Buying Drugstore Products

As much as I love wearing, applying and recommending makeup, I'm getting so sick of feeling the NEED to wear it. I really wish that people just didn't judge so people can be free to do what they want. Of course a big part of it is yourself and not listening to what other people think. Do more of what makes you happy; care less about other peoples irreverent comments!

Anyway, relating back to the picture, about makeup, I'm starting to get back into drugstore products and realising that you don't need to spend £30+ on a foundation.

Products in the photo:
They're Real mascara (brown) - £19.50
Bourjois Healthy Mix (53) - £9.99
Soap & Glory Archery (Hot Chocolate) - £8.00
Soap & Glory Supercat (black) - £6.00
Urban Decay Perversion - £17.50
Collection Lasting Perfection concealer (03) - £3.99
Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow - £4.99
the Pore fessional (free sample)

Dealing With Acne

It's day 12 of blogmas and this is a rather personal topic for me. I have to deal with a lot of break-outs - nearly one a week. They also nearly last around a week too. Therefore, I constantly have spots; I don't just mean blackheads.

I do drink between 2-3 litres of water a day and then additional drinks such as: Vimto, sparkling lemon & lime and soya milk. I also have what I'd call, a balanced diet. I normally just listen to what my belly is telling me - if I feel hungry, I eat and if I do not want something too big, I get a snack.

There are two products that I use to try to control my acne and those are: a prescription from the doctors called Zineryt and the Super Spot Remover by Origins.

Zineryt is erythromycin mixed with zinc acetate to produce a solution that can be used on any part of acne. I must admit, it has a very strong, potent smell that is not pleasant, but it does the job. I also stings like hell if you've squeezed the spot beforehand.

Origin's spot remover is a must have! You might think that £15 for a 10ml solution is expensive, however, the product lasts for such a long time. I am on my second one and the first one lasted me for just over a year! With the amount of spots I get, it sure is a great product getting rid of them.

The Best Bronzers

The 9th day of blogmas and if you can't already tell, I'm getting excited for Christmas! Carrying on with the products you apply after your base, I thought it was about time I talk about bronzer. The majority of the products that I own are High-End, but that's only because I believe that they would be worth the money - otherwise, they wouldn't be classed as 'High-End'. I have also not found any alternatives/dupes for these products so that is also something I'm looking out for.

You can look for/buy the following from: Selfridges and Debenhams.

Chanel - Soleil Tan De Chanel - £32
You might think that £32 for a bronzer is quite expensive, but Chanel, to me, is a luxury brand. Therefore, I don not feel guilt for purchasing something rather expensive every one and a while. Also, I have used this product for so long now and I can't even see any sign of a dint - there's so much product! The bronzer does not have any fall-out so the formulation is incredible. This is an all-roundeer product. I is long-lasting, gives a healthy/natural-looking finish and is totally worth the amount.

Naked - On The Run
This is a set that includes: 5 eyeshadows, a mascara, an eyeliner, a blush, a highlighter and a bronzer. The bronzer inside of this is half the size of what you'd get in the Flushed palette, however, this set is really good as it gives you a bit of everything that you need.

MAC - Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
I've had this product for 2 years now and it is amazing. I am no where near hinting pan and I use this product almost every day. This gives a natural finish and can work for contouring too.

bareMinerals -Warmth
Not the best out of all of the other products mentioned, but still does the job. This is a loose powder so as you can probably imagine, this job is not an easy one.

Charlotte Tilbury - Filmstar Bronze and Glow
One of my favourite palettes. The highlighter and bronzer that you get are just amazing. They total balance each other out and neither of them look ridiculous when applied. The bronzer is so perfect and it doesn't leave any fall-out. Definitely worth the value!

It's Powder Time

Day 8 of blogmas and I thought it'd be about time I do something a little bit different. I'm still trying to get back onto the theme of beauty, but it's about products I have never really mentioned before. Powder is the bane of my life. As I have quite an oily T-Zone, but am dry everywhere else, it's hard to find a good balancing foundation. Therefore, my alternative option is a powder. I will usually put the powder everywhere to set my makeup and then go over the places that are oil just to give it a matte-looking finish.

I don't think I've ever spoken about bareMinerals in any of my posts before. One reason being, I think that their products can be hit and miss. Sometimes, I am really satisfied withe the product and then other times, I'm confused as to why the products are sold at a particular price due to the quality not being great. On the other hand, if you've read some of my previous posts, you'll see how much I love all things MAC. I have two powders from each of these brands and in some respects, they're all similar.

bareMinerals - Medium Beige and bareMinerals - Mineral Veil  are both from the limited edition - Original Foundation Get Started Kit in Light. This basically gives you a kit with step-by-step instructions as to how to apply the makeup provided. It's handy, but I don't think that the brush quality is very good.

MAC. I literally love every product that I've ever bought from MAC. I think the quality of all the products are great, the prices are fair to the product and the quality is unreal. This brand is an all-rounder. DISCLAIMER: I have not been paid to talk to you about any of these products and they're just my own personal opinion. I do not know what I would do without MAC as they sell some of my favourite makeup. I'm so upset that they discontinued one of their mascaras because it was the only one that made me eyelashes look amazing. Anyway, onto their powders. The two that I own are: Studio Fix in the shade NW25 and the Pro Longwear Powder in the shade Light Plus. The Studio Fix powder only really suits my skin tone when I have fake tan on. The lady who colour matched me in the store matched me while I was on holiday and therefore, I was darker.