My Birchbox Favourites

I started my Birchbox subscription in September 2014, and it was my first beauty subscription. After testing many others Birchbox is by far the best in my eyes. I'm here to tell you about my favourite products, so good I've repurchased most and use them everyday.

But first a little about Birchbox. When you subscribe you fill out a 'Beauty Profile' where you are asked about about your skin type, your areas of concern and your skin tone, as well as your hair type and colour. Then you can add your personal style choices so your box is tailored to you each month. It only cost £12.95 including postage, and if you really like the boxes you can subscribe for a few months at a time and save some pennies.


The first of my favourites is a tinted moisturiser from Caudalie, Vinoperfect Radiance Tinted Moisturiser. I have it in light, and I find it's the perfect shade for my extremely pale skin tone. I've never really been one for tinted moisturisers as almost all the high street brands have a 'light' shade about three shades too dark for me. Damn you pasty skin! But I don't have a bad thing to say about this product, it looks the same when I get home from work as it did when I left that morning, it's a great consistency and it smells amazing.

It does retail from the official Caudalie shop at £27, but I have found it cheaper online so have a shop around if you're looking to try this.

Next up is the Yes To Cucumber Hypoallergenic Facial Wipes. I am one of the lazy people that really cannot be bothered to wake myself up with a proper face cleanse every night before bed and that is why these are so great. Society says that make up wipe are bad for your skin, but you will not able to do anything but love these wipes. They are so soft, so refreshing and so damn good at getting rid of makeup, dirt and soot apparently (a long story).

You can't purchase these from the UK Yes To online store but I do know they're around about £5 from Birchbox, and it you're not like me and have a half decent Boots near by, you will find them in there for around £3.

This next one won't be for everyone, just for you dry skin suffers. If like me you have very dry patches on your face, so much so that you have to tackle broken skin every morning (gross, I know) then Birchbox have pointed me in the direction of a lifesaver. Pomade Divine's Nature's Remedy Balm. It is very thick and sticky lotion that you do need to apply in advance to applying makeup, I usually put this on first thing and moisturise over the top to get rid of the greasiness.

I am trying to squeeze every last drop out of my tester as this retails at nearly £20 on Pomade Divine's online store.

I love a good mascara, so when Birchbox emailed to ask which Benefit mascara I'd like to test I did my homework. I went for the newish Roller Lash and my god did I choose correctly. I wear this all day everyday, and unless I've fallen asleep in front of the TV before bed it stays in place all day long. It drys instantly and is really build-able so good for an everyday look but you can layer it up for going out too.

I bought a full sized version of this after about a week so I could keep the mini in my handbag, it was £19.50 from the Benefit counter.

Finally, nails. I'd never heard of this brand before but their polishes are stunning. I received a Soigné nail polish in Pistache. I'm rubbish at painting my own nails because I'm fair too impatient, but this polish is so easy to use. It's not too thick and glides on without a lot on the brush, I did a couple of layers and they lasted great over the weekend, then being a jewellery maker went and ruined them. I have however painted my toes and they look the same now as they did two weeks ago.

I bought another bottle in the shade Chou-Fleur Violet from Birchbox for £11 which is the same price as the official store. 

I do hope you have a look at some of these products and you find them as great as I do. 

Catch you later, 

Ellie

The War Between Matte Lip Sticks

I wake up in the morning to a very dull, dark and cold world, which only means one thing. Winter is here. I love layering up with giant scarfs, packer coats and chunky boots. But winter also means wapping out those matte red lipsticks.

When it comes to my lips, I go matte. I feel like any matte colour will last longer and suit me better so I thought I'd tell you about my top five products. They're all high street brands with fantastic price tags.

#5 Barry M - Ultra Moisturising Lip Paints in 163

It's very rare I visit the Barry M counter, and I can count the number of nails varnishes I've purchased from them on one hand but on a venture for a new red last winter I came across this gem. Barry M do both matte and satin colours these days but this shade is matte in my books. I wear shade #163 which is the second darkest shade in my top five.

The wear on the this product is good, I find I only have to reapply once or twice throughout the day. And this is also the cheapest of the five retailing at £4.49.

#4 Top Shop - Lips in Hazard

I will admit to avoiding Top Shop as much as possible, not that I don't like their styles, I just feel like I need to be a size 8 to fit into anything in that damned place! Anyway, on a trip to Cambridge I was forced to tag along into Top Shop and found myself in the make-up section, and I must say I was in my element.

I purchase the shade Hazard, along with many other products that displeased my bank account. It's one of the brighter shade in my top five and a great look for a night out. At £8 it's a reasonable price, my only niggle being that the packaging is cream, put this bad boy in our makeup bag and it's rainbow coloured within minutes.

