My Lip Combo Of The Moment

I have been making a conscious effort recently, to change up my make up looks on a daily basis to get through the hoards of eyeshadow palettes that I have. One thing that always stays the same though is my lip combo, as I have the most perfect one for everyday use, or a night out for that matter.

I was drawn to Rimmel's Exaggerate Lip Liner in Eastend Snob (£3.99) from the minute, I saw Amelia Liana say that it was a dupe for her favourite liner from Charlotte Tilbury, Lip Cheat in Pillowtalk. I have since gone through two tubes of it, because I am in love. It is literally the most perfect liner, creamy in consistency, which has led to me snapping it a fair few times whilst applying :( It glides on the lips likes a dream, is amazingly pigmented and although matte, doesn't dry out the lips what so ever. It is a gorgeous mauve pink shade that is perfect for that still, ever so popular Kylie Jenner lip. 

To tone down the matte from Eastend Snob, I go over it with MAC's High Stung (£15.50) this is a frost lipstick from MAC, that is absolutely my most worn lipstick in my whole collection. It is a rosy pink shade with silver shimmer running throughout it. Once again this has a great texture, nice and creamy and glides on the lips with ease. Paired with Eastend Snob it is an absolutely dream. A gorgeous mauve pink with a beautiful shimmery twist on the Kylie Jenner lip trend. This is my absolute go to combo for the moment and I can't see myself moving away from it anytime soon. Weather I am out with my baby, running errands, going to work or even out on date nights or with my girls, I always find myself coming back to this pair. And although it isn't anything extravagant or eye catching, if I am ever unsure of what lip colour to wear this is a fail safe way to give my makeup look that extra something.

What are your favourite lip combos at the minute?

Much Love,

Gemma xo.

February Favourites

Hi Beauties, Sorry for the lateness of this favourites post but I just couldn't decide what to feature in it. So here's 5 of my most reached for products in the month of February!

First up a skincare product -

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic - I bought this way back in September (i think) and I have been using it every single day since and I love it. Some people don't use a toner at all and think its a pointless step in their skincare routine. I on the other hand have been using them everyday since doing Beauty Therapy in college. I'm not sure if my skin actually benefits from it, because I haven't stopped using toners at all for the past 5 or 6 years, but I really enjoy using them, they really freshen up the skin and make it feel really clean and clear. I use this after cleansing. I spray it 4 times on a cotton pad and sweep it across my face, to make sure my face is completely clean and make up free. The smell of this toner is absolutely gorgeous and it really wakes my skin up, once I finish this I will definitely be repurchasing it.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Deep Nourishing Intensive Mask - I've been really looking after my hair recently and I think this has really helped. Since using it my hair has been really lovely and smooth. I use this at least once a week and I really like it. I reviewed it here if you would like to take a look.

MAC Girl About Town - This was my first MAC lipstick that I bought back in January. It's a gorgeous bright fuscia pink and I fell in love with it as soon as I laid eyes on it. Whenever I go out I use either this or the Rimmel Apocalips I'm about to talk about.

Rimmel Apocalips Big Bang - As you may know from reading this review I went out and bought 2 Rimmel Apocalips' the day they came out. I thought the bright pink I bought would be my favourite but in actual fact Big Bang is, this bright true red has been my most reached for since purchasing them. I've never owned such a red before, its really lovely and bright. The Apocalips themselves are really good too. They feel like a gloss when applied but dry to a beautiful matte finish. With the amazing pigmentation of a high end lipstick. I'm sure a well be extending my collection of colours very soon.

MUA Blusher Shade 2 -  I've been using MUA's blusher in shade 2 everyday I've wore make up in February. Its a lovely light dusky pink colour with ever so slight shimmer in it. The pigmentation is actually rather good for a product costing just £1, one quick swirl in the pan is enough to give my cheeks a lovely flush of colour. For only £1 I will definitely pick this up again, I have 3 of the 6 shades but this one is the one I use most. (As you may be able to tell the blusher in the very first picture in this post isn't actually shade 2, because the writing on the front of the packaging has completely faded and I wanted you to be able to see what the blushes look like, so I used another one of the colours in my collection so sorry if that causes confusion, also apologies for the messy packaging, I forgot to clean it before photographing)

Hope you enjoyed this most, and maybe have a few ideas of new products you would like to try out. What were your most reached for products in February? Be sure to let me know.

Much Love Gemma xo. 

Tag: I Heart Drugstore MakeUp

Hiya Everyone, Sorry for my absence recently. I've been quite the busy bee over this past week or so. Today I thought I would do something nice and quick! The 'I Heart Drugstore MakeUp Tag' has been quite popular over the last few months, I'm sure your all familiar with it and have read countless different ones. But I thought I'd give it a go anyway.

some of my drugstore collection

1. What is your favorite drugstore makeup brand?

It has to be Rimmel. I've always owned a lot of Rimmel products and recently they have been bring out some absolute gems!

