Review: Latest In Beauty - The Capital FM Beauty Box

Latest In Beauty have teamed up with London's Capital FM and released a filled to the brim box of beauty goodies for a bargain price.  Let's take a closer look!

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The Concealer Stash

If there's one single makeup item that I absolutely can't live without, it's concealer.  It can hide a multitude of sins if you've been burning the candle at both ends, and it can give you a big confidence boost if your skin isn't quite looking its best for whatever reason.

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January Empties / Products I've Used Up

Here's to the first Empties post of 2014.  I'm really happy with how many products I've managed to finish up last month, though there are quite a few favourites amongst this little lot that I'm sad to see go!

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My Favourite Winter Lip Colours

This has been the first Autumn/Winter where I've really gone all out and experimented with lots of different lip colours.  I'm certainly not the bravest or most confident person though, so I wanted to do a post on the lip products which have helped to ease me out of my usually neutral- coloured comfort zone and into the more berry hued, darker pinks and red shades typically associated with this season.

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My Favourite Highlighters

Highlighters can be strange things.  Pick the wrong one, and you could have a glittery, discoball mess gracing the tops of your cheekbones.  But pick the right one, and your face can (almost) completely transform into that of some mystical goddess.  So it's time I sung the praises of the ones that I love and cherish in my make-up collection.

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Budget Beauty: Collection Illuminating Touch Concealer Pen in Natural

Collection Illuminating Touch Concealer Pen in Natural / 2 (£4.99, link)

It seems like there are a million and one highstreet/drugstore versions of the much loved Touche Eclat by YSL on the market, and with good reason.  A brightening concealer is an essential, everyday make-up item for me, and they can work all sorts of wonderful magic tricks on the face if used correctly.  I've tried out a lot in the past, but a new one I'm playing with at the moment is Collection's Illuminating Touch Concealer Pen. 

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Tag: I Love Drugstore / Highstreet Make-Up

I spotted this tag over on Beth's blog recently and thought it would be a great idea to do it.  I have to admit that over the last few months, my tastes have been veering towards more high-end make-up, so I hope this tag inspires me to rekindle my love for all things highstreet/drugstore.  There are a lot of beauty bargains to be had out there! 

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Tag: 10 Products I Would Repurchase

There have been some good tags doing the rounds on the blogosphere once again, and this one has been a recent favourite mine to read.  These are the 10 products that I would repurchase straight away if they randomly decided to disappear one day!  It was very difficult to pick just 10 of course, so all of these naturally fall into that coveted Holy Grail pile for me and represent just a handful of the insane amount of products that I use on a regular basis.  I was tagged by CSI Beauty and I tag any #bbloggers who are reading this and fancy doing it!

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What's in my Make-Up Travel Bag?

I've packed all of the above in my Make-Up Travel Bag.  A lot of these are old trusted favourites as well as a few new things:-

Brows: A La Carte Brow Ink in Taupe
Eyes: Urban Decay Naked Palette, UDPP, Urban Decay Double Eyeliner with Zero and Whiskey, Talika Lipocils Expert, Blink & Go Long Lasting Mascara in Black.
Face: bareMinerals Original Foundation with SPF 15 in Medium Beige, Benefit The POREfessional Primer, Everyday Minerals Mint Color Corrector, Bourjois Healthy Mix Correcting Concealer in 52, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in 3 Medium, The Body Shop Lightening Touch Pen in 03, Barry M Translucent Powder.
Cheeks & contour: Bourjois 'chocolate' Bronzer in 52, MAC Sheertone Blush in Coygirl
Lips: Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Plum, MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Shygirl, Clinique Superbalm Moisturising Gloss in Grapefruit.

And my brushes ( don't worry, all of these were deep cleaned yesterday and only used again this morning!).  I've packed them into the Real Techniques holder that came with the Core Collection, which is so useful:-

From L-R: Ecotools Blush Brush, Everyday Minerals Long Handled Kabuki*, Everyday Minerals Dome Blush Brush*, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Brush, Everyday Minerals Concealer Brush, Real Techniques Contour Brush, Real Techniques Detailer Brush, Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

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*PR samples

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What's in my make-up travel bag?

Keeping my travel make-up fairly simple(ish!) and packing all of the above:-

Brows: Korres Eyebrow Pencil in 1 Dark Shade
Eyes: Benefit Lemon Aid, Urban Decay Primer Potion, Urban Decay Naked Palette, Urban Decay Double Eyeliner with Zero and Whiskey, The Body Shop Super Volume Mascara.
Face: Witch Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer, MyFace MyMix Foundation in Medium 02, The Body Shop Vitamin E Tinted Moisture Lotion, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealers in 2 Light and 3 Medium, Everyday Minerals Mint Colour Corrector, The Body Shop Lightening Touch Pen in 03, Benefit High Beam, Witch Pressed Powder.
Cheeks & contour: The Balm Fratboy Blush, MAC Eversun Beauty Powder Blush, Benefit Hoola bronzer
Lips: Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in 050 Berry Smoothie, Diego Dalla Palma Lipstick in 42, Barry M Lipgloss Wand in Toffee, Elf Conditioning Lip Balm with SPF 15 in Nice and Natural.





