PS I Love Eyeliner Review

I picked it up this £1.50 bargain eyeliner from primark After Siobhan (of The Beauty Baker) recommended it on her blog as my Loreal Superliner Slim was on it's way out and I really didn't want to fork out £7 for a replacement. However I wish I'd never bothered, as although it costs almost 5 times as much, my loreal Eyeliner is simply miles better. I found Primark's offering to be disappointing in every area except cost to be completely honest. Whilst it goes on pretty dark, it doesn't stay long and smudged over my eyelids throughout the day leaving me with grey panda eyes. I also found the tip of the pen to be not quite thin enough to do the perfect flick and it was far too hard on my eyes like an actual felt pen would be so it didn't have any give in it to make it easy to follow the curve of your eyes. 

Overall it's definitely not something I'd repurchase, but it did come in quite handy for my Halloween tutorials I did as I didn't want to use an expensive eyeliner for drawing all over my face.

What's your opinion on the PS Love... range? I see a lot of mixed feelings...

What's In My Bag?

Over the summer I have collected so much junk in my bag (AKA receipts and empty food wrappers) that I decided to have a clear out and do the what's in my bag post. Considering how long I've been blogging for I can't believe I haven't done it before tbh. Starting with the tech essentials such as my phone and headphones, plus the newest must-have which is a portable charger! I really don't now how I survived without this now, it's saved me so many times, especially if I go out in the evening. The other essentials for any outing are my purse and keys (which have both a Captain America and Elsa Keyring on). And if you're wondering what the little drawstring bag is there for, I put all my beauty essentials in it so that I can move it all easily from bag to bag or from my school bag. So basically there's a mirror, oil sheets, lip calm, hand sanitiser, bobbles, grips, hand lotion, ibuprofen, sun lotion and a little glasses cleaning wipe. There is also a little bottle of body spray and usually at least one lipstick, if not 6. The bag I use is black boho style one from Primark that looks like engraved leather, it's the perfect size for all my essentials and is great for day or night really.

So what are your bag essentials...

Bedside Beauty Essentials

 

After the little look at my desk last week I was thinking about what other areas of my room were interesting enough to blog about and settled on my bedside table. Let me know if that was a good idea or not please! I  just thought I'd share what I think is essential when I'm laying in bed.

Sooo in my little drawer there is my TV remote, a pen, a cloth for cleaning my glasses and a plug in phone attachment thingy for the non-beauty items. Then onto the beauty items I have oil sheets because I have stupidly oily skin sometimes, plus a lip balm, hand cream and a little tub of moisturiser for if my skin/lips are feeling before bed. And for those times when you realise you have a spot but don't want to get out of bed and go to the bathroom because you've just come from there and you're all nice and warm and cosy in bed- sudocreme.

On the bottom shelf I keep all the essential books for bedside reading-the book I'm currently reading (Clash of Kings from the Game of Thrones series), a book that my sister wrote and drew in for me, my House Targaryen notebook, a diary for venting that my friends got me for my birthday (Do you reckon that was a hint?) and finally a Psychology book that I brought  myself.

So there we go, these are apparently all the things I feel are necessary to have near my bed at all times, since yaknow that is where I spend most of my time. Except for of course my phone and charger!

And in case anyone is wondering, the table is from Ikea...

Currently Coveting

Cassey Ho's Hot Body Year Round ¦  Real Techniques Sculpting Set ¦ Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Polishes¦ Besame Cosmetics Red Velvet Lipstick ¦ L'oreal  Colour Riche Lip Pencils ¦ Mr Candle Vanilla Dream Candle

Lanolips 101 Ointment Review

Anyone else a sucker for those bargain baskets by the tills? I knew it wasn't just me! I was looking for some new lip balm, (preferably in stick form) and was going to buy a Burts Bees one, however, when I got to the till I started rooting through the sales bins and found this absolute gem!

