Make It! Bronzer (Calling All Vegans!)

Ever heard of a ‘one shade suits all’ bronzer? That’s because they just do not exist! However, how would you react if I told you that you could make one using just two common household products? Don’t lie…you’re jumping around screaming right now.

The two things you’re going to need are talcum powder (preferably ‘shimmer’ talcum powder) and cocoa powder. I opted to use Avon Soft Musk Shimmering Body Powder, because of its gorgeous shimmer which makes an amazing combination along with my Green & Blacks Organic Cocoa Powder. Not only is the powder wonderfully dark (which leaves you with a discrete but noticeable bronzed complexion), but its organic quality makes with make-up recipe 100% vegan!

Begin by dropping two heaped table spoons of cocoa powder into your container. You’ll need a large pot, or use an old lid off of a container (approximately two inches deep). Now, taking your talcum powder, tip one half of a tablespoon into your cocoa powder. Use the end of the table spoon to mix your powder combination, as this will minimize waste clinging onto your spoon.

This is where the ‘one type suits all’ label jumps into play. If you consider yourself to be DARK skinned, add another one and a half teaspoons of cocoa powder to your mix, and stir. If you believe you are of a MEDIUM tone, simply add another teaspoon of cocoa powder to your solution. If you are FAIR skinned, add another half tablespoon of cocoa powder to your mixture. If you enjoy the thrill of defying the rules, simply add varying amounts of cocoa power and talc until you reach a shade of your contentment.

When you apply the bronzer to your face, you will immediately notice that the mixture is very, very sheer. If you wish to intensify the powder into a creamy solution, carefully add a tablespoon sized amount of Sudocrem, Vaseline or Johnsons Baby Lotion. This will not only turn your bronzer into a cream based product, but double up your product as a beautiful highlighter for the body and face. When the bronzer is in it's power form, I like to apply with a giant brush, and simply sweep it over the total diameter of my face. When applying the bronzer in liquid form, I like to apply it with a foundation brush (be sure to keep your bronzer foundation and foundation brushes separate. Never use the same brush for both jobs). 

I hope you enjoy making this bronzer as much as I did! Unfortunately, my Blogger doesn’t allow me to comment (must be something to do with my broadband). But please do comment about how your bronzer experiment went!

Make It: Eyeshadow Primer

What You’ll Need:

Foundation

Talcum Power

Moisturizer

Single Bronzing Pearl (Optional)

Don’t get me wrong, I am not one to make clothes and jewellery, purely because I cannot be bothered to put more time and money than necessary into a single piece of work that I can get for half the price somewhere else. However, lately it has come to my attention that home-made cosmetics can perform just as well, and sometimes even better, than shop brought branded products. Not only are most home-made cosmetics cheaper, but can almost always be made with regular household products. 

A product that is all too often forgotten by beginners in make-up is an all-important eyeshadow primer. The significance of an eyeshadow without its trusty little companion is practically worthless, as the colour payoff you will receive will be shocking: in a bad way. Fear not, however, as you can make an extremely effective little primer pot using a maximum of five household cosmetic items. 

Begin by finding a little pot or container to make and store your primer in. if you inhabit the UK, I am aware of Primark selling 3 miniature pots for £1. If you don’t want to invest in a new pot, simple use the lid of a bottle, or re-cycle a tester pot. I opted to use my Body Shop tester pot, as it has a lid to prevent my primer from drying out. 

Start with your foundation. The best kind to use is one of a very thick consistency, as this will blend best and become tacky easier. I purchased the Natural Collection Colour Foundation a while ago and was disappointed by its performance, but its thickness and low price makes it a first place contester for a primer foundation. Squeeze a blob of foundation the size of a one pence (or the foreign equivalent) coin into your container. Do not mix it yet, just leave it to adapt to the room’s temperature for a few seconds. 