2. What are your favorite face, cheek and lip products?

Face has got to be Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. For cheeks I love MUA blushers and for lips the ever so famous Kate Moss Matte Lipsick for Rimmel in colour 107.

my favourites

3. Least favorite product?

I really don't get on with the Bourjois bronzer (the chocolate looking one!) I really wish I did and I'm trying all sorts but I just can't get it to work the way I want it to!

4. What is the best makeup bargain?

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, really cheap and works brilliantly.

5. What is your favorite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked?)

I've never heard the MUA blushers being mentioned, but right now I'm loving them, I use 'shade 2' every day.

6. A drugstore product that is overpriced?
Like everyone else from the UK has said, Mascaras! They seem to be getting dearer all the time.


7. Show your best drugstore dupe(s)!!

I haven't actually come across any.

8. Drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?
Probably the Bourjois bronzer I mentioned before.

another look at some of my collection

Thank you for reading, hope your all having a brilliant week.

Much Love Gemma xo.

Rimmel Apocalips

Hi Girls. I know your all probably sick of hearing about the Rimmel Apocalips but I thought I would share my opinions on them with you all. One more isn't going to hurt right?!

Like many other beauty bloggers, I rushed out the day these beauties were released and picked up a few. Luckily living in a small town meant non had been sold by the time I got to Boots at nearly 5pm! All Rimmel products were on 3 for 2 in Boots at the time, but as my beloved Stay Matte Powder was on its last legs I decided to pick up a replacement. Leaving me able to only pick up two of the new releases. I decided on Big Bang and Apocaliptic.

As I expected I love these lip lacquers! The consistency is that of a lipgloss, expect they aren't at all sticky and dry matte. Eventually staining the lips when the product has rubbed off. The colours I picked up are very bold so any of you that prefer a softer or more nude lip colour should steer clear of these two. I however love them both as I am a very big fan of bold lip colours at the minute. Big Bang is a gorgeous true red colour, I don't actually have any reds in my collection so this is very much welcomed (I've decided I need more reds since getting this) And Apocaliptic is a bright in your face pink, which is right up my street! The doe foot applicator with a dip in it seems to cause some people trouble when applying, but I honestly think it works well. The dip means it picks up just the right amount of product to get a full coverage on the lips in just one swipe. And the doe foot gives a nice easy precise application. As for the packaging I love it. Its really unique with the crystal looking handle, which is somehow really fitting with the name Apocolips, it looks very 'sci fi esque' I think I will definitely be picking up some of the lighter more toned down shades in the near future. At £5.99 these are amazing products that won't break the bank and I highly recommend them.

I hope you didn't mind reading yet another review of these lip products. 

Sorry for the lack of swatches I still haven't got the hang of taking them on my camera. Bare with me.

Much Love Gemma xo.

January Favourites

Hi Everyone, As promised, my January Favourites at long last! Better late than never though ey? Lets get started..

 First up the make up I have been using on a daily basis this month.

Real Techniques Buffing Brush - Ever since I bought 2 sets of Real Techniques brushes sometime last year, I have been absolutely loving them. I use this brush every single time I apply my make up. I will usually apply my foundation with my fingers then blend it in with this to give me a flawless finish, Then I will use it again to apply my powder over the top to set my foundation. I really do adore this brush, its the softest brush I have ever owned and I don't know how I managed without it!

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - I have been using this concealer for well over a year now and have repurchased it countless times. I haven't even tried anything else because I like this so much. There's always been a huge hype on the blogosphere about this product and I 100% agree with it. This concealer does an amazing job at covering blemishes and dark circles and lasts all day. At less than £5 you really can't go wrong, I use the lightest shade, 01 Fair.

Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Eyeliner - As with all the other make up items in my favourites I love this and use it every single day. I got this not long after it first came out and haven't used any other pencil eyeliner since! The pigmentation of this is amazing and it doesn't budge all day. I have the black and nude versions and am extremely tempted to buy the other shades because I love them so much.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - Lastly for make up is the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, I can't honestly say when I first got this but since first buying it there has been alot of hype around it and again I can see why. It does a really good job at setting your make up and holding it in place. And also combats any shine through out the day. I really like a matte finish to my make up so this is perfect for me. I even swapped this for MAC's blotting powder but once that ran out I went straight back to this as I much preferred it to the MAC powder!

L'oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil - Now onto haircare. Last year I purchased this hair oil and didn't really use it that much. This month however I have been using it religiously and I really like it. It smells lovely and makes my hair really soft and shiny. And I also feel it has done my hair a world of good since using it. For more info check out my review of it in this blog post.

