Wet n Wild 'Balm Stain' and 'Silk Finish' Lipstick Review

I'm a sucker when it comes to affordable makeup brands. So when I hear of a new brand such as this gracing our shores I'm all over it! However it took me a while to actually get my hands on some Wet n Wild products as they don't sell them in my area, so I'm a bit late with the review! Nevertheless, this is the first of three parts. So read on to see how I faired in round one....
I love new lippies! I have a tendency to go for the same colours, but who doesn't need 12 different shades of red, right?! Naturally the first thing I couldn't wait to try were their lipsticks and lip crayons, so I picked up one of each. So lets start with 'Megaslicks Balm Stain':

I went for the colour 'Lady and the Vamp' which is a lovely rich plum colour. As it's in crayon form I don't tend to use a lip pencil to line my lips with this. It's also super handy for touch ups on the go if needed.

It rings in at 3.99 which is very cheap compared to many products like this on the market today. It doesn't require a sharpener as it twists at the bottom to release more product, though this may make it sightly harder to get a clean edge on the lips when the crayon wears down slightly. It claims to be a moisturising lip colour and I absolutely agree with this statement. It glides on the lips with no dragging, is quite pigmented and last very well during the day even through eating and drinking.

The flash has slightly washed out the colour as it is more opaque in real life. I really do like this and definitely will be purchasing it in some different shades.

Next up we have 'Silk Finish Lipstick' in the colour 'Hot Red':

The first thing I noticed about this was how cheap the packaging looked, but I didn't let this put me off! These are only 1.99 and come in a range of shades from nude to pink to red. The colour is more of a true red than the orangey tone shown in the shot. Again I found this glided really easily on to the lips with a lovely colour pay off. I didn't use lip liner and it didn't seem to feather at all throughout the day. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and longevity of this lipstick! I think I may be picking up a few more shades in this too. And fyi, for those obsessed with strong smells in makeup like myself, it doesn't have that "typical plastic cheap lipstick" smell!:)

(When you put these in your handbag you may want to pop them in a small makeup bag first as the lids aren't that sturdy and you don't wanna be scraping lipstick from the bottom of your favourite River Island tote :) )

Available in Dunnes Stores and selected pharmacies nationwide

Til next time,

Toodles,

Jen x

Blank Canvas Cosmetics F20 Flat Buffer Brush Review

Occasionally while sifting through the world of cosmetics out there, you come across a product that you cannot help but rave about. The F20 brush is one such product!

I picked up this brush over a year ago I think, and haven't put it down since! I had been searching for a brush that would give me a flawless base with minimal effort for those mornings where I was in a hurry. I never liked flat foundation brushes and had been useing a Duo Fibre one. I saw reviews online about the F20 and said I'd give it a go! I literally use this everyday. Even if you aren't used to applying you makeup with a brush, this quite literally does all the work for you. It's bristles are dense synthetic fibres that are perfect for both stippling and buffing.

I've never had such an airbrushed effect from any brush before. I recommend that everyone who does any kind of makeup, be it their own or other peoples, to have it as part of there kit. 

I have lost count of the amount of times clients have complimented how soft this brush is, saying it is like having a face massage while I apply their foundation! This is part of the HD collection on blankcanvascosmetics.com and can be bought in a set or on its own for 13.99. Great price, great quality:)

Til next time,

Toodles,

Jen x

Sleek Matte Me Lip Cream Review

Hey hey hey :) So back with another review today. In general I don't like putting up negative reviews, however when I'm reading blogs myself I like to get an honest review. I also had very high hopes for this product.....

So this is Sleeks Matte Me Lip Cream. The blurb from the site reads as follows : 

"Sleek Matte Me is a lipgloss with a smooth matte finish that glides on in one smooth application, with no need for a second coat.

The light as air texture provides you with comfortable wear for hours, that doesn’t cake, flake or dry out, ensuring long lasting colour all day."

The colour was the first thing that caught my eye. Lately I have been venturing into the more vibrant colours for lips so this shade was a must have! Also I love the look for a matte lip (provided it doesn't look dried out). Let me show you want the colour looks like when first applied:

The pictures aren't showing quite how vibrant it is on the skin. It's a quite bright, which I love. Unfortunately it's the only thing I love about it. When first applied it wasn't nearly as pigmented as I imagined. I had to build about three layers on to my lips to get it as opaque as I felt it should look. I immediately noticed it felt dry and tight on my lips. I would have taken it off there and then but I was running out the door to a shoot. Needless to say after an hour and two drinks from a water bottle, it had faded greatly and started to flake. I tried to reapply over the remainder but this just made the flaking worse. So off to the bathroom I went, scrubbed off the last, and stuck with Carmex for the rest of the day. It has since gone in the bin! One of my least favourite lip products ever :(  

If you do want to pick this up(!), it's available in Boots priced at 5.99

Till next time,

Toodles,

Jen x

Reusable silicone mascara wands - a MUST HAVE for every makeup artists kit!