The next product you’re going to need is a moisturiser to weaken the colour of the foundation, as well as banish the foundation’s unwanted coverage. I like to use Johnson’s Baby Lotion, as not only does it neutralise the colour of the primer, but is very soft and hydrating on the eyelids. Squeeze around half of the amount of the foundation you placed into the container into the centre of the foundation blob, and being to mix. Toothpicks or the end of fine toothed combs are perfect for this part of the process. When the formulation begins to look slightly less thick, stop mixing and pick up your talc. 

This is where you’ll really start to witness your DIY primer come together. There is no exact amount of talc to add to your mixture, but do be generous. I would recommend adding at least the same amount of liquid that is currently in your pot. You’re aiming for a formulation that it three times thicker than the mixture you are currently dealing with. 

Ta-Da! Now you have your very own primer, ready to use! I hope you get as much use out of yours as I do mine! For a glamorous trick, keep on reading, if not, enjoy!

If you are the owner of bronzing pearls, you will know how shimmery and beautiful they are, so this may be hard for you to do! Simply take a single pearl, and crush it using the end of a fine toothed come, toothpick, or anything else you wish you crush it with! Be sure that the pearl is in relatively thin particles, so as not to make your primer lumpy. Simple add the crushed pearl to your finished primer, and you will have a slightly more shimmery eye base, which could also double as a quick-fix facial highlighter!


If you make the primer, be sure to comment below and shout about how you found it! 

Collection 2000 Fast Stroke Eyeliner

As a result of their ridiculously cheap price tag, one would immediately assume that Collection 2000 products are not even worth a glance on an all too common shopping trip to Boots. Well, you would be wrong! I have been impressed by every single Collection 2000 product I have tried and tested so far, and am eager to continue purchasing more and more of their diversely enticing products. 

I brought the Fast Stroke Eyeliner purely because I wear liquid eyeliner every single day (without fail), and I was impressed when I tested the product in store. The thin sponge applicator brush drew an extremely thin line on the back of my hand, and it was no sooner that I was handing over my money at the till to make it mine!

When I first applied it to my lid, I was mildly disappointed. Not because of the formulation (fantastic), the colour payoff (fantastic), or even a bad applicator (also fantastic). It was because of the difficulty of applying a straight line to my lash line that got me slightly wound up. It took me several tries and half of the formula inside my Simple Corrector Pen, to finally achieve a thin, polished line.

Having said that, once the line was applied, the liner’s staying power stunned me. The liner stayed on all day, but was easy to remove. It was easy to create a winged line, and easily matches the quality of far more expensive liners I have purchased in the past. 

Pros: Great colour payoff, great staying power, not possible for the brush to shed, simplistic packaging, great price

Cons: Not as ‘fast’ as one would hope, and possibility of messy mistakes

Best and Worst: Blushes

It can be a daunting prospect strolling into Boots or The Body Shop and being bombarded with saleswomen persuading you to purchase ludicrously overpriced blushes, that for all you know will be worse than wet socks in the winter.  Hopefully, this will help you make up your mind regarding blusher quality, the type of blush that suits your skin tone and type, and value for money.

The first blush, which is possibly my favourite out of all of the four blushes regarding performance, is the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Multi-Tonal Blush in 2169 Summer Fever. The blush consists of a trio of colours, each varying in purpose. I prefer to use the colour furthest to the right to contour my cheekbones, and sometimes to add a splash of colour to my cheeks if I am opting to sport a more olive tone foundation. The middle shade I prefer to use as a bronzer, mainly on my forehead, nose and again, my cheekbones. The right shade appears as a beautiful muted pink on the apples of the cheeks, and looks so natural it would be hard to decipher one was even wearing blush. The three shades swirled together in a tornado of colour produce a breath-taking fury of peaches, with a slight iridescence of caramel bronze. This blush is amazing, and at the affordable price of £5.19 (bearing in mind that you receive three blushes in one), is readily available to add to your make up collection now! The trio is available to purchase from any good cosmetics retailer now, or online at: http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-Multi-Tonal-Powder-Blush_929030/.

(Colours mirrored from palette. Left to Right.)

