THE BEAUTY EDIT: The concealing dream team

When it comes to contouring, highlighting and concealing - I'm a bit of a novice. I usually tend to go for the 'cover-it-in-concealer-and-add-some-blush-at-the-end' method whilst rushing out the door late. I decided (in the beauty aisles of Boots, naturally) it was time for a change. 

 

The Boots 3-for-2 offers, as you will know from previous beauty posts, are my kryptonite. And where the majority of my student loan has gone for the past three years. I thought I'd brush up on my contour and concealing skills with a mini haul of new goodies.

 

First up on my dream team is the L'Oreal Nude Magique Highlighting Illuminating Concealer for £8.49. I work this in a C shape around my eye and brow, and then in a line between my cheekbone and jawbone for jawline definition. It has a  illuminating finish and gives a lovely dewy glow when used with the Revlon Highlighting Palette.   

 

As a main concealer, the L'Oreal True Match Touche Magique Concealer is my new favourite. Perfect for sorting out any tricky rosacea and spots, the True Match product, at only £8.19 is a wonder concealer. Much lighter than premium concealers like the Benefit Boi-ing, it does the job without the heavy feeling on your skin.

 

And my last pick in this concealing dream team is the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge from my last beauty haul. With three edges, a smooth point, a flat edge and rounded side is perfect for blending in concealer. There's plenty of good reviews floating around the Internet about this sponge, and they're right - its a wonder sponge.

 

What's in your make-up dream team? Let me know here or on Twitter! xo

 

THE BEAUTY EDIT: Haulin' Haulin'

Boots got me again. When I could tear myself away from an OITNB marathon I got caught up in another 3-for-2 offer in the beauty aisles of Boots. So here we go, a quick cheeky Boots beauty haul! 

After a slightly disappointing run with the Maxfactor Facefinity Primer, I picked up the new Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer for £7.99. The lightweight primer gives a great base to foundation and gives a smooth finish. 

As it gets closer to summer my love for foundation completely vanishes. My skin isn't good enough to go without during the summer, so BB cream becomes my best friend each June. The Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream is a real goodie. I chose the oily skin version, and it's definitely a summer essential that will cover your skin without the cakey overdone feeling foundation gives during summer.

To complete my Maybelline 3-for-2 offer I grabbed myself something I had yet to try, Brow Mascara. The Maybelline Browdrama Sculpting Brow Mascara is usually £4.99, and it's a great subtle mascara to finish off your brows.

Because I clearly have a shopping problem, I was sucked into another promotional purchase of the Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara at an introductory price of £6.99. The mascara has a really volume effective barrel brush that left me with practically no clumps. A great newbie product. 

What products have you been been picking up lately? 

Let me know in the comments or tweet me! 

  

THE BEAUTY EDIT: May Favourites!

Technically it is the last day of May, but that just means this post will be a really accurate measure of my May favourites! With finishing university, moving home and the quarter life crisis I seem to be going through, Culture Wonder has been neglected. Now I have plenty of free time to spend browsing Boots buying beauty products I don't need! And with that...

This months beauty picks come in a collection of five very different products. The first favourite has been coveted by so many beauty bloggers it seemed ridiculous not to pick some up myself, and I have to say, the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (£4.99) did not disappoint. The cleansing, soothing make up remover is a must, and is even suitable for ridiculously sensitive skin - an all-round goodie! 

With the small glimpse of summer we had in the UK last week and the many hours I spent hiding in my room finishing my final major project for university, my make-up routine was cut right down to basics. I picked up the L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique CC Cream Anti- Fatigue (£9.99) about a week ago to step away from my high coverage foundation and get something lighter for summer. It's a great CC cream that can take a little blending if you're extremely pale like me, but gives my skin a great glow! Definitely a keeper for this summer. 

Speaking of blending, after reading lots of mixed reviews I decided to take the plunge and pick up a Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (£5.99) during the 3-for-2 offer in Boots and I was not disappointed! The three edges help blend make up all over the face, and with the masses of concealer I've been wearing the past few weeks, this Miracle Complexion Sponge has been my saviour. 

Moving onto haircare, I could blame my laziness with my hair on my last few weeks of uni, but let's face it I've always been a minimalist - that's the word I'm going with, not lazy - when it comes to styling my hair. If you're like me and want to keep your hair routine as simple but effective as possible, I have the product for you. The Bumble & Bumble Thickening Blow Dry Spray (£21.50) is my go-to volume product, a couple of pumps into your hair and this spray gives all the oomph and takes away none of the shine or texture. Result. 

And my final beauty favourite this month has to be the Bourgois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in 03 Hot Pepper (£8.99) The liquid lipstick has been causing quite a stir with the range of statement long lasting shades. I picked up the matte finish lip product in Hot Pepper - and I might have found my perfect red lip product (I'm sorry MAC, Chili still has a special place in my heart.)

