TODAY'S MAKEUP MESS // fotd

I dug out my Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Candy Apple last week, put it on, and forgot how much I love it. Here's my makeup look which I wore with it with some everyday favourites...

BASE// 

Benefit The Porefessional - beautiful to smooth over pores and keep makeup in place.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - an old favourite which gives a beautiful velvet finish to the skin with a medium coverage.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - a classic which covers dark circles and blemishes in a flash.

E.l.f. High Definition Powder - a life-saver if you're like me where any concealer creases under the eyes.

CONTOUR//

Benefit Hoola - I've had this sample size since last christmas and haven't even hit pan yet. I love the pigmentation and the warmth and shape it brings to my face.

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer - I rarely go without highlighter and this is the newest edition to my collection. Put on the top of the cheeks gives a gorgeous natural glow, read my full review here

BROWS + EYES//

E.l.f. Eyebrow Kit - this is the first brow kit I've owned with a waxy texture and I find it works well, is a good match and stays in place all day,

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze - another classic which I use regularly. It gives you a perfect subtle bronze eye with minimum effort.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Micro Precision Liner - not my favourite for application or opaqueness, but the waterproof aspect is what I like about it. I simply layer it abit to create a black line with flick.

Estee Lauder Dual Kajal - The blackened-black end is an absolute must-have for me everyday to tightline my eyes and thicken my lashline.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kajal in Bronze - I used this on my outer bottom lash-line to tie in the Colour Tattoo and love the slight smokey effect it gives.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara - The waterproof formula which holds a curl and gives insane length and volume. A fave.

LIPS//

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Candy Apple - I bought this ages ago and after shopping my stash have fallen in love with it again. Super moisturising, and a complimenting subtle red.

Current favourite makeup products?

essence cosmetics

I don't have a Wilkinson store near me, so a few weeks back when I was in Norfolk, I came across one and immediately went to the Essence counter. As far as I know, they've only just came over to the UK and are sold exclusively in Wilkinson's stores so I was excited to try some products. I hadn't previously read much about them, so just picked up what I liked the look of, and being on a 3for2 offer, these three products cost me less than £6 all together.

Essence XXXL Longlasting Lipgloss in 06 Soft Nude // I don't own many glosses as I'm much of of a lipstick addict, but seeing the 'matte effect' sticker on a few shades, I really wanted to pick one up. I went for NAME, a dark pinky nude which I really like. The formula is quite nice, and the colour pay-off is good, with a matt finish as it promises. The only thing I'm not too keen on it the applicator's odd, long shape, and the staying power isn't great. But for less than £3, I like it as a subtle, moisturising lip colour.

Essence Kajal Pencil Liner in 15 Behind The Scenes // I've been on the hunt for a grey/taupe pencil for quite a while so decided to try an Essence one, which I believe was only about £1.I really like this on the outer-lower lash-line and the pigmentation is really nice.

Essence 3D Eyeshadow in 09 Irresistible Chocolate  // finally, I really liked the look of the dual eyeshadows they had on offer, so I picked one up in Irresistible Chocolat. The pigmentation is really nice and the two shades give a really nice smokey look to the eyes when used together. Yet, I think it'd be better if one of the shades was matte, as both are quite shimmery and they can look quite full-on.

Overall I'm impressed with what I've tried from Essence Cosmetics!

What have you tried from the brand? Any recommendations?

july favourites

I know this is late, but forgive me, life has been busy and my laptop has decided to give up on me (sad face). But today I bring you the products I've been loving throughout the month of July!

e.l.f. eyelid primer | I think it's pretty safe to say I really love everything from my e.l.f. haul, but the eyelid primer I've been using everyday. Either as a base for shadow or just pressed powder alone to tame my oily eyelids in the humid summer weather. This works a treat and is only £1.95 or something ridiculously inexpensive...definite recommend! read my e.l.f. haul here if you haven't already!

mac all fired up | I bought this mid-july at dutyfree on my way to Turkey and I think it's love. The colour is so beautiful and bright and perfect for summer! Haul post coming this week!

scandaleyes micro precision liner | You'll always see me wearing black liner on my upper-lashline and I've been loving this one this month as it's waterproof. Compared to others, this stays put in the hot weather and the small nib makes application easy!

tinted moisturiser/light bases | sensing a theme here? Makeup to bear the humid weather, and tinted moisturisers have been a must for me lately. Especially as I've got quite a tan on my face light bases let my natural glow shine through while giving me abit of coverage. I've recently been using the Lancome Renergie Eclat Tinted Makeup which I really like!

benefit high beam | High Beam is the perfect cream highlight and I find it perfect for the summer months when you want a glow that will stay put and look natural. This is a sample size, and I'll be buying the full size when this runs out!

So those are the products I've been loving in July! 

What are your favourites this month?

making it work | an unloved lipstick

Quite a while ago, I picked up this Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in the shade 180 Vintage Pink. I'd wanted to try this range for so long, and was so excited to buy this. Only when I got home and tried it on I realised the shade did not suit me. Gutted. I gave it a few more goes but it just wasn't working and so it lived in a Muji drawer for a few months un-touched.

After discovering the world of combining lip-colours to make your own (post here on Hooked On Beauty! shameless plug) I brought out Vintage Pink and decided to experiment.

individual swatches// vintage pink above, rebel below

I chose to mix it with a dark purply/pink shade which I adore on it's own anyway, Mac's satin lipstick in Rebel. The end product is a flower-orchid, glossy purple which I never thought would suit me, but I actually really love it and think it's a shade which can be worn all year round!

What do you think? Any lip combos you've discovered?

the restock | essentials

You know when your luck when you run out of your basic beauty bits, all at the same time? yep, that happened to me last week and as I didn't buy the exact same products to replace my old ones, I thought I'd tell you what I picked up...

the liner pen | I'm one of those people who can't go without eyeliner, whether that's a sharp liquid line on the upper-lashline, or a khol pencil smudged to look subtle and smokey.I had been using the Rimmel Scandaleyes Micro Precise Liner before which had a tiny nib, and I took quite a long time to build up a line I was happy with. So I chose the Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner pen in black because the swatch I made on my hand seemed pretty decent and long-lasting, plus the nib was longer. 

the powder | I have been pretty loyal to the cult Rimmel Stay Matte powder over the past few months, but as I drastically hit pan on my last one, (and kinda because Maybelline had a 'buy one get one half price' offer on in Boots at the time...) I restocked with the Matte Maker, which I believe is a relatively new release. I did want a translucent powder, but I couldn't find one on the counter so went for 20 Nude Beige. I actually really like the finish of this and found it does the same job as Rimmel Stay Matte.

the concealer | Of the three, this concealer isn't a change from before. The Collection Lasting Perfection concealer is all kinds of great for blemishes and dark-circles with a thick but blendable consistency. I managed to take a photo before all the words scraped off the packaging...it's one flaw. I got this in Warm Medium and I can see myself repurchasing again and again...

I'd love to know what your beauty essentials are!