Worth the investment? | Bold Metals Flat Contour Brush Review

Admittedly, I wasn't blown away when I first caught wind of the Real Techniques Bold Metals range last year. Personally I've always valued the fact that Real Techniques are able to offer such high quality brushes at  a reasonable price point and felt like the Bold Metals range really contradicted this idea. However, When I spotted the flat contour brush In a blog sale recently,  I wanted to see how these brushes compared to the original line.

The appearance of these products is probably one of the biggest differences between the lines. While the original collection had a pretty standard brush design, the Bold Metals range are unlike anything else on the market and stand out from the crowd, complete with different metal finishes depending on the type of brush. 

However while the look of these brushes imply they are somewhat more expensive the quality certainly does not! While you would think a name such as ‘Bold Metals’ would imply that the brush handle is made from some form of metal it is in fact plastic (albeit weighted) and the further towards the point of the handle you get the more hollow it appears.. I almost feel that if you applied the right amount of pressure near the end of one the handle would snap instantly. While the handle quality may be disappointment enough, the brush handles also chip extremely easily making the final look a lot cheaper than the brushes retail price. And the bristles? Dare I say they aren't half as soft as previous Real Techniques brushes.

Now here’s where things get complicated, as despite my many issues with this particular brush I have fallen head over heels for it! Personally I thought that something so small could not possibly be any good at blending but oh my, I was wrong! The dense design of this brush and my Makeuprevolution blush stick in matte Malibu (£5.00, Superdrug) make a dream team. In fact my non-existent contouring skills are suddenly working wonders, my best friend even commented on how slim my face looked recently. I love that the size of this really allows me to work the product into my cheek bone and control where the product is going.

So would I pay £22.00 for this? Surprisingly yes. While the handle is chipping away and I am forever scared that I will somehow snap the plastic handle, nothing has beaten the effect this brush has had on my makeup routine. 

Selfridges summer beauty box

In the months I took away from blogging, I really missed beauty boxes, so was really happy to discover this gem from Selfridges while I was in a spendy mood. The £40 box boasted an amazing £176 total value, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on it!

STARSKIN Instaglam foam peel perfect (£7.00/Full Size) - This 'pre-dosed' puff is designed to vanish dead skin cells to reveal radiant looking skin. Personally I love trying more unique beauty treatments and will enjoy putting this one to the test. 

STARSKIN After Party Brightening (£8.50/Full Size) - This sheet mask claims to intensely energise, boost radiance, even skin tone, correct dark spots and smooth skin texture. 

CAUDELIE Grape Water (£6.00/Full size) - I love water mists so this one from Caudelie is a welcomed addition promising to refresh,moisturise, tone and sooth the skin.

CLARINS Eau des Jardins Smoothing Body Cream (£29.00/200ml | Sample Size worth £14.50) - I'm yet to try anything from Clarins so cant wait to put this body cream to the test.

JAMES READ Day Tan (£22.00/50ml | Sample Size worth £11.00) - To Be honest I'm not a massive tan fan, so this is the product I'm least excited to try although I'm sure I'll find a use for it.

RODIAL Dragons Blood Sculpting Gel 15ml (£79.00/50ml | Sample Size worth £23.70) - I've heard a lot about Rodial so look forward to putting this to the test. The retail value of this is massive considering the tiny 15ml sample size so I cant wait to see how this compares to cheaper creams.

NAILS INC Gel Nail Varnish in 'Chiltern Street' (£15/Full Size) - I've owned other nails inc polishes in the past so look forward to seeing how this gel effect one compares.

ILLAMASQUA Lipstick Luster (£19.50/Full Size) - While I like the Illamasqua lipstick I have I'm not a fan of the shade given in this box so will probably pass this on.  

NARS Orgasm Lipgloss (£19.00/Full Size | Sample Size worth £9.75) - I'm yet to try anything from Nars so cant wait to use this! I cant say I rotate towards lip glosses although will make an exception for this.

URBAN DECAY Setting Spray (£9.00/Full Size) - While I was excited to try my first Urban Decay product I didn't expect to love this quite so much.. expect a post very soon!

RIBBAND Ribband Sorbet (£6.00/Full Size) - I guess hairbands are handy, although personally I would not pay £6 for this pack.

EYEKO Fat Eyeliner (£12.00/Full Size) - I love a good felt tip eyeliner so this is a very welcomed addition and I look forward to putting it to the test.

TANGLE TEEZER Original Blue (£11.00/Full Size) - I love my tangle teezer so was excited to see another as mine has seen better days!

So there you have it, everything in my Selfridges summer beauty box! Sadly this has sold out online although I'll be looking out for other Selfridges beauty boxes! What's your favourite item in the box?

