Beauty Vloggers

I've been enjoying watching YouTube vlogs since June and the blogger's main beauty channels too and a couple of things have become pretty clear in that time. 

1. It seems that MOST of the beauty vloggers that I watch, have frequent breakouts and that says to me that the considerable amount of products they use on their skin every day and leave soaking in through the night either causes or does not help the breakouts.

Since I've been watching the videos and using recommended products, my skin has been worse than it was before. My skin was pretty normal I would say. I have visible pores and blackheads which no amount of exfoliating, deep cleansing, masks nor pore strips can budge. Other than that I get a bad period spot once a month. If I overdo it on the junk food I might get a couple of spots and on holiday too from the combination of suncream & sweat on the face. But since using a sponge and brushes to apply my makeup, Smashbox primer, new thicker foundation etc my forehead is bumpy and spotty. I used to put a thick moisturiser on and now I use a light one. I used to apply different primers. I used to apply a light foundation with my fingers and use a different powder. I used to use a different bronzer. Maybe it is the tools? How often should I clean my brushes and sponges? 

2. Another observation I've made is that a number of the vloggers I enjoy watching deal with anxiety, panic attacks, stress and are not good sleepers. The main vloggers I follow who have shown signs of this or openly talk about it are:

Zoella

Essie Button

Tanya Burr

Gabriella Lindley

Sprinkle of glitter

3. My final realisation I've made since watching Vlogs is how much money they must make based on their homes, shopping haul spendage and where they eat/food shop. Zoella for example, lived in a huge and I mean HUGE apartment in Brighton overlooking the sea in a big old building with a funny old fashioned lift. She eats out most days but does her food shopping at Waitrose. Her latest haul at Lush must have been about 30 bath bombs!

In no way do the above observations affect my enjoyment in watching the videos, I find the videos informative and fun to watch. I look forward to the next upload and will sometimes try a product recommended or featured. I understand that they are sometimes paid to review a product and I am now aware of sponsoring and affiliated links. I do not look at the comments left by viewers as I like to just see positivity. I in no way mean this post to be negative as I really like the vloggers I chose to subscribe to. It's funny how you feel like you know them and that they are your company. It's sweet and sad in a way. 

The people I watch seem very likeable and I wish them all continued success. 

Time to watch a couple of vlogs! 

Enjoy xx

Review: Champneys Mulberry nail polish

Now I'm not a fan of painting my nails.  I hate waiting for them to dry, thinking they are dry and then chipping them, so annoying.  BUT! once my nails are painted and look pretty, I like it again.

I was bought a Champneys nail polish set for Christmas last year, maybe even the year before. Since then, I have mostly used the Nude, Cherry and the base and top coat but also included were Mocha and Mulberry.

L-R Base/Top coat, Cherry, Mulberry, Nude, Mocha

For an event I worked recently, I thought I would try the Mulberry shade to give a nod to autumn/winter and compliment the black lace dress I was to wear (see below).

Mulberry

I painted my nails the day before the event and 13 days later it looks like this!

I didn't realise quite how long I had had this polish on until a beauty vlogger was raving off a 4 day polish.  I think this Champneys formula must be a really good one but my tips for a lasting coat are:

1. Wash and dry your hands to get rid of any nail polish remover/grease etc

2. Start with a clear base/top coat

3. Use a thin first layer so it dries quicker

4. Another clear base/top coat

5. A second coat of the colour

6. A third layer of the clear base/top coat

7. Sit and let the nails dry completely

8. Use a hairdryer to speed up the drying

9. Run the nails under cold water

10. Use the quick drying spray

I think mine were purchased at Boots but they don't seem to be online this year so here is a link to the Champneys website where you can buy 24 shades of nail varnish including Mulberry.  

I have had compliments on the colour and I am impressed how good it still looks nearly a fortnight on.  I would rate Champneys Mulberry 4/5

Just incase you're curious, this is a picture of the dress I wore to the event.  It is from the range Somerset by Alice Temperley which is exclusive to John Lewis.  It is beautiful and would make a perfect dress for over the party season this Christmas.  You can find the dress online here.

What is your favourite brand of nail polish?

What shades are you using this autumn?

