✮ ✮ The Make-Up Brushes I Couldn't Live Without ✮ ✮

Obviously, I could live without make-up brushes but these are the ones I'd rather not live without. 

 Face Brushes

Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Buffing Brush (part of the Core Collection) £21.99 ~ I'm sure you've all heard plenty of people say how much they love this brush but it is truly amazing for creating a flawlessly blended base due to the super-smooth synthetic bristles. I 100% recommend the 'Real Techniques Core Collection' which this brush is a part of along with four other brushes (3 of which are featured here!) so you get amazing quality for the money.

Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Contour Brush (part of the Core Collection) £21.99 ~ Another amazing brush for the Core Collection. This brush is the best I've ever used for contouring, cream blush and cream highlight. The small and tapered brush makes for easy application and the synthetic bristles work amazingly well with cream products. The most versatile brush I own, I also sometimes use it to powder with if I don't want a completely matte face.

Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Pointed Foundation Brush (part of the Core Collection) £21.99 ~ A lot of people say they don't find much use for this brush for foundation as it is a very small and pointed, classic foundation brush but I love it. Again the synthetic brushes make blending easy-peasy and the pointed end to the brush makes it easy to blend around the nose, chin etc. I use this when I want a thicker application of foundation, I love this brush as much as the buffing brush. It's also a great brush for concealer.

Sigma Precision Angled P84 Brush £11.99/$14 ~ From the ever so popular Sigmax range from Sigma Beauty this brush is amazing for blending concealer. The brush is dense which makes for effortless buffing/blending of concealer and the angled point makes it easy to apply around the eyes, the nose and chin area. Amazing quality, as are all of the Sigma brushes and at a really good price. I really need to try more of the Sigmax range!

Ecotools Bamboo Blush Brush £7.99 ~ I've had this brush for at least 2 years and it is in as good condition as some of my brand new brushes. The quality of this brush, and any of the Ecotools brushes are amazing for the price, super soft and no shedding with a sturdy handle. Perfect size and shape for applying blush in one sweep. 

No7 Brow and Lash Brush ~ Just found out that this particular brush is discontinued *sigh* but  you can get these kinds of brushes anywhere and I recommend you do. This brushes and shapes my brows like nothing else, no idea how my brows survived without this, and also helps brush out any clumps after applying mascara, especially on the lower lash.

Eye

E.l.f Studio Angled Eye Liner Brush £3.50 ~ This is my favorite brush for applying gel liner. The small brush makes for easy application of product and can be used to create a thinner or thicker line if desired which is why I love it because most brushes applying liner far too thickly.

Crown IB108 Oval Shadow Brush £3.57 ~ I love this brush for quickly sweeping shadow over my eyelids for early school mornings or when I'm in a rush. It was very cheap and I am very impressed with the quality, soft, dense and no shedding.

No7 Eyeshadow Blend and Contour £7.25 ~ I love this brush because it's really soft and is great for applying and blending shadows. Very cheap with a No7 voucher although I do find that this brush has shed very badly. 

Sigma Small Tapered Blending E45 £7.99/$9 ~ I looove the shape of this brush. It makes applying a crease colour to my lid so easy and effortless and the tapered point ensures a clean line. Also very good at blending and very nice quality. Although, it can be a little scratchy on my eye lid but I am willing to endure that for the shape and results of this brush!

E.l.f Smudge Brush £1.50 ~ Perfect shape for applying and blending shadow on the bottom and top lash line. Very nice quality for such a cheap price.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it wasn't too long and too much to read.
What are some of your favorite all time make-up brushes? I'm on the look-out for some new ones :)

'Til Next Time,
Carys xox




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✼ Face of the day/Outfit of the day ~ Casual Fancy Dress ✼

Hello everyone. 

I haven't done a fotd post in a while and I liked how my make-up looked yesterday evening so I thought I'd do a post. Nothing majorly special but I really enjoy reading and writing these posts. 

Yesterday evening I went to my friend Rachel's house with several others for a little drink, catch up and we also dressed up. I was tiger lily/indian/pocohontis, not a very good one but it was very last minute, I kind-of wish I drew stripes on my face now. I was going to be French (I had a striped t-shirt, red neck tie and beret at the ready!) but changed my mind last minute as I really wanted to wear a dress as I rarely do. It was a lot of fun, I usually hate fancy dress but I can't wait to do it again soon. 

River Island Dress and Feathers

Excuse the "Carys smells bad".. blame my little sister

 Face

Benefit The Porefessional Primer

Benefit That Gal Brightening Primer

Maybelline Lumi-Touch Concealer

Collection Lasting Perfection 16-Hour Wear Concealer

Borjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

Collection 2000 Fix Me Up Spray

Benefit Hoola Boxed Powder

Jemma Kidd Make-up School Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in Iced Gold

MAC Sheertone Blush in Peaches

Eyes/Brows

Urban Decay Naked Eye-Shadow & MAC's Cork Eye-Shadow (brows)

MUA Clear Mascara

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoo in On-and-On Bronze

Urban Decay Naked Palette (Virgin, Half Baked, Buck, Smog)

MUA Eye Shadow in Shade 12 Pearl & Shade 16 Matte

MAC Fluidline in Dip Down

Benefit Bad Gal Mascara 

Rimmel Scandal-Eyes Show Off Mascara

Lips

Nivea Pure & Natural Milk & Honey Lip Balm

Revlon Colour Burst Lipstick in shade 075 Peach

Soo, a lot of make-up but I really liked how it looked. I really like a bronzey eye on me because it makes my blue eyes stand out. The Collection Fix Me Up Spray held everything on all night, and kept my make-up looking very good indeed. I was very impressed. Review soon! Now for a few pictures from the night.

