Autumn, You're Making Me Blush

It's that time of the year again where I break out those berry hues, put away the bronzer and whip out my heavier foundations, as we finally reach autumn. I love autumn - the crisp chill in the air, the red leaves on the ground and switching up my makeup for deeper, darker shades. Not only do I tend to wear darker lipstick and darker nail polish, but I also swap my coral blushes for something a bit more season-appropriate, so here are my favourite autumn blushes. 

(L-R: Sleek Fenberry, Tarte Fearless and Bobbi Brown Desert Rose)

The Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Fearless is a deep, pinky coral shade, and although I said I tend to put away those summery hues, I really just can't help but keep this one close to hand - I'd say it's more of a pink with a slight coral tint to it. It gives me a beautiful glow, and has a brightening effect on the face, which is especially useful in these colder months when I tend to resemble a ghost.

For a more natural blush, I go for the Bobbi Brown Blush in Desert Pink (18), which is a matte, rosy shade. As with all Bobbi Brown products, it has fab pigmentation and is great quality. I think this would look good on many skin tones, and is definitely worth a swatch, despite its misleading, slightly dull appearance in the pan. 

Sleek's blush in Fenberry completes my autumnal trio, and is the perfect matte, brown-toned, dusty rose shade (it appears more orange-based on camera). It really sculpts the face, making my cheekbones more prominent without the use of a contour, and adds a nice warmth. Unfortunately, this colour was limited edition a few years ago, as part of their Berry Collection, but Sleek do another blush which is extremely similar, in the shade 'Flushed'.  

So there you have it, my top 3 blush picks for autumn. I'd love to hear some of your favourites as I'm always on the lookout for new products (c'mon Amy, restrain yourself). 

IMATS London 2014 Haul + Experience

Last weekend was IMATS London, and I was lucky enough to get to go. As a beauty junkie, there's nothing more appealing than walking around a huge room filled with discounted makeup and incredible, talented makeup artists. 

I went on the Saturday with my friend, Louise, as we thought it would be slightly less busy, and I'm not too sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't too crowded. Don't get me wrong, you still had to (politely) push your hand through the huge gathering of people, in order to get near that lipstick you wanted to swatch so badly, but getting there early really helped! We were queuing outside at 7.45am (the doors opened at 8.30am) which meant the booths weren't too busy.

I picked up some bits that I really wanted, but managed to hold back enough so that I didn't faint from totaling up the prices when I got home! 

Lime Crime Lipstick (Centrifuchsia) - £10

NYX Powder Blush (Taupe) - £4.50

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream (Monte Carlo) - £4.50

Crown Brush (no number/writing) - £3

Crown Brush (C200 Deluxe Crease) - £3

Crown Brush (C149 Small Round Contour) - £2

Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer (Shade 4) - £14.80

INGLOT 5 Pan Freedom System Palette - £6

INGLOT E/S (448 Pearl) - £3

INGLOT E/S (465 DS) - £3

INGLOT E/S (358 Matte) - £3

INGLOT E/S (420 Pearl) - £3

INGLOT E/S (389 Matte) - £3

Considering the amazing quality of INGLOT eyeshadows, £21 for a full 5 pan palette was such a bargain, and I'm so glad I finally got my hands on the MUFE concealer as it's so highly raved about! 

I also got to meet one of my favourite Youtubers, Grace, from UglyFaceofBeauty, who I have been watching for 3 years - she was super lovely and so easy to chat to! I also saw a few other Youtubers, which was so cool, and some incredibly talented artists, like Einat Dan and Neill Gorton. 

It was such a fantastic day, and I really can't wait to go again next year (providing my bank account has recovered by then!). 

No7 Pop & Glow Cream Blush Stick

Recently, No7 have been bringing out a plethora of great products and ideas, from their fantastic mascaras, to their innovative foundation shade match service, but there's one new release that got my heart pounding that little bit more than all the others.

 

 

The No7 Pop & Glow Cream Blushes (£9.95) are chubby sticks for cheeks, in a handy  wind-up tube. They come in 3 colours: Mango Sorbet - a peachy coral, Rose Blossom - a cool, bright pink, and Classic Rose - a deep pink shade. They don't exactly break the bank, at under £10 each, and with those No7 vouchers flying around, they come in at under £7 -  a bargain if you ask me. 

L-R: Classic Rose, Mango Sorbet

The first one I got was Classic Rose. Although it looks quite daunting in the tube, and admittedly at first swatch too, it blends down into a beautiful deep-rose flush, a perfect transition shade from winter to spring. It is very buildable, and blends like a dream (I use my fingers). The texture is very different to many other cream blushes I own - it applies as a cream, and dries as a powder. I know this isn't unusual (I'm looking at you Topshop Cream Blushes), but they have a lovely velvety feel, and don't look cakey or too powdery.

I also bought Mango Sorbet, as I thought that it would look amazing in the warmer months. As with the other one, it has a lovely velvety texture and is very buildable. It blends into a stunning peachy shade, which is particularly flattering on those with paler skin.

They are very long-lasting and easy to touch up on the go - they're the perfect cream blushes in my books.

Pixi Early Bird Palette

Hi Guys!

So this post is about a new palette I have recently accidentally aquired whist browsing the shelves of Boots (sorry this blog will be a little picture heavy!).

The Pixi Early Bird Palette retails for £16 and I must say, it is totally worth the money, however, I picked it up for £8 on sale.

Firstly, it contains 3 blushers, each printed with either a fairy of the 'pixi logo' on top.

They are silky-smooth and each have great colour pay off.

There is a slightly shimmery peachy shade, a slightly shimmery light pink and a matte dusky rose (but a little bit darker). They are all really wearable colours and I find that they really brighten the face up. 

There are also 2 bronzers and a highlighter. Unfortunately, both bronzers have quite a lot of shimmer in them and I prefer more of a matte finish, however, the 2 shades make it great for many different skin tones.

The highlighter, on the other hand, is gorgeous! It has a very smooth texture and adds just the right amount of shimmer, without it being glittery - I also think that the lightest bronzer (top) could work as a highlighter for darker skin tones.

Lastly, are the eye products. The range of eyeshadows are supposed to take you from day to night and I think that they really do.

The 4 products down the middle are 'eye bases' and are primarily, skin-toned colours which are quite opaque and are used under eyeshadows to even out any discolouration on the eyelid. Again, these have a very smooth texture and I like that there are different shades as it is suitable for different skin tones.

 

The 'day' shadows on the left of the palette contain lighter colours, with the one darker one being a forest green - a nice change from black. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with these eyeshadows.

All of the colours are shimmery (no mattes) which makes it difficult to define the crease. They are also mainly very light and very chalky. The first 6 (L-R) are extremely glittery and chalky which creates a lot of fallout.

I do quite like the mint green and forest green, but the mint colour is again, a little chalky.

The forest green (furthest right) is the opposite, smooth and shimmery, not chalky and glittery.  



Finally, the 'night' eyeshadows. Luckily, these are better quality and have better colour pay-off. They include one matte shade (similar to MAC omega, 3rd from left) and the rest are more shimmery than glittery. I particularly like the steel grey (2nd from right) and golden brown (5th from left).



Overall, I definately think the palette is worth the money, if only for the face products, however, the lighter eyeshadows are a little duff but the darker ones are really quite nice and comparible to some from the Urban Decay Naked Palette. Its handy for travelling and can create many different looks. It is my first product from Pixi and I think this is a nice one to start with.