Beauty Bargain // ELF Daily Brush Cleaner

I've been testing out the ELF Daily Brush Cleaner in the past few weeks and I've been pleasantly surprised. Cleaning brushes are essential to keep your brushes free from bacteria, to ensure colours won't get mixed, to remove any dead skin cells that may be sitting on the brushes, and to keep the brush hairs nice and fluffy.

Collective Haul and First Impressions

Oops I did it again... here a few purchases I've made online in the past week or so. I've already used a few of the things so I've also done a first impression of those products.

Products I've Used Up #6

I haven't done an empties post since September! I have just been adding so much to my collection that I haven't really been using anything up *slaps wrist*, but I have accumulated a few things so here we go.

2013 Favourites Make Up - Face

Today I'll be covering my stand out face products from 2013. I've talked about these products on my blog before, so again, I won't go into too much detail.

What's In My Make Up Bag

I recently got a Ted Baker make up bag in a gorgeous, bright yellow with a bright, pink bow. It's literally the most perfect size to throw into your bag, it's about the same size as a normal pencil case. What I love about these Ted Baker bags is that they're plastic so they're so easy to clean if any product gets onto them and they fit so much products! I keep my bag on my vanity for easy reach to my go to products and it's convenient for when I need to chuck it into my bag.

They See Me Haulin'...

...they love it? No? Well, I do. I did a bit of shopping again... but just a bit. (Justification? It was my birthday!)

Summer Handbag Essentials

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates recently, I just haven't been in a blogging mood and I didn't want to post something for the sake of it. I also haven't put up a June Favourites and that's because I really don't have any new favourites this month. Anyway, the sun is shining today in London and I can finally scream out loud 'IT'S SUMMER!' so I thought today I would share my Summer handbag essentials.

Review: ELF Baked Blush

I've mentioned before how much I like the ELF mineral blushes, so when I saw that someone was a fan of the baked blushes on Instagram, I thought I'd give them a try.

May Favourites

It's time for May favourites! I actually think this month has gone by pretty slowly, which is great as exams start on Monday! Ahhh! Anyway, these are the products I've been loving and using a lot this past month.

Feeling Peachy

  I've just a been a bit obsessed with all things peach lately so here a few products that have been filling my peachy needs...

Collective Haul

Tag - 7 Deadly Sins Of Beauty

Hey everyone, so I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd do a tag and the 7 Deadly Sins one is one of my favourites so I thought I'd go ahead and do it. Enjoy!

Greed

What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?

The most inexpensive product(s) I probably own is ELF's Eyelid Primer's which are £1.50 each, they aren't the best but they do their job for a few hours. The most expensive product I probably own is the Mica Beauty Age Defying Gel which is £79.99, expensive, especially for a brand that's not so well known but this eye gel is seriously worth it.

Wrath

What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?

Mascara! I love mascara, and I can't live without it but it is so damn hard for me to find a really good mascara that works for my tiny, thin lashes! I have tried higher end mascaras, drug store mascaras and everything in between, but I have yet to find a holy grail mascara, sigh.

Gluttony

What are your most delicious beauty products?

My Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub, this stuff smells so sugary sweet, mmm. And basically anything from The Body Shop...

Sloth

What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?

Toner, I was so lazy I couldn't even be bothered to snap a photo of the few I have in the bathroom, ha! I am just too lazy to use it and I feel it doesn't do anything for me anyway so what's the point? ...

Pride

What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?

Concealer most definitely. I have dark circles and I always have a few blemishes that I always want to cover up, my skin isn't so bad that I need to have a full base, but concealer is one thing I need. If my dark circles are covered and the pesky blemishes then I instantly feel more confident to run out the door, even if I don't wear anything else (make up wise... heh). 

Lust

What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?

For this answer, see Tom Hiddleston, hah. But in all seriousness, the attributes I find most attractive are good hair, a gorgeous smile, a decent jaw line (awh yeah) and he must be tall ( at least a good few inches taller than me). But I find a wonderful personality is more important than anything, he must be charming, funny, smart and passionate ...  so as I said before, see Tom Hiddleston.

Envy

What items would you most like to receive as a gift? 

I would like to receive items I would not personally get myself such as a perfume but I am very picky with perfumes so the person has to know I want it. I'd also love if someone got me a Chanel bag...or a Celine one... Ha, but seriously I just love anything that comes from the heart, if I know someone has put effort into whatever they give me and they give it to me with whole-heartedness then I appreciate it so much. 

