EMPTIES | Will I be repurchasing these products?

Hey guys, here's a bunch of products I've been using and now finished. I'll be letting you know if they are worth a repurchase or a big no go!

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What's in my travel makeup bag?

On the 13th June was my 25th Birthday & to celebrate my amazing boyfriend Chris took me on a beautiful weekend away in Paris. 

We traveled in Style on the Premier coach of the Eurostar & had a beautiful hotel in the centre of Gare Du Nord, a perfect spot as your in short travelling distance to all major attractions. We had both been to Paris together before & did a lot of sight seeing then so this trip was purely for relaxation, wondering the beautiful streets of Paris & for my treat.... Sephora shopping! If you would like to see my little Sephora haul I have uploaded a pic on my Instagram(here) & I have some pics of my trip (here).

As a typical woman I may have slightly over packed, but I think I did pretty well on minimizing my makeup bag this time. Here's what I took with me;

Revlon Color stay foundation - through wind, rain, sun this foundation can do no wrong. Full coverage yet still natural & flawless (review here). 

Maybelline dream matte powder - To help keep that shine at bay. Why did they have to discontinue this?

LA Girl concealer - This really isn't my fave, but my holy grail Maybelline age rewind had run out so I made do & it did the job (review here).

Mac Pro conceal palette in 'Light' - I used the yellow shade to highlight  my under eyes in the evening for a more glam look(review here).

NYC Sun 'n' Bronze Bronzing Powder in 'Montauk Bronze' - Bargain holy grail bronzer (review here).

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in 'Luminous Light'  - Now this was a risky move bringing this powder along as it is so fragile & expensive! but I simply can't do without it. I wrapped it in two pairs of socks & kept it in my hand luggage so I could keep an close eye on it. Haha yes I realize that's a little sad as I type this out, but I just loooove that powder(review here).

Mac Soft and Gentle MSF - Beautiful highlight to place along the cheek bones, brow bone & can double up as a lid shade(review here).

Urban decay Naked Basics palette - literally has every shade I need in here, for crease lid & blending.

Kiko wet n dry eyeshadow in 208 - I've been really into glowing golden eye looks, so I used this shade on the lid for evenings to change up my look(review here).

Stila stay all day eyeliner - For that budge proof cat wing.

Maybelline the rocket mascara - Holy grail!(review here)

Clinique bottom lash mascara - There will be no bottom lash smudge mishaps happening round here!

Collection 2000 'pink heaven' lip liner - All time fave lip liner, it's a spot on perfect match for my natural lip shade.

NYX Butter Gloss in 'crème brûlée' - perfect gloss for a nude lip(review here).

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Lipstick in Nude Beige - I need my staple pink nude shade with me when ever I travel it can do no wrong (review here).

Revlon Butter Lipstick in 'Berry Smoothie' - it's a quick pop on your lips, no mirror needed lipie. Perfect for the handbag.

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray - keep everything in place with the lovely sunny weather we had.

15 products! Well girls I am very impressed with myself for that, so lets just not go into how many makeup brushes I brought along with me too haha ALOT.

What are your must have products for your travel makeup bag? Do we have any of the same? 

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La Girl Pro Conceal

After hearing so many American beauty bloggers & vloggers rave about the La Girl Pro Concealer I decided to give it a try for myself. Ordered from....you guessed it beautyjoint.com

"Crease-resistant, opaque coverage in a creamy yet lightweight texture. The long-wearing formula camouflages darkness under the eyes, redness and skin imperfections. Provides complete, natural-looking coverage, evens skin tone, covers dark circles and minimizes fine lines around the eyes."

There are 18 shades available, ranging from a pale 'Classic Ivory' to 'Dark Cocoa'. I picked up the lightest shade 'Classic Ivory' for under eye concealing & the second to lightest 'Natural' for concealing blemishes.