I recalled seeing it on Chloes Way and figured that for 50p it was definitely worth a try. Imagine my surprise when I got home and had a quick google to find out I'd made a £10 saving! Obviously, that made me very happy anyway but when I actually tried out the balm I was even more pleased. It feels gorgeous on the lips and is so so so moisturising. It's quite hard to get out the tube initially but if you hold it in your hands for a while it warms up and becomes easier to use. It also melts really easily once directly on your lips or skin, it works great as a lip balm or as an intensive moisturizing treatment for other areas. 

Overall definitely worth a scrummage in the bargain bins!

Benefit Minies

Anyone else get excited by the little travel minis of shampoo and stuff for when you go on holiday?

Well imagine how much I love mini makeup then. Benefit are one of those brands that I hear so much about and are so well liked that I've been wanting to try their stuff for ages, so when I saw a porefessional sample in Elle magazine, I knew I had to buy it. That was back in June I think, so when I saw a free They're Real Liner in October(?) I had to buy that too. I have to be honest £4 for a magazine is a little more than I would like to spend especially since Elle is about 50% adverts. However the most recent Issue was one I wanted to buy anyway because it was the feminist issue. It was so good, definitely worth the read, it was so inspiring and interesting and motivating.

Anyway onto the make-up, I really liked the primer, it was really good and I will definitely be buying the full size. It makes my makeup last far longer, gives a smoother base to apply foundation on and stops me getting shiny.

The liner on the other hand wasn't quite as impressive and definitely isn't one I'd be repurchasing particularly considering the price.   However it is very long lasting and lasted for a full 12 hours without smudging, the thing that let it down was the ease of application, I personally found it very hard. On the other hand if you learnt to apply eyeliner with this pen from the beginning and got used to it I think it would be far easier. 

I've seen very mixed reviews on the eyeliner, so what do you think?

New York City: Holiday Makeup Bag

Having a rather large makeup collection kinda comes with being a beauty blogger, so when it's time for a trip, it's always hard to dwindle it down to a few key products, but this is what I have tried to do. Trust me, it was hard. Some people may say that 4 lipsticks for a six day trip is excessive but I'm sure if you're reading this you know it's important to have choices, so read on to see my holiday makeup, the products below are the exact ones I'm taking to New York but one or two are in the wrong shades as I couldn't find a good photo of them.

Holiday Makeup Bag by frankenwhale featuring lips makeup

So in the face category we have my favourite everyday concealer, foundation, bronzer, blush and powder, pretty simple really. I also have the Benefit Porefessional primer because I recently got it free in the Elle magazine (I may have spent £4 on a magazine which I personally thought was just adverts for the free gift. Oops.)

For eyes I'm taking a pencil and felt tip liner, I would have prefered a good gel one, but my Collection Gel Liner isn't very long lasting at all. Obviously I also need mascara and my MUA eyebrow kit, then I'm taking the MUA Undressed palette as it's a good neutral palette with a good range of colours and my maybelline colour tattoo in 'On and On Bronze' to use as a base/primer.

Then, for lips I'm taking Rimmel Kate Moss 110, Rimmel Apocalips in Eclipse, Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivids lipstick in Shocking Coral and Natural Collection Lipstick in Crimson. That way I have an orange, purple, pink and red and cover all my bases.

Finally I am also taking some of my Real Techniques brushes which aren't pictured. I think I'll take the Buffing Brush for foundation, Contour Brush for bronzer and blush, Brow Brush for brows, Deluxe Crease Brush for concealer and the Base Shadow Brush for my eyeshadow. Plus my good old primark powder brush to finish it of.

This is actually what I would take on a two week trip to be honest and I'm only going for 6 days...Oops...

