Smashbox Contour Kit

 

I don't think I have been this obsessed with a make-up product in a very long time. I had fallen out of love with contouring and had gotten really lazy with it lately so I went on a hunt for the perfect product to give me chiseled cheekbones! I did alot of research into a few different products, I had eyed up the Anastasia contour palette, the Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting powder and Charlotte Tilbury's Bronze and Glow palette but the one I ended up going for was the Smashbox Contour palette-and Oh Em Gee I love it! 

In the past I have always tended to go for warmer toned contours and after reading more about it and learning what creates a natural contour look I was on the hunt for a cool toned contour shade. The great thing about this palette is that it comes with three different powder products, a cool toned brown shade for under the cheek bones, a more bronze shade for adding warmth all over the skin, and a matte banana powder for highlighting. These powders are so amazingly pigmented and easy to work with that they practically do the work for you! I have been using the Charlotte Tilbury Powder & Sculpt brush with the contour shade and it really does create a lovely natural looking contour, but it can be easily built up to create a more dramatic effect. I have been loving using the bronzer for the tops of my forehead and down the centre of my nose and it adds a lovely warmth to my skin without looking overly orange. I have been using the lightest shade to set my under-eye concealer because it is such a fine powder that it doesn't settle into any of my "laughter-lines" and keeps my concealer in place all day! 

For you ladies that are starting out in contouring, I would thoroughly recommend this palette to you because it comes with handy step-by-step guides to help you along your chiseled way! I just can not sing this palettes praises high enough! Even the packaging is excellent- small, compact and black! The only minor problem I had was that the box said that there was a brush included and there was none with mine (sob!) but I still think the price I paid was well worth it for the palette alone. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

If you want to give this amazing palette a go, it is available online here! Ladies it's fabulous and you need it in your life!

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MAC Cinderella Collection

  

I don't think I have ever gotten so excited about a MAC collection as I have for this one! As soon as I seen the promo pictures being released online I knew I needed some of the items in my life, plus it was released on my birthday so it really would have been rude if I didn't! In conjunction with the release of the movie, MAC have released a Cinderella themed collection which is just utterly beautiful! So much so that I was on my laptop at 5 to 9 the morning it was released ready to purchase! (it was like the Gareth Brooks ticket fiasco all over again!) I was delighted to get the two bits I had my heart set on which were the "Stroke of Midnight" eyeshadow palette and "Royal Ball" lipstick. Firstly the packaging is just amazing. It is beautifully girly and completely Cinderella-esq! Both products are in baby blue packaging with a slight duo-chrome sheen to it. So lovely to have something different to the usual black packaging from MAC but still looking very chic and nice. They really got it right with the packaging for the entire collection!

The palette is a neutral lover's dream. It has a lovely combination of both warm and cool toned neutrals as well as both mattes and shimmers. The colours included are all permanent apart from one, and they are Vapour, Phloof, Omega, Quarry, Satin Taupe and Stroke of Midnight which is the new one. I have been using this palette as my everyday eye look since I have gotten it and have found the mattes to be some of the best I have ever used. My go-to look from this palette is using Vapour all over the lid as a base, Phloof along the inner half of my eyelid and a mixture of Quarry and Satin Taupe in the outer corner. The stand out shade in this palette for me has to be Stroke of Midnight. It is definitely not an everyday shade but it is the most gorgeous purple shimmer and I can't wait to use it for a night out look!

The Royal Ball lipstick was a little bit of an impulse buy but I am so glad I went for it. If you are a MAC Hue lover, then this lipstick is right up your street. As a frost finish it can come off looking a little shiny on the lips but I have been wearing a bit more fake tan lately and I really like how it looks with it. It is a very nude baby pink with a slight golden sheen to it. Once coat of this lipstick is really all you need, and all you want if you want to avoid the concealer lip look! Its definitely one that I will be reaching for alot over the Spring/Summer months because it really brightens up any make up look!

I am so happy I managed to get my hands on some of the pieces from the collection, and have really been enjoying using them! Finally a MAC collection that I got excited about! Let me know if you managed to grab anything from the Cinderella collection and what you think of them!

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Sanctuary 7 Day Moisture Miracle Oil Balm

I feel like I really go through phases of really loving either skincare or really loving make-up and at the moment I have been obsessed with skincare- both body and face! My elbows and knees have been in a sorry state lately so I went on the hunt for a product that was going to sort it out. Sanctuary has never been a brand I have paid much attention to- I have always tended to go for Soap & Glory over it but when I spotted this on the shelves of Boots I snapped it up in the hopes that it would help with the elbow/knee situation! 

It is really an unusual product in my collection. It comes out as a balm when you first take it out of the tube but when you rub it between your hands it instantly changes to an oil. I have been applying this to any dry areas in the evening time and letting it soak in overnight. It really has improved the areas of dryness really quickly. It leaves both my knees and elbows feeling so moisturized and it helps my tan go on so much better in those areas! 

The smell is absolutely fabulous! It is so soothing and it is a really lovely product to apply in the evenings and it has been a step that I have really been enjoying doing the past while. It has also made me want to try out more Sanctuary products. So if you have any product recommendations that you think I will like- please let me know! 

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Febuary Beauty Favourites

So this is a slightly overdue monthly favourites, even though Febuary is the shortest month of the year, I really feel that it has flown this year! It feels like no time at all since I was writing up my January favourites. Again this month I have been trying out alot of new products and there has been a lot of new discoveries this month. Some won't be a surprise to you as I have either done reviews on them during the month, or you will have seen them on my Instagram (@danielle_imperfectblog if you were interested!)