#3 Soap & Glory - Super Colour Fabulipstick in Pom Pom

This is the first ever lip stick I purchased, it's a lot more subtle than the others, perfect for everyday wear. Soap and Glory do only a couple of matte shades, this being the pinkest shade. The last on this lip stick is outstanding, and is the easiest to apply. The only downside is the £9 price tag, making it the most expensive of the five.

#2 L'Oréal Paris - Color Riche Collective Exclusive in Blake's Pure Red

This is a relatively new collection from L'Oréal, only hitting the shelves a few weeks ago, but I've already worn it twice since I purchased it. I chose Blake's Pure Red as her skin tone is most similar to my own but testing the rest of the colours on the back of my hand it was a tough decision, they're all great.

I've always been a fan of L'Oréal lip sticks and this one doesn't disappoint, I feel like it might be my go to this winter with a very unhappy Ellie when this limited edition shade leaves the shelves. It's only £6.99, so your bank account will stay happy.

#1 Rimmel London - Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 107

Finally my number one. And yes it's Rimmel. One of Kate Moss' shades. Shade 107 is a more purply-red shade and fairly dark, but it's my favourite purely for that reason, the darker the better. The wear is great and at £5.49 it is a bargain.

So there you have it. My top five.

If you have any suggestions please do share, I'm always looking for great lipsticks for my ever growing collection.


Catch you later,

Ellie

How To: The Winged Eye Liner

A lot of people go for a simple eye everyday, but I like to nominate my eyes as my best feature and sport a cat eye in pretty much every look I wear.  It has taken a lot of practice, so don't worry if you can't match your left and right, or you slap it on too thick, you'll get there.

First off you need to choose your product. There are four options: pencil, which I must admit I have never used for a cat eye but it'll do the job; a felt liner, which I class as a good starting point; a gel liner, which is my everyday go to; and eye shadow, which is slightly more tricky to get perfect.

The products I choose for each option are as follows:
Felt liner - Bourjois Liner Feutre (£6.99)
Gel liner - Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner (£7.99 - This gel comes with a brush but my top tip is to make a trip to the Real Techniques section and pick up a Real Techniques Silicone Liner Brush, £5.99)
Eye Shadow - Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (Shade: Crave, £22. You could also use Blackout which is sold separately for £14)

Step 1: 
Apply a eye lid primer (Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, £16).

Step 2:
If you're using eye shadow, wet the brush first. Using one hand pull your skin taught by pushing upwards at the brow bone. Then draw a line from the corner of your eye out wards to mark your flick. I allow some leeway for sharpening the flick at the end.

Step 3:
Start from the inner corner and use a long brush motion across the lash line until you meet the line you've previously made. This line can be as close to or as far from to the lash line as you feel comfortable with, if you want a more subtle winged liner look you should keep it thin but you can always go back and thicken it.

Step 4:
Depending on how thick you want to flick to be, draw a dipped line from the tip of the flick across to the line on the lash line. This should create the flick, you can fill in any gaps now.

Step 5:
Finally, work over the liner again to get the desired thickness and colour. If you make a mistake or want the flick to be cleaner you can use a straight edged brush and some concealer to neaten the liner. Apply mascara, my favourite being Doirshow New Look at the moment (£24), and the look is complete.

You can wear a winged liner on a naked base, or over a shadow, it's completely up to you!


Catch you later,

Ellie x

So Many Foundation, One Must Work

No one persons skin is the same, hence every make up stand in every chemist or department store has an array of foundations claiming to look natural, to match our skin tone, to last twice as long as it actual will, and to make our face flawless. Well, if you've found a foundation that does all of these things for you, you are a very lucky lady. I must admit I've come close, and heres how.

I start off with a primer, Rimmel's Fix & Perfect Pro to be exact (prepare for a Rimmel overload, they're my go to). There always seems to be some sort of offer on on this primer therefore I keep going back to it, it works well and I feel theres a big difference in the quality of my make up when I do apply it.

Now for the foundation, I have two main contenders for the perfect foundation. Urban Decay's Naked Skin is the more pricey option, at £27 per bottle I understand why many people on a budget stay away from brands like Urban Decay. This foundation is so light but very build able which is great when your skin has on and off days like mine. I can wear this for a more natural look, to cover up breakouts, or for a heavier look. It's also never let me down on the staying put front, I've worn this on nights out and come home with my skin looking as it did when I left the house. I wear shade 1.0 as I am very fair, the staff on the Urban Decay counter will recommend a shade for you.

My everyday foundation is Rimmel's Match Perfection, I like a good radiance foundation so firstly opted for Rimmel's Wake Me Up but found that it was a little too dewy for my liking and gave a slightly heavier coverage than I wanted. I use the shades Ivory and Light Porcelain mixed to get the right match. It's a good send of a product for £7 a bottle.

