PIXIWOO HAVE DONE IT AGAIN // miracle complexion sponge

I've always been one to favour make-up brushes over sponges. I never really got make-up sponges. They just always made me think of face-paint applicators, applying it watery and streaky, and even when the huge hype around the Beauty Blender was about, I had no desire to try one (plus they weren't available in the UK) so just never tried them, loyal to my e.l.f. and Real Techniques brushes.

Yet, I recently picked up the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge after arriving incredibly late to the party. After owning almost all of the Real Technique brush sets and loving them, I thought I'd pick one up from a brand I trust.

I've been using this for around a month to apply my foundation with the flatter side, and concealer with the point and I love it more than I expected to. The finish and coverage of make-up is a lot more seamless and smooth, and application is so fast and easy.

So yes, I wouldn't say I'm converted, but I am impressed with the humble make-up sponge, and really recommend this one!

THE RESTOCK // the underrated, purse-friendly nude lipstick

The first beauty post on this blog was one titled 'the restock | essentials' and today, after nearly 5 months I finally bring a second edition.

MUA is one of the brands that started my interest in makeup, because of the insanely cheap prices and huge variety. I decided to pick up two lipsticks, each at £1: shade 5 (not too keen, almost a glittery pink...it has since been removed from my collection) and shade 11 (my fave - a pink-brown nude). I can't remember swatching them when choosing the shades, so kind of brought them on a whim. 

Only when I got home and tried out shade 11 I realised how much of a perfect nude colour it is, for mine, and probably lots of other skin tones. I find myself wearing this all the time for a bit of colour without anything too bright or fussy. The formula is so creamy, and admittedly not the most long-lasting, but for a pound, and a more subtle colour, that doesn't really matter. 

As you can see, I've restocked. First ever used up and repurchased lipstick.*round of applause*

BUT notice how the shade is actually slightly different than the original. Slightly more pink and less peach. Regardless, still a lovely shade which I'll happily wear over and over again on lazy make-up days when I can't be faffed with retouching. And for a pound, the repurchase didn't break the bank which makes it even better.

What MUA lipsticks are you a fan of? 

Restocked your must-have beauty product recently?

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?

an ode to my favourite mascara

I know what you're thinking...don't worry I used an unloved mascara to do that ^^

Confession : I'm abit of a mascara whore junkie. BUT after trying loads, both drugstore and high-end, I've found it. I've found the one. Ladies (and gentlemen?) I present to you, Lancome Hypnose Drama Waterproof : my fave. Here's why I love it so much...

excuse how creepy this looks haha!

I took these photos without liner on to show the full-effect. On one stroke there is instant length and volume, and with two, there's the amount of volume and length I stick with day-to-day. Its so easy. I do curl my lashes everyday, but this mascara adds to the curl, and holds it, due to it's waterproof formula. 

The brush is also really nice - not too big, not too small. Its also curved to help grip all of the lashes and really coat them well with the first stroke. I also love the packaging. I think we can all agree I basically just love this mascara.

annnndd let's all ignore the open wardrobe and it's messy contents...it's on my to-do list i promise...

I hope from the photo's you can see the fluttery lashes you can achieve with this mascara. Of course, the drugstore has so many amazing mascaras on offer, and being a junkie I'm eager to try the famous Max Factor and L'Oreal ones. I can recommend the Maybelline ones HIGHLY including The Rocket Volume Express and The Falsies (the Falsies probably more comparable to HypnoseDrama because of it's brissle brush, whereas The Rocket has a plastic wand). Yet, after a long love affair with what Maybelline has on offer, I think I'm converted (they will, of course, still have a place in my heart...and I'll probably go back to them...being the mascara addict I am...). But for now, Lancome Hypnose Drama Waterproof is my favourite.

So if you love everyday big lashes, with bags of volume and length without hardly any effort, this one's for you. 

What's your favourite mascara? Tried this one?

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?

e.l.f. brush shampoo

nothing better than freshly-cleaned brushes!

