May Mission

 Can you believe it's May tomorrow? The months seem to be flying by. Hopefully we'll leave the April showers where they belong or I'm going to start building an ark! I thought I'd start the new month by having a cosmetics clear out. One of my worst habits is not fully using a product before I move on to the next. As soon as I've got a new product I just want to use it - I guess you could say I'm quite fickle! So, my May mission is to use up the dregs of these products. I'm hoping I'll rediscover some love for a few of them too. Wish me luck!

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat is a cult favourite - there's no denying it. It's the most popular luxury highlighter on the market and  a beauty editors favourite. It's best known for highlighting and eye brightening
and is great if you can afford its price tag! If you can't I have find a great purse friendly substitute courtesy of Collection 2000.

 Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer comes in 3 different shades: glow, naked and natural. I bought it in "natural" as this seemed the best shade for my skintone. This concealer contains light diffusing particles which helps to soften lines and blemishes and add light. If you're looking for an undereye concealer this isn't the product for you. The secret to using it is to use it as a highlighter not concealer. When I first bought it, I used it as an under eye concealer and was massively dissapointed but now I know how to use it I'm addicted!

I apply it above my eyebrows, along my nose and in the creases of my nose, (if that makes sense!). I gently pat it in and then I'm ready to roll. It's also great to pop on the top of your cheekbones to give a little glow.
I find it fab at brightening at my face and its feel so light. I would definitely recommend it if your looking for a quick fix!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Volume and Lift Mascara

I have so much love for the Estee Lauder Double wear range that I really should be on commission! When I noticed the Double Wear Mascara I was ecstatic. I always get black marks under my eyes from mascara no matter what I use. Even putting powder under my eyes doesn't seem to stop the smudge. I was really hoping that trusty double wear would one day come to my rescue - and now it has!

 Estee Lauder Zero-Smuge Volume and Lift Mascara

The brush of this mascara is very thin, and is great at seperating the lashes but in terms of definition and volume I'd say it's nothing special. There's a lot of high street brands that do at a fraction of the cost. However when it comes to minimilising the smudge this mascara is second to none.

I wore this mascara to work one day, this is the ultimate test! After a 14 hour shift I always have unsightly mascara marks under my eyes but on the day I wore the double wear I had none. Amazing!! It's due to this staying power that I can't give up my Double wear addiction. To make the most of it, I normally curl my lashes and then apply whatever high street brand mascara I'm using at the time to my lashes. I then go over the top with the double wear mascara. This seems to work perfectly for me. It's all most like the double wear sets my mascara. I find that layering my mascara in this way gives me volume, lift and more importantly staying power.

The mascara is pretty pricey to use just to prevent smudging but it's the only thing I've found to work. If you're lucky enough not to suffer with smudging mascara, steer clear of this as that's about all its good at!

Have you got any tips to stop mascara smudging?

Make up brush cleaning

I've read a few blogs recently about how people clean make up brushes so I thought I'd let you in on my secret.
Cleaning make up brushes regularly is so important, not only does it improve the look of your make up but it also gets rid of any bacterial lurking in them. In an ideal world I'd clean my brushes properly everyday but lets face it that's NEVER going to happen.

Once a week I like to give my collection a proper wash using baby shampoo. I find this perfect for make up brushes as it's gentle but still gives them a good clean. It also makes them smell devine! After every use I also like to give them a little freshen up.

To do this I use diluted Milton sterilising fluid. You can pick this up from pretty much every supermarket. Milton is normally used for sterlising babies bottles but if it's good enough for baby, it's good enough for me! I use a spray bottle (like you get from Boots) add drop of milton and then top it up with water. When I've finished putting my make up on I quickly spritz my brushes and dab them dry. It takes a couple of minutes but is well worth it. I do dilute it quite a bit - I don't want it to be too harsh on the bristles  - but I find it really works and stops your brushes going cakey in between going washes.

How do you clean your make up brushes?

Nars Orgasm Blush

Blusher is probably one of my favourite make up pieces ever. I find that by changing your blush you can really transform your look. It can make you look girly, vampy, sun kissed whatever you fancy!
I'm normally a bit scared of pink blush. My worst fear is to have bright pink doll like cheeks. Think porcelain doll with big, round, pink circles on the cheeks!

When I saw Nars Orgasm blush in the packet the porcelain doll image shot in to my head. To look at the blush is pink and pigmented. Don't let this put you off though - it's a really yummy, girly colour!

As with all Nars products the packaging is black with white writing - tres chic! It has a mirror on the inside lid which is perfect for make up on the go.

The colour is what makes this really stand out though. It's made with transparent pigments, which give it a really sheer look. It's amazing at faking a natural, healthy glow. Although it's very pink to look at when you apply it gives a subtle hint of colour with a little glow. It's perfect for a girly, no make up look and gives you a natural flush. Imagine a just walked out of a spa flush.

 Nars Orgasm Blush

I find this product lasts a long time too, I can apply it first thing in morning and by the afternoon I still look like I have a glow. If subtle and feminine are your thing, then you need this blush in your life!

Sunday stash.

Sorry for my lack of blogging over the past few days! The post nights hangover left me feeling so yucky. I've finally recovered so I thought I'd share with you my cheeky Space NK purchases!

Space NK (link) is one of those shops I can't help but go in. It has a fab selection of lotions and potions that I lust after everything in there! I have to have some really stern words with myself  to control myself!
I finally bought my NARS Bolero lip pencil which was on my April wish list.. I can not wait to try this! It's such a candy coloured girly lipstick.

My next treat was Elemental Herbology Body Suffle. I love body lotions so I couldn't resist.

Finally I bought Eve Lom Rescue Mask. This was featured on Space NK's best selling list so I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

Once I've tried all these products, reviews will be coming up so keep your eyes peeled!

Hope you've all had a fab weekend - I've got a full night of blogging and TV watching planned so be prepared for the Magpie takeover!

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray

I am the worst sleeper EVER when I'm on nights. It's so annoying! Ask me to nap in the day when I haven't got work and I'm off like a light, but for some reason when I know I've got to be up I just can't nod offf. I normally get two to three hours before I'm wide awake. For a girl who needs atleast eight hours sleep to function this is not good! I've tried every remedy going to try and send me to the land of nod (I've even tried Horlicks) but nothing seemed to work - until now!

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray

 

When I bought this pillow spray I was very dubious. I mean how can spraying something on your pillow help you sleep? I tried it not expecting much and wow! I slept for six hours straight - that's a world record for when I'm on nights!
The spray is "infused with essential oils of Lavender, vetivert and wild camomile to soothe the body and mind." and it sure does! It smells so relaxing that you can't help but driftt off. If you could imagine the perfect relaxation scent, this would be it!

Maybe it's all psychological. As in I just believe the spray will help me sleep, rather than the spray actually doing anything but whatever it is it works so I'm sticking with it! A good nights (or days!) sleep is the best beauty tip ever!