New York City: Hand Luggage Essentials

This is the first installment in my holiday series this year! I was especially lucky this year as my parents took us to New York, which is just a dream come true! So I have decided to do a series of holiday themed posts, I have four more posts planned so far but I might come up with more so watch this space! Today we obviously have my 'Hand Luggage Essentials' plus I have my 'Holiday Makeup Bag', a 'New York Haul, a look book of sorts for my holiday and some photos actually from New York planned.

Hand Luggage Essentials by frankenwhale featuring Henri Bendel

So here's what I carry with me when flying- purse, sunglasses, camera, warm socks (It's so cold on planes!), ereader/book, food/sweets, chewing gum, mobile phone, headphones, a drink (Remember to buy it after security!) and then a make up bag. Except with no actual makeup in usually because I try to avoid makeup when flying because it dries out your skin so much. However I do carry a mini body spray, hand mirror, lip balm, moisturiser, hand sanitiser, bobbles, tissues and oil sheets.

Hope this helps you out if you're going on a trip soon...

FOTN #02

I really love this makeup look, it's quite a simple one really but works well, especially with the 60's style dress I was wearing.

Products used-

Bare minerals prime time primer

Max Factor Facefinity foundation

Collection Lasting Per

Rimmel London Clear Complexion Transparent Powder

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder

Bare Minerals Blusher in Pink Petal

MUA Pro-Brow Palette

Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Gel Eyeliner in black
Maybelline falsies mascara
Miss Sporty pump it up mascara
Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick

Katy Perry Oh Honey False Lashes (Review soon!)

Hot UK Deals App: A Bargain Hunter's Best Friend

HotUKDeals.co.uk is a website that me and my family have been using for quite a while but only recently have I discovered the wonders of the app. Or more specifically, the alerts feature.

As a beauty lover (Obviously!) and a bargain hunter, this app is total perfection. You can add any tags you want for example I have 'makeup', 'boots', 'soap and glory' and non beauty stuff like 'harry potter', 'disney' and 'game of thrones' on mine. This means that whenever anyone posts any deals relating to any of these topics, I get a push notification on my phone.

Here's an example of what came up a few weeks ago. I was so tempted to get the Ted Baker make up bag but I actually managed to resist that one. However I did buy the Bare Minerals makeup kit, the freederm skincare range and some Sally Hansen Nail Varnish for £1 after seeing them on this app, and that's just off the top of my head...

Just be warned, your purse won't be happy!

FOTN #01

This is the makeup that I recently wore to a friends 16th and I rather liked it so I thought I'd pick this look to be my first ever FOTD but since it was for the evening I went with FOTN?

Products used-
Bare minerals prime time primer
Max Factor 3 in 1 facefinity foundation
Collection lasting perfection concealer
Bare minerals blush in pink petal
Bourjois delice de poudre bronzing powder
Maybelline colour tattoo in on and on bronze
MUA Undressed Palette
MUA Pro-Brow Palette
Loreal super liner eyeliner perfect slim
Bare Minerals big and bright eyeliner in Charcoal
Maybelline falsies mascara
Prestige Skin loving minerals eye shadow in Bronze
Miss Sporty pump it up mascara
Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick

Hope you like it...

Real Techniques Core Collection

To be honest I'm not sure why I'm writing about these since every blogger and their mother already seems to have, anyone who hasn't heard the rave about Real Techniques brushes must have been living under a rock but anyway here we go...

Normally this set costs £21.99 in boots or superdrug but when I brought mine they were selling them at asda for £11.99 with an extra 25% off when you added them to your basket meaning that I got mine for £8.99! Needless to say, I was absolutely ecstatic! Unfortunately they came back into stock on December 25th and so the first thing I did when I woke up on christmas day was not open presents but in fact order makeup brushes, committed or what! The price has now gone up to £15.43 which is still a great price though. 

I really like that it gives you the names of all the brushes on the back and all their uses too, plus I love the fact that it says on the side of the actual brushes what they are for as opposed to most other brushes I have seen, which means that if you aren't all that skilled and don't know what every brush is for off the top of your head, you can still use them right.

