Secret Beauty Blog -

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 …

I’ve never done a ‘monthly favourites’ post as I don’t feel liking a product for such a small amount of time could count it as a favourite, but these products have been getting alot of love from me and are my daily staples.

First up is the Purity Regenerating Overnight Moistusier – my skin is only used to light, mattifying moisturisers so when I fed it this is drunk it right up! It leaves my skin so soft and in the morning my complextion looks even and plump. I love the whole Purity range but this is definately my favourite.
Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions foundation – I’ve used this non-stop since I got it a few months ago, it provides amazing coverage, doesn’t break me out and lasts all day. I’m nearly out and it’s a tad too dark now it’s Winter so I think I’ll get the lighter shade next time. Highly recommended!

Famous Dave’s Tanning Mousse – the best fake tan ever! It sinks in with no residue, dries super quick, doesn’t smell AT ALL and leaves you with a gorgeous, natural sun kissed colour. What’s not to love? It puts St Tropez & Fake Bake to SHAME.

ELF Translucent Matifying …

It’s no secret I’m not a fan of ‘mannequin hands’ or the ‘griege’ trend that dominated fashionistas fingers during summer/autumn, the neutral tones seem to highlight every flaw on my hands and make my skintone look horrid. My skin is very sensitive to redness etc. and I’m always covered in at least 3 cat scratches (!) but going through my polish collection recently I found this gorgeous muted taupe which I didn’t even know I had. Putting it on, I hated it, but with a quick coat of Barry M’s Instant Nail Effects it gave the polish a really interesting edge and I really like it.

From the ELF core line, the polish is just £1.50 and is a fabulous ‘my nails but better’  shade which would also be perfect for a french mani. I find the ELF polishes really good quality for the money, I hear complaints of dodgy brushes and streaky forumlas but I own 13 of them and have never encountered these problems.
What do you think, do you do naked nails?

I really like deep, autumnal shades of purple and I think the matte topcoat gives it a modern twist.

I find ELF polishes apply perfectly, I like the chunky lid and long brush. For £1.50 you really can’t compain, they knock socks off other cheap polishes (ahem, Collection 2000 Hot Colours!) and the new autumn shades are really quite lovely.
The Matte Finisher lasted a good 4 days before the tipwear was really noticable, this pic was taken on day 2 and you can already see some slight tips coming through. It didn’t chip or flake like I’ve heard other matte topcoats/polishes do but this is the only matte topcoat I’ve ever used so I can’t compare. The matte finish got slightly shinier as the days wore on, but this can’t be helped.
Overall – very impressed. I can’t wait to experiment the topcoat with my other polishes!
£1.50 from ELF

I LOVE ELF nail polish! Such fantastic quality for just £1.50, and there’s always some sort of offer floating around (join their Facebook page for updates) making everything even better value. I saw the new Autumn Collection polishes on Kim’s blog and placed an order straight away, they look gorgeous!

L-R Cranberry – Purple Pleaser – Red Velvet – Rosy Raisin
This color-lock formula with chip resistant shield gives long lasting nail color with high shine. The aerodynamic bristle design glides color on flawlessly, while the quick dry formula gives perfect application every time. Key nutrients give nails that natural shine, infused with Vitamin E for stronger, healthier nails.
Our formula is FREE of: Toluene, Formaldehyde, and Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP).
I also picked up the new matte topcoat

Can’t wait to try them all, if theres a colour you would like to see first please let me know by leaving a little comment!
All polishes are £1.50 from ELF

Just a quickie (cheeky) about a few beauty steals floating about that some of you might not know about…
ELF (eyeslipsface) are currently offering ALL of their £1.50 range eye products at just a pound! Offer ends midnight this sunday, enter EYE1UK at the checkout

FrontCover is ALL half price at Boots & Boots.com at the moment, so if like me you have been umming & ahhing over the Mermaid Dreams paltte now is the time to snap it up!

And Illamasqua will be hosting a FANTASTIC ‘make up amnesty’ where you can trade in ANY item of make up from ANY brand and get 25% off an Illamasqua product! Best bit? You can take in unlimited items AND they can be smashed, broken or empty and you will still get the discount. I think this is an amazing deal, and typical of quirky Illamasqua to hold such an event. Miss Vexinthecity has the low down on it, read her post here.
The ‘amnesty’ starts on 17th-31st July at selected Selfridges.

For a natural look I sure used alot of stuff!

I wanted to keep it simple, and focus on my skin more than anything. I love the HD powder, it really adds that finishing touch. As my skin is oily, I used the matifying powder first and just a quick dusting of the HD powder once I had applied everything else.
For my base I used the ELF Mineral Infused Primer then I used Revlon Colorstay foundation, applied with the ELF Studio flat top kabuki style powder brush, then I used the ELF concealer/highlighter duo under my eyes (I dabbed them both and blended) then I applied the ELF Studio Matifying powder all over using the sponge provided (shock horror!). Then I used the ELF Blush/Bronze duo to slighty contour, as this product is SOO pigmented I used a very light hand! I used my Ms Makeup blusher brush (its quite stiff, which I like for contouring)

For my eyes I primed my lids with the ELF Primer then curled my lashes with the ELF mechanical curler and I used 2 shades from the Sparkle Eyes Beauty Encyclopedia, using the mushroom colour all over my lid then just a touch of …

I’m really on a cosmetics kick at the moment, and its all down to YOU guys! I must admit, I’m not really a ‘brush’ person, I tend to throw on my face using my fingers but after watching a few (hundred) tutorials I think its time I invested in a good set of brushes! I currently use a Ms Makeup blush brush and an Urban Decay eye shadow brush but thats it?! I really want to get a good buffer brush, foundation brush and a few eyeshadow shader/blender brushes to help me create dramatic eye looks. I thought a good place to start would be E.L.F (studio) as they seem to get rave reviews on MUA and at £3.50 a pop wont break the bank (or make my boyfriend give me the lecture!) I’de heard sooo many good things about E.L.F Studio brushes, they are anti-bacterial, hardly shed and are lovely and soft whilst being dense like more expensive brands.
First on my list is the Studio Complexion Brush £3.50. A basic powder brush which could be used for both pressed/loose powder and blusher. A good multi-tasker that has got good reviews, everyone needs one of these, right?

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