London Haul

So as you may have seen, I recently went on a trip to London for my 22nd Birthday. While I was there I just had to check out Oxford street as I've heard so many good things about the shops there, especially Oxford Circus Topshop.

I can tell you now I was not disappointed. Never before have I been into a Topshop that has a beauty bar, a cafe or a milkshake bar. Topman even had a barbers inside.It truly is a crazy place to be inside, and I'm so glad we got Topshop out of the way before it started getting too busy in there. From Topshop I brought a gorgeous brush roll from Skinnydip (£15), and a pair of Freedom earrings (£6.50). 

After this we worked our way over to Carnaby Street, to find a Dr Martens store for Ollie. It goes without saying that I couldn't go to Carnaby Street without having a look at the makeup shops such as Too Faced, Urban Decay and Mac and most definitely Irregular choice. I have made it my life goal to have a pair of Irregular Choice shoes now as I've fallen in love. Although I was surrounded by lots of amazing makeup, I restrained myself and only brought a travel sized version of the Urban Decay All-Nighter (£10), as I've been dying to try this for ages.

It was then on to the craziest Primark I have ever been to. We chose to go to the Primark near Marble Arch (I think there's more than one on Oxford Street) as it looked huge, and my god we were not dissapointed. If I ever go again I'm definitely going to this Primark first, as everything was a battle to get close to. I did however manage to pick up four nice vest tops (£4.00 each- in anticipation for the sun we never get) a slogan tee(£8.00) from the mens section and a gorgeous new rucksack (£12.00).  

We finished our shopping day by heading over to Five Guys for the first ever time. I was so excited to try Five Guys and a Burger is one of my favourite things in life, however (unpopular opinion) I really don't think that Five Guys is all it's hyped up to be. I felt it was over priced for what you get, and the only plus I found was that the drinks are refillable. 

London was definitley one of the craziest, but best experiences of my life and I'm already making plans for my next visit!

ColourPop Order/ First Impressions

Hi guys! 

So today I'm going to be discussing my first ColourPop order. As I live in the UK, Colourpop is a hard brand to get hold off as you can only order it off their website, meaning you have to pay for shipping and customs. However, they recently held a free international shipping event and because I spent under $19, I didn't get hit with a custom charge, wooo! I ordered my items on the 6th of May, they were dispatched on the 10th of May and they arrived on the 18th of May, meaning the whole process took just under two weeks which considering the amount of orders they will have received is really good. 

I ordered three products which totalled $18. At the time I ordered ColourPop had an offer where you could buy three liquid lipsticks for about $12 (I think), so I saw a few people order these and then another item to bring their total to the $19. However, these people were still stung with a customs charge as the total declared is the products value, not the price you paid, meaning people were being charged for a $20+ order. I was unaware of this at the time so I'm so glad the other lipstick shade I wanted was out of stock! 

Instead I chose to get two liquid lipsticks and a gel eyeliner. I ordered the Ultra Satin Lip in the shade 'Alyssa' which is a collab with Kathleen Lights, and the Ultra Matte Lip in 'Saigon', which is a collab with Karrueche. They eyeliner is a simple black gel eyeliner in the shade 'Swerve'.

Since they arrived, I've tried both the liquid lipsticks and can say that I honestly love them both. I'm always really worried about ordering make-up online as I haven't been able to swatch the products, so I never know if the shade actually suits me. However, I love both of these products. Alyssa ($6) is a gorgeous nude colour that I imagine would go with pretty much anything. Saigon ($6) is a true red and I feel that it suits my skin tone and it compliments my eye colour, something I struggle with when choosing a red normally. I've only worn them for a few hours a day just to test them out so I can't comment on the longevity of the products, but they did feel really comfy to wear and I didn't experience any uncomfortable or tightening sensations.

I have also tried the eyeliner once. However, I've not got too much to say about the eyeliner yet as when I used it, it honestly didn't go too well. However, I'm putting that down to my poor application as opposed to the product, as it's been such a long time since I used a gel eyeliner and brush that I had sort of forgotten how to do it, which has nothing to do with the product or the brand!

Swatches- Saigon on top, Alyssa underneath

Also, as a sidenote Saigon is hard to remove. I tried to do a  pretty, Instagram-worthy swatch on my wrist but I cocked up on the edges., When i went to use my wipes to remove it the product just did not budge. Four hours and a lot of wiping and oils later and there is still a trace of the product on my arm. I'm kind of dreading removing it off my lips now!

