Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

In case you were wondering the driving lesson went pretty well, well I didn't run anybody over so it certainly didn't go badly! Anyhooo, the other day  I was in Superdrug and needed one more thing for the three for two offer. I decided to pick up a new Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection  concealer as mines almost ran out. Then when I got home  I realised just how rare it is that I repurchase a product, I've repurchased a couple of foundations but I think that's actually it, so I figured this product deserved a review!

 

I think the only thing I actually dislike about this is than all the writing comes off seriously quickly so the concealer looks cheap and grubby which is annoying, but it is in no way an incentive to buy it!

 Coverage wise this is really nice, for pin point concealing I use my Mac Studio Finish but nothing beats this for area concealing. It's also really good for under eyes, just everything really! It lasts really well too, this was really raved about so I had high expectations and this didn't fail me. 

The other tiny little thing is this kind of applicator is possibly a little unhygienic, but I've never really thought about it until reviewing it. So yeah to summarise, this is £4.19, it's the best thing I've found on the high street and in all honesty my Mac one isn't three times the price better (although the Mac on is still worth the money)!

This is all,

Gemmm xxx

NOTD! Clouds

I have my first ever driving lesson today EEK! I don't know whether I'm more excited about driving or more scared about crashing! Hopefully luck will be on my side and I won't be running over any pedestrians.

 I did these using the Essie blue mentioned in a previous post and a white Models Own nail pen. Sadly these did not turn out as well as I had hoped. However what I can say is that this is my third day with them and there's been no chipping which is nice, I didn't even use a top coat like I normally do. I really love cloud nails *here* so I really want to perfect this design, I'm thinking that using dotting tools will give a better result? Let me know if you've tried this and have any tips!

This is all,

Gemmm xxx

Mac Studio Finish Concealer

Sun Sun Suuuuuun :)

So the sunny weather (and a chance to avoid revision) prompted me to go outside and take some pictures with natural light, something which isn't easy to come by in soggy Britain! Anyway I should probably stop babbling and get on with the review!

If you don't count to endless foundation samples and the freebies, this is the first ever high end product I've ever bought myself. One of the main concerns was wether it was worth the money as in all honesty I really liked my Collection 2000 Concealer. Now at first I was a little worried that there would be next to no product on this as the packaging, although nice and compact, doesn't give any indication of how much product there is. However there is 7 grams of product, which is more than a Sleek Blush, so there is a lot of product in this little thing.

Onto the concealer, I really like it, the coverage is like nothing else, I didn't take a before photo but there is a dark mole underneath this swatch, which shows how good the coverage is. Longevity wise this is great too, not outstanding but definitely better than average. My biggest problem is that it isn't good in heat. It's been really hot recently where I live and I've noticed that the the lasting power has been reduced and the proness to creasing  has increased. So if you live somewhere hot then this might not be for you, however generally it's great for me, in my opinion this is worth the £13.50!

This is all,

Gemmm xxx

Essie Bargains!

Bonjourno! This is just a quick post to say 

"GET YO BUT DOWN TO TK MAX!"

I went into TK Max the other day to kill some time, expecting not to be buying anything, alas I ended up leaving £18 worse off!

Three Essie nail varnishes for just ten of your English pounds! They had nails inc three for a tenner too but I preferred the colours of the Essie varnishes. I also got a few Stila things that were super cheap too!

Borrowed and Blue

Capri

So I'm pretty sure the bottle were labelled wrong (I'm assuming that's why they were so cheap), as two of the colours were called 'capri'. I did some googling around and I think I have found the names but don't quote me as I could be wrong!

 They also had a crazy nail inc deal that I was far too tempted by, seven nail varnishes for £25! That's crazy cheap! It work out at £3.57 for a £11 nail varnish, that's the kinda saving I like!

This is all,

Gemmm xxx

How I press broken powders!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much, exams blah blah, crap excuse blah blah blah. Anyway I thought I would show you all a little tutorial on how I press broken powders. This works better with a smaller product, I've done this with a MUA eyeshadow and it works great!

This is what my Face Glow looked like before, It was either a case of throw away half the product or not use it at all!

This is what you will need to press your product. 1) A broken product 2) Something to smash the product up with 3) Something to smooth the product out with and finally 4)Surgical spirit!

Now this whole process is really messy, so make sure you put a towel down or something unless you want to be cleaning up for twenty minutes! First things first, you want to crush the entire product to a dust, or as close as you can get it anyway.

Then the magic comes! Pour some surgical spirit onto the product. This stuff is pretty cheap, less than £3, and it's useful for other stuff like nail art (tutorial coming as soon as I perfect the technique!) I used way to much on this picture, it's best to use it a little bit at a time rather than be impatient like I was! So basically just pour it out and press down.

Use a brush to smooth the whole thing out, just to make it more pretty and usable. Then your pretty much done, leave the thing to dry (it might take a while) and that's all.

 

The major problem  is that you lose the products prettiness, I don't think there's any way of pressing something that doesn't compromise looks, but it's definitely usable and that's the important thing!

I know this post was rather jabbery but I really hope this was helpful! Oh and before I go, I got the surgical spirit from Bodycare, it's one of those things that cheap but hard to find.

This is all,

Gemmm xxx

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It's My Birthday!

I'm sorry I've temporarily abandoned my little blog, but A levels had to take priority unfortunately. I am however back now, I only have one subject left and lots of time to revise so I should have time to post again! Woo :)

  (I didn't want to do a post without any pictures and I didn't take any today, so this dashing peg dress shall have to do!)