Let me know what products you've been coveting this month. Thanks for reading! xo 

THE BEAUTY EDIT: Urban Veda

This week I got the opportunity to try some natural skincare products from the much-talked-about brand Urban Veda. The philosophy behind Urban Veda is simple, 'The urbanveda range has been formulated using natural ingredients and the principles of Ayurveda in a relevant way for 21st century skin care complaints to ‘pollution proof’ skin leaving it less vulnerable to the environment.'

With the all natural message behind this brand, I was excited to try these products for myself. I decided to test them after a day of wearing full make-up and errand running, so my face was feeling suitably worse-for-wear and in need of some loving. 

Neem + Botanics Daily Purifying Facial Wash was the first stop after taking off my make-up. This purifying facial wash promises to mattify and refine pores. And it completely worked - my face felt so much cleaner and clearer after using this - amazingly minty - face wash alone. I moved onto the Neem + Botanics Purifying Exfoliating Facial Polish next, and fell in love. This polish is a wonder product for £8.99 - exfoliating without causing redness or irritation, it left my skin silky smooth and brought a mattified natural feel back to my face. To finish off my little pamper evening, Turmeric + Botanics Radiance Day Cream replenished and moisturised my skin back to a healthy state. 

As my skin tends to be on the oily side, the Purifying range from Urban Veda is perfect for me, but with three other ranges for specialist skin - Radiance with Turmeric, Soothing with Sandalwood and Reviving with Rose, there's a Ayurveda range made to bring your skin back to life. 

THE BEAUTY EDIT: Orange, orange everywhere.

Spring is the perfect time of year to reinvent yourself and try something new - and this week I've found my new thing! And yes, I might've gone a little overboard in Boots this week... 

A university assignment had me needing a new beauty trend to write about, and some Pinterest procrastination, hello Rag & Bone SS14, gave me not only a feature piece but four new lip products and a whole new Spring look. If there's anything I learnt from my fashion degree, it's how to justify clothes, make-up and shoe purchases! 

This is of course the beauty trend for Spring I am referring to: the orange lip. A statement look not for the fainthearted, the high street is full of products to help you achieve all your tangerine dreams. And the best bit, I've found five of the best for you. 

If you're after the bright and beautiful statement look Gucci Westman created for Rag & Bone, I'd suggest Topshop Lip Cream in ‘Pout’ for £7. The highly pigmented gloss is a bold statement not to be taken lightly - even I was a bit apprehensive about taking this out on Southampton High Street. If you want the most true-to-colour orange lip, Smashbox Mega Tint Long Wear Lip Colour in ‘Mimosa’ (£15.50) is the one for you. The subtle lip tint can be rocked in a day look, and the orange colour stays looking fresh for hours. For the matte lip lovers, Revlon is your answer. Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in ‘Audacious’ (£7.99) is possibly the perfect matte orange product, and again, not for the fainthearted. If you're feeling a bit shy about trying an orange lip, Laura Mercier Lipstick in ‘Roman Moon’ (£19.50) should be your go-to. The corally colour dips in the orange trend ever so slightly, and is a great starting point before you're on the Revlon! And possibly my favourite, the Topshop Lip Bullet in ‘Hearbeat’ (£8) is a must have to throw in your handbag and stick on when you need a little make-up pick-me-up! 

So there it is, your high street go-to to spice up your Spring make-up looks! Let me know how you're rocking yours! xo 

JULY BEAUTY FAVOURITES

Hey guys, I thought I'd share my Summer beauty favourites and some of my recent purchases with you, including my favourite perfume, some new nail varnish and some summer essentials!  

The perfect summery orange shade, Essie's Tart Deco is one of my latest purchases and I'm in love! Essie's seasonal shades never disappoint and this cute bright colour is top of my list! Available from Boots for £7.99.

After using and abusing my Mum's Sally Hansen Double Duty base and top coat, I decided it was time to invest in my own and picked up the Essie All in One polish! Also from Boots, this polish works as a base, top coat and strengthener! For only £7.99 from Boots, I'm sold. 

On these hot summery days foundation is the last thing you want to be covering your face with, right? Summer is all about tinted moisturiser and BB creams! My favourite has to be Benefit's You Rebel. With a SPF of 15, this tinted moisturiser provides light coverage and keeps your skin glowing! It also comes with a lighter colour version (You Rebel Lite) for paler skin and both are available from Benefit for £24.50!

Another summer essential - an anytime essential really - are good face wipes. Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes is your go-to solution for a good face wipe that works for sensitive skin and still works like a treat! And for only £3.25! 

And lastly, one of my all time favourites, Vera Wang Princess. I've been using this on and off since my thirteenth birthday and always keep a bottle in my beauty box! The fruity floral perfume is perfect for summer rather than smokier heavier fragrances and always make me feel like a Princess ;) Pictured above is the 100ml bottle that sells for roughly £60.

What are your beauty favourites this month? 

Let me know! xo 

LONG HAIR DON'T CARE.

That's right. The week after I get my hair cut in a cute little bob I decide that what I really really love is long luscious wavy hair. High five to me for being an idiot. So I will be spending the rest of my summer eyeing up long hairstyles and willing my stupidly short hair to grow. 

