Draw Me An Eye Look Challenge- Attempt One!

Similar to my last blog, I wanted to stick to the theme of talking about my fave products used to create a look. If you see my Insta post you can see I attempted the ‘draw me an eye look’ which is trending across Insta and Tiktok. If you haven’t heard of this yet I recommend checking it out, there are some super creative looks across both platforms!

The first product I just have to share because it is such a bargain! For my brows I used Essence’s Super Last 24hr Waterproof Pomade Brow Pencil in shade 10- Blonde. So many good things to say about this guy! Let’s start with the fact that it’s an absolute steal at £1.99! It applies so easily and is neither too creamy or scratchy. It lasts ALL DAY with absolutely no smudges and I think it looks really natural. I don’t usually use pencils and have always stuck with the ABH or Benefit pomade but I’m fully converted now! Can’t recommend enough! LJL Rating: 10/10

For my base I used Stila’s Stay All Day Foundation in ‘Honey’ which is usually around £30 but I cheated because I found it at Tk Maxx for £11 shh! So I’ll start by saying this foundation is better for short term wear (2-5 hours) because it does tend to dry out throughout the day. Despite this, before this happens it’s my fave foundation for looking more alive! It sits nicely on the skin and gives a natural glowy finish. I use this for days when I’ve had little sleep or look a little worse for wear! It also comes with a concealer built into the lid which I realised 5 seconds ago which makes the price a little more acceptable! LJL Rating: 7/10

Finally, I have to mention a highlighter I have been using daily for a while now! I used Lottie London’s highlighter quad. For my nose I used ‘The Good Girl’ and on brow bone, cheekbones and chin I used ‘The Queen Bee’. I actually love this product and I’m surprised there isn’t more hype around it! It has a really natural finish and looks so smooth on the skin with no bumps or that chunky glitter look. It’s so pigmented that you don’t need much and I works well with ALL my foundations (yes all 30!). Only downer is the other shades are too dark for a highlighter on me and too shimmery to use as a bronzer. LJL Rating: 9/10

First Impressions of Lottie London

Hello Everyone!! I am living for the sun today!

So Lottie London is possibly one of the most underrated brands I  have come across. There isn’t much talk of them in the beauty realm, or on social media. After testing some products I am shocked!! They are super cheap, in most Superdrug stores and often 3 for 2 online, and they are truly great quality. If I’m being honest, they could double their prices and I’d still be interested.

I mostly tried their lip products and have actually discovered a new daily fave! It’s the Slay All Day Liquid Lipstick in shade GIRL PWR. This gem is £5.95 and it’s my go to shade. The formula is so smooth and creamy and it lasts all day without drying my lips out. I’ve worn it from 7am for work to 3am for a night out and it has not budged! (And yes it was a messy night!)

Speaking of nights out… the best lip look for that is their Glitter Switch Liquid Lipstick. This is £6.95 and I own 5 of them! If you haven’t heard of these, they work by having the appearance of a liquid lippy… but once you rub your lips together- TA DA! They are glittery! I love that it creates a shimmery and elegant look, rather than a chunky glitter one. I find this product so innovative, and it makes a cheaper alternative to the £17 Ciate version- which I do also love but this is much more affordable. I recommend the shade “Spill the Tea” as it’s a simple, light nude.

Another STUNNING product is their Eye Foils for £4.95. These are perfect for shimmery cut creases, and I even use mine for lip toppers. My fave shade has to be “Savage”, a pearly pink. Now is a great time to mention how gorgeous their packaging is- I seriously think they are premium in every way but the price!

Overall, this is a brand I am loving and I hope to try more of their products. A few more that are worth mentioning are the Highlighter Palette which so creamy; the Stamp Liners-perfect for begginers, and the Holo DuoChrome Gloss.

LJL Rating: 20/10!

New TK Maxx Haul

Firsty, apologies for the image quality- phone camera is being replaced soon!

A few months ago I had my first ever trip to the beauty section of TK Maxx and those who read my blog know how shocked I was by my finds! This month has gotten even more surprising!

I won’t go into detail about everything that I bought but I thought I’d share some of my best finds. Have a look above for what I’ve purchased (p.s. the reed diffuser was also in a set of two for £4!)

Let’s start with the most exciting…! I managed to get an Anastasia Beverley Hills Highlighting Palette for £25 instead of £45! I’ve ALWAYS wanted one but couldn’t bring myself to spend that much but wow this was such a bargain! I even saw their Subculture and Prism Eyeshadow Palettes for £25 which is insane as I paid £45 for mine! I also bought an ABH liquid lipstick and matte lipstick both for £10 instead of £18! I should note just how many different lipsticks they had available in all different colours! It was difficult not to buy more.

I’m always down to try a new foundation and TK Maxx is great for this. I got 3 foundations from great brands. Natuarally I chose an ABH stick foundatiopn for £10 instead of £25, a Revlon one for £6 instead of £15 and a Stila one for £8 instead of…. I know that most of the TK Maxxs have the Stila foundatiuon and I recommend it as it comes with a brush and a concealer and the coverage is amazing and it feels super lightweight. I also chose Cover FX foundation drops which I highly recommend to anyone who likes full coverage foundation. They mix into foundation with minimal coverage to thicken it and extend the coverage and it works so well. I got this for a huge saving of £5 instead of £36 which is insane!!!!