Kitty x

The Body Shop: my mini haul

I am absolutely loving the products I picked up in The Body Shop recently!  I had some time to kill and ended up taking advantage of a 3-4-2 offer they had on.  I had wanted a black eye-shadow for a while for lining or for doing a dramatic smokey eye on nights out this winter, so I chose the Colour Crush Eye Shadow - Moonlight Kiss  

The Body Shop assistant helped me decide which products to buy and she recommended the new All In One Instablur Eye to accompany the eye-shadow I was buying.  They said it was a great dupe product for Urban Decay's eye primer which I had been considering trying but I thought I would give this a try since there was a 342 offer on. I'm glad I did, it is amazing! My eyeshadow looks so much better, hardly any creasing and it lasts a lot longer.  I haven't tried the Urban Decay version but I would thoroughly recommend The Body Shop version.

As you know, I have the beginnings of a lip colour collection (read about it here) and this is another edition Colour Crush Lipstick - 200 Peachy Pink I have worn it most days since buying it.  I love it.  Even though it is probably classed as a nude (I'm guessing?) it brightens my makeup just enough.  Now I am making more of a conscious effort with my make-up, I use all my new products daily for my work makeup including the bronzer, blusher and highlighter so my skin looks glowing. I have dark lined eye-lashes and groomed brows so the finishing touch is a bit of colour on my lips so they do not look too pale.  I put a layer of Vaseline on first then apply the lipstick so there is a little shine to it.  I don't think I am a matte lip fan, I like a bit of shine but no tackiness just so it feels moisturised and soft. 

Do you use any Body Shop make-up or just skincare and body products?

Which would you recommend I try?

Kitty x

I can't resist an offer: latest beauty buys

The more I watch YouTube make-up tutorials, the more I want the proper tools.  The make-up brushes are an important part of the kit.

For my birthday this summer, I was gifted with the Real Techniques foundation brush, stippling brush and their foundation sponge.  I love the sponge, I'm not yet keen on the foundation brush but will use it again.  The stippling brush is also going to take a bit of practise.  I have some old eye make-up brushes that I still use but they have seen better days.  That is the extent of my tools.  Unless you include an old pair of tweezers, eyelash curlers and a sharpener.  It's time to invest in the right kit to make the most of my gradually expanding make-up collection.

Mac make-up brushes seem to pop up in most collections.  I have had my eye on the 217 blending brush which seems to be a very popular brush with the vloggers and when there was a 10% off deal on over the weekend I couldn't resist.  I also picked up the 212 brush which I will use to line my eyes.

Also on offer was the range Urban Decay.  I had been wanting to pick up the new Basics 2 palette but that wasn't on John Lewis at the time of the offer (it is now) so I was sensible and bought the Flushed palette which has a bronzer, a blusher and a highlighter, in the colour Streak.  I was running out of bronzer and did need a blusher.  When I get my makeup done they always use a blusher and I immediately look more alive and healthy.  All the beauty bloggers and vloggers use blusher too.  Usually I use my bronzer as blusher but I can see the difference it makes using the right products where they're meant to be used.  I have a powder highlighter from Topshop called Sunbeam but it is a yellow based one whereas the Urban Decay one is pink based so I will give that a try.  

Benefit had 10% off this particular weekend so I asked the assistants to recommend what brown product would be most natural, easy to use and would just fill in the brows not reshape them.  The explained that Brow Zings is for changing the shape and Gimme Brow is a product to make brows look fuller whilst still looking natural.  I hate penciling my eyebrows, they aren't the same shape so I find it difficult to see why I would fill them in and make them look more noticeable.  Gimme Brow is easy to use, all I have to do is brush it through my brows a few times and it makes a difference.  I would definitely recommend it.  I don't like the smell of the product but once it has dried I can't smell it as much.  It is a small package so I don't know how long I will get out of it and it is pricey but I will look for a drugstore dupe.  I have the clear brow gel by Rimmel maybe I will try a coloured version.  

Next on my list is a good pair of eyelash curlers as my eyelashes are pretty long but quite straight.  In fact the eyelashes on my left eye are straighter than my right and it throws off my eye make-up and is very annoying.

