Current Beauty Faves

Hello everyone!
This week is going to be a post about the beauty items I am loving at the moment, some are new items and some are items I've had for a while now but I just thought it'd be nice to share them with you.

Let's start with face products. Here we have the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer, Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation (£5.99), Maybelline Super Stay 24H Concealer (£6) and Real Techniques Expert Face Brush (£9). I got the primer with a lot of other mini Smashbox cosmetics as testers that came in a set that I got for Christmas (I just googled it and on it's own it costs £25! I think the whole set came to about that). I was never really that bothered with primer, I used the MUA one which is nice but I didn't see an outstanding difference but this one I really like, it makes my concealer and foundation just glide on and sit really nicely and it makes my skin look and feel smooth. The foundation is a product I have only been using for about a month but I really like it, I was worried at first that I had bought it a shade too dark and that it would make me look orange but it doesn't, it blends well with my skin tone and is a lovely mousse consistency that blends really easily. As for the stay matte property that is definitely true as throughout the day my T-zone can get quite shiny as I have oily skin but this helps reduce the shine and I find I look less shiny throughout the day.  The concealer is something I have been loving for a long time, it conceals my dark circles and my blemishes and blends nicely with my skin tone, so well that for a long time I never bothered with foundation and just wore concealer and loose powder! It lasts well but I've never worn it for 24 hours solid to confirm it! The Real Techniques brush is a tool I'm glad I bought because I used to just blend my concealer/foundation in with my finger tips, which works fine, but it gives a much nicer, well buffed finish when you use a brush. I especially like this one as it is dense but not too dense and it is comfortable to hold and the brush is not too big. 

This is the MUA (Make Up Academy) Smokin Palette (£6) and Benefit's They're Real mascara (£18).  I've had the Smokin Palette for quite a while now as my best friend got it for me for my birthday (definitely did NOT take a photo of it whilst I was out and send it to her as a hint, nope, didn't do that) and I love it, it's my 'go to' palette. I use the black to set my gel eyeliner everyday (Maybelline's Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner 24H, which thinking about it I should have included in this blog post because I've been using it for nearly three years  and have nothing but good things to say about it. Oops, live and learn) and I tend to wear the goldy brown shadow on the far right a lot, I also like to use the white shade with a bit of the black for contouring or the grey/khaki shade next to the black for everyday looks. The colours are very pigmented and last all day and they blend nicely, the only problem is is that they tend to crease once you've been wearing them all day, but I would expect that after about nine hours! The mascara is one of the best I've ever used, I got it for Christmas because I don't think I'd usually spend that much on a mascara purely because I'm broke half the time. It's a lovely consistency and the brush is fantastic at separating the lashes and making them super long. it also has bristles at the end which makes doing your bottom lashes nice and easy. Love it.

This is Barry M's Ultra Moisturising Lip Paint in 156 'Vicious Violet' (£4.49) and Revlon ColourBurst Lipgloss in the colour 060 'Adorned' (£7.99), I swatched them on my hand and on a piece of white paper which was a bit pointless because the lighting is rubbish and you can't see their true colour. The Barry M lipstick is a lovely plum colour and it becomes a more intense purple if you layer it, otherwise it is a pinky plum colour which isn't too overpowering. The Revlon lip gloss is one of my all time favourites, and I usually hate lip gloss because it's always windy and my hair ends up stuck to it and then it gets pulled through my lip gloss and across my face and its just a nightmare, but this is such an intense, almost electric pink colour and it's so pigmented and lasts all day and, ah, I just love it so much!

I know this isn't technically beauty but it's my favourite scent to wear at the moment, it's Loverdose by Diesel (£30.99 as it came with a shower gel and body lotion as a gift set from Christmas) and I love a lot of things about this perfume, one being the edgy, jagged heart shape. It lasts all day and isn't too overpowering; it has a sweet coconutty, floral scent- it's delicious. 


So those are the beauty items I am loving at the moment, just thought it would be nice to share!


I might be back before Sunday this week as I'm going to see Taylor Swift tomorrow and I am so excited I don't quite know what to do with myself! So I might do a blog post in the week, while it's still fresh in my mind. 


Speak to you (very) soon, 


Abi xxx