For an under eye concealer I use Rimmel's Match Perfect Illuminating Concealer, I think this retails at around £6, trust me it's worth it. For the odd spot and blemish I reach for Bourjois' Correcting Concealer Stick. I originally bought this from a rather dodgy looking pop up stall in a shopping centre, so I didn't hold out hope for finding it on an actual Bourjois stand but sure enough there it was at a reasonable price of £7.

I set this all in place with Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder, this is a miracle product and comes very close second to eye liner in the 'products I cannot love without' list. My only peeve with this powder is how long it lasts, like all make-up in a pan the middle usually wears away first and eventually crumbles. Top tip for getting the most for your money is to use the handle of a brush to crush the product into a loose powder, slightly messy but puts you on until you can run to Boots and make a repurchase. But don't worry, it's only £4.

To give my skin some colour I contour with Urban Decay's Naked Flushed Palette, it's slightly pricey at £22. It contains a matte bronzer which I use to highlight my cheek bones, sides of the nose and jaw, it also has a highlighter which I highlight under the brow with. Finally it has a slightly shimmery blush, I'm more of a matte colour girl so I opt for Sleek's Blush in my favourite shade Pixie Pink.

And that is how I get the best out of foundation. It's guaranteed that I'll wake up too late each morning and be too tired to follow the process, resulting in concealer after powder and no blush at all but when I take my time this way works for me.

Catch you later,

Ellie

The Oh So Tricky Skincare Routine

If you're like me, you'll be looking for a good skincare routine on a budget. I don't have mountains of cash to spend on high brand toners or expert face masks so I look to high street brands for cheaper alternatives that work just as well.

First of all I use two face masks one or two times a week to help unblock pores and tackles blemishes. If I'm having a good skin day I opt for Soap and Glory's Fab Pore Mask & Peel to give my face a refresh, it retails at £10 so it's good for those on a budget. When I feel like my skin needs a real boost I use the Purification Mask by Temple Spa, this is basically a mud mask with only one down side, it's a little on the pricey side at £24. Although using this product once a week has more than halved the amount of breakouts I get.

The cleanser and toner I use are both Garnier, I've had a hit and miss relationship with this brand over the years, being unimpressed with their spot treatments but their Mincellar Cleansing Water is basically a perfect cleanser. It's hypoallergenic, removes heavy eye make up and is only £4! I also use the Start Afresh Refreshing Toner by Garnier, this stuff smells incredible, and yes I am now sat here smelling said toner. It's available on the high street for around £3.

Finally, moisturisers. I have very difficult skin, there are dry patches, oily patches, and areas prone to breakouts so moisturisers and I tend to have rocky relationships. Name a moisturiser and I've probably tried it, but through it all I've stuck with two. The first being Temple Spa's Moisture To Go, as you can see I'm nearly all out and I've been putting off repurchasing due to the fact that the price tag says £34. I'm not the type of person to spend that amount on a product like moisturiser but my lovely mum offered to by me a bottle and now I'm hooked, damn. It knows exactly where to go to treat each of my skin types and can also be used as a make-up base.

The trusty and cheap moisturiser I keep going back to is Garnier's Moisture Match Start Afresh, at £6 it's an everyday moisturiser you can't go wrong with, there are around six moisturisers for different skin types in the range so you're bound to find the one thats right for you.

So that's my skincare routine, mostly cheap and cheerful. You can miss out the Temple Spa products if your budget is really tight but give the others a try, you won't be disappointed!

Catch you later when I talk foundations,

Ellie

That Awkward Introduction

It's like a friend introducing you to someone they've known for years and you feeling like a spare part. I've never been good meeting new people and this feels very similar, I don't know where to start, what to tell you and what to keep to myself.

I suppose the basics are a good starting point. I'm Ellie, I'm 18 years of age and I left the safe haven of Sixth Form only two months ago. I gained some fairly average A-Level results in ICT, Business Studies and Statistics, all of which have no real meaning at this point in my life as I don't plan on moving onto university. 

Instead I'm working as a jeweller, I know, a bizarre career choice but I love it. I seem to have transitioned well from waking up half an hour into the first lesson of each day during sixth form, to leaving the house at 8:30am prompt for a 9am to 5pm shift each day. 

I don't really remember getting into beauty, and I'm certainly still finding my feet with fashion, but I know which products I like to use and what suits me. So that is what I plan on sharing here, my tips and go tos, the products I find and love and those I find to be a waste of both time and money, and a few memoirs and opinions along the way. 

Please bare with me,

Ellie x