Both shades are very pink toned

I've got to start off by saying the lightest shade isn't actually very light at all. I'm a mac NC25 and the shade 'Classic Ivory' is just ever so slightly paler then my skin tone, so for true ivory pale skinned girls this just won't work. Also in my opinion It doesn't have enough coverage for dark under eye circles & isn't bright enough to give me the highlighted effect I like. But If you're a couple of shades darker then me it may work for you. One big plus is that it doesn't crease under the eye.
'Natural' is a spot on colour match for my skin tone & does just fine at covering light imperfections on the face, but the staying power just isn't there. After an hour or so even with the product being set with powder it still fades.

The pluses are; it's cruelty free, extremely cheap at just £1.48 & there is a wide selection of shades to choose from. They may not be all that pigmented but they're not the worst concealer I've tried.

For me the La Girl Pro concealer didn't live up to the hype & is not a repurchase. Although if your looking for an affordable, light coverage concealer for yourself or looking to build a kit with a wide colour selection then try them out for yourself as there are plenty of people out there that absolutely love this product. 

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Mac Pro Conceal & Correct Palette 'Light'

If like me you love a good concealer, then the 'Mac Pro Conceal & Correct Palette' is heaven in a palette. The 'Pro Conceal and Correct Palette's' are available in 4 variations – Light, Medium, Medium Deep and Dark. Each palette consists of 4 shades of Studio Finish Concealers and 2 shades of Studio Finish Correctors. 

I own the Light palette which has NC15, W10, NC20 and NW20 concealers & two Studio Finish Corrector shades in Pale Yellow and Pale Pink.

My skin tone is a NC25 so in the colder months when My skin is looking paler the NC20 & NW20 work well for concealing blemishes, but for the most part I use this palette for highlighting. So if you're the same skin tone as me & are looking to purchase a The 'Pro Conceal and Correct Palette' to use solely for concealing I would suggest going up a shade & buying Medium.

The Studio Finish concealers are a medium to full cream concealer. That are quite thick but are very easily blended into the skin & then feel weightless. All shades in the palette are enriched with antioxidants and suited for all skin types. They work perfectly at covering blemishes but also work well with the eye area to conceal dark circles. I've heard complaints from others that it settles into their fine lines around the eye, but I find that if it's buffed into my skin well & set with a good powder I get little to no creasing. The pigmentation of all the shade is fantastic & they last well on the skin.

£35 from maccosmetics.co.uk

Have you tried out any of the Mac Pro Palettes? What are your thought?

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e.l.f Small Tapered Brush

Whilst having a look at my favourite site for purchasing American brand makeup 'beautyjoint.com' I stumbled across the e.l.f 'Small Tapered Brush'. I have never seen this brush on the U.K e.l.f website so decide to pop the brush into my basket to give it a try.

All e.l.f studio line brushes on beautyjoint.com cost just $3.99 which translates into sterling at £2.40....total bargain!

The 'small tapered brush' is made of very soft but densely packed synthetic hairs, that tapper to a soft round point. It's hard to find a perfectly sized small brush, especially with a tapered head, so for the price this brush is amazing.

The simplest way for me to describe this brush is to say that it is a hybrid of Real Techniques 'contour brush' with the same sized brush head but with the tapered end of the Real Techniques 'setting brush'. So with the e.l.f brush your getting the best of both.

I found three uses for this brush.
 First contouring; the tapered tip fits perfectly into the hollows of the cheek & when titling the brush to the side & applied with more pressure it works well at blending the contour.

Highlighting; Apply your powder highlight on the side of the tapered point & it applies highlight seamlessly on the high point of the cheeks, use the tip of the brush for down the nose & Cupid's bow.

Lastly the brush also works fantastically well for setting under eye powder. For those that find the Real Technique 'setting brush' a tad to time consuming with its tiny little head, this e.l.f brush does the job in just a few swipes.

After washing the brush it retains its shape very well & has not shed at all.

