Soap and Glory kick Ass Concealer review

Hey guuuuuys,

Soo i'm in love with my benefit erase paste but it's never really lasted very long under my eyes and after a few hours it's back to old dark circle eyes soooo I picked up Soap and Glory's Kick Ass Concealer in the shade 'light' for £10 in Boots and so far am rather impressed. It contains two concealers, one peachy in tone to conceal under eye blue-ness and the other more yellowey to cover spots. It also has a translucent powder which the box calls a sealing powder, so my guess is that it prolongs wear.

The pics below show my eye and red blemishes (i share way too much with you guys) before and after the concealer along with numerous swatches and photos of the packaging.

RATING- 8/10 I've only used it a handful of times and so yet to know if its a ten out of ten wonder product but so far im pretty darn impressed. It seems to cover up well and matches my skin tone almost perfectly.

REPURCHASE? Most certainly, it is a little pricey for a high street/ drugstore concealer but hey, you pay for what you get right?

I would love to know your favourite concealer for under eye circles as mine are a right pain!

Love you lots! Lucy xxx

1. The little box it came in

2. Kick Ass Concealer

3. The two concealers and mirror

4. The sealing powder and little powder sponge

5. Swatches of concealers

6. Swatch of powder

7. Eye with no concealer

8. Eye with concealer

9. Blemishes with no concealer

 10. Blemishes with concealer

Happy November!

Hey guys!

So ehm...It's November...What!?

That month went a bit quickly, infact the whole year is zooming past, I could almost swear that the summer holidays only just ended. So anyway this is just a short post updating you on why i'm being such a terrible blogger and such things. So I gathered the second year at Uni would be pretty much the same as the first year...WRONG! My gosh, I have so much more work this year, for each lecture every week I have around 3, 80 page chapters to read for the next lesson. It's crazy stuff. I also just started a new job at Asda, which is great and i'm really loving. The people I work with are lovely, but it does mean that i'm neglecting my blog a little and rarely have time to post.

I can't say i've bought too much recently although i'll hopefully be doing another collective blog soon. My monthly faves and monthly music are still to come as well as a few reviews (soap and glory eye liner, balmi lip balm etc etc). I will hopefully start to do some more OOTDs and am planning to start weekly Intagram pictures and I will finish the 30 day photography challenge at some point, promise!

Anyway, I'm sure the large majority of you don't care too much about where i've been but just incase you've been wondering, there it is.

I hope you're all having a lovely week!

Lots of love, Lucy xx

Review | Benefit's Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW foundation

Hey :)

So this was a pretty requested post for me to do as it seems this foundation is not greatly known, regardless of the fact it's on the Benefit website's 'top sellers' page. I bought my foundation for £24.50 from Boots as a result of running out of my trusty Maybelline BB cream and them not having the 'light' one in stock. I find it pretty much impossible to find a foundation which doesn't make my pale skin go yellow/orange or cakey. Most high street foundations often do this to me so, I thought I'd invest in a high end one after having it applied in store by the Benefit girl and finding it was the perfect shade. Anyway after an essay of an intro read on if you'd like to know my own views on it :)

on the left half (your left) I am wearing the foundation, on the right I have no foundation 

on the left half (your left) I am wearing the foundation, on the right I have no foundation 

The half of my face with the foundation.

The right hand without any foundation

The foundation claims to ...

Have a broad-spectrum SPF 25 PA +++ protection

Oil-free formula

Natural finish

Hydrating benefits

light-diffusing properties

available in 9 shades

Application- I use a Real Techniques buffing brush to apply the foundation. It's quite a runny foundation but not over the top watery, it does have some thickness to it. It applies nicely and blends really well although I like to blend it a little more with my fingers after I've applied it with the brush. The colour of the foundation is the same on my face as it is in the bottle which is different to some high street foundations I've used before. It  isn't particularly matte but instead has more of a dewy finish but it doesn't feel greasy on the skin.

Appearance- The Benefit lady said that it's a light coverage foundation which can be built up to medium, so if you're looking for high coverage this one probably isn't for you. It does however mask any blemishes or redness I have. The shade which I picked up was 'believe in me ivory' which has pink undertones although some have more yellow-ey undertones. I can't say I really notice any light-diffusing particles, but it helps to cover my dark under-eye circles which i'm sure you can see in the pictures so i'm sure there are some in there somewhere. In all, the appearance is of a high quality, it's not super high coverage but like it says it does look pretty natural.

Quality- The quality of the foundation, in my opinion, is pretty good, although the texture does't seem all that different from high street foundations. I can't say I've noticed a smell to it, but on the plus side that must mean it doesn't have a particularly bad one either. It does feel quite moisturising and like I said previously, it seems to sink in pretty quickly and doesn't feel oily on the skin afterwards. The coverage is pretty light and I feel I have to put on quite a bit for it to cover up spots which I hate doing because I quite frankly want it to last forever because of the price of it. It seems to stay on my skin pretty long, I use it along with Benefit's Porefessional primer and for the first time out of any foundation like ever, I wipe a make-up remover wipe over my face at night after wearing it all day, and there is some on the wipe!

All in all, I feel the foundation is pretty good value for money It has a nice appearance, although the only major benefits of it for me is it's staying power and how well it matches my skin tone. The feel and look of it are also really lovely, but i'm sure there may be some high street foundation out there with the same properties. It also claims to plump up skin, protect skin from environmental stresses and prevent against ageing, all of which I can't really comment on because I'm sure you'd have to use it for rather a long time, or wear it in super cold or hot weather to see if it really is doing what it says. 

Recommend? I do recommend it if you have the money and are looking for a lovely long-lasting foundation. 

