MAXFACTOR HAUL + FREEBIES

Hello!  So whilst having a standard browse round Boots recently, I went to repurchase my favourite mascara Masterpiece Max and saw that Maxfactor were doing a free gift worth £27 when you spend £15.  Being the weak person that I am I immediately decided that I needed a new lipgloss, and conveniently that made my total come to £15.99 so whoop, free gift for moi!  In general I’m not particularly swayed by incentives like this because the free gifts are often samples of products that I would usually be interested in, but Maxfactor has always been a favourite brand of mine and when I saw that a full size False Lash Effect mascara was included I was sold.  Maxfactor’s strong point for me has always been their mascaras, and I’ve never found one that I prefer to any of theirs which is quite an achievement.  Also included in the free gift was a full sized nail polish, and I mean full sized, not one of those small polishes that they usually sell!  Lastly there was a full sized lipgloss, which looked pretty but I wasn’t overly bowled over by, but overall it was a great and generous freebie.

False Lash Effect Mascara (free): This is the waterproof version of the infamous Maxfactor favourite, I really love how this mascara delivers both length and volume.  The applicator is quite big though so coating bottom lashes can be a bit of a pain, I usually use a different one for them.  I haven’t used this waterproof version before, but in general they tend to hold a curl better than the regular counterparts so that’s a plus.  The downside is that it takes more effort to remove!

Masterpiece Max Mascara:  This is my go-to mascara, my favourite of all time.  It doesn’t get as much credit as the False Lash one, which I find strange because this one has the full package, including a thin wand and applicator which makes coating top and bottom lashes easy and also ensures that every lash is included.  I highly recommend it, and although I have fairly long lashes already, it really adds a lot of length to them and volumises them nicely – all with no flaking or fallout come the end of the day. 

Nail Polish in ‘Forever Glam’(free):  I am already in love with this shade and cannot wait to try it on properly!  It’s a deep magenta shade that’s glossy and supposedly long lasting – we shall see!

Max Effect Lipgloss in ‘Nude Brown’: This is the lipgloss I picked up to bring my total up to £15, I don’t need it and it probaby won’t be my holy grail product any time soon.  However, I do like Maxfactor lipglosses because they tend not to be sticky, so this will be an ideal daytime nude colour that hopefully won’t stick my hair to my lips.

Lipgloss in ‘Polished Fuchsia’:  This looks lovely and pigmented from the outside, however as you can see from the swatch that’s not really the case!  It is more of a sheen colour than I assumed, and not a super deep pink but rather a soft shimmery one instead.  I do still like it though, and it’s ideal as a subtle pop of colour if you don’t fancy going all out with a statement lip. 

What do you think of the Maxfactor free gift?  Are you tempted to get it? xx

 

My Daily Make Up #1

Heyyy!  I named this as my first daily make up type of post because I can guarantee there will be more, since I change my make up so often!  I actually feel quite guilty spending so much money on make up that I don’t need (even though I convince myself that I do need every single thing), and in fact I reckon that it has recently over taken how much I spend on clothes which is actually a little worrying.  Most of this can be blamed on my foundation addiction, I love buying them the most and I’m ashamed to say that there are a couple of ones laying around that aren’t even half used >__<.  I say this here because I think this is the only place where there may be some people who read who actually understand this madness!

Anyway, so these are the current products I am using.  I am still getting through my first ever Origins product, their A Perfect World moisturiser, and I love it.  It feels very gentle on my sensitive skin and I love the fact that it has spf 25 in it.  I use the Hydraluron Moisture Booster under my moisturiser and it helps to get the very most out of it and claims to hold in a lot of the skin’s moisture, giving you a healthy glow.  I have already reviewed this product, and I really do think that it is helping to make my skin look better than it has in a long time.  I’m really enjoying using my new Real Techniques blush brush, at first I was surprised at how soft and light it was, and it took some getting used to, but I am loving it now.  The Illamasqua Skin Base foundation is still going strong too, this is one of the best foundations I have ever used, and I’m still so pleasantly surprised that I found my perfect shade!  My beloved Naked 2 palette is also there, I hated how much I paid for it, but at the same time I love every colour in it so I use it almost every day and am making sure I get my money’s worth!  The GOSH eyebrow pen is a great buy, I highly recommend it.  I looks like an eyeliner and the tip is very similar too, but it makes it really easy to create a nice natural shape with your brows, if you suffer with pale brows that have little/no shape like me (I don’t think they have ever recovered from being plucked to within an inch of their life back when I was a teen).  The little angled brush came as part of a set of brushes from Ebay, and I use it for filling in my brows if I happen to use a powder product on them, or as an under eye eyeliner brush which is what I’m currently using it for.  Benefit Sugarbomb blusher is gorgeous, and it has lasted me absolutely ages!  It has a lovely peachy coral glow and a light sheen which makes my cheeks look subtly flushed.  Benefit High Beam is another firm favourite of mine, it really completes my make up by creating a glow in places like the top of my cheek bones and the arch of my brows.  MaxFactor Masterpiece Max mascara cannot be beaten in my opinion.  It was talked about a couple of days ago on here, and this is one product that I repurchase over and over again.  MaxFactor is really underrated in my opinion, I have always loved their mascaras and they have a great selection of foundations and nail polishes too. 

So there we go, my current make up that I use on a day to day basis!  I didn’t include any lip products because there isn’t really any one product I use every day right now, I sometimes just put on a little balm if I’m going to work, or I switch between various nude shades I have. 

