FAVES & FAILS: FEBRUARY 2014

Happy Friday everybody!
sorry this is late I have been real busy and stuff and life things have been happening
I aim to do a blog post every Wednesday but Wednesday was like "haha I wont let u" so I've got some free time and thought I would do a post so I've at least done something for this week :)

As we're in the first week of March I thought I would talk about things I've been loving and shit that sucked in February.

So products I loved in February are:

Products Shown: Avon Infinitize Mascara, NYX Butter Gloss in Peaches & Cream and Maple Blondie, ELF Baked Blush in Pinktastic, High-lights by Technic and Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama 24hr Gel Eyeliner

Avon Infinitize Mascara - I couldn't get any good shots of the mascara wand which was really annoying because it has a unique shape - its curved and the brush continues on the tip of the wand so its great for getting bottom lashes and small/shorter eyelashes, and its around £4 or £4.50 I'm not too sure but cheap in comparison to other brands that are around £10

NYX Butter Gloss in Maple Blondie (left) and Peaches and Cream (right)

I wear these whenever I go to work as they moisturise my lips, and add some colour so I don't look completely dead - they don't last all day but what I like is that when they do wear off they dont settle in any chapped areas or lines within my lips. When I'm at work I dont have the chance to reapply so these are just easy, simple and work appropriate

ELF Baked Blush in Pinktastic

I guess I'm cheating kinda because I've had this for a while but it is something I use almost all the time so I thought I would mention it. No glitter or chunky/gritty stuff it just adds a great dewy glow. I always go overboard with my highlighter but I literally don't care I want to be a dewy goddess okay

Some people would stop at the cheekbones but I'm gonna be honest this is pretty much my setting powder for the whole face haha *the shame*

It has a pink undertone so if like me your skin has a pink undertone (at least I think I do anyway) it just blends lovely, I love it, I think you can understand my overall unhealthy obsessive feelings for this product

High-Lights by Technic

This is basically the baked blush but in liquid form. What I do is I place this on after my primer all over my face and blend it out with my stipple brush then go over with my foundation HOLY CRAP its amazing. I get really excited over highlighters, if you can't tell.

I've never used the High Beam from Benefit but its pretty obvious its supposed to be a dupe (I think I got mine for £1.50 *speechless*) so unfortunately I can't compare but this works amazing for me.

Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama 24hr Gel Eyeliner in Black

I think everyone and their mother has this gel liner but believe the hype its awesome. It lasts such a long time even without primer, with primer I believe that it would last 24 hours but I don't see why you would keep your make up on for that long.
Its kinda like 48 hour deodarant like why haven't you showered in 48 hours?
I go through phases of winged eyeliner and February I started doing it again but I just use this for my waterline now even if I'm not doing a wing because it just lasts so long and between Uni and work I need long lasting products.

OTHER LOVES IN FEBRUARY:

 Source: (http://tinyurl.com/ot8fg7p)

Ross Kemp: Extreme World - has anyone else been watching this? Ross Kemp travels to different countries to expose the overall corruption there, the series finished in February but you can watch it on Sky still if you're a Sky customer. The episode on Papua New Guinea was so shocking and all the places he visits and subjects that are faced need serious attention.

Source: (http://tinyurl.com/nm4xqnz)

Jennifer Lawrence is also a love of mine for February for two reasons because she's hot and shes a great actress. I saw the Hunger Games: Catching Fire which was a MILLION times better than the first one THANK GOD I feel like they captured a lot more of the book in this film. Also her role in American Hustle was amazing, she really stood out to me I can't say I loved the film but she made it worth watching in my opinion haha.

THINGS THAT SUCKED:

Source: (http://tinyurl.com/nd4aa9n)

*spoilers, duh* The Walking Dead returned and I really hate to say it but its not been great. The episode before the break was amazing, I'm so mad and upset Hershel is gone but at the same time that episode made you feel so many emotions and since then its been really quiet, slow and dull. The plot line is going really slowly, whats happened across the 4 episodes since returning would have happened in just one episode of The Vampire Diaries. I really hate to make that comparison but it used to be much more fast paced and action packed and I much prefer that. I can see they want to focus on different subjects other than zombies but when I really think about whats happened across 4 whole episodes - not much comes to mind. I just really hope it picks up the pace and gets back on track to how things were, I'd hate to see such a unique show be cancelled or not live up to its potential.