Thank you for reading, I hope you have a good week!

-Kiran xo

February Favourites

Bath and Body Works Carried Away Body Cream- Maybelline Gel Eye Liner - Dr Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream - ELF Mineral Blush Coral - Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy - Neutrogena Wave

I have been quite unwell this past month so I actually haven't got a lot of beauty favourites. But I do have a few.
 Firstly I have been loving using Bath and Body Works' Body Creams, especially Carried Away. These lotions are so thick and moisturising but they're not greasy at all, and the scent stays on the skin for such a long time.
The Maybelline Gel Eye Liner is so easy to use, it's really black and lasts a decent amount of time. I actually use the brush it comes with which is rare thing for me to do.
I lurrrvee the Dr Jart+ BB Cream, it provides a nice, light coverage and as I've been feeling sicky this month, it's been giving my skin a dewy, healthy complexion.
I have been obsessed with this ELF Mineral blush this month, it is a little messy but I can forgive this flaw as I just really love the blush itself. The blush looks natural on the skin, the colour is so lovely and it actually lasts pretty much all day on my skin which is amazing. I also have the shade Bliss, and I'd love to get some more, and for £5 for a mineral based blush, psshtt who can blame me?
I actually have a nail polish favourite this month, I've had Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy for a while, worn it a few times before but this month I've actually worn this colour for more than a week (le gasp), I rarely ever wear a nail polish for more than four days, but I just really love this colour. It's a pretty lilac with a subtle hint of blue glitter, gorgeous.
The Neutrogena Wave is ah-mazing, why did I take so long to get it? It cleanses my skin so well and leaves it feeling sooo soft. I definitely recommend this for those who don't already have a similar cleanser.

Yup, I have another iPad app addiction... Bubble Mania Seasons. I don't know why, but I love this game. It is so addictive. SO addictive.

Music:
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Haim - Forever EP
Taylor Swift - Red

Movies:
Lincoln 5/5
Django Unchained 5/5

Hope everyone had a good February and Happy March!

-Kiran xo

Short Trip, Long Journey Essentials

I'm finally going to see my Booba (Emma ;) ) up in Scotland! I'll be going on the coach with my friend Chloe, yes, the coach, from London, our poor butts are going to be subjected to almost 11 hours of numbness. But it's worth it! For this quick post I'm just going to be showing you what I'll be taking with me for my weekend trip. We're leaving London at 1am and arriving in Scotland at around 12pm on Friday then on our way back we'll be leaving Scotland at around 11pm and arriving in London before 7am on Monday, fun times.

Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Cream Wash - Simple Cleansing Wipes - Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub - Nuxe Reve De Miel - Origins Drink-Up Intensive Mask - L'Occitane Shea Butter - Nivea Creme - Alien Thierry Mugler - Garnier Eye Roll On - Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter - Bath and Body Works Midnight Pomegranate Body Butter

MUA Undressed Palette - Sephora Eyelash Curler - Dr Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream - ELF Coral Mineral Blush - Collection Concealer - Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - Revlon Just Bitten Stains Crush and Honey - Maybelline Gel Eye Liner - ELF Eyelid Primer - Benefit Highbrow - Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil - Rimmel Scandal Eyes Black Eye Pencil - MAC Sunny Seoul

For the long coach rides I need some reading material and music so I'm bringing along a couple copies of Empire, The Tempest (I have to read it for audition preparation, sigh), my iPad, iPod as I don't want to kill my phone's battery and iPhone. 

I apologise for the evidently rushed post and photos, I have a long, busy day today, but I wanted to blog before I left.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! I'll have some sort of photo diary up next week after I come back to London, be prepared to be jealous of photos of beautiful waterfalls and lochs ;)

-Kiran xo

FOTD #3

Face

I buffed a small amount of Dr Jart's Water Fuse BB Cream all over my face, this is absolutely amazing, it gives a decent coverage, last a long time and gives the skin a pretty, dewy look. I then concealed under my eyes and any blemishes which the BB cream didn't cover with the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. And for the cheeks I applied ELF's Mineral Blush in Coral.

Eyes

I first put on shade three from my MUA Undressed Palette all over the lid just to even out the colour on my lids, it's basically the same colour as my skin tone. I then dabbed a little bit of shade two on my inner corners of my eyes just to brighten my eyes. I did my usual eyebrow routine using Rimmel's Eyebrow Pencil in Brown Black and applied Benefit's High Brow Pencil on the brow bone. I then applied Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Kohl Pencil on my water line, and upper lash line. I curled my lashes using my Sephora lash curler and then applied a couple of coats of Rimmel's 1 2 3 Looks Mascara (which I don't think they make any more and I understand why). 

