Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 'Transparent'.

Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 'Transparent' - £3.99 

Up until a couple of years ago, pressed powders really weren't my thing.  I'd buy them, try them and forget about them.  They didn't really add anything to my skin and my makeup didn't last any longer so I decided to skip the step completely and remove powder from my daily routine. 

Over the last couple of years I've noticed my skin becoming a tiny bit more oily, especially on my T zone and possibly because I wear a lot more foundation now than I used to! I decided to make a purchase I was never going to be able forget - Rimmel London's Stay Matte pressed powder. 

The Stay Matte pressed powder has recently taken the internet by storm and honestly, it totally deserves the recognition.  I use a Real Techniques powder brush to apply but have also used sponges before in the past.  I dust a little all over my makeup, trying not to be too heavy handed, as this can give you quite a cakey look if you're not careful! It completely eliminates any shine and gives your base a mattifying finishing touch.  I'd say it lasts around 6-7 hours without needing to re-apply. 

Recently I decided to stop wearing it for a day just to see if it was making a difference to my makeup and instantly regretted it! My foundation wore off a lot quicker and my keyboard/pads/clothes got covered in foundation from touching my face (eww!).  It's kind of one of those things that you can't visibly see much of a difference, apart from less shine obviously, but you can totally notice the difference if it were to disappear.

Rimmel, I salute you! I will never purchase another pressed powder again until this one gets discontinued.  After all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it...(unless it's blogger hype of course ;) )

Grace x

MUA Luxe Velvet 'Reckless' Lip Lacquer Review

MUA Luxe Velvet 'Reckless' Lip Lacquer - £3

As soon as I laid eyes on the MUA Luxe collection, I knew that I had to try something from the range. MUA are the Queen of bargainous yet high quality cosmetics so I was intrigued to see how the Luxe range compared to the regular MUA range that we all know and love.

First off, lets take a moment to appreciate the sleek, luxurious packaging! I really love the fact the lip lacquer comes in a little cardboard outer which instantly makes you feel like you've bought something expensive.  The product itself is a frosty, heavy tube with 'MUA Luxe London' on the lid.

I was instantly drawn to 'Reckless', a deep red with blue undertones, which is surprising for me as a red lip is usually not my thing.  I swatched it on my hand before I properly applied it and was absolutely shocked at just how pigmented the lip lacquer was. I then quickly tried to rub it off but it was too late which made me a little bit scared as I knew I was going to have to work quick with the product.

As you can see from the above photos, the lip lacquer dries to a matte finish.  I had a tiny bit of an issue at first when applying as I accidentally smudged a little on to my skin that I really had to rub at to remove.  I'd say it lasts for about 6 hours in total but after 3/4 hours it fades around the edges.  I drank wine and ate Christmas dinner within the first couple of hours of application and it honestly did not move at all.

I''m super impressed with the lip lacquer and will most definitely try other products in the Luxe range.  Have you tried these yet?

Thanks for reading!

Grace x

A little update...

Hello! It's been a while, a whole month infact!  Three weeks ago, my boyfriend and I took the plunge and decided to rent our first little house together.  After two years of living with his parents, it was definitely much needed and we've been super busy making our house into a cosy home which partly explains why I've been absent from my blog.

Throughout January I umm'ed and aah'ed whether to just give up on my blog. I questioned whether my heart was really in it, whether anybody enjoyed reading my blog and whether there was a place in the blogging world for me. I've never really given it my all and blogged as consistently as I could have - hats off to those of you that do!  I think there's a few reasons that always put me off posting - one, when I get in from work, it's always too dark to take pictures which means I have to bulk photograph products at the weekends which is ok but I often find that I want to blog about something different to what I've photographed! Two, I'll read blogs and think my blog will never be as good as this one.  I know that I shouldn't think that but I do and it completely puts me off posting!

Despite being a negative Nancy, I absolutely love writing. I love reading other people's blogs. I love reading comments. I love participating in #bbloggers chats on Twitter. I love the whole blogging community. I even love taking pictures which means that I could never give up on my little baby (this blog, haha), at least not any time soon anyway. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is SORRY FOR BEING A RUBBISH BLOGGER! In 2014, I plan to develop my blog into lifestyle posts as well as beauty, to post about things that I'm not 100% confident about but still excite me, to even try recipe posts (and to not burn down my kitchen in the process).  I'm going to try and blog every couple of days and will schedule posts for when I know I'm not going to be able to blog or for when I'm having a rubbish day.

I thank you all for following my little blog, reading my posts and even taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate it all and promise to make my blog a more exciting and frequent read (I hope!).

Grace x