Makeup Revolution | The One Blush Stick in Matte Malibu

When I saw these blush sticks from Makeup Revoultion I knew I had to get my hands on the shade 'matte malibu', as I figured it would make a great product for contouring. The one blush stick comes in eight different shades which you can view here, although this is the only shade I own from the collection. They're all housed in the same sturdy black packaging which allows you to twist up the product to apply directly to the face. Matte Malibu as its name implies is a matte bronze shade that I love using on my pale skin. I found the formula to be both creamy and bendable, however the product itself is extremely pigmented so I'd recommend a light hand and a dense brush when it comes to application. Below is the amount I tend to use on each side of my face blended out with my Real Techniques bold metals contour brush.

I really love the effect this gives my skin, and can see it lasting ages as I use so little of it at a time, At just £5 this is a complete steal, and can be found in selected Superdrug stores or online over on the Makeup Revolution website. I cant wait to try more from the range and will be certainly trying more of these fab blush sticks. Have you tried anything from Makeup revolution? 

Boots Haul | Making the most of your advantage card

 About a week ago I popped into Boots and was rather pleased with the bargains I managed to find. Store offers along side advantage card deals meant I saved over £15 on my purchases, received £4.44 back in points and bagged a free pair of sunglasses.

Bourjois Happy Light Primer (£10.99/15ml | Currently on 3 for 2 offer) - I'm all about that glowly look so when this primer offered a luminous complexion and hydration I knew I had to give it ago. I've used it a couple of times now and so far so good, although I'll update you guys once I've had the chance to properly put it to the test!

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation (£10.99/30ml | Currently on 3 for 2 offer) - I have absolutely adored every foundation I've tried from Bourjois, so I figured I'd give this one a go. I look forward to trying it as my current Bourjois foundation is on its last legs.

Bourjois Volume 1 seconde mascara (£9.99/12ml | Currently on 3 for 2 offer)-  Since I brought these products on 3 for 2 I got this mascara free, along with a free pair of sun glasses. I've never tried a mascara from Bourjois before so look forward to seeing if it matches up their other products

Batiste Stylist Smooth it Fizz Tamer (£4.49/200ml | was £2.99) - As a lover of their dry shampoo, I was ecstatic to see that they have expanded on the line now offering a range of other hair related products too.  I picked up this fizz tamer and will be reviewing one I've had a chance to test it.

Barry M Sunset nail paint in 'Do it like a nude' and '' (£4.99/10ml | was 2 for £7, now buy one get one half price) - I love Barry M polishes so really wanted to try their knew line, I love both of these shades and will writing a blog post on the pair shortly.

As I had used the Boots App to load offers to my advantage card I received an extra £2 off of my total for buying two make up products, and 400 points (worth £4) for spending £20 in store.
Not too shabby if I do say so myself, have you bagged any bargains recently?

Blog sale buys

While I normally have no luck with blog sales, I was lucky enough to stumble across Georgie's one a few days ago which was filled with lots of great products. I brought four things, although she was lovely enough to include a few extra treats such as this L'occitane soap which left the whole package smelling amazing!

Diorskin Nude BB Cream - I have been saving my Boots points for a Dior foundation, So when I saw this BB cream in the blog sale I knew I had to treat myself. I look forward to using this over the summer months and will be reviewing as soon as I've had a chance to use it properly.

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in 'seductive pink' - I've been eyeing these up for a while now although was waiting for some sort of offer to come around. The shade looks so so pretty and I cant wait to put it to work.

Real techniques Bold Metals 301 Flat Contour Brush - I wasn't going to buy into the whole Bold Metals line as quite frankly I was already happy with the original line and felt like these were overpriced. Although when I spotted this in the blog sale I knew I wanted to give them a go to see of they were worth the fuss.

BareMinerals Perfecting Face Brush - This brush is unlike any other brush I've seen on the market so I really wanted to give it ago. It's a lot smaller than I expected although I love that it will be perfect for travelling as I often find myself living between two cities.

I spent £35 on all of these products, which was a bit of a bargain considering considering the retail value of each. I'd highly recommend giving Georgie's blog sale a look, I couldn't be happier with my latest additions and they arrived so quickly!

Four year blogiversary | Looking back

Today marks four whole years as a blogger, which is absolutely crazy! To celebrate, I thought I'd look back at some of my favourite posts. I was going to do one for each year.. but the less said about my earliest posts the better!

The best of 2014 / January 2015 

I love this post mainly because its filled with absolute favourite products, I do one of these every year although I feel like this one featured some of the best products yet!