Lips

I first dabbed on my Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick in shade 22 and then smudged it in with my finger to create a stain effect and then applied Jemma Kidd's lip gloss in Fuschia to create a pretty, everyday red lip.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

-Kiran xo

Life of Pi Premiere - Make Up & Accessories

Firstly, I primed my eyes with elf's eyelid primer, it's not the best, but not the worst. Then I applied shade four in the MUA Undressed palette all over the lid, then used shade eight to create a subtle smokey effect, I also took shade eight along the bottom lash line, I lined my water line with the Rimmel Scandal Eyes pencil, created a thin top liner and flick with L'Oreal's Super Liner, brushed through my eyebrows and filled them in a bit more darker than usual with Rimmel's eye brow pencil. I then applied a bit of white shadow from an elf palette into the inner corners, applied two generous coats of Maybelline's Great Lash mascara after curling my lashes and then concealed my under eyes with YSL's Touche Eclat.

To prime my face I used Benefit's Porefessional, then I applied Mica Bella's mineral powder foundation, I then contoured with Dior's bronzer, I highlighted and contoured my nose with Sleek's Face Form kit in Medium and then applied Benefit's Dallas to the apples of my cheeks.

For lips I used a beautiful, pink Chanel lipstick.

The perfume I used is one of my all time favourites, and something I only like to wear for special occasions or night outs (so...not often ;P ) Thierry Mugler's Alien. It's a musky, deep, heavy scent. I adore his perfumes.

For nails I put on Essie Ballet Slippers, one of my favourite nail polishes. Such a delicate colour.

I love these earrings from Forever 21,  I thought they went really nice with the dress.

I took my beautiful studded clutch from Topshop and I filled it to the brim. Yup. (I can't find the exact one I have, mine has silver studs and cost £40 but the one I linked is basically identical except it has gold studs.)

And here are my 'killer' heels from Office. I didn't fall, guys! That is an accomplishment. I am proud.

I hope you enjoyed this post! To read more about the premiere and to see my outfit click here. I hope you all had a lovely Monday/Tuesday (it's 2.30am, I'm just still so excited and happy so I can't sleep!)

-Kiran xo

FOTD #2

Benefit Dallas Blush - YSL Touche Eclat - Revlon Just Bitten Kissable in Honey - Estee Lauder Eye Shadow Palette - Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - Rimmel Scandal Eyes Kajal - Benefit High Brow Pencil - elf Eyelid Primer in Sheer - Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown

I found my little Estee Lauder eye shadow palette (you know the ones you get in a big gift bag) and decided to use it as I've only ever used it once. So, I made a little bit of an effort on a Monday morning. I don't wear eyes shadow everyday as A. I don't have the time. B. My eyelids get oily so by the end of the day my eye shadow has disappeared (even with primer!). So I tend to wear eye shadow on a night/evening out, but generally Mondays are short days for me so I thought why not? I just applied Honey Drop all over the lid, then applied Cinnamon on the outer corner and dabbed a bit of the ivory box in the inner corner, lined my eyes with a pencil for a softer look and I was rushing out the door (I was a few minutes late to class, whoops).

Thanks for reading, hope you have a lovely week! (And I know, double post today woo! Not woo? Woo for me, woo!)

-Kiran xo

Short Trip Essentials

Oh dear, it's been a week since my last post - but it's not my fault! It was Diwali (an Indian holiday) on Tuesday so my mum and I went up to Yorkshire to celebrate and spend time with my grandparents. Unfortunately there was no Internet there and I was unable to blog or do anything really. But I thought I'd just show you what beauty bits I took with me. I tend to over pack - for everything, even my everyday handbag is super heavy - but everything in there is super necessary, I swear!

A few candles my mum and I lit at midnight in our flat (we spread them out around the flat and it looked super pretty)

Okay so here are the products, and yes I over packed (as usual) - I only went away for a few days and I left the house once.

