Drugstore/High Street Makeup Top Picks December 2012

Clink! 'Tis the holiday season! And what better way to celebrate it with some drugstore/high street makeup top picks? Here I have selected 10 makeup products and if you fancy, add them to your collection for a brand new year's start.

Face Mask for Combination Skin

Since I have combination skin, I find it difficult to look for a face mask that targets my needs properly. I need something that would moisterise without being too greasy for my T-zone, but deep cleanse without drying out my cheeks. To solve this trivia, I've decided to use the 'face zoning' method. 

 

Basically I use a deep cleansing mask on my T-zone to unclog pores and cleanse my skin. At the same time I use a moisterising mask on the rest of my face. I've found that this gives my skin the most benefits all at once. 

Left - Soap and Glory, Right - Origins

For my T-zone, I like to use Soap and Glory's The Fab Pore Facial Peel. It deep cleanses, unclogs pores, and leaves my skin feeling refreshed. As for the dry areas, I'm loving Origin's Drink Up 10 Minute Mask. It moisterises beautifully and leaves my skin soft and glowing.

xx Tiffers

Product Review - Bourjois Délice de Soleil Bronzing Powder

 

A while ago I was desperately looking for a new bronzer as the cold weather has arrived and my skin has become pastier and paler than ever (despite my arms being super tanned as usual). I've always had my eye on this bronzer - I mean, who can pass up a product that looks and smells like a massive chocolate bar? (definitely not me :P) I looked online and saw both negative and positive reviews, so I decided to try it out for myself.

  This product retails at Superdrug for £6.99. Looking at the swatch, it's definitely more of a warm, orangey shade rather than a cool toned shade. So if you're want to focus on contouring and sculpting your face, this is not going to be the product for you. However, this is great for warming up your complexion and giving you an overall glow.

It definitely looks shimmery in the pan, but when it's applied onto the face, the shimmer is very subtle and is nearly invisible.

Left - Sleek Contour Kit, Right - Bourjois Bronzer

I like to apply this with my Ecotools Blush Brush using the 3 and E method. But I've found that the top layer of the product isn't as pigmented, so you have to really work your brush into the product to get decent pigmentation. Fortunately, once you've gone through that top layer, the rest is much more pigmented and easy to work with.  

As for the scent of the product, I don't mind it neither do I love it. If you're not a big fan of having sweet scents on your face, this might not be the product for you.

xx Tiffers

Current Fashion Obsessions!

I've been drooling over clothing websites lately which is not doing very well for me money wise. So to satisfy my unhealthy obsessions, I'm going to share my current fashion favs at the moment. (I blame it on the fact that I'm staying at a house full of guys only)

I'm not one who tend to follow trends, but I LOVE reading highstreet fashion blogs. Maybe it's just me, but I find designer runway trends quite ridiculous. Like seriously?! Wearing silk pajamas out in public?? I don't think so. 

Anyway, my first obsession are cut-out maxi dresses. This particular one is from Reverse. Isn't it gorgeous? I love how the cut-out bustier which adds more edge to the look. Sadly, I highly doubt that I'll be able to pull this off though. *Sigh* 

❄ Christmas Gift Sets!!! ☃

This is probably a bit early for some people but it's never too late to think of Christmas Wishlists!! I've been noticing Christmas beauty gift sets coming out in stores lately which is making me want to go on a massive shopping spree and buy all of them. I shall dream on because I've already spent waaay too much during the past month on tuck and makeup (shhh!!! don't tell my parents!!). So in order to satisfy my shopping crave, I'm going to write about how much I want these awesome gift sets.

Glossed for Words

I've always wanted to try Soap and Glory's makeup line especially their infamous lip glosses, and this perfect because it includes all five shades:

• Punchbowl - bubble gum pink
• Candy Gloss - pale light pink
• Pink Apricot - light peach
• Yummy Plum - medium toned mauve
• Half Naked - medium toned nude

This is a great set because it includes all the must-have shades. One slight disappointment is that they don't have a red, which would definitely tie the knot together. 

