Secret Beauty Blog -

… Is only £1!
Whilst shopping in Superdrug for pocket tissues for when hayfever rips my nose apart I found myself browsing the cheap as chips MUA stand. I’ve got a couple of shadows from them and I’m really impressed! The mattes are so-so but the pearl shadows (similar to MAC’s veluxe pearl) is absolutely amazing in terms of pigmentation, lasting power and shade range.

I picked up shade 9, which is this gorgeous shimmering purple.

Swatched with no base, see the gorgeous duo chrome! It really looks stunning in the light, it flashes a gorgeous velvety purple to a lighter almost blue shade. This is easily comparable to a high end shadow, the formulation is buttery soft and blends like a dream.

Worn over NYX white shadow base, and applied with my finger.

I love it! If you have an MUA stand in your local Superdrug these shadows are definitely worth checking out.
£1 from MUA at Superdrug

I have a somewhat emotional attachment to Carolina Herrera 212 fragrances as the original ‘Ice’ variant was one of the first fragrances I ever purchased, I picked it up in the airport on my very first without-the-parents holiday to Greece at the tender age of 16. I absolutely adored it, the packaging was shocking pink and it smelled like a Summer holiday in a bottle. I was also a big fan of  212 Sexy for nights out, the sleek little round bottles were perfect for popping into your handbag and I used to liberally spritz myself on every toilet break, choking out everyone in the cubicles. All the 212 fragrances have this amazing off-musk scent that’s hard to describe yet very unique, and 212 POP! samples the same notes but with a delicate breeze of citrus making it lighter, and perfect for the warmer months.
Housed in funky, faux-ice cube the packaging screams Summer and the bright pink bottles are perfectly cute and girly. I love how the bottles are small and portable, there’s nothing worse then lugging a huge bottle of perfume around with you! If your familiar with the 212 scent this doesn’t fair too far off from …

Described as a “mouth-watering, luscious” scent, Calvin Klein Eternity Moment is an eau de parfum spray that offers a fresh new take on the signature Eternity fragrance for women. The sensual fragrance blends notes of pomegranate, florals and Chinese pink peony blossom to create a fresh, delectable aroma.
I absolutely LOVE Calvin Klein Eternity. Originally launched in 1988 (when I was just a year old!) Eternity has been a best seller ever since and has legions of fans. I really started getting into fragrance aged around 14 and loved strong, vibrant scents that entered the room before you did. Eternity still is one of my favourites, the base note of sandalwood is very prominent and flutters around a dominant mix of musk and floral. I always have a bottle on the go and it never fails to get me compliments, and the odd raised eyebrow when I tell people what it is!
Eternity Moment was launched in 2004 with the ad campaign fronted by Scarlett Johansson. I recently picked up a bottle (unsniffed) for the bargain price of £27.99 (100ml, CheapSmells.com) after reading numerous rave reviews. I wasn’t disappointed when it arrived on my doorstep yesterday morning! Perfect for the warmer …

I’m really not a ‘cleanse-tone-moisturise’ kind of girl when it comes to night time, I like to simply remove my makeup with a face wipe and then wash my face with a face wash. I have to splash my face with water in order to feel clean, and as my face wipe gets rid of the majority of makeup and dirt I feel like my face wash has a better chance at getting deep into my pores for a thorough cleanse. I’ve tried most wipes on the market, from standard chemist brands such as Olay/Simple/Neutrogena to more premium brands such as MAC and when ELF was having a 20% off their Studio range recently I popped these ‘cleansing cloths’ in my basket to see how they faired up.

I was shocked at how moist they are! I wrung one out and my hand was covered in cleanser, I found as they are so moist they really get eye makeup off easily without having to rub or irritate your eyes. With every other wipe (apart from the MAC ones) I had to dab some eye makeup remover into the wipe to cleanse my eyes, but these took off everything with …

How gorgeous is the promo image! I don’t like jelly but I want to eat those cubes…..!
Released this Spring, Clinique Chubby Sticks are a moisturising, tinted balm in a fun chunky pencil applicator. The moisturising formula uses a special blend of decadent butters, oils and antioxidants to help protect and pamper lips with immediate and lasting moisturisation. Infused with Shea Butter, Mango Seed Butter and Jojoba Seed Oil.

Packaged in Clinique’s signature print.

I was sent the shade ‘Graped up’ and although it’s not something I would’ve picked for myself the shade is actually quite stunning teamed with a simple Summer face of mascara and lightly bronzed cheeks. Application is fun and easy, one quick swipe and your lips are drenched in moisture. Whilst it packs a punch with both colour and hydration I don’t feel like my lips are slippery or coated in product, which is quite common with other balms. Whilst it didn’t last very long (3 hours max) I enjoyed re-applying the balm and my lips felt soft and looked plump and glossy. A big plus is when the pencil is running low you simply twist the bottom for more, no messing about with sharpeners and wastage!