Bath and Body Works Pink Chiffon Body Cream- Soap and Glory Hand Food - Blixtex Intensive Moisturiser - Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey and Sweetheart - Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch - Sephora Eyelash Curler - YSL Touche Eclat - elf Makeup Remover Pen - Rimmel Scandal Eyes in Black - Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Brown Black - Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - Carmex Cherry Tube - Body Shop Blush - Smashbox Blush in Radiance - Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine - MAC Lipstick in Sunny Seoul - Benetint Lip Balm

First up we have lip products - I love lip products, they are my favourite. As I said, I only went out once so I didn't make much use of all the products here but I got a good use out of the Korres Lip Butter which I had got the morning I had left for Yorkshire so of course I was excited to use it. It is so buttery and it lasts for ages on my lips, leaving them so smooth and soft, I definitely recommend this product to anyone as it's just a wonderful lip balm, you can't go wrong. I used the Blistex every night, of course. I wore the Sunny Seoul when I went to Town and unfortunately neglected the other products.

I like this mascara, it lengthens my barely-there-eye lashes and really darkens them, I don't know if I will repurchase this as I am one to try out ALL the mascaras, but is good and it's super cheap. The elf Makeup Remover Pen is a wonderful product, I actually love it so much - it gets rid of all the mascara that ends up on my eyelids instead of my lashes, whoops, it's just so easy to use and it's great for when I'm in a rush. YSL's Touche Eclat is one of my favourite products ever, yup, it's one that's worth the hype - it really does brighten my under eyes and face, a bit pricey but hey, it's YSL!

I'm a blush girl so I had to bring at least two of my blushes, the first one is a lovely peachy blush from Body Shop (I couldn't find a link to it so I'm not sure if they're discontinued?) and of course I had to take my Smashbox blush in Radiance, it's just such a pretty pink. The brush I use is from Topshop, I've had it for a while - it's not great, but I was in desperate need of a blush brush, saw this and just bought it. I haven't bought a  new one since I got this because it's still in tact and doing the job, but there are much better brushes out there.

To moisturise after a shower I just threw in one of my Bath and Body Works creams, they're easier to carry than tubs so they're convenient to travel with. I like the B&BW's creams, they're really moisturising but they are heavily scented which can sometimes be overwhelming. Of course, I couldn't leave the house without Soap and Glory's Hand Food - my favourite hand cream ever!

For perfumes, I took my ultimate favourite perfume which is Red Jeans by Versace - it is my signature scent. I also took one of my Thierry Mugler perfumes, the lucky one was Angel which is a beautiful, musky scent as all Thierry Mugler perfumes are, but this one is more wearable for the day time.

Well, that was a bit of a long post - I didn't even mention my hair care stuff and skin care products! Well, anyway, I do think it is time for me to stop rambling on, thank you for reading! I hope you all had a lovely week and have a lovely weekend!

-Kiran xo

Autumn/Winter Lip Colours

I think Autumn/Winter is my favourite time of year when it comes to make up and fashion. The colours are beautiful and don't even get me started on the cute sweaters and chunky cardigans. In Autumn/Winter I like to get out the bold lip colours that I couldn't get away with in the day time in Spring/Summer. So, I have got together my favourite lip colours for this time of year, note: some you can totally wear in Spring/Summer.

elf Studio Matte Lip Colour in Praline - Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush - Illamasqua Lipstick in Magnetism - Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick in 022 - Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in Vibrant Coral - elf Mineral Lipstick in Rich Raspberry

This is a nice matte colour from the elf's studio collection. It glides on just as you would expect a matte colour would, it is a little drying on the lips so I suggest putting on lip balm a few minutes before you apply this. 

Next up is one of my favourite products at the moment, Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush (that's always a mouthful). You just glide this on your lips and it instantly adds colour to your lips which lasts for a good amount of time and it also moisturises your lips. If you haven't tried out these balm stains yet I definitely suggest you do! And this colour if perfect for this time of year.

This beautiful lipstick from Illamasqua is in the shade Magnetism, I got it when I went to the Illamasqua store for one of their pop in beauty school sessions. It was my first time trying out such a bold colour and I instantly fell in love with it and I just had to buy it. The lipstick quality is wonderful and I just can't get enough of this colour.

This beautiful colour is Vibrant Coral from Kate Moss' collection for Rimmel. It's a matte colour but (and I love this) it does not feel matte on your lips at all - it actually feels so moisturising! I was pleasantly surprised (and I quite like the smell of them too). The packaging is super cute too.

This is another lipstick from Kate Moss' collection for Rimmel but not in the matte collection. It's a very pretty, wearable red. 

Next up is another elf product but this is from their mineral collection. This is super soft and feels really nice on the lips. It's a pretty colour and really wearable for everyday. 

So these are my favourite colours for the Autumn/Winter months, this is not to say these are the only colours I wear at this time of year, oh no, I am still a pinky/coral girl ;)

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Kiran xo