Onto brushes (all of which will obviously be cleaned beforehand! from L-R):-
Joliebox Concealer Brush, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Brush (that came with the Naked Palette), Models Own Eye Blending Brush, Avon Eyeshadow Brush, Elf Complexion Brush, Everyday Minerals Angled Contour Brush, Ecotools Blush Brush, Everyday Minerals Kabuki Brush, Elf Fan Brush, The Body Shop Eyelash Curlers.

Only last thing to pack beauty-wise other than the bigger stuff like straightners and hairdryer etc, are nail polishes, will probably take two or three with me I think.

Are there any amazing Japanese beauty brands I should be looking for?

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Tag: 7 Beauty Sins

I've seen this tag on LucyLou's blog doing the rounds recently and thought it would be fun to give it a go before the weekend begins.

(1) GREED: What is your most expensive beauty item? And your most inexpensive?




I don't really buy a lot of super-expensive make-up myself, so what I have in my collection were mostly gifts. The most expensive beauty item I remember purchasing myself was the Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland Palette which I paid far too much for from eBay as it sold out so fast. I love it though and it always cheers me up when I open it.



As far as cheaper products go, I'd pick anything from ELF, especially the bits and pieces I've managed to pick up in their 50% off sale.

(2) WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with?



I have a serious love/hate thing going on with loose mineral eyeshadows (ones pictured above are from Everyday Minerals). I almost always use pressed eyeshadows because I find loose ones a little messy to use sometimes, but when I do use them, I always want to use them more. Same goes for my MAC pigments.

(3) GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products?



No surprises that these are all lip products! Lanolips Lemon Aid is so yummy and sweet tasting, as is Barry M's Toffee Lip Gloss Wand which tastes and smells EXACTLY like it's namesake. And of course, I couldn't forget to mention my favourite Lush Sweet Lips Scrub which is made from sugar and flavoured with chocolate and vanilla.

(4) SLOTH: What beauty products do you neglect due to laziness?



Highlighters definitely (above: The Body Show Warm Glow Baked Bronzer which I use as a highlight mainly as it's quite shimmery, and Benefit's High Beam). If I'm in a rush or just can't be bothered, then these will be omitted from my make-up routine and left in their drawers.

(5) PRIDE: Which beauty products give you the most self-confidence?



Bronzers, blushes and a good concealer! If I have those three with me, then I'm feeling and looking my best. (above: Benefit's Hoola Bronzer, The Balm's Fratboy Blush and Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection Concealer)

(6) LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in a partner?
A good sense of humour is a must, someone who can make me smile will always be a winner in my books! Someone who stands up for what they believe in and keeps up to date with current affairs is also cool because I talk about politics and the news far too much. Must like animals, especially dogs, and having a beard, tattoos and a Scottish accent would be perfect! :D

(7) ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as gifts / or are you wishing for currently?



My current wishlist looks like a bit like this: Lush P.S I Love You Giftset, Neom Mini Bath Oils Set, a set of Sigma brushes, the biggest bottle of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Use Dry Oil that I can find, Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (I know I don't need this but look, it's pretty!) and Daniel Sandler's Watercolour Blush in POP.

Let me know if you do this tag and have a great weekend everyone :)

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Budget Beauty: Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

When it comes to the world of beauty blogging, whether you're a blogger yourself or an avid reader (or both!), there are times when you will come across the same products over and over again. From much loved classics such as Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish to the new hyped 'must-have', like Revlon Lip Butters, there are just some products that will always be talked about. The main reason is that these items are usually Good. In fact, they're quite often Very Good. Case in point, Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection Concealer. You've probably seen this a million times before, you probably already have it in your make-up bag and use it every day. This concealer is like a legendary holy grail item for most women, it's that good.

So when I used up my Witch Concealer Stick recently, the natural step seemed to be to acquire this holy concealer. Unlike most coveted beauty items, these concealers are purse-friendly and retail at a most bargain worthy £4.19. I swatched them in the shop and decided to get 02 Light and 03 Medium.



Medium suits me perfectly for concealing blemishes and Light works well as an undereye concealer (if used extremely sparingly and blended in straight away. I'd say that these are definitely more suited for blemishes only in my opinion). The concealers have a sponge tip applicator and due to the thick formula, you only need a teeny tiny amount to cover with. They blend into the skin really well and I was literally amazed by how well they conceal, I completely understand the hype now! As for wear, they promise up to 16 hours which I haven't put to the test yet, but so far, I've been wearing it for 9 and a bit hours and it hasn't budged once. If you haven't tried Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection concealers yet and you're in the market to get a new concealer, just buy this. I don't think I'll ever go back to anything else now!

Which concealers do you use?

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