Thanks for reading guys, let me know what your favourite ColourPop products are as I'm so down for trying more things from them! Any feedback is appreciated as always xxx

Boots/ Soap and Glory Haul

Hi Guys! 

So today I'm going to be discussing my latest Boots/Soap and Glory buys. I bought these a few weeks ago, when Boots had offers on most of the Soap and Glory products. Anyone who knows me will know how much I love this brand. It's my go to brand for good moisturisers and skincare products, and for every birthday and Christmas present I was end up with some form of Soap and Glory Product, so I was so excited when this arrived!

I'm so awful and didn't write down how much I paid for everything, and I can't get back to the emails from when I ordered it (thanks technology), so I wont be able to list how much I paid. Sorry! 

So as well as there being offers on the products, I do remember at the time there was a special offer where if you spent £15(?) on make-up, you received a free gift which I was so down for. I already knew I loved the Thick and Fast Mascara and the Supercat Eyeliner, and was so excited to try the Pillow Plumper XL. I can honestly say I love everything that came in this gift and I use the products nearly every day.

Who doesn't love a free gift?

For skincare I bought the Speed Plump All Day Moisturiser. I received a Soap and Glory gift set for Christmas just gone, and this moisturiser was in the set so I knew I liked using this product based on past experience. I'd used it for a while before it ran out, and after I stopped using it I definitely noticed a different to my skin and the reappearance of dry patches, which has since gone away since using it again. Also, this product works really well as a primer as it makes your face feel quite tacky after application, making your foundation stick to it which I found very interesting! 

I also bought the One Heck of a Blot Primer after hearing good things about it. When I first started using this primer, I was impressed with how my foundation looked when applied. However, part of me is now thinking that I wanted this product to work so much I fooled myself into believing it was amazing, as after a few hours my oils are breaking through my foundation. This primer would probably work a lot better for someone who's skin isn't as oily as mine!

And finally, I bought the Smoulder Kohl Waterproof eyeliner in a dark brown. Again I had high hopes for this as I'm a big fan of the Supercat eyeliner as was expecting another great eyeliner. While it is a really nice shade of brown, nothing about this eyeliner wows me as it is literally just an eyeliner. However, I can'r fault it and maybe I should just lower my expectations. 

Oh and lovely lovely Boots sent a free sample of the Black Opium perfume from Yves Saint Laurent. I had never tried this perfume before, but now I'm absolutely in love with this and I will treasure the sample forever as there is no way I'd be able to afford a full bottle for myself :(

So there was my Boots/ Soap and Glory Haul. Thank you guys so much for reading if you made it this far, and as always any comments are appreciated. I would absolutely love to know what your favourite Soap and Glory products are! Thanks xxx

Birthday Haul

Hi Guys!

So I know  I haven't done a post in a while, real life just became crazy and I've struggled to even find the time to sit and relax, never mind typing an entire post out! However, it was my 21st birthday a couple of weeks ago so my boyfriend took me to Merry Hill (hell) for a shopping day. I spent a lot of money and bought loads of new goodies which I wanted to share.

So this is all the make-up bits I brought! I ended up going into so many shops throughout the day by the end I needed a looong rest (and so did Ollie). I brought loads of clothes as well, but I didn't take any photos of those. I apologize for some of the flash in the photos, all my photos are currently taken using my Note 4 so if I have limited daylight the flash has to come out!

So I got this from the Kiko shop in Merry Hill. Online, it's priced up as £9.90 on their website, but i found it for a lot less in the shops. I think it was around £4.00, but am unsure. You can find this product here. I will include a full review of this mascara on my blog soon so keep your eyes peeled!

I have an issue with mascaras. I purchased this Models Own mascara from Superdrug, and it can also be found on their website (here). It's displayed as £6.99 for the mascara and £1.99 for the wand, but again I know I paid a lot less for this in store. I love the idea of being able to customise your own mascara so was so happy when Ollie pointed this out to me! Full review to follow soon.

I also picked this Revolution kit up in Superdrug. This is listed as £6.00 on their website. I chose the shade Echelon, and am so in love with this shade. However, I'm not as over struck on the product in general. I will post a full review of this product soon where i share all my thoughts on this. 