Also I would like to try a cream blusher too.  I see Benefit have brought out one called Majorette and seem to have sent it to all the beauty vloggers that I follow as they all have been reviewing it!  I'll wait for the next offer I think, I might put it on my Christmas list.

What have you been buying lately?

Kitty x

Zoella Beauty: my haul

Only this year have I begun to watch beauty vloggers on YouTube. I had been following Essie Button on Twitter without realising (after a following spree) and one morning clicked on the link to her YouTube video that she had tweeted. It was a daily vlog she was doing on her secondary channel (Essie Button Vlogs) throughout the month of June, "Vlune". It was a video about her day and what she had been up to with her boyfriend Aslan and their greyhound Reggie. I became hooked. Through her vlogs, Essie Button introduced me to numerous other bloggers including Amelia Liana, Fleur De Force, Tanya Burr and Zoella.

Zoella is a beauty blogger and YouTuber called Zoe Sugg. She is smiley and bubbly, funny and sweet. I watch her vlogs probably as much as I watch Tanya Burr's. Both girls now have beauty ranges available to buy in Superdrug. I have written about the lipgloss I have of Tanya's called Picnic in the Park here and I'd like to try Chic next but might wait until the launch of phase 2 of the products in October. I don't know any information but I'm imagining something festive.

  

Zoella Beauty launched online on Friday 26th September and was available in Superdrug from Monday.  I had seen a lot of footage from vloggers about the launch party and some reviews of the products from Zoella and her friends.  Yesterday, I went to Superdrug to buy the Zoella bubble bath and ended up with 3/6 (so 1/2) of the products from the Zoella Beauty range! I purchased the bubble bath (what I went in for) but also bought the bath fizzers and the guinea pig makeup bag! I'm ridiculous some times! Although I'm sure some bath soaks can be £20+ so £5 isn't too bad especially if I say it like this: if I get 10+ baths out of it, it's only 50p a bath! What I really needed was a £1 bottle of Radox! 

Zoella Beauty make-up bag, the Soak Opera bubble bath and the Fizz Bar bath fizzers

As the nights get colder I will have more baths, I know it so I can justify it. I love reading in the bath but I've started watching vlogs whilst in there now. 

Today I had a shower with the Opera product and I liked this smell. It wasn't too strong and reminds me of the masculine smell from a sports shower gel. I like that. Soak Opera can be used as bubble bath or as shower gel which is pretty handy.

I'm going to try a fizzer next time I have a bath and one of my (many) makeup bags is ready for the bin so I'll be transferring my makeup into the guinea pig one ASAP!

Have you bought anything from the Zoella Beauty range yet? 

Kitty x

New season, new hair

New season, new hair

I was just thinking of getting a good cut on Friday when my friend Michael was coming to do my hair. If anything, I was thinking about keeping most of the length and going darker with a dark caramel balayage. However, Friday morning came and my mum and sister thought I should go back shorter as I've had it long for a while now. 

Lily Aldrige balayage

My hair grows pretty quickly so what I usually do is "bob it" in autumn and then grow it and by summer it's a good mid - long length. This was my pattern until I went to Australia in February 2012 and wanted it to be long enough to tie up or pile on the top of my head if I was hot (it was their summer when I was there). When I got back, it was really long and I had a decent amount cut off and then I just grew it longer and longer. I was aiming for (excuse me) nipple length and it was even longer than that at one point. Last autumn, I did have a good few inches off and I liked it but it was long again before I knew it. Lately it was getting pretty long and I knew I wanted a good trim but, I've only gone and ended up "bobbing it" again!

New season, new hair

I've gone for a tousled bob on my shoulders, below my shoulders when straight. I was inspired by Anna Saccone Joly's gorgeous blonde tousled jaw length bob but I didn't want it quite that short. 

Anna Saccone Joly's tousled bob

Hopefully, now my hair is lighter, the curls will stay in longer. I think there's a little bit of blonde left at the bottom but I plan to have some put through the front to lighten the colour near my face. 

I blasted my hair dry in just one ad break last night. Wanding it this morning took just as long as when it was long though, as it's difficult wanding the shorter underneath parts. I might need a bit of practise.. 

Do you change your hair as often as me?  Every season?

