Tropic Lash Extension Kit

     Tropic is a brand run by Susan Ma, who some of you may recognise from The Apprentice; although she did not win, Lord Sugar took an interest in her company resulting in a 50/50 partnership between the two in 2011. I discovered the brand at a Tropic evening held by an ambassador for Tropic who showed us all the products in their collections and I came away with this Lash Extension Kit, £25 and the Skin Revive Moisturising Cream, £20.
     This kit involves three steps with two brushes. The fixing gel acts as a normal mascara (though gooier) and the second brush is packed with black fibres which are brushed on and stick to the gel, giving a longer and more feathery lash look. The gel is then used as the third step to re-seal although I only use this on my top lashes as it is far too sticky to use on my bottom line and the hassle of each blink glueing together is not worth it.
     I've seen amazing results from this : it's like using false eyelashes but without the effort or TOWIE look. The end result is wispy lashes which are full and with the added layers remain strong and in place for day and night.

M.A.C Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NW13

My respect for M.A.C has heightened even further than I thought possible after following it's Fashion Week looks on social media, because now, at last, I am finally the owner of the Studio Fix Fluid Foundation and I have to say I have never used a foundation that is quite so flawless. Previously, using high street brands such as Rimmel's Wake Me Up and Maybelline's Fit Me and even heading further upmarket with my sleek Bobbi Brown foundation, I have never found the ideal base, having to build up a lot with concealers and powders, leaving my face feeling caked to be honest. However, with M.A.C, I can rely on it not to wear off, or do a poor job of covering my spots and dark shadows and to build up the rest of my skin I only need a little concealer and a light covering of bronzer. I have seen reviews that it can cause break outs but I don't find my skin irritated much at all, although I make sure to moisturise well before applying otherwise my dryness starts to show as the day wears on.
I used my Eco Tools flat foundation brush to apply, which has been a favourite recently as I get bored of my Beauty Blender after a couple of months using it and have to swap it in and out with brushes as I just love the feel of painting onto skin.
This was £21.50, which is more expensive than your average high street brand but with such a flawless look I feel it was worth the money. I also only wear this at the weekends, opting for tinted moisturiser for school as it frees up my skin and I can justify the price as I don't feel I'm wasting such a beautiful product.
My shade is nearly the palest, NW13, but is my best match and doesn't leave an obvious colour difference from my face to my neck which I despise on anyone of any age with poor make up!
Finally, I have shown my face firstly with just the foundation on and no eye make up and then fully done up; this was a bit of a big step for me as having blonde eyelashes does not mean I go freely without make up. Ever. Out of my comfort zone is an interesting place.
I am wearing the Truly Madly Deeply Psychic Symbol Crop Top from Urban Outfitters.

Soap and Glory Yule Monty Gift Set

Please just take this in. The sheer size of this set. Then take a breath and stop weeping with joy. This is the Yule Monty Gift Box that my lovely uncle and auntie (let's be honest, predominantly auntie) gave me for Christmas and oh I do love it. Soap and Glory is such a great brand and their creams and lotions make the skin so soft. This box contains Sugar Crush Body Wash, The Righteous Butter Body Cream, Heel Genius Foot Cream, Hand Food Hand Cream, Peaches and Clean Cleanser, Thick and Fast Super Volume Mascara, The Scrub of Life Body Buffer, Butter Yourself Body Lotion and Sexy Mother Pucker Lipgloss. Happiness. In seven bottles.

Morocco Goodies

 Happy New Year!
Recently I went to Morocco with my school to visit the Education For All Morocco charity that we've been fundraising (but more about that in another post) and whilst in Marrakech we stopped in at this pharmacy, Epices Ibno Baytar full of spices, creams and oils. A couple of guys gave us a demonstration of all their products which at the time seemed a lot of effort for them but afterwards they offered each product out really systematically and between our group of 20 it was worth the extra endeavour.
So I bought three lip balms which happen to be called herpes cream I DO NOT HAVE HERPES. The bottom photo shows me in the background of the shot that was put on facebook by my best friend with the caption 'found Lucy's medicine.' That was certainly the highlight of Monday, reassuring my friends that I do not have an STD.
I also purchased this brightly coloured exfoliater which is a lot softer that some scrubs and an anti-spot cream that is very similar to Vaseline and absolutely brilliant! Unlike most anti-blemish products that dry out the spots this acts as more of a moisturiser and I put it on before bed and it calms down my face whilst keeping it hydrated. The black seeds are nigella seeds which are sniffed through cloth to clear blocked noses and calm headaches. This was at the point of Nigella Lawson's drug court case which seemed a little too apt for these seeds which we were sniffing like baby druggies.

Baby Lips - Hydrate, Cherry Me, Cherry Velvet

I am fully aware that Baby Lips are by no means a new trend and I have been building my collection for a while. Sadly this little lot did include the green 'Mint Fresh' one (lost to the wilds of handbag clutter probably) which while I'm here I would definitely recommend as it has just the right level of mint so it is more reminiscent of mint choc chic ice cream than overpowering gum. 