I don't have any products I disliked for February which is great because I haven't wasted money but its mainly because I'm too poor to buy lots of new products haha #girlproblems

So I hope you liked this post, its the first one like this but I really liked talking about my thoughts on other stuff than products and I'd be interested in what any of you have to say!
Take care xo

HUGE E.L.F HAUL! | NEW ELF MOISTURIZING LIPSTICK SWATCHES & MINI REVIEW!

Happy Wednesday everyone! *confetti flies*
This week I'm doing my first haul, because ELF (eyeslipsface.co.uk) had free shipping and 50% off your order woaaaaah *rolls around on the floor*
AND they have a NEW line of lipsticks out which made me so excite, I had to try some & I will post swatches for you so lets get to it (10 points for reading the whole shabang - don't cheat I'll find out)

I got the eyebrow treat and tame, I really wanted the clear brow/mascara gel thingy-ma-jig but they were out of stock so I just got this one which is basically the same, in the colour Ash, I also use the brow kit in Ash - its amazing if you're blonde

Also got the studio stipple brush, not to use for foundation but to use for blush and I feel like it distributes the product much better than actual brushes designed for applying blush lol - for my foundation I also use the elf studio flat top brush. Just a warning it is smaller than I expected, which is good for me as I'm using it for blush but for the whole face I feel that using this could take a while.

I also purchased the tone correcting concealer in Ivory - I was sceptical about this however I was pleasantly surprised, it blends well and is actually pale and does not oxidise into orange, become cakey or set into fine lines.
I honestly have no problem with this, I feel its best to blend with a brush using a stipple motion as your fingers just slides it all around and wastes product. I would say it has medium coverage but buildable & is neither thick nor thin.
This makes me interested in trying out other concealers, particularly the Studio Maximum Coverage concealer which I have heard is thicker and much more full coverage.
I will show you a before and after using this on a freckle that I have on my arm:

If you look closely you can see it slightly but all in all I don't know why this isn't raved about more often!

ELF Studio Blush in Tickled Pink - medium pink with peach undertone

Cream Eyeliner in Punk Purple.

ELF Studio Corrective Concealer in Erase & Conceal - great for skin with light blemishes but if you have very dark circles / a lot of redness / heavy blemishes then I would search for something more pigmented.

 ELF Studio Eye Enhancing Eyeshadow in Brown Eyes 2 (even though I have blue eyes - oops) 

I was pleasantly surprised, the shadows are very pigmented, apply smoothly and blend well. The second brown in & second to last purple shade both have heavy glitter, where the rest have subtle shimmers, the nude shade in the middle (you can't see as it matches my skin) is matte & a good all over lid colour (if you're pale ofc) which looks great with winged liner to create an overall neat & clean look.

ELF Studio Moisturizing Lipstick in Coral Cutie (top) and Flirty & Fabulous (bottom)

I wasn't expecting such pigmentation as it says "moisturizing" I figured it would be more of a tint but nope! Also I expected a glossy finish however its just like the mineral lipsticks, if you like the mineral lipsticks but want brighter/more colourful shades check these out!

Hope you enjoyed this haul - ELF have brought back the 50% off + free shipping so if you liked any of these products I'd check them out now while you can get it even cheaper (end 1st March 2014!)

xo

KARDASHIAN BEAUTY TOUCH TONES PALETTE | EYE LOOK & SWATCHES

Hey everyone I received my Kardashian Beauty Touch Tones Palette today (mouthful or what - that's what she said) in the mail, I bought it from FeelUnique.com - if you're not familiar with the site then I highly suggest you check it out because it has FREE SHIPPING omg
Does anyone else feel obligated to purchase something online if the site offers free shipping? #firstworldproblems

Anyway I got this palette for £10.52, it is originally priced at £11.95 but I used the discount code LOVE12 so see if it still works! I purchased the palette in Echo, I believe there are 3 palettes in total.
I'm not sponsored by feelunique I'm not fancy enough yet for all that lol I just really like the site & they often have discounts or sales on higher end products.

So I'll shut up and show you what the palette looks like & swatches & stuff & things

I really like the packaging personally, I love the mix of white and gold, the back of the palette is not so fancy looking but to be honest who cares what the back looks like lol, it's smaller than I expected but the eyeshadows are a decent size.
The only thing that bothers me is that the 'gradient' section in the middle aren't in seperate pans they're just kind of all together which means they could all end up smudging together and that scares me lol
It comes with an applicator which I don't use as I have my own brushes.

