Beauty CnR*

Glossier finally started shipping to the UK. They're actually shipping not from the US, but from a UK warehouse so we don't have to pay loads for shipping or taxes. Great!

For a long time I wasn't particularly wowed by the brand. I liked the packaging and the reviews from bloggers who tried it but I didn't see anything that really interested me. So when I made a purchase on the very first day Glossier launched in the UK I even suprised myself. I think it had to do with a great website, an avalanche of reviews from the British bloggers and an affordable pricing. I was especially tempted by Glossier Phase 2 set where you can save some money by purchasing three items (Boy Brow, Stretch Concealer and G Generation lipstick) and you can also choose the colours you want.
I also got the Milky Jelly Cleanser. Probably because it was mentioned by everyone and their aunt. Seriously. I mostly blame Anna, Lily and Caroline.

Now that I have used these items for a few weeks I feel like I can give an honest review and not just first impressions.



Milky Jelly Cleanser

This is a very basic simple cleanser. It has a gel like consistency and a very light floral/botanical scent. No fragrance added. It does not foam, feels quite hydrating but it will not take your makeup off. Second cleanse only.
It kind of does what it says on the tin. Cleanser 'conditions' the skin as in after washing it off the skin feels more soft and plump. For super dry skins however I would stick with an oil cleanser. While this is kind of hydrating, it's not nourishing enough.
It's good. I'm not sure if I would repurchase it again but I will definitely use it up.

Ingredients:
Water/Aqua/Eau, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Propanediol, Isohexadecane, Poloxamer 184, Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Xylitylglucoside, Betaine, Allantoin, Glycerin, Panthenol, Symphytum Officinale Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Anhydroxylitol, Polysorbate 80, Xylitol, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Isopropyl Myristate, Benzoic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide

Boy Brow 

I had my doubts about this because I'm not really into brows. Or not into daily brow care/make up. They were never overplucked and I like their natural shape. They're just a tad light. So i got the colour blond. It is slightly darker than my natural colour and I like it. The formula feels a bit waxy but doesn't harden too much. Looks very natural. I kind of wish the brush was finer but that's just me being picky. I enjoy using it and have been using it almost every day since I bought it.

Stretch Concealer

I was curious to try this because I'm very much into concealer that can be used for under eye area and do not crease. I got it in colour medium since I've been on holidays and tanned a bit and it is a good match. If you're a match to Bourjois foundation in 52 vanilla or IT cosmetics CC cream in light, get the medium. If you're fairer, get light. The concealer has an interesting consistency of a balm and it leaves the skin quite dewy. It offers light coverage that is not the most long wearing, but it looks natural and you can always top it up. It will not cover spots or dark pigmentation. For that I would go for Nars concealers. But those can end up looking cakey, especially if the skin underneath is dry and cracked (as it often is with spots)
So yes, I like it. But I do like the Maybelline Age Rewind one for under eyes too. The Glossier one probably has more skin care benefits. Probably.

Generation G lipstick in Zip

I wanted an easy to wear red lipstick. I lost my Revlon lip butter, gave away Charlotte Tilbury's mini in So Marilyn and was left with limited edition MAC in Leading Lady Red. That one is a mother to put on and keep on the lips. It looks great and I love the colour but it's high maintenance. 
Generation G in Zip is again exactly what it says on the tin. It is sheer but easily buildable, matte but rather comfortable on the lips. The narrow bullet makes the application super easy. Perfect.

All in all, I am very happy with my purchases and I will be making more. Probably not the skincare, but the effortless makeup is very much my cup of tea. 

Oh, and the perfume is lovely too! Very fresh, light and... effortless.

I've had this feeling for a while that it might be time for me to purchase a new eye shadow palette.
It probably has to do with the fact that the beauty market has been exploding with various palettes this year.
I've been oohing and aahing but could not make up my mind for the longest time.

When it comes to make-up and especially eye shadows, I am quite minimalistic, I don't feel the need to use eye shadows everyday. For the past two years the only eyeshadows I have used was Charlotte Tilbury's eye shadow quad in Sophisticate. It had a nice brightening your-skin-but-better shade, a slightly darker beige one for the crease, warmer dark brown for smoky eye and a matte grey brown which was the perfect colour for my eyebrows!


Nearly two years later, I have used up the lightest colour and I still haven't reached the pan on all the other ones. Now that I'm writing this, I'm wondering why have I even decided that I need a new palette... I could have just purchased a singular pale cream colour and been done with it... Oh, but the heart wants what it wants. *shrugs*

I have decided to go for a high end brand rather than high street. I am sure that high street offers some amazing quality eye shadows but call me what you want, I enjoy a pretty design and packaging.

I've looked at most of the brands...

Charlotte Tibury: The Dolce Vita and The Golden Goddess looked nice and so did the face palettes, but I felt like it was time for a larger palette. And non Charlotte Tilbury for once.