(Yes, I have been chanting "It's just hair. Hair grows" to myself on a regular basis. And yes, I am being this shallow.) 

So here's some long hair inspiration from Tumblr, AW13 runway shows mixed with some celebrity faces that cause some major hair envy - see K. Middy - she JUST gave birth and she still managed to look that amazing, HOW does that happen?! 

Sidenote: this post was nearly just a dedication to Taylor Swift's RIDICULOUSLY PERFECT hair. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it, sorry not sorry.

What's your favourite hair look for summer? 
Who are your hair inspirations?

Let me know! xo 

 

CHALKBOARD NAILS?!

Nail trends have really picked up momentum in the past year, with DIY nail art and a huge range of nail effects on the market now it's super easy to experiment and have stand out nails. 

Honestly, I'm not very good at nail art. My hands are a bit shaky and the left hand never looks as good as the right, so what's the point? My fingers and nails are also on the smaller side so nail wraps are pretty much a disaster too. (Tried once, never again, I stuck my fingers together.)

Buuuuuuut, browsing the ASOS beauty page something stood out to me amongst the textured nail effects and various wraps: 

 CIATÉ CHALKBOARD MANICURE. 

Yep that's right, Ciaté has released a chalkboard manicure set complete with black chalkboard nail polish, liquid chalk nail pens (washable with water) and a Ciaté Mattnificent top coat to seal your design. 

I'm obsessed. Nail Art I can actually do!! I neeeeeeeed these. 

But first things first, what designs or cheeky words should I be drawing on them? Help! 

The Ciaté Chalkboard Manicure set is available from ASOS HERE!

Babyliss Volume Waves Review

I've been looking for something to spice up my standard hair and make up routine, and after looking into some other bloggers reviews of this curling iron, decided to invest in the Babyliss Volume Waves Hair Tong. 

The tong features a wide barrel of 38mm, perfect to get that lovely wave and movement in the hair without creating smaller ringlet curls like I've found common with other curlers. With the additional aid of the lever to hold the hair, it's seems like an instant success story for creating soft waves in my boring old straight hair. 

I picked the Volume Waves tong up from Argos for £19.99, a nice and affordable way to spice up your hair look,and this is how it looks! My hair doesn't take to curling too well, but I'm impressed with the movement it gives my hair and bounce it has!

 

The top picture is my hair straight after styling and the bottom is the end of that day (without hairspray), 

still loads of movement and volume going on!

What do you guys think? xo

What's in my...make up bag!

I really enjoyed getting to sort out my handbag and show you guys what I carried around with me all day, so I thought this would give me the perfect excuse to sort out my make up bag and share the make up I can't be without!

(I didn't think my blog would actually make me tidier, but apparently it does!)

I'm way too camera shy to do a daily make up vlog, so I thought I'd share with you like this!

 

So as a base, I use MAC Strobe Cream, £22.50. I'd heard loads of good reviews about the strobe cream so I popped into Selfridges and talked to the lovely people at the MAC counter and was recommended it and I fell in love. Perfect for a highlighted effect and giving luminance!

For Foundation, I swear by the Maxfactor Face Finity All Day 3 in 1 (£11.99.) I picked it up a few weeks ago and fell in love with the coverage it gives you that really does last all day.

Benefit is my go-to brand for powders, blushers and bronzers, with Dandelion and Hoola (both £23.50) being two of my favourites! Dandelion is great for creating a rosy look, while bronzing powder Hoola is my summer essential for a lovely golden glow. I just use a cheap H&M Kabuki brush that I got for £2.99, it does the job pretty well!

For nights out or just to spice up my make up, I use the Benefit Watt's Up (£24.50.) A really good soft highlighter that's super easy to just swish on and voila! The soft champagne colour gives the perfect luminance for my skin, it's a night out essential!

I know I'm on a bit of a Benefit hype at the moment, I'm going to keep that rolling with the Laugh With Me LeeLee miniature I got from a set a while back, but keep this in my make up bag as a little perfume top up throughout the day!

For my lips, I always keep a Palmer's Cocoa Formula lip balm (£2.99) to hand, they smell amazing and always save my chapped lips! I usually keep a lipstick in there as well, right now it's a matte finish pillarbox red Illamasqua Lipstick (£16.00) that is the perfect statement red lipstick for me.

For my eyes, I used a Maxfactor False Lash Effect mascara in Black (£10.99), it's a great mascara for really emphasising my eyes, which is the area I tend to focus on most, so is the perfect fit for me!

Eyeliner wise, I use the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner (£7.99) and have done for a while now, it's a great colour and lasts all day, and is easy to put on, although I use a different brush to the one provided - my Ecotools Eyeliner (£4.99) brush is pictured below but I also use a MAC 201 Eyeliner brush for precision as it's much smaller.

 So that's it! That's the -weirdly for me- organised make up bag I have!

What make up essentials do you guys depend on?

Let me know! xo