A few weeks ago in my e.l.f. cosmetics haul, I included the e.l.f. brush shampoo as the only product I hadn't yet tried out.

I finally got round to using it, after putting off the chore of brush-cleaning, and thought I'd share my thoughts on it!

Face brushes: When cleaning dense face brushes (like the Real Technique's Expert Face Brush) I found it to be just as good as normal shampoo which I previously used. I always find it takes longer to clean this brish in particular and to get it completely white at the top of the brissles, so didn't really see a change from what I normally use. 

I found less-dense ones to be easier to clean (e.g. the Multi-Task briush from Real Technique's) and found the e.l.f. shampoo cleaned them deeper and slightly quicker too, but no massive improvement.

I own two e.l.f. face brushes and wanted to see how they cleaned with the brush cleaner from the same brand. The Complexion Brush is my favourite of the two and this cleaned just as well as what I've used before. The Powder Brush (bought at the same time as the shampoo) I mentioned shed a lot, and there was no change when cleaning it, yet after I found it shed less when using it...maybe all that cleaning got rid of the majority of loose brissles? 

Eye brushes: This is where I was really impressed with the product! So much faster. I cleaned my most used eye brushes: RT Base Shadow and Deluxe Crease and found they cleaned so much faster and deeper compared to my usual shampoo. The tips of the brissles became the whitest I've seen them since they were new. 

For the price, this is a good product and is definitely worth a try if you're looking to try a new brush cleaner.

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?

e.l.f. cosmetics haul

e.l.f. is a brand I've always wanted to order a lot of products from but never really got round to it. I have ordered before and was quite impressed but since then I'd added a lot to my wishlist. I finally ordered some products and thought I would show you what I bought!...

e.l.f. eyelid primer // I'd heard so many rave reviews about this eyelid primer and knew I had to try it! After using both this, and the Urban Decay Primer Potion, I can say this does the job exactly the same, just for a fraction of the price. I used it for the first time last week under my eyeshadow and it stayed put all day despite the humid weather.

e.l.f. high definition powder // I had initially wanted the HD undereye setting powder by e.l.f. as I'd previously owned it and absolutely loved it, but it wasn't on the website anymore so I opted for the bigger size, and figured it would do the same thing, as well being suitable for the whole face. I mostly use this to set under-eye concealer because it always creases on me, and it works amazingly.

e.l.f. powder brush // I was so excited to try this out, but my first few uses left me disappointed...after trying with powder and liquid foundation, it applied it well and evenly but the bristles were left on my face after a large section shed and completely came off the brush. I don't know if they're all like this as I've read a lot of rave reviews...maybe it's just mine? (sad face :()

e.l.f. studio eyebrow kit in light // you'll soon find out I'm obsessed with eyebrows and so I had to try the eyebrow kit out, and it hasn't disappointed! It comes with a gel and a powder and I find this is a good match for my brows, is long-lasting and easy to work with. 

e.l.f. studio glossy gloss in merry cherry // this was originally ordered for my mum, but it turned out to be a lot brighter than she expected so she gave it to me. I've never really been a lip-gloss person, but this is so lovely. The colour pay-off is great, it feels really moisturising and it isn;t sticky at all....I want to try more glosses now!

e.l.f. professional blending eye brush // this is a standard blending brush and works really well, and is really good value for money. Plus, this one didn't shed - yay!

e.l.f. contouring blush & bronzing powder in st. lucia // I was SO excited to try this, as I love contouring and am always on the hunt for new products. The bronzing powder is a really nice shade with a subtle shimmer, and despite not really being a blush-lover, this is a really gorgeous natural shade, and works well as a gentle highlight also. 

e.l.f. brush shampoo // the only product I am yet to try is the brush shampoo....because I'm lazy and brush cleaning is a chore...but I'll report back with my thoughts when I get round to using it haha!

So that was everything from my e.l.f. order, and overall I'm super impressed!

What are your favourite e.l.f. products? Let me know your recommendations for my next order!