into make up when I was barely a teenager, so its come along with me ever since then, 4/5 years later.

Bourjours Stick Anticernes Correcteur Concealer Stick - Oh look, another concealer, whoops! Unlike the other concealers, this one is cream stick, and i usually apply this before my foundation, so under my eyes, on and around my rouse, chin and t-zone. It's so handy and great for all skin tones.

Rimmel Kate Lipstick Shade 107 - My go to party/night time lipstick. I'm a sucker for deep rouge or purple lips and this shade is so me. It's a deep plum colour with a hint of red, perfect for nightie wear but I'm not afraid to wear it out in the day time too.

Do you have any of these products in your makeup bag? Would you like me to review any of them in detail? Let me know please....

Lots of love

6 Aug 2014

SPLURGE OR SAVE?

Which products are worth paying for and which products should you get for a steal?

I've been asked these questions multiple times before: Do I really need to spend £20 on a foundation? Can I get a good enough foundation from my local drugs store? Do I need to spend lots of money on all my beauty and skin care products? Are there any similar cheaper products that will give me the same results?

Well, I'm here to break it down for you: what products are worth paying for, and which you can buy from your local drug store.

SAVE on Eyeliner - pencil eyeliner is initially made of wax, which is not worth the cost of £11, when you can get a great pence eyeliner from your local drugstore for £3.

SPLURGE on Eyeshadow - When it comes to eyeshadow, quality is quantity. A great eyeshadow will stay on your eyes all day long, while a cheap £4 eyeshade palette will have faded by the time your ready to leave the house.

SAVE on Primer - Getting your make up to last all day can be tricky but a good primer will secure the long-lasting finish you aspire. However, a cheaper primer from your drugstore may start of well but it will not last the whole day, you will notice your makeup moving or cracking. A primer that is worth saving on is Benefits PoreProfessional, this will help your make last all day long, it's the one I use and I could not live without it.

SPLURGE on Moisturisers - A good moisturiser is the key to a healthy glow completion. When considering moisturisers, you need one for your body and one for your face. I'm not saying that you have to spend loads of money, but a good moisturiser usually starts from about £8-10.

SAVE on Concealer - You can easily buy a perfectly good concealer from you drugstore, thats where I buy mine. There's no need to spend £15 on a concealer when you can get a similar one that will last the whole day for just £5. Simple really.

SPLURGE on Foundation - The chance of finding your perfect shade in your local drug store is either a hit or miss. I've wasted so much money buying the wrong shade of foundation from my local drugstore, I've learned my lesson to save my money and buy a more expensive foundation that will work wonders to my skin.

SAVE on Lipsticks - The formulations in Channel, M.A.C and Dior you can't beat. If you want that long lasting perfect finish on your lips, you'll need to save up your money. However, you can get a cheaper lipstick from your local drugstore that will work just fine.

SPLURGE on Make Up Brushes - To get that flawless finish you need a good makeup brush. Cheap makeup brushes can be harsh on the skin, therefore dragging the foundation or product all over your face, which can cause the cake-look you may of noticed. I recommend real technique style brushes, I loosely say the word 'style' as you can buy mock real techniques brushes that can be a lot cheaper but do give the same results.

Hope this helped,

Lots of Love

JULY FAVOURITES

I still can't quite believe we are already a couple days into August?! Well, it's definitely safe to say that 2014 is flying by extremely fast. July has come and gone which means it's time for some monthly favourites. I got to try some exciting new products this month as well as loving and re using my old reliable favourites. From make up to skin care, here are Pandora's July monthly favourites:

Vaseline Spray & Go Body Moisturiser - I've been using this body moisturiser for a month or two now and I'm utterly in love with it. New favourite body moisturiser alert! The spray applies gently onto the skin and it dries instantly. It's light and requires none to little rubbing in. It's perfect for those of you who don't have a lot of time in the morning and wonder why you feel your skin is lacking something - it's moisture. Plus, it smells amazing. I purchased the Cocoa Radiant scent because I'm in love with all beauty products that are cocoa scented. I highly recommend this moisturiser.

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion - A skincare product that I've been dying to try. For as long as I can remember I've always been a fan of benefits skincare products and I've always used Benefits Total Moisture Moisturiser but recently I decided to change it up a bit and try something new. I'm so glad I did because this moisturiser is to die for. This sheer oil free facial lotion also includes SPF 15+ which is great for this time of year. I recommend that you all try as many skincare and beauty products that contain some form of SPF in them, especially in the summer.

L'Oreal Paris True Match Warm Nude Beige - I'm always up for changing my foundation throughout the seasons, as summer is upon us, I decided to try a highly recommended foundation. This product is perfect for day to day wear as it gives you a very natural look throughout the summer day, it's light on the skin but still gives great coverage without clogging your pores. I found the foundation to be smooth and radiant on my skin. This is definitely going to be one of my most loved foundations so far. I highly recommend this for those of you who are new to foundations, don't know what foundation to begin with or those of you who need a summer foundation. It's perfect!

Garnier 5 Sec Blur - Ok, so this product I've seen everywhere, and its reviews are crazy good, so I thought, why not give it a try. The product aims to minimise pores, reduce fine lines and radiant your skin. You only need a pea size amount of the product to apply to your whole face, and you apple it after your moisturiser just like you would with any other primer. My skin looked immediately matte, and in 30 seconds my pores were minimised and my skin definitely looked radiant throughout the day. An extremely good buy if i say so myself.

Gosh Powder Pearls - I've definitely jumped back to my young teenage years when I first started playing around with make up. I remember using a cheaper version of these powder pearls and absolutely loving them, so now I'm older and am more experienced with make up I thought I'd jump right back on the train with Gosh's version. I love Gosh make up, I think they deliver what it says on the package, so I knew I couldn't go wrong with this choice. I applied the pearls with a real techniques bronzing brush and am loving the outcome. My face instantly looks more tanned, it gives it a natural glow and it's perfect for contouring. I was weary that it would look orange on my skin because I'm naturally quite pale, but I recently got back from holiday so I have a natural tan. I carefully applied little of the product at a time, to make sure I didn't cake on the bronzer and look unnatural. Overall, I love this product and am so happy I re-discovered it, I'm not letting this one go for a long time now.

Which products have you been loving this month? Have you tried any of these products?

Lots of love

4 Aug 2014

EVERYDAY MAKE UP ROUTINE

Hiya!

I would just like to say that, this isn't much of a 'everyday' of the week routine, it's only when I'm going out of my house or to a party. I don't wear this much make up to college - partially because I don't have the time!