Lorac Pro Palette

This palette has never left my side this month. If you are thinking of investing in an eyeshadow palette, and if you have access to Lorac- you need to get this palette! The colours are all so amazingly wearable, pigmented and so easy to blend! I have used this palette to create both an everyday neutral eye and a deeper night-time look and I have found that the selection of colours all work beautifully together. I have gradually started to become more adventurous with my eye make-up and this palette has been the most reached for out of my collection for this.

Origins GinZing Cleanser

I bought this on abit of an impulse on a recent trip to Boots. I am already a massive fan of the GinZing moisturiser and eye-cream so it comes as no surprise that this is in this months favourites post. It has the same refreshing scent as the moisturiser, so it makes it perfect as a morning cleanser. I tend to use it most in the shower as it does have little beads in the gel so when I'm in the shower I can make sure they are all fully washed away. The beads feel lovely on the skin, but they are not overly abrasive so its still perfect for everyday use. I have a full review to read on this here if you are looking for more information. 

MaxFactor Creme Puff Blush | Seductive Pink

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have heard all about these new blushes from MaxFactor and no-one can deny the similarities between these and the Ambient Lighting Blushes from Hourglass. I have tried a couple of the colours from the range but the one I have been reaching for constantly is the Seductive Pink shade. I have worn it so much that the slight dome has completely worn down. It gives a really nice natural flush of colour to the cheeks and is really easily built up if you want a more dramatic look. These blushes are amazingly pigmented and they wear really well throughout the day. For the price, you really can't go wrong! 

Moroccan Oil

This is another product that I have been dying to give a go for awhile now, and this month I gave into the hype and ordered the smaller size to give a go. I have used this everytime I have washed my hair since I received it, and I have really noticed a difference in how my hair has been feeling and looking. When I blow-dry my hair after this it looks and feels so smooth. It is such a light-weight oil that when I first started using it, I didn't think it would make that much of a difference but I have been really impressed and would definitely recommend it if you are thinking of trying it out! 

L'oreal Infallible 24hr Matte Foundation

I'm not sure if this has been a new release this month, but I only noticed it on the shelves this month. At the time L'oreal was on offer at 2 for €18 so I snapped up both this and the True Match foundation which I have also been loving! I have been wearing this one on more of an everyday basis and have really loved it this past month. Like I said in my review, I would normally stay away from anything that had matte or rose in the title but this has both and I love it! It is not a traditional matte foundation. It is more matte than some of my other foundations but it still leaves a lovely finish on the skin. It is really long lasting on the skin, I have been wearing this on full days at work and it still looks really good at the end of the day, and since it's matte I don't really have to top up with powder throughout the day. 

Charlotte Tilbury Powder & Sculpt Brush

This has been one of the most expensive purchases I have made in awhile. After feeling slightly underwhelmed about the new Real Techniques Contour Brush, I decided to order a brush that I have been eying up for a long time. Charlotte Tilbury brushes are not something that I have heard much about, and I have yet to get near a counter so I was taking a slight risk by ordering this online. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I love this brush. I have been using this for contouring this past month, and it helps create a lovely natural contour both on the cheeks and along the temples. It is the perfect sized brush to get under my (lack of) cheekbones and help enhance them. It's not the softest brush in the world but it does pick up product amazingly well and blends so well! It is ridiculously pricey for a brush but I really think it's worth it and it has fast become one of my favourite brushes! 

So those are what I have been loving this past month. I am so excited for March- I can't wait for MAC to release the Cinderella collection so you can expect a review on any products I manage to get my hands on! What have you been loving this month? What has been your number one product for February?

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Origins GinZing Cleanser

I really wasn't in the market for a new cleanser. I had settled down with my Clinique "Take the Day Off" Balm and we were in a very happy relationship. But then I was wandering down the aisles of Boots (as you do) and I can't explain this any other way than it was a complete impulse buy. I am devoted to my GinZing moisturiser and I can't be without it so I thought that the cleanser would be a good step to add to my skincare. I have tried to justify this by using it purely as my morning cleanser, and saving my cleansing balm for the night, and I have found it to work really well. 

Like the moisturiser, it has a very citrus scent which is lovely and refreshing- absolutely perfect for the early mornings to wake you up. The one thing that I was a bit apprehensive about with this cleanser is that it has exfoliating beads in it. I was worried that it would be too harsh on my skin for everyday- I recently tried the Nip & Fab exfoliating pads and they did my skin no favors so I was worried that this would give my skin a similar reaction as I thought it would be too much for everyday. But once I tried it, I realised that the beads are not as harsh as some of the more traditional manual exfoliators. Since the beads are suspended in a gel, it makes it a little bit kinder for your skin. A little of this really goes a long way, and I find it to be a great way of giving your skin a light exfoliation without stripping your skin of its natural oils. After using this everyday for awhile I have noticed that my skin has been looking alot healthier, it doesn't look as dry, my foundation has been going on smoother and its just a really nice product to use first thing in the morning paired with the moisturiser. 

It is definitely on the pricer side of cleansers so if you are thinking of investing I would recommend you check it out in store first to see if the beads are for you and if you like the smell. But if you want to throw caution to the wind and buy it anyway it is available to buy online here.

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