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Smashbox Contour Stick Trio

Guess what’s on the agenda today? How did you know 🙂 Yes I am waffling all about the Smashbox Contour Stick Trio. I decided I was going to pick these up with my Boots points, so I had been patiently saving my points and then I went online to browse the Boots website. They were on special for €38…and so… they were bought and the story begins.

So as you can see there is three pencils. A highlighter, a bronzer and then a contour.

You get a sharpener in the box too which I think is very necessary as these pencils are really creamy so use up very quickly. I think if you were using these everyday you wouldn’t get a huge amount of time out of them.

Here they are swatched on my arm. You can see how pigmented and creamy they are.

The highlighting shade is pretty light, I could probably do with a shade lighter for my pale skin, this is the story for most of these kind of things.

The contour shade (in the middle) is a grey toned brown, perfect shade for it. And then the bronze shade is a warmer toned brown for warming up your complexion, as I am sure you know 🙂

So onto using it on my mug.

First up here I am without any of the Smashbox Contour Stick Trio’s applied and some lovely bed hair too 🙂

I first apply the highlighter stick.

I applied it under my eyes, the centre of my nose and eyebrows, the tops of my brows and above my cupids bow.

Then the bronzer.

Smashbox say use the product in an x formation and I think it does work best because you tend to use less product than just drawing lines around your face. I personally use it around the periphery of my face and then blend it down. You could use the contour shade in the same way too, I just like the warmer shade around my face. I don’t contour my nose or anything like that because I feel that it is pretty small already so I don’t really find it necessary.

I use the contour shade of the Smashbox Contour Stick Trio just on my non existent cheekbones.

I am only gorgeous I know 🙂 Again using the x formation around 2/3’s of the way down my cheek. Just follow where you naturally have a hollow. If you’re chubby like me do the fishy face to find out where it is.

So then onto blending. Blending the Smashbox Contour Sticks is actually really easy, they don’t take much work at all. I just use whatever foundation brush I used. I blend the bronze shade into my skin more, whereas with the highlighter and contour shades I keep the blending more isolated to where I applied them.

You can see the bronze and the contour shades do warm up my complexion and give a slight illusion of definition on my cheeks, happy days. The highlight shade really doesn’t do a whole load for me, I’m just too pale.

Here is the whole shabang with powders and lipsticks added and the gruaig looking a bit better too.

Overall, I really like the Smashbox Contour Stick Trio. They are easy to use, easy to blend and the colours are mostly good. They are by no means a necessary step in your makeup routine. For me, I like them for when I want a more pronounced contour for going out. I will layer contour and highlight powders over top. Or for a more subtle highlight, I will just set the Smashbox Contour Sticks with face powder. Obviously there is tonnes of alternative products to get your chisel on, the sticks are just a handy one as they are small and easy to control. It’s only a matter of time before the highstreet brands are all over it and bring out their own versions. I look forward to that 🙂

What do you think? Let me know.

xxx

June 17, 2015/3 Comments/by Gem

Makeup, Product Comparison

Bourjois Bronzing Primer V Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel

The bit of sunshine in Ireland is making me slightly obsessed with bronzer and bronzing at the minute, I haven’t really shut up about them in the last while so apologies if you’re not a fan 🙂

I’ve owned both the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel and the Bourjois Bronzing Primer for a long time now and they always tend to get pulled out more around this time of year. What are they you might ask? They are bronzing bases, that you can use to warm up your face under foundation, or just on their own if you are lucky and have lovely skin.

I personally use them as you would a cream bronzer. I to use them after I have applied my foundation and hit the parts of my face I would normally contour. I use them on their own if I am just going for a more subtle look or I apply powder on top for more definition, really depends on the day or the situation.

They are both two very different price points. Do they do the same thing?

The Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel.

The Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel is a cream product with a dense formula, that in my opinion is best applied with a dense synthetic brush.

As you would expect from Chanel, it is really pigmented and easy to blend into the skin.You can build it up quite quickly. It does have a slightly orange undertone so a light hand and alot of buffing is needed if you are lighter skinned like myself. It has a lovely light florally scent that is familiar to Chanel.

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Swatched

The Bourjois Bronzing Primer.

The Bourjois Bronzing Primer has a whipped, creamy formula. It is mousse like to the touch.

It applies much more liberally that the Soleil Tan De Chanel as it is more of a wet consistency. I prefer to apply this with a small synthetic duo fibre brush as you can control your application that way. This is a pigmented product, so apply a little at a time, but it does blend out quite sheer. You need to build it up if you want a more intense bronzing effect. It smells like coconut and chocolate, nice if you like a sweet holiday scent.

Bourjois Bronzing Primer Swatched

These products compare pretty closely. In the pan they look different, obviously the packaging is a bit more swish and fancy on the Chanel offering. They both have the same amount of product in the tub. They both bronze your face and do it nicely. They are both a matte finish. The Soleil Tan De Chanel does pack more of a punch in the pigment stakes and you don’t need as much of it as you do the Bourjois one, and it sets quicker on the skin, it’s also €38.50 though! The bronzing primer from Bourjois is not as elegant but it is a hell of alot cheaper at €12.99!!