Kitty x

YSL gift set

Way back in the January sale, I picked up a little bargain!  I think it cost me £21 or something wonderful like that.  It is a YSL mini makeup bag with a full sized Touche Eclat, a full sized Volume Effect Mascara and a 15ml Forever Youth Liberator Serum.  For me, I don't usually pick much up in the sales but this I couldn't resist.  At the time I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it until I next needed a gift for a friend's birthday or use it myself.  Most of my friend's birthdays seem to be in the latter half of the year and when I ran out of mascara and asked around for a recommendation, my friend Victoria recommended a YSL one which reminded me of the set I had gathering dust.  

YSL Touche Eclat shade 1

I used to use Touche Eclat as a teenager and student (funny that now I'm working full time I don't stretch to such high end products!) and loved it.  I was told at a No7 counter in Boots once that the exact prodcut was put in both their pen concealer as was put in the YSL once, scandalous!  It is a highlighter so I believe I use it incorrectly as a concealer.  I would recommend it to lighter the eye area, on your cupids bow, down the bridge of the nose and under the eyebrows.

YSL Volume Effect Mascara in Black

I love this mascara! It lengths my lashes and isn't sticky.  By sticky I mean were my top and bottom lashes stick together with mascara and drive me mad! This mascara makes my lashes look long and defined.  I really would recommend trying it!

YSL Youth Liberator Serum

I have no idea what to do with this, how much to use, how often nor when I am meant to use it!  Have you tried it?  Is it any use to a 27yr old?

If you fancied getting your hands on the set, you're in luck!  As it happens, the set has been released again for this Christmas with a different, larger makeup bag but the same products.  Mine was a real, end of January sale purchase but the newer version is currently 10% off which always helps.

YSL gift set

Kitty x

My expanding lipstick collection

I'm not much of a lip colour girl (yet!) but the more beauty vlogs I watch, the more interested I become. I have been picking up some lipsticks as I shop. Here are the 4 lipsticks I own.

From L-R we have my first ever red lipstick and my first ever Mac purchase, Mac Viva Glam Rihanna in Frost. This has had 1 outing. I don't like the shade on me and it feels pretty daring.

Next we have the first ever lipstick I bought, 17 Lasting Fix in Dreamy. I've worn this a handful of times both day and night. Again I don't like this colour on me. 

Then there's the Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate 05 Rosetto which I bought last week. This so far has had 1 outing. It seems more wearable than the Mac.

Finally The Body Shop Colour Crush that I picked up on a 342 offer whilst killing time Wednesday evening. I wore this yesterday and it's pretty nude, I think I can cope with this one! 

Top-bottom Mac, 17, Rimmel, The Body Shop

I don't have a clue what colour lipstick suits me. I don't really like the colours on me but this looks a good base variety to me. I guess a dark colour plum is all that's missing? It'll take me a while to get there I think though. 

What do you think of my collection so far?

Any tips? 

Kitty x

Milan Fashion Week S/S15

Collections from Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015 that I like.

 Roberto Cavalli S/S15 MFW

  Dolce & Gabbana S/S15 MFW

 Emilio Pucci S/S15 MFW

If you haven't seen the Barbie girl inspired collection from Moschino watch the show below, it's a must see!

Moschino SS15 show

Looks from the front row at LFW SS15

My favourite looks from the front row at London Fashion Week, Spring/Summer 2015.

 

 Alexa Chung at Christopher Kane

Cat Deeley and Olivia Palermo at Burberry 

 Daisy Lowe at Christopher Kane

 Daisy Lowe and Laura Bailey at Erdem

Christian Louboutin and Olivia Palermo at Marchesa

 Laura Bailey, Alexa Chung, Daisy Lowe and Abbey Clancy at Topshop Unique

 

 

What were your favourite looks the celebrities wore for the frow?

 

Kitty x

LFW SS15

What caught my eye from London Fashion Week, the Spring/Summer 2015 collections.

The Julien Macdonald SS15 collection was my favourite show at LFW.  The dresses were intricately, delicately detailed. They were beautiful, every single one of them.  Watch the show by clicking the link below.

Julien Macdonald LFW SS15

 House of Holland

 Marchesa

 

 Marchesa

 Marchesa

 Temperley

 Temperley

Vivienne Westwood

 

Tom Ford          Whistles

 

What did you like?

Kitty x