Graped-up
Also …

I’m a big fan of Urban Decay eye shadows, they have some really amazing colours and the infamous ‘box of shadows’ palettes are always amazing value with beautiful packaging. Let’s not forget the incredible Naked palette, which is almost always out of stock everywhere. Shadow pencils have become very popular what with NYX stealing the market with their Jumbo Pencils, I have a few myself and nearly always use ‘Milk’ as a shadow base. I was very excited to hear Urban Decay launch these and I managed to get my hands on 2 of them, Midnight Cowboy and Narc. Available in 12 vibrant colours, these would be perfect to take on holiday as there’s no chance of them spilling or breaking and you don’t need any base or brushes.

The shadow pencils are basically just chunkier versions of the infamous 24/7 Glide on eye pencils, they are intensely pigmented and very creamy. One quick swipe across the lid is all that’s needed for a full pop of colour, I simply apply straight from the pencil onto my eye and blend out with my middle finger. Easy! Narc applied beautifully and really did just glide on, I had a bit …

With the UK having been graciously hit with a delicious heatwave recently giving us all a taste of Summer I thought I’ld share my secret weapons on dealing with an oily complexion when the weather gets warmer.

1 – La Roche-Posey Effaclar K
The ultimate shine buster! I use this at night as I find it doesn’t give me enough moisture for the day and can make my foundation apply streaky but it really does it’s job of evening out my skintone and reducing pores and shine. I apply a light layer every night and my skin just gets better and better, combined with drinking more water then usual I have noticed a major difference in my skin since using this product and I can’t recommend it highly enough for us greasy gals!
£13.00 Escentual.com
2 – Clinique City Block Sheer SPF 25
I’ve raved about this product before, but it really helps keep my makeup in place all day and with it’s tinted formula it adds just a touch of coverage. SPF is so important, especially if you have fair skin. I don’t leave my house without this on. See my full review here.
£15.50 Clinique.co.uk
3 – Clarins Skin Illusion SPF 10 foundation
With the recent bout …

I didn’t ever intend to buy any makeup from Topshop, I try to stay away from buying into hype, especially with cheaper products as they rarely live up to my expectations and I have so much of everything I really don’t need anymore to add to the scrap pile! Regardless, I always have a browse when I get wind of a new collection and couldn’t help but notice how similar the Coy lip pencil is to the NARS Bolero velvet matte lip pencil from the new Summer collection. And of course, you never buy just 1 thing, can you?
I wasn’t prepared to pay £4 shipping and luckily I had a day uptown shopping planned and I must say I was really impressed with the layout in the London store! I was expecting one crappy little stand that had been pulled apart and had hardly any stock but it’s like walking into a mini department store, there’s even an SA on hand to help out, and every stand was clean and well stocked. There was tissues and MU remover on hand aswell as several stations with illuminated mirrors with disposable tools so you can try before you buy. I …

It’s no secret I’m a blusher freak, they’re always the key item that gets me excited when I hear of a new collection launch. I own mostly powder formulas, but have recently been branching out into creme blushers with Illamasqua and MAC being my favourites. The only thing I dislike about a cream formula is with the high end brands the pigmentation is so vivid it’s easy to go overboard as you only need the smallest amount. I’ve often ended up with the dreaded ‘Aunt Sally’ cheeks due to being a big too excited and applying too much. When I got the press release for the new Urban Decay Glide-On Cheek Tints I knew I would end up with a few in my collection. These are hands down the easiest blushers to apply, even for a noob like me! They really do glide-on, just as the name suggests and they have such a beautiful sheer consistency you can build them up easily for more colour or simply add a natural flush with a quick swipe of your fingers.

Funky packaging, as you would expect from Urban Decay.Compact and lightweight, the perfect size and shape to slip in your handbag!

Clockwise from …

As a bit of a liner addict, it’s very rare I’m without my cat-flicked lined eyes. Having only embraced the look in the past year or so thanks to sponge-tipped liquid liners I’ve struggled in the past with traditional liner brushes and have never given gel liners a second look, reasoning I wouldn’t be able to get on with the brush application. The only other gel liner I’ve tried is the ELF Studio gel liner and I hated it! It was thick, waxy and went on patchy. I do think liquid liner does require some training, everyone has their own technique and this time last year I wasn’t very confident and had inch-thick flicks that took me about an hour to do, using the ol’ dot to dot trick which is a popular method shown by make-up artists. Illamasqua’s Precision Ink has been my weapon of choice since it’s release, the soft sponge tipped applicator makes lining my eyes a breeze and literally takes a 2 second sweep, the only downside is the price (£17.00) and the fact with everyday use I get through them pretty quick. Whilst browsing my local Boots I came across the Maybelline stand …