October Favourites!

So October's here, which means monthly favourites! ...oh and it's autumn. Not horribly exciting, and the fact that the weather's been absolutely horrific doesn't make things any better. 

 

For the past month, I've been wearing very minimal makeup (except the occasional smoky eye) since I got really fed up with smudged eyeliner and mascara, giving me raccoon eyes.

Quick review: Herbacin chamomile lip balm

I know I just did a lip balm review but I recently bought the chamomile lip balm from Herbacin and since it's nearly time for us to go back to school, I want to do a few more posts before we go because we might get very busy.

Product review: Lioele waterdrop bb aqua makeup

I heard a lot of great things about this before from various different gurus, bloggers and beauty enthusiasts but I never thought of trying it because I was quite skeptical about it. I didn't think it'd suit my skin type (I have combination acne prone/congested skin), I thought it would be greasy or heavy feelings and I thought it wouldn't provide the coverage or finish I desire.

Beauty Boxes - Bargain or Scam?

 

About a year ago, everyone were obsessing over beauty boxes like Birchbox, Beauty Box 5, Glossybox, MyGlam etc. But, are they really worth it? 

If you sign up for a monthly subscription, these fancily wrapped and packaged boxes will be delivered to your doorstep once a month. Inside of them contain samples of various beauty products which you can try. Their prices vary, as well as the quality of the products they contain. When these all started, they seemed like the best things ever. You would pay a decent price for luxury product samples, sometimes even full sizes. Personally, I haven't subscribed to any of these beauty boxes, but watching videos of people opening their monthly boxes, I've noticed that they've been quite lacking recently. 

Most of the more well known companies have been making their own products such as brushes and lipsticks, which... aren't really that good. I respect that they can't always pick the best products every single month, but I'm quite disappointed by the quality of them these days. Before, they would contain mostly full sized products that are amazing quality. But now... samples, samples, and more samples (not even good/high-end products either).

Whether beauty boxes are worth it or not has been a controversial topic since they were created. At first, they seemed like a great bargain. But now... not so much. But anyway, in case you're considering whether to subscribe to them or not, here are the pros and cons:

How to: Simple way to go green!

Global warming is caused by the increasing level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming occurs naturally but we are speeding up the process. The causes are factories, the burning of fossil fuels methane emissions from animals.

The limited unsustainable natural resources are being used up. The landfills are reaching their full capacity.

My (simple) methods to go green and reduce the amount of waste!

Review: Balance Me rose otto intensive lip salve

This came with the August issue of Glamour magazine a while back. It retails at £12 and it is available here. It comes with 10ml of product.This claims to plump, smooth and hydrate the lips. Its ingredients are from 100% natural origin. It is also petroleum-free.

August favourites (2012)

Here is my first favourites post on this blog. So let's get started. Firstly is the Lioele water drop bb cream. I just got back from Europe yesterday and for the 11 days I was there, I wore this almost every single day. I bought the sample size a few days before my holiday but I now love it so much that I went and got a full-sized product today. I'm definitely going to do a review on this soon.

NOTD (Nails of the day): Glittery spring green and grapes

Current Trends: Ombre Hair!

I'm sure you've seen ombre hair around everywhere recently. Everyone's obsessed with it (well nearly everyone). Many celebrities are seen rocking their ombre hair on red carpets, around on the streets, in performances... EVERYWHERE! It's taking over the world!!! (Not really...)

Anyway, I was wondering how this trend even started and I found out that ombre hair was an accidental invention! Apparently in 2008 when many people were being affected by the economic crash, women couldn't afford to get their non-highlighted roots touched up. After leaving their hair to grow out through time, ombre hair became to appear. This created an ombre effect on their hair. This caught on after a while. I think the first time I've heard about this was last autumn. First, it was feather extensions, now it's all about the ombre.

After ombre hair came into fashion, its baby dip-dyed hair was born. Well you can argue that they're the same thing so I guess it's more like its sister. Anyway, people began to add colour to the ends of the hair.