If cream blushes are more your thing, then the next blush may be just your cup of tea! The NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Tea Rose has to be the most pigmented cream blushers I have ever used. I absolutely adore the creaminess of the blush, and the pretty natural pink sheen the cream produces after being blended. I was hugely sceptical of how wearable the colour would appear on my face during the day, but it is so effortless to wear that I forgot I was sporting it. As for skin types, I have extremely oily skin, and the colour did not make my face look shiny; more luminous and natural. I did not need to re-apply the blush half way through the day, and there were even (gasps) traces of it in my toner, at the end of the day. I foolishly made the mistake of gouging my fingers into the blush upon first application, and as a result ruined it’s gorgeous packaging appearance! The blush will last you for a ridiculously long time, so at £5.50 is amazing value for money. The blush is available to purchase online through http://www.nyxcosmeticsstore.co.uk/acatalog/CB_-_Cream_Blush.html.

(Central colour is a swatch of the blush un-blended. Upper right, blush blended)

My experience with mineral blushes is very sketchy, so I have to warn you that I don’t have a vast variety of blushers to refer to (other than Collection 2000 pigments, which can be used anywhere desired on the face). One of the only mineral blushes that I use on a frequent basis is the Avon Smooth Mineral Blush in Blushed. The pigments are silky smooth, and the blush has a very photogenic, shimmery nature about it. The colour itself appears as a gorgeous nude brown in the packaging, but the result on the face is very unpredictable. The colour pay off of the blush is horrifying, being that the colour is barely visible on the face, and when it is, looks nothing opposite to a sickly beige-orange colour. However, with a little mineral foundation lightly applied over the blush, my face looks naturally radiant, but NOT blushed or coloured. The colour does not stay on my face for more than three hours, so retouching throughout the day is crucial. I could imagine the colour looking gorgeous on paler skin tones, and would look stunning on olive tones. The blush seems to have been limited edition, but if you’re quick you could be lucky enough to purchase one off of eBay, through the link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avon-Smooth-Minerals-Blush-new-U-CHOOSE-COLOR-/220729261901?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item791423afdd#ht_500wt_1054.

Last, but most definitely not least, is the No7 Natural Blush Cheek Colour in 20 Honey. This blush is absolutely wonderful. Beginning with pigmentation: not the best, but bearable. I try and see this as a positive point, as the colour can be used to contour cheeks and give a subtle hint of colour, or be used on the apples of the cheeks and built up to boast a glamorous pale beige. The colour stays firmly on my face for around four hours, so although reapplying is necessary, it’s worth it. The colour best suits medium skin tones (in my opinion), but could definitely be pulled off on dark or light skin tones. My favourite thing about this colour is how wearable it is. It’s perfect for any occasion, be it a normal day or your very own wedding extravaganza, this blush is perfect. It’s readily available at Boots stores, and is slightly pricier than the other picks, at £9.50, but this blusher has lasted me three years, so it’s brilliant value for money! Otherwise, purchase online from http://www.boots.com/en/No7-Natural-Blush-Cheek-Colour-5G_953467/.

 Happy Shopping!

Toni&Guy Finishing Shine Spray: Review

As an avid user of Toni&Guy hair products, I was delighted to come across their Finishing Shine Spray. It’s simple: this product works. 

Not only does the product deliver what it promises on the bottle, I am almost completely sure that the spray works as a heat protectant, too. When I am being lazy (most of the time), I simply opt for using this spray on its own, rather than paired with my Dove Heat Defence Therapy.  

The product most certainly delivers shine, and is best on short hair (Coming from someone who has used it on very long hair, and virtually a pixie cut!). I generally use one to two sprays on each side of my head, resulting in me owning this bottle since last Christmas. 

The only downside I can think of is the packaging. It would be great if this were in a plastic bottle, as a opposed to a glass one it currently comes in. This would make it one hundred times more portable, as this product is great used on dry hair as a shine booster!