Being the makeup junkie I am I received quite a few makeup/nail varnishy presents so you can expect lots of reviews! Also I might do a birthday haul if anybody is interested?

I had a very lovely day, I went watching the new American Pie film which has hilarious! I don't have much more to say really as I have lots of new things I want to go and play with!

Toodlepip my lovelies :)

from Gemmmm xxxx

NOTD Striping tape!

Hello!

So it's that time of year when anyone between the ages of 16-21 hides themselves in there bedroom and works there little socks off. Sadly this means my blog is going to be neglected for next two weeks - sadface-. But on the bright side, it's my birthday on the 18th May, after which I will have lots of new goodies to review for you all! I'm talking my first ever mac products people!

On with the post, just a simple nails of the day, I got sooo many compliments on these, and they are super duper easy too! I will post a tutorial of this technique as soon as I get the chance!

I know the quality isn't great, but I wanted to show the colours

The strips are just really thin gold tape that I ordered off ebay for 99p! Postage included, they came from Hong Kong so they took a while to come, but I'm really happy with these! Also the nail varnish I used is Peach Melba by Barry M

Again, apologies in advance for neglecting you for next couple of weeks

This is all,

Gemmm xxx

NOTD Elmo style!

So these didn't exactly turn out perfectly but I do still think that they're pretty cute. So without further a-dew here are my Elmo nails!

You can see that I haven't got him perfect, but I will try these again sometimes in the next few weeks, probably once my exams are over. (EEK only 10 DAYS till the first one)

This is what I used these to create the design, I'd say the only things I would replace are the orange and the white, but it's so hard to find really good opaque oranges and whites! ( I'm open to recommendations)

If you would like a tutorial on this, or any other nail related thing for that matter then do let me know! Also if you know of any really good white or orange nail varnish then let me know about those too!

This is all,

Gemmm xxx

Leibster Blog Award!

I had been following various blogs for a long time before starting my own, however I had never heard of this award until I was nominated for it! I was nominated by JuliannaInJune who has a great beauty blog that should definitely be checked out.

The Leibster award is there to help bloggers who have less than 200 followers to just become a little bit more known. Liebster is a German word that means "dearest" or "best" so it was obviously wonderful to be nominated!

The idea is that once you are nominated you in turn nominate some blogs that you think are up and coming and should be a little more well known! I don't follow many new blogs as it's hard to discover them, so I'm really liking this award as I've found out about so many great up and coming blogs! The blogs I've chosen aren't just my favourite new blogs, they're genuinely some of my favourite full stop! Also don't forget that if you nominate someone to let them know :)

Sarahjane's Obsessions

The Lipstick Blog

The Makeup Journal

Julianna In June

This is all

Gemmm xxx

Real Techniques Core Collection

Hola! I got this little set as an early birthday present (it's my birthday on the 18th). I got them early as it's kind of a travel set and I went on holiday last week, so I've had them for about a month already and feel like I can do a really full review!

 For those of you who don't know, these are made by Youtuber Samantha Chapman, who has made a really useful video *here* summing up what to use these for. The whole set was £22 which works out a less than £6 a brush, not even including the case it comes with which is a real perk! The case stands up on it's own and there's room for an extra few brushes which makes it perfect for travelling with!

This brush seems to be the one all the cool kids talk about! I can honestly see why, it's a wonderfully soft brush. I've used it with quite a few different liquid foundations using buffing and stippling; it also works really well with face powders and blushers. I was watching essiebutton talk about this and she described it as 'like the ELF Powder brush but better' and I couldn't agree more!

This is the brush of my dreams! The shape could not be more perfect for the contours of my cheeks. I've only had it a month and I couldn't do my makeup without it. I have only good things to say!

This actually isn't as small as most people say, it's actually a really great size for covering up spots and blemishes. It's perfect for concealing around the nose too. This brush has made it's way into my daily routine and the quality is wonderful, however it's not something that I would rave over as it's not particularly unique.

This is my least favourite brush by far! In fact it's the only one I haven't been impressed by. This sheds, not an abysmal amount, but it does shed, whereas the other don't. I also find the size a little odd, for me it's far too small for a foundation brush. I have now however found a place for it in my makeup routine, the pointed end makes it a good shape for spreading concealer under the eyes.

So that's it, I'm all out of photos and things to say. Well, other than the fact that this collection is great! It's worth the money and all in all I'm glad it's in my life. I am definitely thinking of buying more from this brand.

Have you tried any real techniques brushes?

This is all,

Gemmm xxx

MUA Eyeshadow Number 2

Being the ever savvy makeup shopper I am I knew it was about time that I tried out these eye shadows. I picked up two shades, this and number 1. Unfortunately the other one shattered but I shall be repurchasing it as it was a gorgeous colour.

You get a decent amount of product in these, which makes them even more of a bargain! They feel super creamy, you can actually press your finger into it and it will move bit like a cream would! However due to this consistency, and the fact it's cheap, these are very prone to shattering.

The colour of this is just gorgeous! It's one of those really versatile colours that I honestly think everyone should have in there makeup collection. It's beautiful on the crease for subtle or extreme contouring and as a full lid colour! 

The staying power of this is good, however it is dramatically improved when using a primer, more so than other eye shadows, even the cheap ELF one that I have makes a big difference.

If you would like me to review anymore of these are do a tutorial then let me know,

This is all,

Gemmm xxx