Rating: 3/5

Repurchase?: Possibly, I would if it were cheaper, so maybe if I get a voucher?

Thank you all Very much for reading! I hope you've had a great week :) And also it'd be massively appreciated if you could vote in my little poll on the right about what you'd like as a 100 followers give-away.

Lots of love, Lucy xx

My Favourite Brushes

Helloo guys

I'm lacking in ideas a bit recently. Uni is about to start after 4 beautiful months away from it and the thought sucks. I also went a bit crazy this month and spent all of my money in like 2 weeks so I need to wait a bit before I can buy more things to be able to review/haul/whatever else. I am sorry for that but do not fear I shall be up to date with my beauty and fashion posts in no time. I thought today, considering they're things I already have, I'd do a bit of a show and tell/ review of my favourite brushes which I use on a daily basis.

I shall go from left to right.....

So firstly it's the Real Techniques Stippling Brush. This is the brush I use for my foundation on a daily basis. The Real Techniques brushes are super soft and amazing quality. This brush has sort of 2 layers of bristles which really helps to blend foundation.

Secondly is this random little brush I got as part of a set for Christmas they are apparently some what expensive (my Uncle could however have just been saying that to get into my good books) and this one is called 'fluff and buff'. It's made of natural fibres so can be a little scratchy, although i've washed this one so many times it's pretty soft now. It is rather fluffy and does a good job at blending eyeshadow.

Thirdly is a Real Techniques buffing brush. This is again super soft, like stupidly soft. I typically use this as a powder brush to set my foundation. It's a very nifty little thing. It picks up the powder good and really buffs it into the skin (odd really considering it's a buffing brush -_-). But it doesn't make your face look cakey or anything, which is very good.

Fourthly is an eco tools 'rounded shader brush'. This little gem is a very dense brush so is great for putting eyeshadow all over the lids. The edge is rounded and so is handy for using in the crease.

Fifthly (Is that really a word!?) is the Ecotools angled eyeliner brush. This is again pretty dense so is good for putting on gel liner, this is pretty much all I have to say about this one.

Sixthly is an Ecotools powder brush. I use this for putting on powder blush. It is super-dee-duper soft and doesn't malt. It is again pretty dense but manages to blend my blusher in well. The top is pretty rounded and so could probably also be used as a contour brush.

In seventh is this random little (Bobby Pin I believe) eyeshadow brush I must have gotten in a set for Christmas some years ago. I am not joking it is THE softest brush ever! It has also never malted on me once which is pretty amazing considering it just came as part of a Christmas gift set. It is again rounded and so I usually use this as either an crease brush or a buffing brush.

Finally The real Techniques contour brush. This is the perfect shape for contouring, it is pretty small and rounded allowing you to only get the bronzer/blush where you want it with good precision.


Thank you very very much for reading. Let me know your thoughts on these brushes, or if you have any which could rival my favourites.

Lots of love, Lucy xx

Worth the hype? Benefit's 'They're Real' Mascara

Hey Guys,

They're Real mascara, £18.50 from Boots

The mascara wand. The bristles are plastic and there are
some on the tip of the brush which is very handy.

I have been dying to try this mascara for ages now after seeing it in so many magazines and YouTube reviews and so picked up a tube on my last visit to town. The box comes with a little instruction leaflet which states that '94% saw dramatic length and volume, 90% saw base-to-tip curl, 94% saw visible lift and 100% saw long lasting results.'. In Boots I picked up a box which came with the standard sized mascara ad a free travel sized mascara all for £18.50.

The way the leaflet tells to apply it is to position the wand horizontally and wiggle from side to side base to tip to achieve maximum volume, length and lift. It then states to hold it vertically and stroke upwards to curl and separate.

I decided to take some pictures (in very crappy quality, sorry) of the Benefit mascara on one eye and none on the other and then the Benefit on one eye and a high street curling mascara on the other :)...Read on to find out how they compare.



1. They're Real V. No mascara

The picture on the left is my usual eye make up but with no mascara, on the right pic i'm wearing Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara. My eyelashes are really blonde so the Benefit mascara obviously makes them look longer and thicker. They were a lot more separated, defined and 'fanned out' compared to wearing no mascara. I found They're Real to be kinda clumpy, more so than Benefit's 'BAD gal lash' although the bristles on the end on the brush are very handy for getting the really fine lashes on the outside and inside corners.

2. They're Real V. 17 Wild Curls Mascara (High street/ Drug store)

On these pictures i'm wearing the 17 Wild Curls mascara on the left pictures and Benefit They're Real on the right. I was surprised at the fact that the 17 mascara seemed to separate my lashed much better than the Benefit one, however They're Real did most certainly make my lashes more dramatic. After having had this on for a few hours the Benefit mascara is definitely lasting longer. The 17 mascara has started to wear off making my lashes look shorter and less defined, where as the Benefit mascara is still sanding strong and looks a lot more fluttery and pretty (see the picture below).

My computer flipped the picture because it's annoying...so on this picture the
Benefit mascara is on the left and the 17 mascara on the right. 

Does it do what it says?

Benefit 'They're Real' claims to...
~Produce dramatic volume and length- It really does do this although It can get a little clumpy so keep an eyelash comb at hand.
~Base to tip curl- My lashes certainly looked more curled although I curled them before hand so the mascara may just hold the curl better, although after about 5 hours they are still curled.
~Visible lift- There is lift although again I'm not sure if it just holds the lift better, never the less, my lashes certainly are lifted.
~Long lasting results- This is absolutely true, the mascara still looks the same as when I applied it.

I give Benefit's mascara an 8/10 and a giant thumbs up. I thoroughly recommend it :)

Thanks for reading :) 

Lots of Love, Lucy xx