These three here are the classic blue 'Hydrate', which I use everyday for a basic balm, the tinted 'Cherry Me' which is a subtle red and more like a lipstick than balm, and this 'Cherry Velvet' which doesn't share the same packaging as the others and to be honest I have no idea where it came from.

The Hydrate has a great plumping look too and although does not have a particular colour associated with it, leaves a pale base which is fractionally whiter than the lip shade. This is really moisturising and needs to be topped up every few hours, but I am finding this really necessary for winter and the dry chapped lips situation.

Cherry Me isn't too strong a colour, though a faded red I would say, that looks like a lipstick but much less matte and precise. The only thing about the tinted Baby Lips is that if your lips are exceptionally dry, the colour will obviously not flatter the chapped bits and flaky is not where you want to be! 

The Cherry Velvet I would not say is anything particularly special and although it has the Baby Lips name to it, strikes me as a much more standard balm and isn't as moisturising and glossy as the others. Maybe I'm just living up to my stereotype though and finding fault because it's packaging isn't as pretty...

Even if you just have one, a winter essential. That is if you can't get your hands on an EOS of course.

Empties - Essentials

I've been collecting my empty products recently to put into one big post and here it is! A lot of these I use on a daily basis, particularly the skin care but I've been impressed with how long these have lasted, particularly the Lush moisturiser! The powder isn't finished yet but as it's my third replacement I've gotten bored of it and moved on. Although there is two cleansers, the one I've been using most recently is the Vichy one which has been particularly good for make up removal.

This collection of empties is :
Rapid Action Deep Pore Treatment Toner - Clearasil
Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - Liz Earle
Normaderm Cleansing Gel - Vichy
Wake Me Up Foundation - Rimmel
Skindrink Facial Moisturiser - Lush
The Righteous Body Butter - Soap and Glory
Stay Matte Pressed Powder - Rimmel
Cat Eyes Collosal Mascara - Maybelline
Mastertouch Concealer - Maxfactor

Halloween Skeleton Outfit

Shooting this post was brilliant; the Halloween spirit is in the air! I'm going as a skeleton girl in this dress from Amazon which I'm much more keen on now I've adapted it, but when I ordered it as a strapless dress I'd assumed it would have some ribbing inside or at the very least some structure to keep it up but I just got some material with those tacky transparent plastic straps. I sewed on some thin black straps to hold it up and then decided to wear it with my black, furry Topshop coat and spiked heels from New Look.
The makeup ended up with a more catty look with the flicked eyes but I love the intensity of the look and a lot of black eye shadow, kohl and liquid liner was used as well as grey shadow and white eyeliner with my usual skin base but much darker eyebrows to define the face even more.

Makeup :
SKIN : Wake Me Up Foundation - Rimmel / Wake Me Up Concealer - Rimmel / Dream Terra Sun Bronzer - Maybelline / Expert Foundation Brush - Real Techniques / Stippling Brush - Real Techniques / Kabuki Brush
EYES : Grey and Black Eyeshadow - Colourbox / Pump Up Booster 24hr Eyeliner - Miss Sporty / Liquid Liner - Barry M / Bold Black Kohl Eyeliner - Barry M / White Eyeliner Pencil - Natural Collection / Cat Eyes Mascara - Maybelline
EYEBROWS : Black Eyeshadow - Colourbox / Eyebrow Brush - Bobbi Brown

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Brilliance Powder

Now, I'm not totally sure about this bronzer at all. The word that comes to mind is discoball. For a face. The swatch shows this slightly but this is insanely glittery and is loaded up with a hell of a lot of glitter. However, the one I tried in the shop was less so, so I don't know if I just a powerful applicator or what but when using my one, I give the lightest of dusting across the cheekbones and temples. I love the brush; the powder is in the tube and then by touching the brush to your face it comes out, though fast! If you do it too hard actual clouds of glittery powder will billow off it. You have been warned.
It's £16, which I think is quite pricey for a bronzer but the glow does last all day and it doesn't sink into my pores as much as Rimmel and Maybelline ones have done. So, bearing in mind the excessive shimmer I think this is much more of a winter product because the light won't reflect in such extremes and if you're as pale as me then a bit of bronze is very necessary.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush

 Real Techniques have been recommended to me for ages and now I know completely why - they are amazing! I have been using the 'Expert Face Brush' and 'Buffing Brush' for a while and my newest addition to the RT collection I'm growing is this 'Stippling Brush.' This brush has been really useful in completing the most airbrushed foundation look because I limit it to just finishing off, banishing brush streaks and evening out the tone all over. It gives a really polished look and I use it with my Wake Me Up liquid foundation.
It is relatively cheap for its incredible quality (£10.99) and created by the Pixi Woo beauty guru Sam Chapman whose videos have inspired me for ages. All RT brushes are created with synthetic taklon bristles which are so easy to clean, and it doesn't soak up all the product; my foundation lasts so much longer with these brushes than my previous set of Bobbi Brown's. Believe the rave reviews, these brushes are essential to any make up bag.