My August Challenge Complete - To Find A Good Dark Circle Concealer

It is now almost the end of August! Pheewww! This year is flying by isn't it?! We're already past the half way mark and my 21st birthday is coming up soon! Well, it's in October, but it's still close hehe.

Towards the beginning of August, I set myself a challenge where I wanted to get hold of 5 under eye/dark circles concealers and test them out to find a good one for me to use for my dark circles. I really wanted to find one that works really well. So I splurged a little and bought some concealers.

I have tested the products and tested them again today and made little notes.

Here are the 5 different concealers I compared and then rated their positions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th):

vc

Garnier Roll On (Anti-dark circles)

This is my trusty under eye concealer. I have been using this daily for over a year. It's good and does help, I just wanted to embark on a mission to find other concealers to see if there is something better out there.

Application:
I like the application of this product. It's  roll on ball which makes it easy to apply to your eyes and you have control on how much product you want to place on your skin.

Texture:
It's a liquid concealer. Therefore it's easy to blend in.

Coverage:
This provides me with pretty good coverage and doesn't make my dark circles that obvious. Blends well with my skin tone. There is no highlight with this concealer, which I like.

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch (Light Defusing Concealer)

Shade: Natural 2

 



I heard that this concealer is also good, so I bought this to test out.

Application:
You get a brush applicator with this one and there is a twister cap on the bottom and you twist it to release the liquid into the brush. Sometime's you can get way more product out than you need so go slowly.

Texture:
Another liquid concealer. A little goes a long way with this one.

Coverage:
Tough one to decide. It does provide good coverage, but I would say it's more than a highlighting effect. Which I'm not to sure that I like because it makes my under eye area look too bright. Maybe I chose the wrong shade!

Benefit Erase Paste

(shade 2)





This one was the biggest splurge! It's the most expensive concealer out of the 5. But I thought it would have to be worth it!

Application:
You get a little pot with product inside. I love the packaging of this product. I find it really cute! With this, you get a little paper showing how to apply this concealer and a little, mini sized plastic spatula to use for application. But, I'm old school and just dab my fingers in the pot and apply to my skin.

Texture:
Creamy texture. Again, a little goes a long way. Even though the product looks small, I'm sure this will last me a long while! Easy to apply with a strong, yet very blendable texture. I like!

Coverage:
Really good coverage! Blends into skin tone and not too much highlighting. Which is good. However, it does tend to settle into the fine lines in the under eye area.

Rimmel London

Match Perfection (shade 030 Classic Beige)

 

Awhile ago, I saw a beauty guru on YouTube saying that this concealer was her second favourite. So that lead me to go buy this one.

 

Application:

This concealer comes in a squeezy tube. It has a brush application and you have to squeeze the tube to get the liquid through. Squeezy tube allows some control of how much product you want to use.

 

Texture:

Liquid concealer.

 

Coverage:

I would say that this one is more highlighting than coverage. Comparable with the Collection 2000 concealer.

e.l.f Cosmetics Complete Coverage Concealer

(shade light)

 

First of all, I bought this concealer in the wrong shade I think. It's a shade lighter. Although, I thought that this may work to my advantage because concealers should be a little lighter to highlight your under eye area. So, I included this product in my challenge.

 

Application:

This product comes with a little brush that you can use to apply the concealer. However, I just prefer using my fingers. I used all the colours mixed together.

 

Texture:

Creamy texture. However, I would prefer it if it was more creamier. Feels to stiff which makes it hard to apply properly.

 

Coverage:

An okay coverage. More highlighting going on. Maybe the darker shade would have worked better.


There you go ladies! I have reviewed 5 concealers!
I'm now ready to position these.

5th Place:
e.l.f Cosmetics Complete Coverage Concealer

4th Place:
Rimmel London Match Perfection

3rd Place:
Collection 2000 Light Defusing Concealer

2nd Place:
Garnier Roll On

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

 

The winner goes to...

 

Benefit Erase Paste!

 

The Garnier Roll On and Benefit Erase Paste are so close in the runnings! I like the coverage that the Erase Paste gives! However, I will still be using the Roll On, on a daily basis and will use the Erase Paste when going out and stuff like that because it's that expensive!

 

Hope this wasn't too boring to read! And also, I hope this helped you if you were thinking of trying out any of these concealers!

 

 

Lily :)  x

                                                

The Laine Blogger Award Tag!