This is another fabulous brush by e.l.f's studio line. It's just a shame it's not available here on the UK e.l.f website. If you are interested in trying this brush or any other e.l.f brush I would suggest you check out beautyjoint.com. Even with the shipping (which is well priced) it often works out cheaper than buying for the e.l.f UK site.

Have you tried any of the e.l.f Studio Line brushes?

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Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer In Light

I had heard so many rave reviews from American beauty bloggers & vloggers about the Maybelline concealer that when it arrived in the U.K I was quick to whip it up.
Unlike America where 6 shades are available (including four skin tones a brightened & neutraliser) in the UK there are only two shade available at the moment Light & Nude.

Maybelline instant age rewind contains goji berry + haloxyl which are said to help erase the appearance of dark circles and fine lines, while visibly diminishing the appearance of puffiness around the eyes

As I'm a fairly light skinned NC25, I picked up the light shade with the intention of using it to help cover those dreaded dark under eye circles & hopefully brighten the area up.

New & clean

To apply the concealer you simply twist the collar of the plastic bottle until product appears through the fluffy applicator on the top of the tube, on the first use it does take quite a few twists to get enough product to come through but after that your set.

Now the fluffy dome applicator, yes it's soft on the skin & may be helpful to some for applying the concealer evenly, but I can't bear to think of the bacteria that could grow on it. I wash my makeup brushes every one to two weeks to keep them clean & bacteria free, but with this product that's just not possible. This I feel is a design fault on maybellines part.

After one use

For the actual product I just can't fault it, it evens out my skin tone under my eyes & is easily blended into the skin. The consistency is quite thin but buildable, which is what I'm after for around my eyes. For a good full coverage I apply the concealer & let it sink into the skin for a minute or so & then pat lightly into the skin using my ring finger.

It definitely does help with covering my dark circles, it doesn't brighten the eye area in an illuminating way, but brightens just because I chose a tone lighter than my skin tone.
I wouldn't say it has worked with reducing the look of my fine lines under my eyes, but it doesn't make them look worse or stand out. I don't suffer with puffiness around my eyes so I can't really comment on that one.

So all in all its a great under eye concealer & who knows in the long run it may help with fine lines, every little helps as prevention is better than cure!

Available in Superdrug for £7.99

Have you tried this concealer? If not whats your go to concealer?

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NYX HD Photogenic Concealer In Yellow

Oh what's this another NYX product review!?! Yes it's safe to say I am loving NYX at the moment.

I love highlighting & contouring , using a light toned concealer under my eyes is a must for giving me a bright-eyed awake look. I had heard that a yellow toned concealer enhances this look even more! So ever since I have been on the hunt for a yellow concealer; but with no luck.

So I took to the Internet & stumbled across the NYX. HD Photogenic Concealer in Yellow, Sold!

The formula is soft, creamy & easily blendable without being cakey, although  I will try and avoid or use sparingly just under my eyes where the fine lines are as it can sit in them.

  I would say it gives a medium to full coverage & is easily buildable. Bonus point - it's HD light diffusing effect is perfect when posing for pics #selfie.

I apply this just under my eye using the doe foot applicator in a triangular shape, centre of my forehead, down my nose, across my Cupid's bow & blend in using my beauty blender and it does in fact give me the very bright highlighted effect that I was looking for, move over Kim Kardashian!

After with a bit of blush & bronzer

I had my eye on the mac prep & prime in light boost which is essentially a yellow based concealer & honestly I am more than happy with using the NYX. HD Photogenic Concealer now, it ticks all the boxes for me.

Top - Blended
Bottom - swatched

The NYX HD Photogenic Concealer is available in 12 shades, ranging from pale porcelain to dark nutmeg. Also a lavender shade for sallow skin & green to neutralise redness.

Over all I am so happy with this concealer is does exactly what I wanted , I will definitely repurchase.

Net wt. 5ml//0.17fl.oz

£6 NYX is only available online in the UK.

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