I'm excited to share todays post with you! As a makeup artist, I must use disposable mascara wands on clients for hygiene reasons. I usually pick up the packs in Flair. However I find these cheap looking and basically rubbish for putting mascara on someone. But now, my prayers (to the god of makeup) have been answered! Behold, reusable silicone mascara wands!

I've put the word reusable in italics as this is my favourite part about these. Ordinarily you have to throw out your mascara wands after one go, but these can be easily cleaned with hot water and antibacterial soap making them much more economical. The wands come in various styles. The silicone material also makes it incredibly easy to coat the lashes in comparison to the fluffy crappy wands we're used to! :)

These wands were created by makeup artist Nichola Graham and are available from www.urmakeup.com starting at 3.00 for a pack of 20. Trust me, you need these in your kit. :)

Till next time,

Toodles,

Jen x

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara Review

I'll be the first to admit I love nothing more then picking up some new makeup, whether it's repurchasing old favourites, or trying something new. However, I'm never too adventurous when it comes to one product: mascara. 
I usually stick to the cheaper brands (namely Catrice) when it comes to mascara as I feel most are pretty much the same. My lashes are reasonably full (on one eye anyway!) and long enough. I don't feel any super formula or new style of brush is going to really change this!
Earlier this week I was in Boots and the stand for the new L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara caught my eye. I threw caution to the wind and decided to give it a go :) It comes in black, turquoise and purple. I stuck to good old black.

The most interesting thing about this product is the wand. It's their first '360 degree flexible cone shaped brush'. It also contains collagen spheres and a trilogy of polymers for hold and staying power.

So all these claims aside, how did it fair? Well I have to say I really like the shape of this wand. I find it easy to cover all my lashes, even the smallest. However if you are too heavy handed you can end up with spider lashes so tread lightly. With regards to the flexible wand, in my opinion it's pointless. You would need to push the brush quite roughly against your lashes for it to bend at all, so to me it seems like a pointless gimmick. The formula doesn't flake during the day, and it is a deep black colour which I'm happy with. And about it's claim of 'mega volume'... judge for yourself:

Overall I'm not too impressed with this mascara. I mainly only picked it up as it was on sale for 8.99. It's regular price will be 13.49, which I think is more than it's worth. I really don't feel it's that much better than my usual 4.49 one! Although I will use this tube, I won't be repurchasing.

Till next time,

Toodles,

Jen x

Finally....a second post!

So I've finally gotten around to writing a second post. Yay!! Happy New Year everyone, hope it's started off wonderful!
Over the Christmas I picked up, and received, quite a few makeup bits. Admittedly, I don't ever really need an excuse to buy new makeup, but it's nice to have one anyway...
So although I was a bit slow to pick up these next bad boys, now that I've gotten my hands on them I can't do a makeup look without them! I'm talking about Maybelline's Color Tattoo 24HR Eyeshadow.

I picked up two colours as they were on offer. I chose 'Permanent Taupe' and 'Pink Gold' as I wear a lot of natural colours day to day. 'Permanent Taupe' is a matte taupe (duh) while 'Pink Gold' is a pink toned shimmering gold (again duh). So they do what they say on the tin! Seems good so far.

Immediately I loved the colours, although they don't show up too true on camera with the flash. The 'Pink Gold' isn't quite as shimmery in real life... The flash gave it a bit of an extra kick!

So that's all well and good, but how do they last? They're a dream to apply. I used a fluffy brush to sweep them over my lid and into my crease. I tested these both with eyeshadow over and without. They work beautifully as a base, and my eyeshadow didn't budge at all, all day! I was more wary to try these by themselves as they are cream shadows, however they lasted amazingly well! After about 8 hours they started to slightly crease, however with a little blending of my finger, my eye makeup was good as new!

I'm a huge fan of these, and at 10.49 in Boots I think these are brilliant value as they will last you a long time. I'll definitely be picking up more colours soon.

Until next time,

Toodles,

Jen x

** I was in Boots today (7th Jan) and these are priced at 7.49, not 10.49 as said on website**

Hello, and welcome!

Hi everyone, and thank you so much for visiting my new blog. I've been wanting to do this for aaaaaaaages now and am so happy it's finally happening. So I suppose I'll begin by telling you a little about myself. My name is Jennifer, and I'm a fully qualified makeup artist living in Co. Kildare, Ireland. I am a bit of a makeup junkie, and love using the excuse of 'adding to my kit' to go and have a makeup shopping spree! I love trying new things, so I'll be filling this blog with reviews of new and old products, along with some other random musings along the way. I hope it might be of some help to you guys, and that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

Jennifer x