Good evening ladies!

Finally have some time to do a tag! I have been nominated by the awesome, Christina at Christina's Beauty Box . Thank you for the tag Christina! :)

 

Here are the rules:

 

- Tag the blogger who awarded you

- Answer the five questions below

- Award 5 more bloggers the Laine Blogger Award

 

Questions and my Answers are here below:

 

1. What is your current beauty obsession?

 

Eye shadow! I feel like that when I do my make up, I always put most of my efforts into my eye make up! I like colours and it's nice to make a look and let your creativity flow through your different coloured eye shadows.

 

2. Which is one beauty item you wished you owned?

 

I can't choose one product. I will cheat a bit with this question and choose a brand name. So I would like to own any eye product from either Urban Decay or Mac because they are very expensive brands and are very good (according to beauty guru videos etc) It would be nice to just indulge in some tastey, expensive make up! Just to see if it's worth it! I am still happy with the quality of the make up I already own.

 

3. What is your favourite post to read or write about?

 

I like to read about beauty product reviews, make up/nail tutorials. And I like to write about those to! :)

 

4. What inspired you to become a blogger?

 

I have just got so much into make up over the past 2 years or so! And after watching so many beauty guru videos and seeing blogs, it just made me want to get into all of that because it looked like fun. It also gives me a chance to experiment with my own make up and products and share it with everyone. The editing aspect of blogging is also fun for me, by this I mean, editing photo's and making my blog all pretty. Also, blogging about something I'm really interested in, is becoming a good hobby for me and a "break" from my normal day to day job :)

 

5. What nail polish are you wearing now?

 

Not wearing any at the moment because I can't wear nail polish when working. I work in a food place.

 

 

Here are the 5 fellow bloggers that I nominate:

 

1. Anna at ArtisticallyCurious

2. Forever Fuchsia

3. Marina at BeautifulMePlusYou

4. Amberlynn at SomethingLikeGlamour

5. Lauren at LaurensBeautyandFashion

 

Please feel free to comment below when you have done the tag so that I can check it out! :D Enjoy!

Thank you Christina! xx

 

 

First Nail Tutorial: White Stripe Wonder

Hello there ladies!
It has been so crazy at work this weekend because of the Reading Festival. So I'm quite tired and have a 12 hour shift ahead of me tomorrow! Fun times! lol

Anyways, on to a brighter note! This post is going to be my first nail tutorial post! I think working with nails is fun and makes your nails look super cute! And this design is very easy! Hope you enjoy!

Below are the nail varnishes that I used to create this look:

 

Left to right:

- Rimmel London 5 in 1 Base and Top Coat (£4.59)

http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-5-in-1-Nail-Care_1051068/

 



- e.l.f Cosmetics Nail Polish in Twinkle (£2.50)
http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk/product~prodID~62.htm

- Collection 2000 in Teeny Bikini
Couldnt find exact link but this was £1.79 from Superdrug

- Rio Nail Art Professional in White
This came in a nail design set of 8 colours. I bought this from Argos. These are good because it has double ended applicators which are a detailing pen and fine brush. You will just need the fine brush applicator for this look.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4420057/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHealth+and+personal+care%7C14418350/Trail/searchtext%3ERIO.htm

Let's get started!

 

 

Firstly, you must add a base coat. This is important because it will help your nail varnish stay on longer! Give it some time to dry before heading over to step 2.

 

 

You can use any glitter nail varnish you have. Make sure to add enough coats to make the glitter stand out. I used 2 coats.

 

 

Be sure to do this step carefully. It can be quite tricky to do a side swipe with a normal brush on short nails. Be patient and start from one side, maybe start from half your nail, and swipe along to the other side of your nail.

 

 

Lastly, using the Rio Nail Art fine brush, just swipe one white line under the colour varnish. I really like the fine brush of this polish because you can do that line in one easy stroke! After this you can add a clear top coat to seal the design and add more top coat any other day to help keep the varnish on for longer.

 

That's it! :)

 

Below are pictures of the final look

 

 

 

You are more than welcome to experiment using other colours, not just the same ones I did. If you have similiar colours, use it!

 

Stay Creative :) x









August 2012 Glossybox! :)

Hello there ladies!

Received my August Glossybox last week. I was a little suprised at how early it came this month actually, because lately it has been arriving more towards the end of the month. But hey, I'm not complaining!

