The best bronzers

Fake Bake Beauty Bronzer, glo-minerals Bronze, Sleek Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette, KIKO Essential Bronzer, KIKO Rock Attraction Bronzer, Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer, KIKO Colour Splash Multi-tone Bronzer, KIKO Loud Night Bronzer

Being naturally pale - even a week in the Mediterranean didn't touch me - means that in general, I find wearing bronzer a challenge. Last year, I was a complete novice. I watched countless amounts of YouTube videos in the hope that I'd perfect the sought after "contouring technique." But I had no luck. More recently though, particularly this summer, I haven't been able to step away from the stuff. Whether it's contouring, adding a glow or dusting all over my skin, I'm constantly using the product. Here are my favourites.    

Best brand:

When it comes to choosing a bronzer, the brand I always look to first is KIKO. Half the bronzers chosen for this post are from the Italian brand and it's easy to see why. The KIKO Rock Attraction Bronzer in Loud Tan* (currently on offer for £6.00) is the bronzer that I tend to use on a day-to-day basis. Despite being a powder formula, it's creamy to the touch and exceptionally easy to blend. It's completely matte so is perfect for contouring, and it's very hard to overdo this bronzer. Next up is the KIKO Essential Bronzer in Warm Melange* (currently on offer for £11.80) which is a two-tone bronzer. The pan is absolutely huge so I use this with a big fluffy brush and dust it all over my skin. The KIKO Loud Night Bronzer in Supple Satin Honey is up there in my top three. It's perfect for my pale skin tone and can be used matte to contour, or with subtle shimmer to add a glow. And finally the KIKO Colour Splash Multi-tone Bronzer in Jovial Tan comes with three different shades that are perfect for bronzing up the complexion.

Best highlight:

As a brand, I find glo-minerals underrated. Their products are of such an exceptional quality yet they're rarely raved about on blogs. The glo-minerals Bronze in Sunkiss* (£31.50) is an absolute gem. One side contains a matte bronzer and the other a beautiful golden highlight. The two shades can be swirled together or used separately and I constantly find myself reaching for the highlight side. It's stunning and makes the complexion glow. 

Best glow:

The Fake Bake Beauty Bronzer is wonderful for adding an all over glow to the skin. It's quite dark and pigmented so I tend to use this when I've tanned my skin. A light hand a big brush works best when applying this bronzer. Sadly, I can't seem to find this online anywhere. Does anyone know what's happened to Fake Bake's make up range?

Best all-rounder:

The Sleek Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette in Medium* (£9.99) comes with everything you need to truly bronze up your skin. The contour, highlight and blush-shade work together to create the most beautiful golden goddess look. Of course, the three shades can be used separately but I find them stunning when used altogether to create a bronzed look. 

Best natural:  

Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer - £19.50

As you can tell from the image above, this bronzer is exceptionally well loved. It has a hint of shimmer running through it but it's not over the top and still manages to look natural. There isn't a lot of pigment in this bronzer so it's perfect for pale skins to contour or use all over the skin.

I'm always on the look out to try out and find new bronzers. Let me know your favourites in the comments below.
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MAKE UP | KIKO Rock Attraction Bronzer in Loud Tan

Despite being extremely pretty and beautiful to look at in the pan, when I first received this product, I quickly dismissed it. The embossed zip is stunning and a lovely touch to KIKO's Boulevard Rock collection however, the colour just looked too dark; to the back of my collection it went. But over time, I started seeing reviews pop up and lots of other bloggers were saying how sheer and stunning it is on the skin. So out it came; and since that day, I haven't not used it in my routine.

KIKO's Rock Attraction Bronzer in Loud Tan* has been inspired by the alternative London underground music scene. The collection itself is said to encapsulate street soul with sought-after products that have a multitude of versatile textures and colours that allow you to experiment. First of all the packaging is something I can't not mention. The denim embossed box it comes in really kicks off the whole "Boulevard Rock" vibe, and the bronzer itself comes with a decent sized mirror and of course, that beautiful zip detailing.

As I mentioned earlier, this bronzer is sheer and it's very hard to overdo it. You can use this to contour as it's matte, or to add a bronze glow all over the skin as it provides a subtle radiant finish. The description of this product says the bronzer is "shimmering and vibrant," but that's something I don't agree with. It's not packed with glitter - in fact, I can't find any glitter in it at all - and that for me is perfect. This bronzer is fine, subtle and buildable. You can go as natural or as dramatic as you want, and the creamy texture blends into the skin like an absolute dream, bronzing up your complexion as you go, giving an almost airbrushed finish. 

Retailing for £15.90 it's more expensive than a lot of high street bronzers, but it's completely changed the way I look and apply bronzers. For the first time in my life, contouring is easy. And that's something I never thought I'd say. You also get a whopping 12g of product which is going to last forever... or at least I hope so. I never want to run out of this. You can buy this bronzer here.

Have you tried anything from KIKO's new collection? What's your favourite bronzer?
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MAKE UP | KIKO Dark Heroine Limited Edition Collection

Clockwise L-R Loud Night Bronzer in Supple Satin Honey, Latex Like Lipstick in Plastic Red, Colour Impact Eyeshadow Palette in Lounge Warm Tones, Twinkle Eye Pencil in Matita Occhi

Clockwise L-R Loud Night Bronzer in Supple Satin Honey, Latex Like Lipstick in Plastic Red, Colour Impact Eyeshadow Palette in Lounge Warm Tones, Twinkle Eye Pencil in Matita Occhi

Loud Night Bronzer in Supple Satin Honey

Colour Impact Eyeshadow Palette in Lounge Warm Tones

Latex Like Lipstick in Plastic Red

Twinkle Eye Pencil in Matita Occhi

Using the Colour Impact Eyeshadow Palette in Lounge Warm Tones and the Twinkle Eye Pencil in Matita Occhi 

Latex Like Lipstick in Plastic Red

Smoky eyes, red lips, contoured skin - Autumn make up really makes me happy and the new limited edition collection from KIKO is no exception. If you haven't realised it yet, I'm a massive fan of the brand. The affordable yet high quality products that rival more expensive brands makes it impossible not to fall in love with KIKO. And if you haven't managed to get your mitts on any of the other products that the brand offer, I highly recommend having a look at this collection which is a great introduction to the wonderful world of KIKO.