I did ONE swipe of each shadow. When I looked up swatches before doing this I think they swiped several times to get very opaque swatches because mine look nothing like theirs just from one go haha
I was expecting more pigmentation and the shadow didn't distribute as well as I expected.

However when I did my make up with this palette the shadows had a much better pay off than when I swatched on my arm (so weird but I've seen before in YouTube videos where the swatches are crap but when applied is much better)

So onto the look I've never done this before so if you have any suggestions on how to improve how I lay this out then feel free to comment or tweet me :) links will be at the bottom. Enjoy!

I then used Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in 01 Intense Black to get my winged liner, and used my white eyeliner from the colortrend line by Avon in my inner corner.

Hope you enjoyed the look & swatches have a great Wednesday and I hope you're wearing pink #onwednesdayswewearpink

LINKS: 
Twitter: @MissRenvoize
Tumblr: MissRenvoize
Instagram: missrenvoize

MY ELF BLUSH COLLECTION | REVIEW & SWATCHES

Hey everyone, hope your January wasn't too shitty and February is way better for you. January just feels like one huge Monday, anyone else? #relatable - Might as well name the month Monday instead

I'm going to try my hardest to do around 1 post a week, which thus far has been a bloody disaster lol
I'm at Uni right now so really busy with useless projects, trust me I wish I could do more of this haha

Also, I find it hard to think of new posts to create and I want to create what people want to see, I mean for me I don't have the money to go out and buy tons of new products to review so I'd like to create other content, if there's anything you'd like to see, maybe a tutorial on a certain look, some tips on whatever, or literally anything lol you can leave a comment at the bottom of this post, or tweet me at @missrenvoize

So for today I thought I would share my Elf Studio blush collection, so far a lot of my posts have been swatch & review posts and to be honest this is because before I started blogging I would go to blogs mainly for this content and I want to create posts that are authentic in opinion and swatches are true to colour so you know what you're getting into when you buy a product!

Obviously I'd like to extend the olive branch (why the fuck am I using that phrase lol) and create all kinds of content, let me know what you want to see :)

So read on to see my thoughts & swatches of my current elf blush collection

 LEFT SIDE

- TOP: BLUSHING ROSE

- BOTTOM: PEACHY KEEN

RIGHT SIDE

- TOP: PINK PASSION

- BOTTOM: GOTTA GLOW

ELF CONTOURING BLUSH & BRONZER IN ANTIGUA

So right off the bat I think these are inexpensive, and very pigmented. All of them are buildable, even Pink Passion which looks insane in the pan, this is the same for the pink blush in the Antigua duo.
You can tell Blushing Rose is well loved I've already hit pan *dolphin tears*

Blushing Rose looks great most likely on any skin, I'm pale and I think it really give you that pretty "flushed" look and it has a gold iridescent when the light hits it, so you could skip your highlight if you wanted
I still wear highlight though because I'm all about that dewy life

Peachy keen is similar in the sense of a gold iridescent however is, obviously, a peach tone and looks very natural. I think if you have fair skin and you want a subtle contour, using this will do all three, blush, contour, & highlight. If I wear this with a bronzer it can become too much and look really harsh against my skin.

Pink Passion is a wonderful bright blusher but also buildable so can be subtle also. I think this would be great on dark skin, I think it only suits me if I have it very subtle. What I like is there's no shimmer it's a straight up matte pink blush which I get really excited about idk why I'm a creep

Gotta Glow is not a blush, duh, but is a highlight with a gold iridescent. It is extremely pigmented it will probably give Nars Albatross a run for its money, I either use this as my highlight or I will use my Elf Baked Blush in Pinktastic (I will do a seperate post on all the baked blushes if you want to see that!)

