Budget Beauty Buys

With it being January, I am sure I'm not the only one who has a less than healthy bank account.
I have been on the hunt for some budget beauty buys, this keeps my bank account somewhat happy, and allows me to add to my ever growing make up collection.

First up is my 'glamour nights' MUA eyeshadow pallete. This cost just £4. That's right, £4! I am so pleased with this pallete. It has a range of highly pigmented colours. So far I have only tried 2, the dusky gold shade and the off white.  The staying power of these is amazing. They literally last all day, even without an eye primer. I purchased mine from my local Superdrug. They have a variety of palettes, ranging from neutral shades to more vibrant shades. The whole MUA range is bank account friendly, so I will be trying more of their products soon. Lets hope they are as fab as the eyeshadows!

My second bargain buy was from Victoria Secrets. I was just on my way to work when the huge 75% off sign outside the shop drew me in. Whilst in there I picked up a few body sprays which were down to £2.50. My favorite buy though was a lip gloss. For just £2.50 I thought I may aswell give it a go. This is a gorgeous lip gloss. It gives just the right amount of colour to the lips, and keeps them nice and shiny. The only downside I would say is the applicator. I prefer a brush for lipgloss. This, is in a little squeezy tube, which I find makes it difficult to stay within your natural lip line.

Have you guys bought any bargains this January?

Aliay
Xx

The lipstick tag!

I haven't actually been tagged by anybody to do this post. I have a slight lipstick obsession, so I thought I would participate anyway.

How many lipsticks do you own?

I own 31 lipsticks. My collection is forever growing! What makes it easier to add to my collection is the free MAC lipstick you receive when trading in 6 MAC empties.

What was your first ever lipstick?

Hmm. This is a toughie, i'm not 100% certain but I think it was a Barry M lipstick. A really vibrant shade of pink from what I can remember. 

What is your favourite brand of lipstick?

I am going to sound like such a snob right now, but it has to be MAC. They offer more shades than you could ever imagine. They are long lasting, and highly pigmented. What more could a girl want from a lipstick?

What is your most worn lipstick?

This is a toss up between Rebel by MAC and Dark Side by MAC. Both give a sexy vampy look...a look I adore. I use a collection lipliner in Damson to complement these lipsticks.

What is your favourite finish?

Matte. Easy! To pull of a matte lip, I prep my lips with a good sugar scrub and a hydrating lip balm. Dry, cracked lips are not a good base for matte lipstick.

What was the last lip product you bought?

My latest lip purchase was a lip bullet from Topshop. I love it.  Read my previous review on it here.

How many lip products do you have in your handbag? (Including lipbalms and glosses)         

I have 3 products. A sugar scrub by lush, a nivea hydrating lipbalm, and a laura mercier lipgloss. I then pop in the lipstick I am wearing that day, before I leave the house.                          

How do you store your lipsticks?

I store all my lip products in a handy little plastic container. It keeps them all neat and tidy, and it is easy to locate all my products. I may have to buy another one soon to accomadate my expanding collection.

How do you rock a red lip?

For this I love the red number 10 by Bobbi Brown. I used to have a matching lipliner, but I lost it on a night out *crys*. I am yet to replace this. The Bobbi Browm red lipstick glides onto lips smoothly and will last all day.

What lip products are you currently lusting after?

I am in need of more lipliners. I only have a handful. There aren't any I am particulary lusting after, just some to match the lipsticks I already own.

Resolutions for 2014

Happy new year!  It's that time of the year where we make our resolutions and what we want to achieve in the year ahead. Here are my resolutions I thought I would share with you. 

1. Get fit and healthy
Typical I know! I seriously need to shift some timber before my holiday in March. I over indulged over the festive season, and my face is starting to resemble that of a greedy hamster. I won't be dieting as such, just making a healthy lifestyle change. I want to look after my body on the inside. I don't want to be a 40 something year old with serious health issues due to my current unhealthy lifestyle.

2. Pass my driving test
This is a biggie! I have been on and off driving lessons since the age of 17. Here I am at 21...and still no licence. A few months ago I made the switch from practicing in a manual car to an automatic. Many people tried to talk me out of it, all with no success. I am now so close to booking my test, I can practically smell my pink driving licence. I do not regret switching to an automatic, I would never have been this close to a test in a manual. I may however regret my decision when looking to purchase my first set of wheels.

3. Start my PGCE
I am wanting to study the Post 16 PGCE to then be qualified to teach law at colleges and sixth forms. This resolution is out of my control. All I can do is try my very best to be accepted onto the course which starts in September this year.

