Summer Makeup Routine - Reviews and Swatches

The weather has clearly had an effect on my makeup choices, and without realising, I've changed my taupes and berries for bronzes and peaches! So, here's what I've been wearing over the last month or so:

I've been starting off using my MUA Cover & Conceal Concealer in Fair. I've actually been using this for about 6 months, and for £1.50, think it's pretty good! It has a light to medium coverage, and a dewy finish.

I've then been using my Look Beauty Mattify Me Powder to control any shine. I'm not fussy when it comes to powders; this is just the one I'm using up at the moment!

For brows, I use my trusty ELF Eyebrow Kit in Medium. In the Winter, I use the wax because it's darker, but in the Summer, I use the powder, which is lighter and warmer in tone.

To add some definition to my lower lash line, I've been using Maybelline's Colour Tattoo Eyeshadow in On and On Bronze. When it's colder, I tend to gravitate towards taupes and dark browns, but I've been loving this for the warmer months. 

Rimmel's Scandaleyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Nude is what I've been using on my waterline. This just brightens and makes my eyes appear bigger.

Then, I've been using my new favourite mascara - Maybelline's Rocket. I love every Maybelline mascara I've tried, and this is no exception. It does everything a mascara should without clumping a single bit. Great stuff.

I've used the flash for this photo so you can see the shades better! I like to change up my blush a little, and these are the three I've been using the most recently. 

NYX's Cream Blush in Natural is an all time favourite, whatever the weather. 

Dainty Doll's Powder Blush in You Are My Sunshine is a peachy pink with fine gold shimmer running through it (super pretty), 

and MUA's Lolly Powder Blush has been my go to orange blusher. 

Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar in Juicy Peach, Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach, Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Fuchsia-ristic, MUA Power Pout in Justify, Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Coral Tonic, Collection (2000) Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in Fairy Cake, and Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom.

Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar in Juicy Peach, Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach, Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Fuchsia-ristic, MUA Power Pout in Justify, Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Coral Tonic, Collection (2000) Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in Fairy Cake, and Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom.

As you can see, I change my lip products up a lot more frequently! And you can also see I'm going through a peach/coral phase. How pretty are they all? I'm going to have some individual posts on a few of these because they deserve some attention!



So, that's the makeup I'm currently wearing. I have swatches of the blushes, Colour Tattoo, and Scandaleyes eyeliner on my blog already, so just search for them in the search bar to your left :)

We'll miss you, Puddin'

Our beautiful, little Puddin' died yesterday. A police officer knocked on the door asking if she was our cat down by the road. She was by our sides during tea an hour earlier, not even that. Puddin' will have been 5 next week, on the 23rd July. She was a timid little kitty, but very affectionate when other people weren't around. You couldn't read a book without her nudging you! And she was just as affectionate to the dogs, sticking her head into Buddy's ears and flub whenever she could. Her heavy breathing always made us smile (after we knew there wasn't a creep under our beds! She was that loud), and she also made Mysti's days (one of our other cats; her auntie) by allowing her to use her as a pillow. You couldn't blame Mysti, though, because Puddin' was a fluffy and tubby little thing. 

It looks like her death was quick, which is one thing to be thankful for, if we can even be thankful for anything in this situation. We're going to miss her so much. Rest in Peace, Puddin'.

Ciaté Nail Polish in Hoopla

Natural lighting, flash. 

My phone camera was better at capturing the shade of this polish, so sorry the quality isn't the best!

I have't worn a pink in ages! Hoopla is a light, peachy pink. It's very delicate and girly; just what I was in the mood for. I'm wearing 3 coats in the photos above, which isn't bad, but it's not outstanding, either. I know some people don't like applying more than 2 coats, but I personally don't mind going up to 3 because I keep my polish on for a week, making the extra painting time worth it. It's when we get to 4 coats that I have a problem! I don't have anything like this in my collection. The closest shade I have is Seventeen's Pink Lemonade, but that's a little more orange. I still wouldn't pay £9 for it, though, because I don't like spending over £5 on a nail polish. However, for around £3, I'm glad this was one of my Ciaté sale picks!

Do you have any peachy pink polish recommendations?

Ciaté Nail Polishes

On the 30th June, Ciaté were offering 50% off their nail polishes, and there was a 30% off and free delivery code floating around, too. This made each polish around £3.15 instead of £9, so I couldn't resist! I hadn't actually heard anything about it until I saw a tweet from the brand in the afternoon. I soon let my Twitter followers know, though, because I know a lot of them are polish addicts like myself! I know there was the whole Ciaté vs. blogger caviar trademark situation last year, but it didn't involve me or stop me from liking the shades they offer. So, from left to right, I chose Big Yellow Taxi, Pepperminty, Fun Fair, and Hoopla. I have so many more lilac and pink polishes compared to yellow and mint ones, so was surprised to find I don't actually have any dupes for Fun Fair or Hoopla. Fun Fair looks like your typical lavender in the photos, but it's more pink than my others. I swatched each shade earlier, and they all took 2 coats. I can see myself adding a 3rd if my application isn't the best, though. 