Do you trust bloggers? / August 2014

Sometimes the best posts come from the heart, while 'Do you trust bloggers?' wasn't filled with thought out pictures and creative content, it was a true reflection on my thoughts on the blogging community at the time and one which received such an amazing reaction. With that in mind this is one of the posts I am most proud of, making it one of my favourite posts here on this blog till this day.

My Everyday Brushes / July 2014

I feel like my blog was at its best in the summer of 2014, not only did I have so much time to dedicate, I was lucky enough to attend an array of events and meet so many new bloggers. I think I could have easily filled this post with images from then, although I wanted my favourite posts to reflect my blog as a whole so, this is the last summer 2014 post I want to direct you to for now. I absolutely loved making this post, while the idea was simple I was so proud of the way I put it together and how the pictures turned out. I still use all of these brushes often and find myself referring people to his post time and time again.

My top five highlighters / July 2013

It's crazy that this post is over 2 whole years old now, I really loved making this post as it features some of my favourite products and was really pleased with the end result.

Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in 101 / October 2012

Like many of the posts here this is one of my favourites purely because I remembered how happy I was with the pictures at the time. It was also one of my most viewed posts which is always lovely.

So there you have it, 5 posts I truly loved making! Which was your favourite?

It's all about matte!

While I love faking glowy skin with my make up, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. So today I'm focusing on ways to achieve the matte skin look on a budget. Achieving that matte look isn't just about slapping on plenty of powder, in fact there are a range of other ways to help keep oily skin at bay throughout the day.

 There's a common misconception in that moisturising leaves you oilier however there are many lotions on the market designed to combat oiliness like the one above from my skin. Correctly preoping your skin in such a way can really go a long way in making this look last, another way you can prep your skin, is by using a matte primer, There a bunch of these floating around on the highstreet, although one of my favourites happens to me Maybelline's Babyskin which also aims to combat pores at the same time.

Although its not just skincare you should be tailoring to your skintype, in fact there are many makeup products such as foundation designed with oily skin in mind! Take this 'all about matt' oil-free make up from Essence* for example, which aims to cover imperfections without adding any further oils to the skin! Of course it goes without saying that a good setting power can really help in creating that matte look. However I like to treat this with a 'less is more' approach and simply apply powder in the areas I feel the need for extra protection, such as my T Zone.

 Finally for those of you that hate that over powdered look or simply want a quick way to maintain this look on the go, blotting papers could be the ideal solution. Not only are they a great way to get rid of any excess oil before applying your make up, they can be used over it to blot away oil throughout the day.

So there you have it, a few ways I've discovered to keep that matte look throughout the day. I asked for your tips on twitter and here are a couple I received. @Chocandlipstick said 'stay matte balms, blotting paper and anti-shine powders are a must' for her and  @ClarkeCouture  added 'Using products that are oil free!' can really help. What are your favourite tops for achieving that matte look?

Twenty...

Admittedly it's been a long while since my last post here, although I have been super busy in the past few months. I finally finished the second year of my degree, bagged myself a new job and said goodbye to my teenage years. With all that in mind this post is a lot (lot) later than normal, although I've been doing birthday posts here for years so wanted to keep up the tradition!

This year I received quite a few food themed gifts, The first of which being these cupcake sets since I've developed somewhat of a baking obsession this semester. I am now kitted out with cases, labels and pipping bags so look forward to putting them to work. I'm also a big Reese's fan so was over the moon to receive an excessive amount of peanut butter cups along with a matching set of lipbalms! Finally food wise, I got this melon fusion candle which smells incredible. If you're a fan of fizzy watermelon sweets I recommend giving this a good sniff.

 Beauty wise I was given lots of lovely bits including a Loreal set featuring their new superstar mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow. I was also lucky enough to receive an array of beauty bits from a friend including this stunning Pixi palette, a Max Factor mascara, blending sponge and some pretty polishes. As always I cant put them all too work, and if you see anything you like let me know so I can be sure to post about it in the future!

I figured I'd also show off a few beauty bits I brought myself with some of the money I received for my birthday. I've been keen to try these library of fragrance perfumes for a while so took advantage of Boots two for £25 deal. Scent wise I also picked up this body mist from &other stories. Along with a few beauty bits I've been wanting to try such as this blush stick from make up revolution and glow pot from Topshop.

I was lucky enough to receive a few gift sets too including this beautiful set of Nip+Fab hand creams and this luxurious Laura Mercier Set.

Finally I received this lovely gift set containing my favourite perfume. So there you have it, some of 

the things I was lucky enough to receive for my twentieth birthday which was a good while ago now!

Did anything catch your eye?