Enrapture Totem Styler -  I came across this in November time after reading loads of reviews on it and really wanted to buy it for myself. So as you can imagine I was over the moon when I found it on offer in Argos and my brother said he would get it for me as a Christmas present. One of the first things I did on Christmas morning was try these out. You can heat the different sections of the styler to different temperatures to create a variety of looks. So far I have only tried out a few different temperature combinations but I love all of the styles I have managed to create. The curls/waves hold really well and look beautiful. All throughout January I have been picking these up in favour of my beloved GHD's for super quick and easy looks whenever I go out. Review and pictures coming soon!

Finally a miscellaneous favourite of this month has been Temple Run 2. As my iPhone 4s is long dead :( my boyfriend has this on his Kindle Fire HD and I have been playing it whenever I can prise it away from his hands. I was over the moon when I eventually hit 1million points for the very first time, sad I know! But I just had to tweet a picture - 

So that's it for my January Favourites, hope you enjoyed it and if you have done one please feel free to leave me a link to it below because I love reading them :) Hopefully the next one will appear before the 8th of the month!

Much Love Gemma xo.

Instagram Post #3

I kind of neglected Instagram a few weeks back and hardly posted anything, but over the past week or so I've collected up a fair few pictures and eventually have enough to make a decent collage to show you guys :)

The first 2 pictures are from over three weeks ago, I eventually tried out my Chocolate Face Mask from Montage Jeunesse and I loved it. I got this Ohana Raspberry Lemonade from a sweet shop in Liverpool its amazing. Americans come up with the best things!! I'm trying to get into a routine of putting on a face mask every other Wednesday and last week I tried the White Chocolate Montage Jeunesse one. Can you tell I'm obsessed with Raspberry? I went to the shop last week and came back with these Raspberry flavoured treats. We eventually got snow where I live a few nights back. It was all gone by the next morning so the only picture I got was this dark one :( luckily as I type this the snow is coming down sooooooo heavy :) so hopefully its going to stick around for alot longer this time!! I started the Be Fit in 90 workout a few days ago, to get into shape so fingers crossed I have a nice toned bod in the upcoming months. I just had to pick up 2 of the new Rimmel Apocolips Lip Lacquers the day they came out. Me and the boy got a Domino's half and half pizza, I ate 2 slices and was full so thought I would snap a pic for Instagram before I carried on eating. And finally I'm stilling so excited about picking up Rose Diamond after work yesterday. I cant wait to use it!!

Hope your all well and the weather isn't causing too many problems where you are. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram and leave yours in the comments so I can follow you :)

Much Love Gemma xo. 

Recent Nail Varnish Purchases!

Hey Everyone! I've been a little bit obsessed with Nail Polish recently, even though I hardly ever wear it because of work, hmm, a waste of money? I think not! I'll get use out of them all eventually. 

Here's 4 that I've got recently..

(l-r, topshop firework, rimmel metal rush purple reign, nails inc st. james, gosh holographic hero)

and the swatches..

(l-r gosh holographic hero, nails inc st. james, rimmel metal rush purple reign, topshop firework)

Topshop - Firework, This is my most recent purchase from when I was in Liverpool a few days ago. I wasn't actually going to buy anything from Topshop, I was browsing the Nail Polishes for ages but resisted and walked to the counter with my friends without a single item, then this was amongst a few other polishes by the counter and I just had to have it! Its a beautiful lilac glitter with tiny chunks of multi coloured glitter in it as well. I've only tested this out once and I absolutely love it! Its a really lovely lilac colour and needs about 2 coats for a full on opaque finish. It costs £6.

Rimmel Metal Rush - 80 Purple Reign, This is another one I bought on a whim when I was out shopping because I liked the look of it. The metal rush collection has been out for about 3 months from what I can gather. This one is the plum purple colour with a slight hint of gold/bronze going through it and in some lights you can see a hint of blue. This is another really beautiful polish and again takes 2 or 3 coats to become opaque. This cost me £3.99.

Nails Inc - St. James, I got this free in the December issue of Glamour magazine (Glamour is £2 and Nails Inc polishes are £11 so this was an absolute bargain!) St James is your classic red and seeing as  I for some bizarre reason have no true red colour polishes I had to pick this one up (there were 4 choices with the magazine) As with the others a few coats and the colour is opaque. Applied on its own it is super shiny anyway but with a top coat over it, it has a gorgeous shine! This is the polish that has been gracing my toe nails recently.

Gosh - 549 Holographic Hero, This was actually a prize I won from ScarlettLondon blog. It's a special edition polish called Holographic Hero. In a word it is amazing the holographic effect is really nice, its silver with a variety of other colours as it hits the light. It says its a one night only polish, which is very true. It didn't last long at all on my nails, maybe a day until chips started to appear, I've read on blogs that it has lasted for up to 2 days but I wouldn't expect much more. Its a perfect polish for nights out and is opaque in 2 or 3 coats. It will set you back £4.99 if you can get hold of it. I'm not sure how readily available it is now.

I hope you like my very first review type post. I think the pictures turned out quite well for my first attempt. I'm rather pleased. Much more to come I can assure you

Thanks for reading. Much Love Gemma xo.