Helpful Links

http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/toni-and-guy/toni+guy-finishing-shine-spray-100ml/invt/0037768/?source=122_4 - Buy the spray

http://www.toniandguy.com/ - Toni&Guy official site 

Once in a Blue Moon?

With summer drawing to a close, it’s safe to say that we can lock away our fluorescent yellows and sky blues for another harsh winter of rich mahoganies and deep navies. However, I was foolish enough to become one hundred per cent besotted by the colour ‘Blue Moon’ out of the many shades in Barry M’s nail paint collection. The colour stood out like a sore thumb against the rainbow of magentas and greens, and I immediately slammed my £2.99 down on the counter. 

The colour of the product is breath taking; a simple baby-blue shade, but the quality that really turned up the wow-factor for me was the miniscule gold pigments added to the formula. Although not visible in most natural lights, in sunlight the gold specks dazzle, and make the colour look unrealistically three dimensional.

I have to admit, initially, I was not impressed concerning the thin and water-like formula of the varnish. It was this that put me off of painting all of my nails with this nail varnish immediately. Barely any of the liquid clings onto the brush’s thin bristles, and I found it hard to contain my disappointment after reading so many positive product reviews, and the hype surrounding the product.

Having said that, after two coats of the thin disaster that is the formula of Barry M nail polishes, I was the furthest from smug I have ever been. The colour was absolutely amazing. The nail varnish looked absolutely flawless and thick on my nails, and the colour pay-off was no wear near what I had initially expected. The only flaw I encountered after applying was the drying time. Despite the bottle promising a quick drying time, the nail varnish took almost thirty minutes to dry on my nails. Overall, I would buy this product again. Well done, Barry M!


Useful Links


http://www.barrym.com/ - The official Barry M website


http://www.barrym.com/nail-paints - Purchase Barry M nail paints 

Wonderful smells don't have to be Pricey!

A few months back, i was lucky enough to receive Katie Price's most recent perfume (at the time), 'Besotted'. Being a massive Katie Price fan myself, I was overjoyed and immediately accepted the gift! I immediately fell in love with the packaging, and I believe that it would be impossible for any girl NOT to like it, even if you despised Katie Price!

The box of the perfume is simply gorgeous; a snow-white rectangular box, decorated with glitter paint. The box is almost as stunning as the interior. It is simply gorgeous. With holographic silver hearts, the actual design of the box cradles the bottle in a way that glorifies its shape and makes it seem even more artistic than it already is.

The shape of the bottle is a basic heptagon. I have to admit; at first I could detect a certain tacky quality concerning the shape of the bottle, but almost immediately after coming to this conclusion changed my mind! The bottle top is a simple clear, four dimensional diamond shape, put together, the topper and the bottle are a match made in heaven. The actual scent of the perfume is hard to decipher and write about (I find it extremely challenging to describe perfume scents anyway!).

Katie herself describes the perfume on her own website as:

"My perfume Besotted is a fragrance that combines a playful burst of citrus fruit, lemon, pink grapefruit and mandarin and the green marine sparkle of violet sea tangles."

The official description for her perfume challenges the first, but is pretty much identical:

"Katie Price ‘Besotted’ contains a playful burst of citrus fruit and the green marine sparkle of violet and seaweed. The radiant prelude is followed by the sensuous floral heart note of Jasmine, Rose, Cyclamen and Lily of the valley surrounded by fruity scents of Melon and Blackcurrant. The fragrance ends up on a refined dry down of Sandalwood and Moss completed by a dreamy, lingering kiss of Vanilla, Amber and white musk.”

Although I cannot describe the scent of 'Besotted', I love it. The only downside to the perfume is that it does need several layers of the scent to be able to be noticeable throughout the day. I would definitely recommend the perfume to anyone, even if they dislike the model!

Helpful Links

Purchase the perfume: http://jigsawesl.co.uk/brand.php?id=37

Official Katie Price Website: http://www.katieprice.co.uk/

Katie's description of 'Besotted': http://www.katieprice.co.uk/besotted