Pin-Up and Greek Goddess

Mexicaaaan

Haha my boyfriend was an army man but he isn't in his camo here and me looking over-enthusiastic!

I hope you enjoyed this personal/beauty post. I'd love to hear if you'd like to see more Face of the Day style posts.

'Til Next Time,

Carys xox

♡ ♡ Current Top Cheek Products for Summer ♡ ♡

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France Haul!

This is not everything I've bought to go to France.. It's just some stuff I picked up when I went shopping in Cardiff with my mum last week. I got quite a few stuff and what I got I really like etc. I hope you enjoy! :-)

Sheer shirt in the colour 'Cinnamon' - £10

 Cropped bird printed sleeveless shirt -  £7 - Primark

A close up of the print.. I really like it! :-)

Pineapple Print 'Bikini bag' - £1.50
Coral and tan satchel style bag - £7 - both Primark

Black and brown large satchel style bag - £9 - Primark

Peach patterned flats - £6 - Primark

'Leather' lilac/pink over-sized purse - was down from £3 to £1 - Primark
Aztec Print Purse - £1 from £2.50 - Primark

Lychee Blossom Body Mist - £3.50 - The Body Shop
Tea Tree Oil Hand Cleanse Gel - £1.50 - The Body Shop

Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel - £10.50 - Boots

Bright pink, black and white striped tank top - £8  in sale - Topshop

Aztec printed feather belted dress - £25 - River Island

(left to right) Feather and Rose earrings - £1 - PrimarkSilver Cross earrings, Gold, rectangle earrings, silver "diamond" style earrings - £3.50 in sale - Topshop

Dinosaur Tee - £20 - Tee and Cake @ Topshop 

I also bought some other stuff but the photo's weren't too good. I bought some pastel coloured bracelets from Primark, Sleek Blush in Pixie Pink (Blog post in more detail here) and two pairs of sun glasses from Primark. I had a great time shopping and I picked up some cute stuff and I'm almost set for France :-)
Have a nice day/evening guys!
Carys,xoxo

Products I'm loving right now!

Thought I'd do a post on what beauty products I'm in love with right now, since I've found some really amazing things over the past few weeks that I thought I should share with you!

The first product is the 'Clarins Daily Energizing Cleanser':

This is probably my favourite product I've discovered this month! I've never bought anything from Clarins before, but I was shopping with one of my friends at Boots when they were promoting the 'Daily Energizers' range and we got give samples.. we got give sample sizes of the daily energizing cleanser, the daily energizing wake up booster and the daily energizing gel. I was especially exctied to hear that the range was targeted at 'younger skin' and 'radiance boosting'.. because that's exactly what I needed for my skin! I enjoyed all of the products I got given and I'm definitely planning on buying some more from this range.. But the cleanser stood out to me. For a start the smell is gorgeous. It's very fresh, and 'clean' smelling.. it's addicting! It lathers up extremely well, so you only need the tiniest amount to clean your whole face, which is great because I know it's going to last me a while.. but the biggest reason why I love this product is because it leaves my skin feeling amazing! My skin doesn't feel dry after I've cleansed it, it feels smooth, clean and moisturised. It leaves my complexion radiate and brighter after the first use, and it clears my skin up so I don't have to deal with stressful breakouts! It's £10.50 for 75ml, which I think is very reasonable considering how fantastic the product is. It's safe to say I am completely in love with this product! :-)

What it says on the box:  

The next product is a Sleek Blush in 'Pixie Pink':

(photo's taken in natural light)

I really can't get enough of this blush! As you can see it's a rather bright, true pink.. with a slight lilac undertone. The picture of the blush is pretty true to colour. I love this blush because you can wear it very sheer so it's sutible for every day, but you can then build it up for a more special occasion. It's a very versatile product. I also love the formula. The pigmentation is great, and it blends naturally on my skin. I haven't stopped wearing this blush since I got it and at £4.29 I really need to invest in some more! :-)

My last product is the 'One-by-One Volum' Express Mascara' by Maybelline New York

I've always been a fan of the Maybelline mascara's but this one is definitely my favourite! Unlike their other mascara's this one does not clump..at all. It separates my lashes very well, and no matter how many layers I apply.. it refuses to clump.It also does not collect under my eyes, which I find happens a lot with mascara's I try. I was very impressed with this product, that I've re-purchased, which doesn't happen to often when it comes to mascara's. I find it very comparable to 'Volume Million Lashes' by L'Oreal but at a much cheaper price! The usual price of this product is £8.49 but they have an offer at boots right now where you can save £2 on selected Maybelline products.. so you can pick this up at £6.49, which is a steal!

Another thing I've been loving recently, is curling my lashes. I think it makes such a big difference to how my eyes look, and it elongates my lashes, making my eyes seem wider, and in turn I look more awake. I've been using a pair from Primark which were just £1.. they do the job well, and you can't really go wrong for the price :-) 

Carys xoxo