Elf Contouring Blush & Bronzer in Antigua is supposed to be a cheap dupe for the Nars Bronzer/Blush duos, you can certainly tell they were inspired by Nars haha. I'd love to try the different shades because I really love this duo, to my surprise. The blush is bright in the pan but is buildable. I can't say I'm a fan of the sparkles I much prefer a shimmer/glow over sparkles but this is great if you love that.
Now onto the bronzer, it is VERY pigmented, I think would be great on a range of skintones, even mine! I was scared as I use NYX blush in taupe which is a perfect cool toned bronzer. However this appears very warm toned. I feel if I use the bronzer my whole "look" has to also be warm toned, but if you use a small amount and blend thoroughly you will get a lovely warm look. This does have shimmer in the pan which bothered me but it leaves me with a semi-matte finish (anyone else?) which I was grateful for but if you really wanted that shimmer to appear then you may be disappointed.

I do plan to eventually try all the shades, even in the baked blushes and the blush/bronzer duos, and the cream blushes which I'm very interested in.

SO HERE ARE THE SWATCHES FINALLY sorry if that was a lot to read but if you did it you're awesome and I give you 10 Hayley points.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: ONE SWIPE EACH!

Blushing Rose - Pink Passion - Peachy Keen - Gotta Glow || Bronzer/Blush duo in Antigua

Hope this review & swatch post was helpful - excuse my pyjama pants in the right hand corner of the swatch pic ^.^

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

MAYBELLINE COLOUR TATTOO 24HR REVIEW & SWATCHES & HUGE MAKE UP DISCOUNT!

I recently purchased 3 Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24hr cream gel eyeshadows, and after using these I definitely want to try more shades & one has become a permanent product in my everyday routine.

I was worried about these as I have oily lids however I heard good things about the eyeshadows staying power so I thought I'd give them a go.

I got the shades Eternal Gold, Permanent Taupe and Pink Gold. Read on for swatches, my thoughts and where to buy them at a HUGE discounted price :)

Firstly, I love the clear bottoms as they show the true colour of the eyeshadow which I really like as I feel the product labels are a bit misleading, the label for Permanent Taupe actually implies that the colour has shimmer in it as (you may not be able to see very clearly in the first image) they have added shimmer.

Permanent Taupe.
Aside from a shimmery label, the actual eyeshadow is a staple matte taupe shade and is my absolute favourite. It's the shade I use everyday now, I simply add some of the eyeshadow onto a blending brush using a stipple motion and then blend this from the outer third of my lid towards my inner third which gives a lovely gradient effect and is very natural. It's also buildable, so you can go from a "no make up" make up look to a dark brown smokey eye. I need no other eyeshadows to help transition from this colour to my natural lid colour which is amazing as I am extremely pale - this shadow is very versatile and blends amazingly on its own. It also dries fairly quickly so you have to act fast, which I personally like as you do get your make up done quicker.

Eternal Gold & Pink Gold.
I feel these two shades are very similar in consistency and pigmentation - this may be the case for all the shimmery shades in the line. They have a much creamier consistency than Permanent Taupe, and I feel they need a powder eyeshadow to set them on my lids, if you don't have oily lids then you probably don't need it. To set them, I use the shimmer shades from my Sleek i-Divine palette in Organza or Gateau for Pink Gold & a general gold shadow for Eternal Gold (see these shades swatched in my review here) and it looks AMAZING. If you thought the Sleek shadows were pigmented before then you mind will be blown lol, even though we're using fairly neutral shades here it stands out so much and will add some oomph to a neutral look - omg it looks so pretty haha.

 From left to right - Eternal Gold, Pink Gold & Permanent Taupe. All just one swipe each. So pigmented! #Love

STAYING POWER - On my oily lids these eyeshadows will last at least 4-6 hours without a primer. When I use a primer it will last 8 hours EASY. These are great if you're working 9-5 or have long days at Uni because they will stay put and will not fade. No wonder these are constantly raved about. I'd love to try the rest of the line, especially Metallic Pomegranate.

Where I purchased & huge mega super duper discount! 
I bought mine at Boots and you can pretty much find them in any drugstore. However I discovered a site called Fragrance Direct (click and it will take you to the site!) they are selling the Colour Tattoo's for just £1.50 each (!!!!) I think that's amazing compared to the price of £4.99 in Boots #soexcite

ACNE CLEAR SKIN TRICK: LEMON SUGAR FACIAL SCRUB

I just found out about a facial scrub for your skin which requires only 2 ingredients that you probably have in your house anyway or can get super cheap :)

I'm going to test this out daily and update on the progress, maybe do before & after if I'm brave enough lol