For anyone who loves Boing concealer from Benefit they are selling this on their website for £8 and this is a beauty must have for anyone with dark circles and saves you £10. Overall I’m so pleased with my beauty finds and have to advise that this would be a great place to get gifts for a beauty lover.

Mini e.l.f. Haul

Lets get straight in with this one! Overall I have a very mixed review, I think that their products are affordable, however not all of them are necessarily worth it. I’ve left an LJL Rating and Superdrug’s price next to each review, but you can also buy straight from e.l.f. online.

BB Cream: I was really unimpressed with this. The coverage was strong for a BB cream however, the colour was so off. I chose the shade medium and it is basically orange so I mixed it with a much lighter foundation. The product is really sticky and thick which makes it uncomfortable for the face.  Not a fan of this at all.           2/10            £7.50

Liquid Eyeliner: This is a gem of a product! Now this is 100% a new fave. It was super cheap and is so easy to apply. It lasts all day and has a really nice matte finish.          1000/10           £4.00

Under Eye Setting Powder: This works well as the powder is very fine, however it does the same job as a standard setting powder so I wouldn’t go out my way to buy it, especially as the pot is small.            8/10             £4.50

Concealer and Highlighter: The colour has quite a pink undertone which isn’t for me but that’s my bad for buying the  wrong shade. The coverage is good and it blends well BUT the highlighter is confusing as it’s pretty much a white concealer.          5/10          £4.50

Lip Plumper and Primer: The plumper does not work at all and the primer just dried my lips out a lot. For a better option, check my post on plumpers!           1/10          £4.50

Powder Contour Palette: The highlighter is weak, I don’t use powder but it seems standard, and I found the contour colours a little too cool toned for me, and the colour is not very strong. If you like subtle contour, this may be the one for you.          6/10          £7.50

Clear Lip Gloss: It’s hard to go wrong with clear gloss, and I liked that it wasn’t sticky, but it did only last about an hour so perhaps it could be less watery.          6/10          £3

Overall, I love the pricing  but the products just don’t stand out to me. Even though they are cheap I think that there are other low end brands out there such as Revolution and MUA that are much better in the makeup production itself, and the packaging.

That Glow Though!

A little too often I get told that I’ve overdone my highlight… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take this as a compliment. There is something so satisfying about shoving shimmer on my face and I think most of us in the makeup community have to agree on that!

That being said, it can be really difficult to find a highlighter with a great glow, that doesn’t appear cakey and powdery. So here are my fave low budget highlighters- and trust me it was SO hard choosing only three.

Sleek Palette in ‘Solstice’: I’ll start with my fave of all time because oh my this highlighter is something else! The four swatches on the left are from this palette: three of the highlighters are normal powder highlights but the far left swatch shows the cream highlight. I’m not usually a fan of these as I find them to be too sticky but wow this formula works so well, especially on the brow bone and when doubling up as an eye shadow. The colours are so subtle and stay in place all day. There’s a little bit of fallout but nothing major. I’ve found that these work on most skin tones and there are also colour variations so it’s definitely worth a try!

LJL Tip: At the moment its £7.99 instead of £9.99 at LookFantastic.com

Mua Highlighter in ‘Iridescent Gold’: This is a very close second fave. As you can see from the swatch second in from the right it’s has a gorgeous golden shimmer when it catches the light, so don’t be fooled by it’s icy appearance. There is virtually no fallout on this palette and it’s the cheapest highlight at only £3! Once again this also works on most skin tones. One flaw is that I have tried some of the other colours in the range and the pigment, glow and kickback have all been pretty bad, especially on the shade ‘Pink Shimmer’, so I wouldn’t recommend other colours so much.

I Heart Revolution ‘Unicorn Heart’ Rainbow Highlighter: I have a terrible problem with buying anything that has the word unicorn in it, so when I saw this highlighter and how unique it looked I had to buy it. This is the most shimmery highlighter I have and it’s perfect if you want a beaming glow. The swatch on the far right shows the colours blended as one, but you can easily use the colours individually, although I will warn that the green is quite pigmented. But… this palette isn’t perfect, there is a fair amount of fallout and the product isn’t great for long wear. However, they are a perfect dupe to the ‘Too Faced’ heart highlighters for only £4.99!

Overall, I cannot recommend the Sleek palette enough! If you are looking for something cheap and effective, go for MUA, but if you want something more quirky then Revolution is for you- and they actually have a really nice range of colours.

LJL Rating:         Sleek: 10/10          MUA: 8/10          Revolution: 7/10

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Sleek Palettes: https://www.lookfantastic.com/brands/sleek.list

MUA Highlighters: https://www.superdrug.com/brandshop/mua

Revolution Highlighters: https://www.superdrug.com/search?text=i+heart+revolution