I personally really like ombre hair, but it does cause quite a lot of damage to your hair. Your ends is normally where your hair receives the most damage, bleaching it even further would just cause even more damage. But if you would like to achieve the effect of dip-dyed hair, here's some great tutorials showing you how to get it without having to commit to the colour. 

Music make you lose control, let's go!

10 second dance party!!!! I'm enjoying these jams at the moment. Dancing to them like crazy! That awkward moment when you're dancing to SUPER LOUD music then your mum walks in :P

DIY Ideas!

I've been so bored at home everyday lately so I decided to look for things that I can do. I recently found this Youtuber Mr. Kate (aka. themrkate) and she's awesome. She makes DIY videos and they are all very creative. 

I'm obsessed with this video on how to transform your old boring shorts into these flashy studded shorts. They're freaking amazing! Studded shorts is also a huge trend going on this summer, so make sure you don't miss out on it by using this affordable alternative!

Beach/Summer Essentials!

What's a proper summer without going to the beach? It's feels awesome to lay underneath the summer sun and relax after a long and hard year at school. But no one wants greasy skin and smudged makeup after having fun in the heat and water. So here's a few tips to save you from any hassle after a long and enjoyable day at the beach (or when you're on holiday). 

First, and foremost -- SUNSCREEN!!!! (no duh!) Yes, we all make up ridiculous excuses to get away from wearing sunscreen during the summer, but this is a must! You're going to spend the whole day underneath the sun and you do not want to risk getting sun burnt OR getting skin cancer (I know, sounds impossible, but you never know). Even if there's not much sun, there are still a lot of UV rays! (Do not underestimate the power of the sun!)

Now that we're done with the sunscreen lecture, let's move on. To avoid having makeup melting down your face during the day, make sure you wear lightweight, long-lasting and hopefully waterproof makeup. This is what we recommend:

Life atm

I'm bored already but whilst school life isn't what I want to go back to, I have to find some entertainment. I thought I'd be going out a lot more but I ended up just sitting at home for the whole day since most of my friends are abroad.

Sort of just started watching Gossip Girl. I got a bit frustrated because I thought of all those cute couples around me, ones which are my best friends. I'm just there, alone. But I'm trying to get rid of those thoughts! I'm actually going to have fun, being a single pringle.

Summer brainstorming

Although I like reading fashion magazines, I don't always (or seldom) follow trends. I have my own style and I pretty much stick to it the whole time. It is interesting to see what's in season. I only wear things that suit me or I am feeling little brave then I won't mind trying something new.

Here are some my ideas of a summer outfit.

My Current Obsessions

It's already the second week of summer and I seem to have forgotten about all the things that I was planning on doing. Somehow I thought learning how to meditate was a good idea (ridiculous, I know). It's not like I'm going to be enlightened just by sitting in the middle of my room with my legs crossed, daydreaming about random crap. So at the end, I decided to give it up (mostly because I have no patience whatsoever and I would start talking to myself) and seek entertainment from guess what -- the Internet (of course).

Therefore this picture on the right explains my current situation. Except I wasn't planning on staring at fruits or counting from one to infinity, and I definitely wasn't planning on doing anything related to school.

Random bits and bobs to start off

Summer started about a week ago and I've been sitting at home, lazing around. I like to go on YouTube and watch random videos. So I'm gonna share some of my favourite YouTubers with you.

Looking for a Laugh?

Since it's now summer (and also since you're reading this), I'm sure you must be bored out of your mind. So here are a few things that I'm sure will make you laugh -- well at least they made me laugh (I am quite easily amused though).

Lately I've been sleeping in until 1 in the afternoon everyday and this completely explains my thoughts.

 <-------------------------------------- :D

But seriously, what's up with me sleeping for 12 hours everyday? I get that I've been tired for the past 2 months, but this seems a bit extreme. Oh well, there's no such thing as too much sleep (at least I don't think there is)