What are your current make up products? xx

Review | MaxFactor Wild Mega Volume Mascara

 

Hey!  Another review today, of something that I was sure I would like as soon as I saw it.  MaxFactor is a brand not usually considered particularly popular with people of my age group, they have a number of products that are aimed at more mature skin and less that would appeal to younger people.  However, I have always been a fan of them, I have used a few of their foundations in the past and Miracle Touch is still one of my all time favourites.  The same goes for their mascaras, I absolutely love their False Lash Effect mascara and also their 2000 Calorie mascara. 

I was interested to see that they had launched the new ‘wild’ collection, which has a selcetion of colourful eyeshadows and polishes etc which looks like it is aimed at a younger market.  I’m not one for buying eyeshadows often, my Naked 2 palette is enough for me right now and considering how much it cost it will stay that way for a while!  But I did happen to be looking out for a new mascara, and when I saw this one I picked it up straight away.

I was right to have faith, because I love this mascara!  It is a lovely deep black colour that goes on easily thanks to the shape of the brush, and for a volumising mascara it gives really good length too.  There was no sign of spidery lashes (although I’m guilty of sometimes enjoying a spider lash SORRY NOT SORRY!), and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it covered my bottom lashes well too, as I often find that thicker brushes make it harder to get to all my smaller lashes. 

There is a little flaking during the day, but not much at all.  I really love this mascara and recommend you give it a go!

Have you tried this mascara?  Are you a MaxFactor fan like me? xx

 

I am off tomorrow on holiday for ten days, I haven't scheduled any posts for while I'm away because I plan to photograph my outfits and do some (a lot) of shopping which I will write about when I'm back.  I'm going to the east coast, specifically North Norfolk so if any of you reading this are from that way let me know!  I have been going up there since I was young and feel like it is my home from home so I'm really excited to go!  I will be dipping my toe in the lifestyle side of blogging too when I'm back, as I plan to share some of the photos I take while I'm away and talk about my photography in general.  Let me know what you think about this (if anything!) and I will be back in 11 days time :) Have a lovely time if you too are going on holiday this weekend! xx

 

 

FOTD | Sans Eyeliner

 

Face: L’Oreal Studio Secrets Primer, MaxFactor FaceFinity Foundation, Benefint Sugarbomb Blusher

Eyes: Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes palette, Maxfactor False Lash Effect mascara

Lips: Topshop Lipstick in Innocent

 

Hey everyone :).  This is a rare FOTD where I have no eyeliner on!  I hardly ever go out without doing the popular flick on each of my eyes, it’s just a habit now and I don’t even give it any thought any more.  But today I thought I would see what I look like without it… and I am pretty surprised by how suddenly natural my look has gone!  To me my eyes look really quite bare now, but at the same time it seems to make my mascara stand out more and open up my eyes.  I really can’t decide if I like this look or not, I’m always so jealous of some girls who do natural make up so well and look great, but I just don’t know if this suits me or if I’m brave enough to go out without my beloved eyeliner!  I’m going to stick to this look for the rest of the week but I reckon I shall be reaching frantically into my make up bag before long! 

 

How do you prefer your make up look?  Natural or fully made up? xx

Sarah x

Make Up of the Moment

Today I thought I would show you what make up I wear day to day.  I'm always trying new products and brands so these are literally the ones I'm using at the moment.  The foundation I've been wearing is Estee Lauder Double Wear, because 1) I've seen a lot of good reviews about it and 2) I had a 'lovetoshop' voucher from xmas to spend which made it easier to buy than actually pay the £26 or something with my own money!  It has the best coverage by far than any other products I've used, and I never thought it would beat Mabelline Dream Satin Liquid, but it does.  You don't need much of it at all which means it lasts longer and you therefore should get your money's worth.  I bought it because I always look for full coverage foundations because I'm so pale that any blackheads, spots or uneven skin tone are really noticeable, and this foundation completely covers all of these up so well that I hardly need to use any concealer (I use Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer)  This especially is true for around my eyes, because I get very dark circles that are always needing concealer, but I don't use it anymore because Double Wear covers them perfectly!  I would definitely recommend this product but only if you need full coverage, because otherwise it is quite expensive.  I use Maxfactor Creme Puff just to seal my make up and keep any shine away.  It is really light and lasts for ages because again you don't need much of it at all.  I use Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes pallette because there are three neutral colours in it that can be worn in all kinds of ways that are perfect for evening or daytime looks.  It also comes with handy little brushes to apply it all, and I also sometimes use the darkest brown in there to colour in my eyebrows - it is great because it makes them look much thicker, and then any touch ups are done with the Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil.  Also, for daytime make up I use the darkest shade under my lashes instead of eye liner as it can be blended to give a subtle and more natural colour.  Rimmel Flash Eyeliner is what I use on my top lash line, because you use it like a pen and this makes it very easy to do a smooth, straight line.  The staying power is really good too.  Then there is the Benefit Coralista blusher, which is a peachy coral colour and is great for my pale skin because it gives it a rosy glow without being too bold or fake-looking.  Finally, there is the MaxFactor Masterpiece Max mascara, which I only started using very recently.  It does lengthen my lashes quite a lot, but I definitely prefer their False Lash Effect mascara - in fact I've never found one that is better than this yet, it makes my lashes really thick without the spidery effect and also really lengthens them, so I will be going back to it in future.  

Hope you enjoyed my longest post yet!! xx