The theme of this month's box was "International Superstars". So it's basically products that represent different countries.

Hmmm, maybe they did this because of the Olympics! Nice touch!

Anyways, on with the products!

Alessandro

Pro White (10ml)

Product says: "Optically brightening effect nail polish with anti-yellowing formula for radiant white and gleaming nails."

RRP: £7.85 /  10ml



DHC Deep Cleaning Oil (30ml)

Product says: "This revolutionary water-soluble cleanser is better than any other make-up remover you've ever tried."

RRP: £18.50 / 200ml

All For Eve For The Eye Appeal

Eve's Balm (7g)

Product says: "Eve's balm is an easily absorbed recovery balm to nourish dry chapped lips."

RRP: £4.95 / 7g

Vera Valenti

L'ombre a Paupiere Margarita

Product says: "An eyeshadow palette offering a selection of ten different colours with an applicator included."

RRP: £3.85

Lipcote (7ml)

Product says: "The Original Lipstick Sealer and secret of long lasting, feather fade and water resistant lipstick."

RRP: £3.99 / 7ml

Glossybox

Glossybox Lipstick in Glossy Pink (4g)

Product says: "Professional beauty lipstick  for soft and glamourous lips with a luminous, long-lasting colour."

RRP: £9.50 / 4g

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the box. Dispite all the negative comments that this month's box has gotten. I'm happy with the box because the products that came with it, are products that I would use. I guess it shows that I didn't waste my money!

However, the colours of the eyeshadow palette do seem a bit too sheer. But if you keep adding more colour then it gets better. I'm looking forward to trying out the Lipcote product to see if it actually does help to keep lipstick on your lips for longer!

And there you have it!

My August Glossybox! Hope you enjoyed reading. If you would like to subscribe or find out more about Glossybox, you can click here :)

Also, if you have any questions about the products themselves, comment below.

Stay Creative :) x





Collection 2000 Nail Polish!

Hey again!

Second post on the same day :) On a roll hey!

This will just be a quick post on what nail polish I wore yesterday!

Collection 2000

Shade: 33 Button Moon

I really love this colour! I have had this for awhile and used it a couple of times already. I just love the blue pastel shade. Looks really nice, cute and fresh. I would wear it for any season :D

It applies really well and it took me about 2 coats to get the colour like this.

I work at a place that doesn't allow me to wear nail polish, so I wouldn't be able to judge on how long it can last for. A little bit sad because this means I can't wear nail polish as often as I would like to. But I had 2 days off work and went out to Bournemouth with the family yesterday :)

But to make sure your nail polish lasts longer, always use a clear base and top coat varnish. And use the top coat every other day to keep the colour sealed in. Hopefully this should make your colour stay on longer :)

Collection 2000, as a brand, I would say are pretty decent with their nail polishes. I have some other shades of polish in this brand as well.

Anywhoo!

Hope you found this useful :)

I'm hoping to do a nail tutorial soon and my August Challenge will also be done soon. I already have my 5 concealer products that I will be measuring up and see who comes out on top!

Mwah! x



The 11 Questions Tag!

Hey Cuties!
I have been recently tagged by the lovely Molly at http://themake-upcounter.blogspot.co.uk/ for this 11 Questions tag. This is cool because its my first tag on my blog! :)

Anyways, lets get started!

The rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you, plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.

3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. No tag backs!

 

 

I will start on the 11 things about me :)

 

1. My favourite colour is purple.

 

2. I can't swim.

 

3. I have a tendancy to buy make up when I don't even need it!

 

4. I get so lazy sometimes when it comes to skin care. I know, its bad :(

 

5. I like to keep things that have sentimental value to me. Which is why you may find lots of things in my room that I don't even need. My mom sometimes complain about me having too much stuff that I don't need lol.

 

6. I'm currently in a long distance relationship with a lovely guy and we have been together for about 2 years and 4 months.

 

7. I like to take photo's! I also like to edit photo's aswel. It's just fun and a creative thing to do. And also I love to capture the memories.

 

8. My favourite soap drama series here in UK is Hollyoaks!

 

9. I'm from Cape Town, South Africa and have been living in England for about 6 years now.

 

10. I'm also Portuguese!

 

11. Hoping to get into a successful career some day in the media industry.

 

 

Below are the questions that Molly has asked me :)

 

1. What was your favourite thing about the Olympic Games 2012?

I didn't really watch any of the Olympics this year. But I do like how it involves athletes from different countries so you get to support where you're from. South Africa :D

 

2. What is your staple makeup product?

I would say it's a toss up between a black eye liner and eyeshadow.

