Marc Jacobs Gel highliners

Marc Jacobs Highliner - £20.00 each* 

These are everywhere at the moment as so many bloggers have received them through Influenster. I was lucky enough to be chosen for this campaign and I have to admit I am really loving these liners. They are an incredibly creamy and so ridiculously pigmented, I'm not normally one for lining my water line as I have super watery eyes however these stay put for hours and don't end up half way down my face. They are completely retractable which is something I look for in a liner as I hate having to sharpen them, these also have mini sharpeners on the end so you can sharpen the tip of the liner for more precise liner work. I have used the brown shade on the upper lid and I have to say it isn't my favourite for smudging as it sets down so incredibly fast! If you are looking for a liner you an smudge for a more smokey look these definitely aren't for you. That being said these work incredibly on the lid for a graphic liner and really do stay put even on my oily lids. 

The shade selection in this range is however quite impressive, they have some beautiful really bright vibrant colours which would look amazing for graphic liner. I have to say I am really impressed with these but I do think you can get very similar formulas which perhaps don't last quite as long from the drugstore. I think if you want to spend £20 on a liner pencil these are beautiful ones however you definitely don't need them. 

Pink of me and (earth)quake

A little NYX haul

I feel like it's been such a long time since I've picked anything up from NYX. When it was initially released in the UK I picked up so much however since then I've rarely gone near the stand. However I decided I was going to do a full face of the brand for youtube so I needed to pick up a couple of bits just to finish off the look. So without further ado lets get into what I picked up. 

I have been meaning to pick up the Born to glow liquid illuminator for the longest time as I have heard really good things about it both for mixing into foundations and wearing as a highlight on the cheeks. I went for the shade sunbeam which is the lightest available. It's a beautiful sheeny very light pink shade which isn't too icy. I wanted one of the blushes and when I saw the shade Crimson I just couldn't resist. It's a beautiful incredibly bright red shade with a very slight silver shimmer in it. This gives the perfect rosy flush to the cheeks and even though it looks super scary in the pan it looks amazing on the cheeks. 

I didn't have a brow gel from the line so I grabbed a tinted brow mascara in the shade Espresso which is my normal shade in NYX's brow range. I have to say it is a little too warm toned which I was surprised at as all the other products in this shade are nice and grey toned. That being said as long as I use a grey toned product underneath it isn't too much of a problem. A cult favourite from NYX is the Jumbo eye pencil in Milk which is another product I've been meaning to buy forever. I actually had to use a white liner on my lid the other day which reminded me I need to buy this. It is a very stark white shade which just does a fabulous job of priming the eyes as well as intensifying bright shades on the lid. 

Second to last I picked up two more of the glitter shades, the first being Rose which is a beautiful chunky rose coloured glitter and the second being Ice. Ice is a iridescent much finer glitter than the other shades I have. It reflects so many different colours and I cannot wait to use it. Finally I picked up two more of my favourite drugstore glosses. The butter glosses are so pigmented yet not super sticky and gross like so many glosses from the drugstore can be. I have actually already finished one of the shades I have so I decided it was about time that I picked up some more. The first shade I got was Angel food cake which is a deep pinky nude shade and the other was Fortune cookie which is a standard light nude shade. 

That's what I have picked up from NYX recently, I'd love to know what your favourites are. 

My 5 favourite eyeshadow palettes

If you aren't new here you will more than likely be aware that I have a lot of palettes... like a lot. So narrowing it down to five was tricky, it turns out my favourites are all warm toned but that doesn't surprise me at all. So lets get into the palettes and why I love them. 

First we have Modern renaissance, I feel like everyone loves this palette and never stops talking about it but I just couldn't leave it out of my top five as I use it so much. I have to say this is probably my most used palette in my collection. If I don't know what to do with my eyes I reach for this and the look always turns out beautiful. One thing I do wish is that it had a few more shimmers however I feel like my prayers have been answered after seeing the press images for Soft glam. The formula of these is amazing and I have to say this is probably my favourite palette of all time. 

Coloured Raine is like Modern renaissance on steroids. Its a lot brighter meaning it does tend to get neglected on an everyday basis however this one gets used to death when it comes to any sort of special event. The metallic shades are incredible, so foiled and are just so intense even without wetting my brush. The only shade in the palette which doesn't swatch great is Ladyship which is the deep purple however it works beautifully on the lids. 

