Time away

Hello dear reader,

I've had a bit of time away from this working on work things, but my interest in beauty hasn't waned during this interim. I've been posting on Instagram which you can catch up with here. Highlights include a continuing series of 'Face of the Day' flatlay posts, meeting Lisa Eldridge at a book-signing for her gorgeous Face Paint book, some stunning Wayne Goss brush purchases, and a big ol' hair chop.

Hope to be back soon,

DB x

re.commed: SALE at Illamasqua!

Just a quick post to alert or remind you of a great sale going on at Illamasqua.com at the moment. It's a great brand and they've added a few new lines to the sale here  including some pigments that I've been waiting to try out for a while now in 'Ore' and 'Furore'. I've also just placed an order for some of the powder and cream blushes.

Expect reviews soon (I also have a long line of recently bought products to write up about :s sorry!) but I would grab these pigments while you can! Vivianna Does Makeup has done a review of 'Ore' in a makeup look which you can check out here  and a charming birthday look here . Beautiful!

DB xx

re.commend: Everyday makeup brushes!

As many of us do, I recently went home to visit my family over the winter holidays. Trying to pack light, I faced the perpetual dilemma of what makeup to pack! In the first of a mini-series, I'll be sharing you the essentials that I managed to pare down my routine to. I will be posting about the brushes I eventually packed (actually turned out to be slightly different from these), the makeup I packed to travel for two weeks, skincare, and extra bits and bobs of beauty essentials. 

First up - my everyday brushes! 

re.view: Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks

As promised, I picked up another Urban Decay revolution lipstick in 'Fiend' a pinkish-taupe! And 'Streak' a coral-nude that you can see in my Urban Decay Haul post. 

re.commend: The (REAL!) Urban Decay Naked 2 palette

WARNING - Naked 2 fakes!

In the run up to Christmas, if you are thinking of treating someone special to that Naked 2 palette that they've had their eye on, please read this post first! 

re.commend: Top coats

A little review of my selection of top coats for you today! 

Seche Vite ('sesh veet') is my top coat of choice if I'm rushing to get ready, or more likely, I'm painting my nails in front of the TV before bed. It is a gloopy-textured nail varnish that does as it says - dries quickly! It does also give a nice gel-like shine to the nails, but I'd say that if this is your primary goal that there are other cheaper top coats available that will give you a good shine (see below).  

re.commed: Miss Sporty metals nail varnishes!

You might not know this about me yet, but I LOVE a good Miss Sporty nail varnish! Available in the UK (not sure about the rest of the world? let me know!), these are cheap and cheerful nail varnishes. I'll have a review of more of the range soon but suffice to say that they are (with the exception of a couple of duds) a nice opaque-in-one-coat formula and come with a good wide brush for neat and quick application. 

re.commend: Urban Decay 'haul'!

A new Debenhams store opened up recently in my local area and I (just happened to be) passing by it so I thought I'd pop in to have a peruse of the beauty counters. I ended up buying a faux-leather jacket from Star by Julian MacDonald (not my usual content but can tell you more about this if you like - leave me a comment if you do!) and spending quite a bit of time at the Urban Decay counter. I was treated to a free makeover that was being offered that day and was given a lovely little makeup bag with free samples when I purchased the Naked 2 palette and a Revolution lipstick.

re.commend: Bepanthen = cold-weather lip care hero

I struggle with dry flaky lips in the best of times, and in this cold weather I struggle to keep my lips from getting chapped underneath my lipstick. However, I've recently discovered this little beauty and it has completely changed the condition of my lips. Previously, I've had to stop wearing lipstick in the Autumn/Winter in favour of tinted lip balms exclusively, but this year I can wear whatever I want!

re.commend: Trusty tubes

Here you can see my well-worn tubes! I have another high re.commended set of products for you today. 

I was wondering how to start to group together my re.commendations for products that I've been using faithfully for a number of years. With little more rhyme of reason than type of packaging, I have two of them here for you today. 

There is something rather satisfying about a tube of product like this - easily squeezed to the right amount, easy to see when you're running low, lets you get the most product out possible, and most importantly keeps your product hygenic. You can see how much I have loved these two products (and I have already bought some more for when they finally run out!). 

re.commend: Anastasia Lavish palette available NOW

Hi everyone!
I'm still a bit poorly I'm afraid but just a quick post to let you know that the Anastasia Lavish palette has just become available on the Cult Beauty online store. They offer free international shipping for orders over £50 which should be easy to reach as the site also stocks Alpha H, Embryolisse and Jouer cosmetics.
Will be back re.viewing and re.creating very soon!
DB xxx

Update! I've just received my palette today and a review will be coming up asap 

re.commend: Toners

What do toners do?

I've noticed a bit of confusion recently on beauty forums such as Beautylish around what toners are for and whether they are a bit outdated with the range of today's skincare available.

For me, there are a couple of different toners that I still find useful for two different purposes:

re.commend: Clean and Clear dual action moisturiser

My moisturiser!

I've tried a moisturizers few over the years and in the past have preferred to buy one with some sun protection in, but I've been buying or 'repurchasing' this again and again this year. When it's on sale in Boots I'll pick up a few to store under my dresser at home.

re.commend: Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer

Reflecting on my recent foray into Soap and Glory cosmetics, I remembered suddenly that I've actually bought from this line before! A much loved concealer palette-come-compact has been tucked away in my handbag's mini-makeup bag for quite some months.

The compact contains one yellow-toned concealer for blemishes and one pink-toned corrector for under the eyes. These can be mixed to depending on what you want to disguise. The compact also contains a translucent setting powder and mini puff. I find both the concealer and corrector to give a good amount of coverage, and their lasting power is acceptable once set with some of the powder.