And finally... I love a good false nail, but they're not always practical in my job, so I prefer using stick on nails for when it's the school holidays. 

I did pick up some other bits which you can see in the first photo, but did not take separate photos of these items. I should be posting some full reviews of these items once I've had time to full test them out.

And if you have made it to the end, well done and thank you so much! As always any comments are appreciated, and I would love to hear your thoughts below!xx 

New Makeup Brushes

Hi Guys! 

Today I'm going to be discussing my new purchase from Amazon, which as you can probably guess by the title is a new set of brushes. Recently I've developed a new love for make up brushes and my collection is growing very quickly, but I just couldn't resist buying these!

The set includes a total of 12 different eye shadow brushes, ranging from fluffy blending brushes to a fine eyeliner brush. They are sold by a Chinese brand called Tonsee, and they cost me £2.88 with £1.50 delivery charge, so they are super affordable! I have purchased a few things now from the brand Tonsee, and overall I've been really impressed with the things I've bought. 

So the brushes arrived in a padded envelope. Inside the envelope was this plastic packaging which stopped them from rolling around.

Aaaaand they come with a free pair of cute cat earrings!

And this is the brushes out of the packet! Recently I have been loving the rose gold look on eeeverything,so these brushes definitely appealed to me! They also had the option of white handles with a rose gold ferrule, but I loved the look of the black handle against the rose gold.

So these are the blending brushes from the set. There are four white bristle blending brushes, which have a range of size and density, and then one sort of duo-fiber blending brush. Can I just say now that the duo-fiber brush is absolutely huge! This is definitely one of my favourite brushes to use, as its great for not only blending out shadows but for setting primers quickly as well as adding  large dusting of colours on simple make up days.

These four little guys can be used to pack on eyeshadow, and are really good for placing shimmery shadows on the lid. The first two brushes in the picture are very dense, where as the other two are flatter and thinner (if that makes any sense... it makes sense in my head). I already own loads of these types of brushes, so at the moment they are not wowing me. However, with further use I may change my mind about them!

So these brushes are the 'Others'... There is a fine eyeliner brush, an angled brush and a pencil brush. The pencil brush is my absolute favourite in the whole set. I've owned both the other brushes previously but I've never had a pencil brush and I've fallen in love with it! 

However...

On to the negatives. Thankfully, the list of negatives is very short. Out of a set of 12 brushes, two brushes came with visible imperfections. 

One of the blending brushes came with a few hairs (bristles? Not sure of the correct terminology here) sticking out away from the rest of the brush. However, this is easily fixable by trimming these hairs out of place, and this will not affect the performance of the brush in my opinion.

Now they eyeliner brush came with the little plastic cap on. It seems like at some point the cap has been forced on with a few of the bristles bent in the wrong direction, which has separated from the rest of the bristles. I feel like this could affect the usage of the brush, as it's going to affect the way eyeliner is applied. 

The final negative is that the brushes do have a faint smell of glue, which isn't that unusual for cheaper brushes (in my experience).

My overall thoughts on these brushes are that I'm really happy with the set, especially for the price I paid! I can't remember the exact wait for delivery but it wasn't too long which makes it even better. Apart from the few minor negatives I've mentioned, I am actually really impressed with these brushes and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them! 

Okay so this turned out to be a really long post! If you have made it to the end thank you so much for reading! Please leave your thoughts and comments below, as always it is appreciated! xx

Welcome

Hi everybody!

So as this is my first blog post, I thought I would do a little introduction about myself and what I want my blog to be about. My name is Layla, I'm 20 years old and am from Worcester, England. I've had a love for make up for years and years, but I've recently started to spend more time on my make up and beauty routines, as well as developing my skills and trying out different brands. I wanted to start this blog as a way for me share with others my love for make up and to hopefully chat to others to find out more about make up.

I am in no way an expert at make up and would never claim to be and I'm still learning new ways to apply my make up and I'm still discovering new brands, so I'm hoping that this blog is a way to share that discovery with others and to learn new tips from others.

Most of the products I use are drugstore items, or are cheap items I have ordered online from Amazon or Ebay, so if that sort of thing interests you, please keep checking out my blog!

Aaaaand this is my face.

Thank you so much for reading guys! xx