They took 10 days to dispatch, which isn't acceptable in my eyes. They told me it was because of the sale, which I can understand if there was a slight delay, but not 10 days long! Other popular brands/online shops manage to dispatch orders within, at most, 5 days when they have sales on. The Ciaté one was a one off sale, I'll give you that, but I still wasn't pleased. It arrived quickly once it had been dispatched, though. Probably because it wasn't with Royal Mail! I'm also glad they weren't carried with Royal Mail because my postman has the tendency to drop my packages through the porch window and onto the concrete floor.

I'm going to try and slow down on the nail polish buying front now because my collection is getting rather large! And I don't think I can even get rid of any because I love them all.

Did you take advantage of this sale?

Accessorize Sale Haul

Accessorize currently have a sale on, and I couldn't resist having a look! Surprisingly, I didn't pick up any jewellery. It all looked nice collectively, but nothing stood out individually. The first thing I bought was the coral wallet, which was £8.50 down from £17. To be honest, I bought this in the moment! I'm currently using a purse I'm very happy with, so won't be using this for a while. Still, it'll come in handy one day! Or make a nice present. The next two items were things I'd previously had my eye on, so I'm glad I spotted them at 50% off. The owl keyring was £2.50 down from £5, and the fox purse was £4 down from £8. I bought two owl keyrings; one for me, and one for an extra present. They're so cute! The fox purse may also be a present, but I'm not sure yet. I think both would make nice gifts in a woodland themed present box. I then treated myself to some nice underwear because most of mine is boring and from multi packs. The blue pair were £3.50 down from £7, the black lace pair were £3 down from £6, and the black with pink hearts pair were £2 down from £4.

Have you bought anything from the Accessorize sale?

Sinful Colours Hottie

Natural lighting

Flash

I'd been wearing Astor's nail polish in 70 for 6 days (post here), so decided to spruce it up with my most recent Sinful Colours nail polish in Hottie. I'm wearing 2 coats of Hottie over 70 in the photos above, and cannot stop staring at my nails! It looks so much better in real life, too. Hottie is a sheer, blue based glitter with different sized blue, green, silver, gold, and bronze/purple particles, and I'm pretty sure they're holographic! I've been staring at my nails and the bottle for ages now, and I think they are, but I haven't seen others describe them as so. I think it's one to be worn as a topcoat rather than on its own. As you can see, it looks amazing over cobalt blues! And most blues, I'd imagine. I tried it over a turquoise earlier and that also looked beautiful.

What do you think of this £1.99 glitter? Have you tried it?

Recent Purchases - Republic, Primark, Bourjois and More

I went in town yesterday, ice packs in hand (literally), and bought a few bits that I thought I'd show you!

I bought this top from Republic for £5, down from £18. I'd seen it in there a few times, but could never be bothered to try it on, then decided to just do so yesterday. It's such a pretty top, but it's difficult to get on, and impossible to get off by yourself. I had to get my sister to pull it off over my head! If she wasn't there, I'd have been stuck. Still, for £5, I think it's worth it. I'm going to take the white vest top from underneath out and wear my own because it's a bit baggy, but I'm very happy with the overlay.

The weather must have been affecting my choices in Primark! I bought two more vest tops for £2.50 each. I have a load of these, and wear them under most of my tops to avoid displaying my bra. I also bought some sunglasses for £2.50. This purchase is a big deal for me because I think I look stupid in sunglasses. These, however, don't look too bad! I then bought two pairs of shorts for £4 each. I'm planning to wear these to the beach because I like to keep my bottom and crotch covered!

Boots currently have a 'buy one get one half price' offer going on, and this happened...

I picked up one of the new Bourjois Colour Boost lip crayons in Peach on the Beach for £7.99. It's a beautiful shade! Similar to MUA's Justify. Justify looks like a shocking orange in the packaging, but on the lips it's a pinky peachy shade. I tried taking photos of them together, but they look very different on camera (natural or flash!). I then picked up Sinful Colours' Hottie, which is just stunning. It's a dense, blue based holographic glitter. One coat over a blue polish looks amazing! This is originally £1.99. I also bought the Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint in Yellow for £3.99. I'd been searching for this for a while, but my local Boots messed up and had the limited edition green shade instead, which is meant to be exclusive to Superdrug. I've been loving yellows lately, so can't wait to wear this! Lastly, I bought Seventeen's Pink Lemonade nail polish (originally £2.99). I've been meaning to pick this up for years, but never did for some reason! It's a nice pinky, slightly peach, shade.

Last night I also bought some items from a blog sale, and can't wait for them to arrive! I bought China Glaze's Tinsel Town for £1, Essie's Where's My Chauffeur for £2.50, and Sleek's Life's A Peach blush for £1.

I'm also waiting on Ciate and Accessorize sale orders, so expect to see them soon!