Blogmas day 22. Here’s a roundup of all my 2016 beauty and skincare favourites!
Also, I really tried hard to capture Christmas in the photography –it’s an aspect of my blog I am always looking to improve and develop, and I am so envious of people that can assemble stunning flat lays. I always try to ask myself when taking product shots, “how can I make this photo better” and sometimes I get it, sometimes I don’t.
Hey Sweeties,
Recently I was lucky enough to win (through Twitter) a competition to receive the Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara and the Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner. Until this, I had only tried one other Stila product in the past which was the Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner (review here), which I received in the Latest in Beauty Glamour Party Beauty edit box a couple of Christmas’ ago (review here); to this day still one of the best beauty boxes I have ever purchased/received!
I’ve got to be honest, when I first opened the Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara and saw the wand applicator, with its large head and clumpy bristles, I was sceptical that it was going to give the kind of finish I like and also be true to its name. But how wrong I was, this is a gorgeous mascara and it absolutely lives up to what it says on the tin -huge, extreme lashes, and the wand coats product without clumping; it’s amazing!
The eye liner, it’s got to be said, applies like a dream –it’s so easy and quick to do! I love the pen shape of the product which makes it really easy to hold, and the nib is lovely and fine so it will work for those that like to lightly define their eyes, as well as for those like me who like a dramatic wing/cat eye flick, as you can of course build the thickness. The product also lasts really well and once it’s applied you can pretty much leave it for the rest of the day without worrying that it has smudged, I even played hockey the other night and it all stayed beautifully in place.
Stila as a brand sit a little bit on par with Benefit for price point, so while their ranges are affordable and good quality, they do sit at the higher end of the high street scale. The Huge Extreme Lash mascara is about £18, and the eye liner ranges between £13-14.50 depending on where you shop, but both are available on Amazon.
Have any of you tired either of the Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara or Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner? Thoughts?
Until next time x
Hey Sweeties,
I haven’t tried anything from Stila Cosmetics before but like many beauty brands I have yet to try, I know of their existance and I have had the opportunity to look at a stand in store (i.e. Boots) before, I just haven’t taken the plunge with any of the products. So I was excited to find the Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in the Glamour Party Beauty Edit box.
The packaging is attractive and simple. I much prefer these types of liners to pencils as I have yet to find a sharpener that doesn’t destroy the product once it has blunted, so the twist up type in the plastic casing are my go-to!
The shade is Black Amethyst so it’s a dark purple/lilac which is different but also how the product can sit by itself without need of excess eyeshadow and appears softer in appearance than a normal black liner.
For application, it’s incredibly creamy and glides onto the eye lid really easily -both directly and over the top of makeup. As this product is called the ‘smudge stick’ that’s exactly what I did with it taking my little Accent brush from Real Techniques and smudging the product along my lashline. The first time I wore this liner I winged it which to be honest, I didn’t think worked that nicely. If you want a wing, use something else. The nib of the liner is quite blunt so it applies a fairly thick line so not wonderful for precision, delicate application.
So far, I am not convinced this would be something I would purchase again. Not because I don’t think it is good, but because for me (certainly at the moment) I have other eyeliners that kind of already do the job. Not to say that there isn’t room for more, it’s just this one from Stila probably isn’t going to be the one to do that unfortunately, but I am still pleased I have tried it and will continue to do so until it runs out.
Until nextime x
Hey Sweeties,
Those that read Blogmas Day 3 (recent beauty purchases) will be aware that I treated myself to the Latest in Beauty Glamour Party Beauty Edit box. Delightfully, it arrived (although I need to have strong words with the Postman who seemed to think leaving it in my back garden without letting me know is ok -idiot!).
Some of you may remember that for a few months I subscribed to Love Me Beauty but that came to an end in July following an unfortunate mix up when I moved house and although I can’t fault their customer service from the quick response perspective, I think they could have done more to rectify the situation and be more sympathetic. As it happens, they lost me as a customer which left me feeling a bit sceptical about other beauty box subscriptions. However, when I saw this advertised on Latest in Beauty I couldn’t resist.
For £16.99 the box arrived stuffed with products -thirteen in all as well as a year’s iPad subscription to Glamour Magazine- worth £88.85!
The box it all arrived in is for me almost a gift in itself. It’s like when you go to shops with fantastic retail bags where you sometimes want to buy something just for the bag it comes in; this box is exactly like that and makes you feel like something really truly special is inside… Which there is of course!
Box Contents:
Although I am familiar with most of the included brands and indeed the products except for maybe one or two of them, I haven’t yet tried any of them before so this really is an exciting collection of new products for me to play with over the next few weeks/months. The only product I won’t be trying is from Xen-Tan but one of my besties will absolutely love me as a consequence of this. I have nothing against the brand or the product, I just simply do not use fake tan so I might as well passs it on to someone who does.
The products I am most excited to try are – the Stila eyeliner, the Lola nail polish, Vichy serum and the Wild About Beauty eyeshadow. I will let you all know what I think once I have given them all a good try.
Have you guys tried any of the above or did any of you also buy the same beauty box -thoughts?
Until tomorrow x