The set comes with 4 brushes and a carry case/display stand which is great for if I'm transporting my brushes to a friends house or something but as a stand its not all that useful because it takes way too long in the mornings to get the brushes in and out of the elastic holders.

This is the flat foundation brush for applying liquid foundation. Personally I use it for applying concealer under my eyes and around my nose as I don't actually wear foundation day to day usually.

The detailer brush to be used to apply concealer or lipstick. I use this for concealing any blemishes I have.

Contouring brush for applying bronzer, blush or highlighter. I use this for bronzer and blusher most days.

The buffing brush for applying foundation or powder. I find this brush works really well with both liquid foundation and my bare minerals foundation. However don't be as stupid as I was once and try and use it for powder straight after using it for liquid foundation because it all just got stuck to the brush... 

Overall I have much the same opinion as the rest of the world really because these are such brilliant brushes!

Any recommendations on which ones I should add to my collection next? I'm thinking the eye set ?

DIY Lip Scrub

I have noticed that the colder months have meant that my lips are getting very chapped, so I have been lusting over the Lush lip scrubs. The problem is that I'm trying to cut my spending and £6 for a tiny little pot just doesn't seem fair. Enter pinterest and the search for DIY lip scrubs.

To be honest all the recipes seemed pretty simple, all you needed was sugar, a carrier oil and then optional flavourings and colours. 

Personally I chose to use vanilla extract and extra virgin olive oil since it was all I had in the cupboard.

If you want a recipe with precise measurements, you can check out any of the three websites I have linked below, but personally I just did it by eye and dumped all the ingredients into the bowl and mixed...

Once you're finished you can just use your fingers to rub a bit onto your lips and it will take off any dead skin cells just like a face scrub would. Then simply wipe off with a tissue or wash off.

Recipe Sources-

• http://www.easy-home-made.com/lush-diy-lip-scrub.html
• http://thebeautythesis.com/2013/10/05/diy-lip-sugar-scrub/
• http://gretalrabbit.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/diy-lip-scrub-lush-bubblegum-dupe.html

It might not be as pretty as the Lush ones but it'll work for me until I pluck up the courage to spend £6 on such a tiny jar. 

If any of you have tried them please let me know if you rate them!

Last Minute Christmas Present Ideas for Beauty Lovers

In lieu of a festive favourites post today I thought I'd give you some last minute present ideas. With a week to go you really should have all your christmas presents sorted by now, but just in case you don't here's a few ideas...

Christmas Present Ideas for Beauty Lovers by frankenwhale

Sometimes it's rather hard to buy beauty related presents for make-up enthusiasts like myself since make-up is quite a personal thing. That's why I decided to put together a little selection of things that any beauty enthusiast would be happy to receive. Most of the products mentioned above are some of my personal favourites, including the MUA Undressed palette, Barry M gelly nail varnishes, essie nail varnish, candles and the three perfumes. The others are all things that I am lusting after :)

Hope this gives you some inspiration...

Barry M Gelly Nails Review

Okay, go easy on me, this is my first ever beauty product review. 
In one word this nail varnish is amazing! After seeing a couple of YouTube videos saying how amazing they were, I just had to try them. All the nail varnish in superdrug was on 3 for 2 so I brought 2 gelly nail varnishes- Blueberry and Greenberry and a clear because I dropped mine in the kitchen and it smashed and went all over the floor-my dad was not happy! 

They cost £3.99 each and offer quite a wide range of colours which were hard to choose from. I also noticed that they are on 2 for £6 in superdrug yesterday. They offer incredible shine too but the most amazing thing is that they last for ages without chipping. I wore a base coat of Barry M 'Top coat, Base coat and Nail Hardener',  two coats of blueberry and another Barry M clear and it lasted 8 days with very minimal chipping as you can see in the photos below.

Just after painting-

8 days later-

Overall I would recommend these nail varnishes to absolutely anyone!