Same goes to Chanel/ Dior/ Tom Ford. That said, I was lusting big time after Tom Ford's Honeymoon and Nude Dip palettes... But £64 for four colours. Yowza!

Violet Voss/ Morphe Brushes: The palettes are too big. I don't need that many colours.

Anastasia Beverly Hills: Modern Renaissance. This is probably great since everyone and their mother has one, but I wasn't attracted to the colours, especially the hot pink and red one.

Zoeva: Some great colour combinations and great value for money. Not surprisingly however the packaging is cheap and since I'm intending to use my palette for a couple of years, I doubt it would last or stay looking presentable for a long time.

Urban Decay: the heat palette seems a tad too warm for my liking and I'm kind of over the Naked palettes.

MAC: I heard the palettes are not of the best quality... They might have suited me OK since I am not a professional, but the packaging didn't look great either.

Stilla/Smashbox and Tarte came close to being picked but then I stumbled across the new-ish Nars Loaded Palette in Strike it Rich and I knew I've found THE ONE. It has both mattes and shimmers, plenty of light colours, warm browns, interesting gold, reddish bronze... For me, it seems to have it all and more. Quite an upgrade from the quad of mattes I've been using even though I still think CT quad in The Sophisticate is a great basic.
Nars palette is not cheap, it's £55 but it offers 12 colours and a nice sturdy packaging with huge mirror. I took my time to check all the retailers and decided to purchase from Space NK because they had free shipping, best samples and let me use two voucher codes to add two additional luxury sized samples (Lancer and Vita Liberata), score!

Not that many empties this month, this is due to my trip to India where I binned or gave away stuff so I wouldn't need to travel with it back home. But...

Emma Hardie Moringa cleansing balm 50ml. My favourite cleansing balm, nothing comes close, especially smell wise. Already repurchased.

Alpha H Essential Hydration Cream, 30ml. Nice and light, really hydrating, might repurchase for summer.

Garnier Skinactive Micellar Oil Infused Wipes. Again, these were useful in India. Took off makeup and dirt with ease, a bit too rough for my eye area. Very fragrant. I have another pack of these in storage so will not repurchase any time soon.

Ren Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream. Creamy and soothing but not too heavy.

Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes. I can't deal with this. Plenty left in the tube but I hate the smudging with passion. To the bin it goes!

I love Charlotte Tilbury. Every beauty blogger/makeup enthusiast loves Charlotte Tilbury. Her lipsticks, eyeshadow quads, powders, even skincare is great. However. The mascaras are... meh.
I think when it comes to mascara this applies to a lot of luxury makeup brands because high street mascaras are pretty much equal in quality if not better and at a fraction of cost.

Now mascaras just like anything else depends on personal preferences and the type of lashes they have. I have straight, thin and blond lashes and there's a lot of them. They are soft and they easily hold their shape if curled. I like lengthening, separating and buildable mascaras. If they manage to lift and slightly curl my lashes, that's a big bonus.

stock photos from charlottetilbury.com

Charlotte Tilbury offers two mascaras in her range. Full Fat Lashes (£23) and Legendary Lashes (£25). After reading the descriptions and reviews on her website I opted to purchase the Full Fat Lashes and selected to receive a sample of the Legendary Lashes.

I hate having several mascaras on rotation so I only opened Legendary Lashes first. I hate this mascara. It's soo not for me. The mascara was too wet, I had to be super careful when applying because the brush is rather large and if I tried to get close to the roots of the lashes I would typically get stuff on my lids. And guess what. As soon as you try to wipe it off, you make it much much worse *facepalm* Application aside the Legendary Lashes didn't seem to dry down and God forbid you accidentally touch them or get teary or greasy or sweaty eyelids... You end up with raccoon eyes. Imagine if you got caught in the rain! *shudders*. Taking this mascara off was an experience in itself. It comes off easily but if you're using micellar water with cotton pad it stains, spreads and dyes the water and pads so much that I had to use 4 pads just get the stuff of my eyes (I typically use 1-2 pads in total to take eye and face makeup).

One good thing about the Legendary Lashes is that it builds up like crazy and your lashes can indeed look fake. But keeping in mind that this mascara smudges so much I would rather invest in actual fake lashes.

Brushes compared

I was slightly apprehensive to try the Full Fat Lashes. It couldn't be much worse than the Legendary ones though. Again at first I didn't like the wetness of the mascara and the brush seemed quite similar to the Legendary Lashes. However if the mascara went on my lids it was easy to wipe and it didn't smudge THAT much. It still smudged a bit. I blame my oily eyelids or the fact that I almost never use powder. I do like waterproof formulas.

Full Fat Lashes coats lashes while separating and lengthening them. Mascara is buildable and it never clumps lashes. They indeed look full and fat but naturally so, not fake or spidery.

If Charlotte Tilbury made waterproof version of Full Fat Lashes I would happily repurchase. For now though, I will finish the tube I own, bin the Legendary Lashes and probably go back to trying new high street mascaras. There's so many to choose from!