This scrub requires two ingredients:
- Lemon
- Sugar
or lemon juice which may be more convenient to use if you can find it 100% pure

                           

The trick is:
1. Rinse your face
2. Grab a cotton pad and squeeze lemon juice onto it
3. Sprinkle some sugar over the area where you squeezed the lemon juice
4. Begin to scrub your face in circular motions focusing on the T-Zone and acne affected areas
5. Rinse your face and pat dry

If you'd like to know WHY this scrub is beneficial for the skin, read on :)

The reason this srub is supposed to be good for you is the sugar is a natural, raw ingredient that has the right texture to exfoliate the skin and remove dead skin cells.
Lemons are full of AHA's (alpha hydroxy acids) and BHA's (beta hydroxy acids - otherwise known as Salicylic Acid) which are two KEY ingredients to look for in skincare products, and are often used in chemical peels.

What AHA's and BHA's actually do:
- Improve skin pigmentation
- Reduce sun spots, age spots, freckles, etc.
- Decrease the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
- Allows sunscreen to last longer and protect your skin from Sun damage
- Great for dry skin to remove all the nasty, flaky areas and reveal a much smoother layer of skin
- Can get INSIDE clogged pores and plug out all of the dirt and suck out clogged pores

ALL IN ONE LEMON? So lemons promise a lot of good stuff which may sound too good to be true, but why not give it a go?

I will do this scrub every night as when you're asleep your skin takes this oppurtunity to heal, so I thought doing this every night may help maximise results.

In the morning I did actually notice a difference. None of my spots went down however my pores were visibly smaller and I noticed less blackheads, there was also no redness surrounding any spots and my skin was a lot brighter and clearer, with exception to areas with spots.

This seems really promising as just one application and letting that work on my skin overnight did make a visible difference so I'm excited to see its potential with continual use :)
I'd really recommend giving it a try, as these are raw natural ingredients I feel like it is a lot safer compared to an actual product with many unknown chemicals in.

WHAT I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS 2013!

Thought I'd share what I got for Christmas as I'm really excited about a certain something I got and I really couldn't think of anything else to post lol I'm going to also do a Christmas haul but I'm waiting for a few things to arrive... Shit takes so long to ship around this time of year smh...

Take a look if you're interested! (that's what she said? no? ok..)

I got a friggin' Michael Kors watch! So beautiful omg I actually teared up a little haha
When I opened the box I'm pretty sure angels started singing

I got the Michael Kors Blair Multi-Function Glitz watch in Rose Golden omg I could stare at it forever <3

I don't care if you think I'm bragging, lets face it I am.. when you finally own something you've wanted forever you want to tell everyone lol

I also got these amazing boots from my sister, ended up wearing them NYE with a pleather skater dress + leopard print kimono, both from missguided.co.uk I love that site omg

I have to show you these Darth Vader slippers I got because I also got a Stormtrooper onesie so they match and look great together - I've never looked and felt so fucking awesome

Here are a bunch of things I got in my Christmas stocking.. I feel sorry for those who do not get one of these for Christmas :( 

my cat Marley decided to photobomb the pic, all the objects on my bed literally made him go hyperactive

So I got a bunch of Batiste dry shampoo cans but my Mum clearly failed to notice that she bought me a can of brown tinted dry shampoo when I'm blonde? My only theory is she did it so I'd have to give it back to her lol.. 

I tried out the Batiste blonde tinted dry shampoo and it comes out literally yellow because you know.. us blondes all dream to look like we've dipped our hair in custard

My Secret Santa got me the Barry M nail paint in Raspberry, and Max Factor lipstick in Ruby Tuesday both great colours for Christmassss :)

Also a few skincare things which I'm very anxious to try out because I have hypersensitive skin caused from stress and literally a spec of dust will cause my skin to break out in a really weird rash - TMI I'll stop there

but I'm thinking of doing a post on recommended skincare products for those with hypersensitive skin or who get allergic reactions from various products..

I literally have no idea why my Mum bought me these because I gave her a list of products that I don't react to yet clearly intends for me to have awful hair and skin. Worst mum ever!!!!! lolkidding.

So that is pretty much all of it I love reading posts like this so I hope you enjoyed mine c:

Hayley xo

oooh extras here are some festive photos

       

 And last but not least.. Hope you had a great Christmas and Happy 2014 from Mastercheif himself! *confetti flies*