I love having the Chanel one, it was a treat from the bf and owning anything Chanel makes me feel ladylike. I think when I run out of both and decide I still want a cream bronzer I would be more inclined to pick up the Bourjois Bronzing Primer, it just makes better mathematical sense (you won’t hear me say that very often).

Do you have either of them? What’s you take on it? I would love to know?

xxx

May 1, 2015/by Gem

Top Cream Shadow Stick Picks

I use cream shadow pencils, sticks whatever you want to call them alot in my day to day makeup routine. Formulas have gotten so great nowadays that you can use them as shadow on their own and they don’t budge (for the most part) throughout the day. Or you can layer them under shadows to intensify them or increase their longevity too. They come in very handy.

So I compiled some my favourite brands for this post to show you some of the ones I love using and that I have tried and tested.

First up is the posh ones of the group.

These are the By Terry Ombre Blackstar. These are so very nice and so very posh with their €30 price tag. They are so creamy, pigmented and easy to blend though and they last all day on the lids. You can literally just throw one of these all over your lids, blend the edges and you’ve got yourself a really lovely eye look.

I have two shades…so far 🙂

5 Misty Rock (on top) 4 Bronze Moon (bottom)

I have a couple of brands that I just have one offering from, but I wanted to include them because I pick them up regularly.

The Rimmel Scandaleyes. I love this shade under gold or creamy coloured shadows. It’s a great neutral shade to have in your collection. They come in an alot of different shades though. This is 002 Bulletproof Beige.

I bought one of the new Bourjois Colorband sticks not too long ago in Boots.

This shade 05 Mauve Baroque is a great more affordable dupe for the By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock. These stay put on the lid too, no messing about. You need to work quickly with them once it’s on it’s on!

Bourjois Colorband Mauve Baroque

The Kiko Longlasting Shadow Sticks are new in my makeup collection, but I picked them up because I’d read so much positivity about them in the blogging and You Tube world. You have to order online if you’re in Ireland which is a pain but the shipping is really good, as are the sticks themselves 🙂

I got three shades 05 (another dupe for the By Terry Ombre Blackstar, do you see a theme forming?), 10 a sparkly blue green shade and 10 an electric blue.

These are just awesome, simple as that. Creamy, smooth ,vibrant, longlasting, and come in a plethora of colours to suit everyone, and they are so reasonable priced too. More will find their way home to me soon, I’m sure of it.

05, 11,10

A couple of Wet n Wild picks up next.

If you are a regular round these parts you’ll know I am a huge fan of this affordable brand. These are their Idol Eyes Creme Shadow Pencil. So ridiculously affordable and lovely base for shadow to help them stick around and help the colour become more vibrant too. These come in loads of colours, soft, but not as pigmented as maybe some of the others on the market. For the price though they are pretty great 🙂 I have two:

E133 Techno (on top) E135 Graphite (on bottom)

I left the probably most well known ones until last.

These are of course the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencils. Apologies as mine have seen better days, they aren’t very photogenic. That doesn’t mean they’re not good at their job though. These things are brilliant! I’ve been buying Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencils a long time, I use to have to buy them on eBay from America, but thank god Ireland now finally has gotten its act together and we are starting to see Nyx in pharmacies more and more. Wohoo! These literally come in all of the colour of the rainbow and more. They come in different finishes too, some are matte some are more shimmery or sparkly. They are stupid pigmented and last well on the eyes. I have even used these on my water line and they last really well inside the eye too. I know Milk is such a cult shade now. It’s a matte, opaque white, if you are wanting vivid colours to stand out, you need Milk in your life believe me!

I have six in my collection, I’ve had more in the past but where they’re gone I don’t know 🙁

In Order 603 Pots & Pans, 615 Slate, 612 Gold, 617 Iced Mocha, 624A Rocky Mountain Green and 604 Milk

There you have it, if you are in the market for some new cream shadow sticks, I hope I’ve helped a little showing you some of my favourites. I tried to pick some from all spectrum’s of the market to suit everyone. I honestly get so much use from all of these little beauties. Writing this blog post has just made me want to buy more 🙂

xxx

April 18, 2015/by Gem

Makeup

Clarins Instant Concealer A Review

I picked up the Clarins Instant Concealer after seeing so much positive feedback on it in the blogging community.

There may not be many of us around but I am definitely one of the few people who did not get the hype about the Nars Creamy Concealer. I found it hard to blend and kind of drying to be honest. So I did buy the Clarins Instant Concealer hesitantly as it seemed to be the next big thing in under eye concealers since the Nars offering.

I can report…I bloomin’ love it!! I picked up the shade 01, which was hard to get a hold of actually so there must be lots of pale gals like me throwing it into their baskets.