The Juvias place Nubain palette is brilliant for people who don't want any pinky shades in their warm palette. This is pretty much exclusively warm browns although there is a couple of shades which are more on the orangey side. This again is another fabulous everyday palette. The only issue I have with this one is the fact that there isn't a highlight shade for my skin tone however I know it is a Black owned brand therefore I really don't mind having to reach for a single highlighting shade. 

Dose of colours Baked browns is my favourite travel palette it has five beautiful matte shades and is so nice and compact. This one is ideal if you aren't a makeup junkie and just want a more refined palette. I also love the fact this is in a hard case plastic as the rest in today's post as the rest are in reinforced cardboard which really bugs me! Anyway back to the palette it self. The shadows are beautiful and creamy and blend like an absolute dream. I feel like this is the perfect beginners palette. 

The final palette in today's line up is the Violet Voss Holy grail palette. This is a more versatile palette than all the others as it has twenty shades. This has some incredible transition shades and is one I tend to pull out if the palette I'm using doesn't have what I want. This also has some stunning metallic shades which are perfect for Halo eyes. These shadows as with all the shadows in this post are beautiful and blendable. 

That's it for today, I would love to know what your top five shadow palettes are! 

My thoughts on - Glossier

Since launching UK shipping I'm pretty sure Glossier has been featured on at least 3/4 of UK beauty blogs. Not to be one to avoid getting involved I thought I would stick my opinions into the giant barrel of opinions, all be it a little late. I actually got this stuff off my grandparents for Christmas so have been giving it a good trial in the past couple of weeks. 

So starting off with the skincare, I got the Phase one starter set. This included the Milky jelly cleanser, the Priming moisturiser and a Balm dot com. I was hoping I would be able to use the Milky jelly cleanser at night as I had heard it was quite nourishing however for me, who admittedly does wear a lot of makeup it is just not enough. I find that when I'm wearing basic makeup this does a perfectly good job of removing it however when it comes to my everyday makeup it just doesn't quite have the kick I need to get everything off. That being said it has fit really well into my morning routine and is really lovely and refreshing for a morning cleanse. The Priming moisturiser is a really lovely product for under makeup. It has a slight tackiness meaning makeup sticks really nice to it. I don't find on my dry skin this is hydrating enough to use as a moisturiser however as a primer type product it works really nicely. Finally for phase one we have the Balm dot com, I went for the cherry flavour and I have to admit I was a teeny bit disappointed it is just very synthetic and I sort of wish I'd gone for a lesser scented version. It has a slight red tint to it which isn't too much even when I'm not wearing any makeup it just makes the lips look really nice and plump. In terms of moisturising it's no Nuxe Reve de meal but it is up there with my favourite balms. 

Jam, Dusk, Haze. 

Moving onto the makeup I got two of the sets, the first being the Cloud paint duo. I went for the shades Haze which is such a beautiful peachy brown natural colour. It almost adds a little sculpting to the face and is definitely the one out of the two I've used the most. The other shade I picked out is Dusk which is an almost jam colour. It isn't half as scary as it looks and blends out to a really stunning slight berry toned flush. These are like nothing I've ever tried before, they are almost slightly gel like in texture and blend out beautifully even over powdered skin. I find I can use a beauty blender, my fingers or a brush to blend and they still look gorgeous. 

The other makeup based set was the Phase two set which includes the Stretch concealer, Boy brow and a Generation G lipstick. I was expecting to really love the Stretch concealer as Anna from Vivianna does makeup mentions it all the time however I find personally it just doesn't quite pack the punch coverage wise. It is really gorgeous and hydrating I just wish it did have a little more coverage.  This is definitely one I will be using on lower coverage makeup days. The Boy brow is an amazing brow gel which reminds me a lot of the Benefit Gimme brow. I got the shade brown which is a really nice ashy deep brown shade. I think out of everything this is one of my favourites along with the Cloud paints. Finally we have the Generation G lipstick, I picked the shade Jam in the end which is a beautiful berry shade. The formula of these is so strange and like nothing I have tried before. They are incredibly matte but also very sheer. I wasn't;t sure how I'd feel about the formula however I am actually really impressed, I love this shade as it gives a stunning berry tone to the lips. 

Overall I have been pretty impressed with the Glossier range however there have been a few products that I don't think live up to the huge hype surrounding them.