4. Save
My better half and myself will have been together fiver years this April, and we are more than ready to live together.  This is a joint resolution as we both want to save to be able to put down a deposit on our first home. 2014 will be the year we make this happen.

5. Cleanse
For years my facial cleansing regime has gone no further than a face wipe and some baby lotion. I am now becoming increasingly concerned that the wrinkles which may seem years away, are actually not that far around the corner. Especially with a none existent skin regime. Gone are my days of face wipes and baby lotion. I will now cleanse, exfoliate, tone and moisturise. I will keep you posted on how I get on with my skin care routine.

Comment below with your resolutions for 2014!

Aliay
Xx

Special Effects

I hope everybody had a lovely christmas spent with their families and I hope santa spoilt you all!

This post is going to be slightly different to a regular beauty post, this is all about special effects make-up. One of my hobbies is playing around with theatrical/special effects make-up. This post is not for the faint hearted!

Santa was especially nice to me and got me all sorts of goodies for this gory hobby.

Now added to my collection is, liquid latex by Mehron, two colour wheels by Ben Nye, some fresh scrath blood by Kryolan, and some nose and scar wax by Graftobian. All these products were purchased from the GuruMakeupEmporium , a UK based site specialising in all types of theatrical make-up.

The first piece I created with my new products was a 'chopped off prosthetic finger'. This is the first time I have created any kind of prosthetic and I was really pleased with the result.

I will be hosting a mini series with fellow blogger Odds And Sods, view her blog here. I will be posting a variety of 'how to' special effects tutorials.

If you have any questions about this kind of make-up feel free to ask.

Thanks for reading
Aliay

Xx

Elephant Juice

This is slightly of topic as it isn't beauty related at all. But this card is so cute, I just had to post about it.

As we all know the christmas season is upon us, and no doubt we are all recieving cards from our loved ones. I just so happend to recieve this adorable one from my better half.

He purchased it from  notonthehighstreet.com I love this website, the products they offer can be personalised, this always adds a nice touch to a present.

For those of you who don't know what 'Elephant Juice' means, it was a little thing that used to happen at secondary school. If you mouthed the words 'elephant juice' it resembeled the words 'I love you'. This was much to our amusement as young teenagers.

This is something me and my boyfriend still say to each other (we are big kids at heart), so when I recieved this card I thought it was amazing. 

What has been your favourite card this Christmas? 

Aliay
Xx

Mini Topshop Make Up Haul

My laptop is down so I am using my mobile to post, I hope the post turns out alright.
Anyway, back on topic, last week I went and purchased a few goodies from the Topshop make up range. This is the first time I have tried their make up and I am impressed! 

The 'lip bullet' in shade n39 is a gorgeous coraley-nude colour (great description I know). I struggle finding a natural lip colour that suits my skin tone. I am mixed race, and I tend to find a lot of nude coloured lipsticks look hurrendous on me. I tend to stick to brighter colours. So I am very grateful I found this shade, it allows for a more toned-down make up look. 

My lipstick collection consists mainly of MAC, so the lasting power of this topshop lipstick is not as long in comparison. But I don't mind occasionally reapplying as I am more than happy with the colour.

For more of a 'frosty' look I dabbed a little of the Topshop 'glow' over the top. Avoid using too much of this, it does not look pretty...believe me. I am yet to try using 'glow' as a highlighter, when I do I will update you.

What is your favourite nude lip colour? 

All About the Brows

My eyebrows have been through it all; over plucking, a bad wax, shaving off the middle. Lord knows what I was thinking! Oh how I wish I had left my eyebrows alone when I was younger…but I didn't so I have found a solution! The MAC eyebrow pencil. 
This is my every day 'go to' product, I won't leave the house without my eyebrows on (sad but true). 

This product comes in an array of shades, I use Stud (see swatch below). It is made of wax, which, unlike a powder, allows the product to stick to the sections of my eyebrows without hair. 

Once this is on, it will not budge. Like I said before, I won't leave the house without my eyebrows on, so I need a product that lasts. I have worn this to the gym, to several water parks, and whilst sunbathing, and at the end of all this, my eyebrows were still in tact. 

What I love about this product is that it doesn't require a sharpener, just one twist and more product comes out, perfect for lazy people like myself. 

This is my eyebrows before using the MAC eyebrow pencil, you see the difference?!

A swatch of this amazing product, I use stud, it is a very deep brown, it can be applied gently for a more natural look, but i personally prefer more of a block eyebrow, so I add a little more pressure. 

So, what do you guys use on your eyebrows?