I find this a very good shade match for my skintone. The concealer itself I would describe as dense but very workable. You can slap it on both eyes and will have plenty of time to blend it in without worrying about it setting too quickly. It does set though, you are not left with shiny under eyes that need an abundance of powder.

The coverage of the Instant Concealer is really great. I can even bring it down around my nose and find it covers flaws and large pores. It has really great staying power too. This concealer highlights even paler skin like mine. As you can see below, it does brighten my under eye area as well as conceal.

Before Application

After Application

I know I don’t suffer with huge under circles, but I do have some darkness as well as pigmentation and freckles. A small amount of the Instant Concealer gets to grips with this very easily.

I am really impressed overall with this product. Clarins is not a brand I find myself reaching for much when I am in the market for new makeup, but I think I will be making more time for it in the future.

A 15ml tube of the Clarins Instant Concealer will set you back 25 euro in Brown Thomas, Boots or alot of leading pharmacies.

xxx

April 7, 2015/1 Comment/by Gem

Makeup

Hourglass Mood Exposure ‘V’ Max Factor Nude Mauve

The blogsphere has been alight ever since Max Factor brought out their Creme Puff Blushes. Instantly they were being compared to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes…they look really really similar in the pan so there is no surprise there! As the proud owner of 4 Hourglass blushes I thought it was my duty as a blogger and makeup obsessed person to buy a couple of the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes and compare. All in the name of research I swear 🙂

So today I am comparing Hourglass’s ‘Mood Exposure’ (which I have in palette form)

to Max Factor’s ’10 Nude Mauve’.

They look pretty similar in the pan don’t they? The marbling effect in ‘Mood Exposure’ is more prominent than in Nude Mauve, and ‘Nude Mauve’ looks a tad more shimmery when you look at them both up close.

When they are swatched on the skin, they look like this.

Mood Exposure Nude Mauve

Hourglass’s ‘Mood Exposure’ is a slightly more muted peach shade when swatched whereas Max Factor’s ‘Nude Mauve’ is true to it’s name and a little darker and more nude in colour.

Both blushes blend really well on the skin and can be worn as a light flush of colour or can be built up for a more noticeable application. They both have a very subtle sheen to them, with just a smattering of shimmer nothing too drastic or over powering at all. They both also have a light fragrance to them, different but it really won’t affect you when you are wearing either of them.

Rather than talking about them separately it just felt natural for me to talk about them together because they really are such similar products. Except of course when it comes to the price tag. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes will set you back close to 40 quid where as the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes are a much more budget friendly 11.50, there’s a big difference there.

Both of these blushes are the perfect neutral blush colour, for less makeup days or when you are having a day of focus on your eyes or your lips, both of them would tie your look together without trying to steal the show. It’s just down to which one you want to buy. As a makeup ‘collector’ yep that’s what I’m calling myself! I like having both of them at my disposal but in reality the Max Factor offering is cheaper, more readily available and does the exact same thing!

The decision is yours 🙂

xxx

March 20, 2015/2 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Charlotte Tilbury- Velvet Underground

I thought this week was the perfect week of the year to talk about a love affair I have been having…with a lipstick. It is coming up to Valentine’s Day after all.

If you are a makeup fan you know who Charlotte Tilbury is. I had the privilege of meeting her and she is as cool in real life #fangirl 🙂

This is her K.I.S.S.I.N.G lippie in “Velvet Underground”.

The packaging bestowed on these lipsticks is beautiful, so I am just going to take a minute and say it’s so pretty and luxurious and rose gold…eeeek!!

It would want to be right? With the price tag of €30 (you can buy them here from Brown Thomas if you so desire). If you are the romantic type and are wanting something pretty for Valentine’s Day, get the other half over to the Charlotte Tilbury counter for a look, this would be the perfect Valentine’s shade 🙂

“Velvet Underground” is a blue based magenta colour.

It is quite a stiff formula in the bullet, especially around these cold parts i.e. Ireland, so to apply it precisely may I suggest a lip brush or any small brush just to perfect the outline.

For a pale gal like myself this colour really wakes up my complexion. It is a colour that you can wear boldly and proudly or of course like any lipstick patted into the lips for a more demure look. It smells really nice, not really important I know but it is an added bonus 🙂

Charlotte Tilbury also claim that these lipsticks contain an anti oxidant that protect your lips from UV damage and pollution, another added bonus.

“Velvet Underground” is the only one I own right now from the brand (I have my eye on “Love Liberty” which is one of the Matte Revolution lipsticks aswell), so I can only give my opinion on this shade. It is really pigmented, a little goes a long way, it lasts really well on the lips without drying them out or caking up. It has a satin finish, so there is a bit of a sheen to it, it looks lovely with a gloss layered over top too.

I really am in love with this. It is an investment I know, but if makeup is your thing or you are looking to invest in a special item, it really lives up to the hype.

What do you think, would you splurge? You can buy Charlotte Tilbury makeup from Brown Thomas in store or online here

xxx

February 10, 2015/by Gem