 

3. What is a staple product in your skin care routine?

I also use Johnson's face care daily essentials moisturing cream every morning before I apply my make up.

 

4. What do you love about blogging?

I like to take the photo's of the products that I'm talking about and also edit them. I also like blogging because you get to talk about anything you want and also possibly help out others if I do reviews and swatches. Also a good chance to get to know other beauty bloggers and see what they blog about :)

 

5. What do you hate about blogging?

I guess it does take some time out of your normal schedule, but it's worth it ;)

 

6. What are your favourite posts to read?

I like to read reviews and see hauls of products that I'm thinking of getting or just wondering about how some products are like. Also it's nice to see familiar products getting reviewed.

 

7. Hauls- blogs, videos or both?

Maybe blogs because usually people post pictures about the products and swatches of them so you can see them clearly. However, videos are also good because I guess it's more personal and the person would talk more about the product itself and how they find using it.

 

8. How do you store your makeup?

I have 2 little drawers where I keep my make up. I keep my eye shadows in one plastic tub that I got from Tesco, in another tub I keep my eye liners and mascara's etc, another tub is for lip products. And in a little make up bag I keep my face products such as, foundation, tinted moisturiser, blushers, highlighters etc.

 

9. How much makeup and skincare do you own?

Too much make up and not enough skin care! lol

 

10. What's your favourite time of year?

Any time! :D

 

11. Goals in life?

Hopefully get into a career in the media industry someday and edit photo's and videos etc :)

 

 

Now these are 11 fellow bloggers that I tag!

 

1. Anna at ArtisticallyCurious

2. Christina at Christina's Beauty Box

3. Stacy at Beautiful Soloutions

4. Bella at Bella Nails and Beauty

5.  Sultana at Sultana's Sanctuary

6. LC at Noir

7. Shreewellbelove at All About Beauty

8. Erin at Ecfabulous

9. Purity at Pure Enlightened Beauty

10. Samantha at SL Designs

11. Becky at The Colour Carousel

 

And here are your 11 questions:

 

1. What is your favourite makeup brand and why?

2. Who is your hottest male celebrity?

3. What is your skin care routine?

4. If you could only wear one make up product on your face for the day, which one would it be?

5. Why did you decide to get into blogging?

6. Which country would you love to go visit for the first time for a holiday?

7. What is your dream career?

8. What is your favourite type of music?

9. Would you rather sing like no one's listening? Or dance like no one's watching? ;) Or both!

10. Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter?

11. Last but not least, did you enjoy this tag? :D

 

 

This tag was cool to do. Hope you all learnt a little bit more about me and hopefully I can learn more about you to! If you do the tag, link your post below and I will take a look :)

 

Thank you for reading ladies :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters!

Hey there!
How are you all? Hope you ladies are all good!

First of all, I want to apologise for the lack of blog posts lately. Been a bit busy with work and all. Good news is, I got myself a really good and brand new laptop that got delivered last week. Very excited because it's a really good one and now I will be able to experiment more with editing photo's and videos.

Anyways, this post will be about the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters. Finally got myself some of these cuties! Been eyeing them for abit.

These are the following shades that I got:

- Creme Brulee

- Cotton Candy

- Lollipop

I love the packaging of these! They are cute. The lids are nice to because of the colour. And it would be easy to spot which colour you would like to use.

Below will be the swatches of the lip butters on my hand.

Now is how they look on my lips. Yes, my lips are very dry at the moment! So try and look past that hehe :)

Overall first impressions:

I like these. I don't really go for lip products that are too bold. So these shades that I chose are great! I would probably use the Creme Brulee one the least because the shade is so sheer on my lips. However, I could probably mix it up with another product to make it stand out more. Cotton Candy is a cute pink shade which I like. Would go great if you're wearing a bold eye look. The lollipop would also go great if your eye make up is more natural. Using Lollipop would make your lips pop with colour. Good products, happy with my purchase. Will use them more when my lips aren't as dry like now.

Hope you enjoyed reading and found this a bit useful if you were maybe thinking of buying these.

Stay Creative :) x