Loud Night Bronzer in Supple Satin Honey* - £14.90

This bronzer is everything that a bronzer should be. Housed in beautiful packaging with a huge mirror, it was love at first sight. I struggle with bronzer - I tend to end up looking more Oompa Loompa than Kim Kardashian when I apply it but this honey toned, natural looking bronzer is everything that I've been looking for. Nicely pigmented it blends into the skin like a dream and leaves it looking glowing and sunkissed. As it's semi-matte (it has a tiny bit of shimmer in the pink and cream raised areas) it can be used to contour the skin to give it a more defined look - lovely for evenings. The colour is perfect, the formula is perfect, the packaging is perfect and it's allowed me to fall in love with bronzing. The only problem is, it's limited edition. Gah. 

Colour Impact Eyeshadow Palette in Lounge Warm Tones* - £16.90

I love myself a good eyeshadow palette. It's rare that I find one that I love as much as my Urban Decay ones but this one definitely comes close. Cased in further beautiful packaging with a big mirror is three matte shades and three shimmery shades. The shimmery shades are stunning, easily blendable and pigmented but sadly, I do experience a lot of fall out when applying them. However due to the fact that they're gorgeous, I can live with that. The matte shades are the winners in the palette. Buttery soft to the touch these aren't like your typical matte shades as they're not chalky in the slightest. The colours in the palette are stunning and allow you to create the perfect smoky eye in numerous different ways. If you wet your brush before using these shadows, you get a more intense pigment too. The swatches above show the shadows when they're used dry.

Latex Like Lipstick in Plastic Red* - £7.50

If you read my blog often then you'll know that when it comes to lipstick, I'm a bit iffy. Recently, I've been embracing the lip crayon trend. Those nicely pigmented, smooth and gliding sticks of joy are without a doubt my faves and the majority of my lipsticks have been thrown aside. Except for this one. I'm a sucker for a red lip and as you can tell from the swatch, this isn't half a red lipstick! The swatch above shows the pigment in just one swipe - it's glossy, beautiful and doesn't bleed which is a big must when it comes to red lippy. This is divine and a pleasure to use. I'll be donning it tomorrow for my sister's graduation - eek! However after looking back at my shoddy application, I'll most definitely be using a lip brush. Damn my shaky hands!

Twinkle Eye Pencil in Matita Occhi* - £6.90

I've always been a black eyeliner addict. Ever since I can remember I've been smudging and drawing black lines around my eyes so much that I quickly dismissed this pencil. On first look, I saw that it was a browny, purpley, taupey colour and it wasn't something that I was interested in. But as soon as I applied this to my waterline I was converted. It's less harsh than black liner and looks gorgeous during the day. It defines the eyes nicely but in a subtle and beautiful way. The liner is the perfect mix of soft and hard and lasts a good five or six hours on the waterline before it starts to wear off. In the look above, I used this to add a bit of definition to my upper lash line and because the formula is so incredible, it looks lovely when I do that too. A good versatile pencil that's a stunning colour and a great price.

As you can probably tell by this post, I love this collection a lot. It's what I would call a perfect Autumn make up collection and if you're new or loyal to the brand, it's one I suggest you take a look at. You can view the rest of the collection here which includes eyeshadow pencils, a serum, highlighters and stick blushers. I reviewed the Laser Nail Lacquer from the collection here and next week, I'll be featuring the incredible Dark Heroine Face Brush from the collection which you may have seen me raving about on Twitter.

Have you tried anything from KIKO before? What do you think of this collection?
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Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer and Sheer Lip Gloss Review & Swatches

Liz Earle is my favourite skin care brand and recently, they've brought out a new make up range. When I first heard about this range, I was very overly excited - I think I even ran around my flat, squealing. First of all they brought out their Sheer Skin Tint* and even though I do require full coverage, I still find myself using this tinted moisturiser at least once a week (you can see my full review of this product here).

So I was over the moon when I was sent their Natural Glow Bronzer* and their Sheer Lip Gloss* in the colour Quince. I'm a really big fan of the outer packaging. For me, packaging is important. I don't know why but it's just nice when you're paying a lot for a product for it to be perfect in every way and this doesn't disappoint. It fits in nicely with their Sheer Skin Tint and the rest of their make up range.

 The 'inner' packaging (I guess you could say) is also lovely. Once again it's a navy blue with speckles of glitter just like their Sheer Skin Tint. And it also feels very sturdy - you don't have to worry about this breaking.

 Once again, I'm rambling about packaging.. But I love that the bronzer has a mirror inside of it. It makes it great for touch ups and travelling.

 So first up, their Natural Glow Bronzer. If you know me then you know that I have a problem with bronzers. I just can't make them work. I do apply them pretty much every day but that doesn't mean that they do anything - they're just there. But this one is lovely. It's just the right colour for me and it's sheer enough so that it doesn't overload the face (it's easily built up though). There's not one hint of orange in this and when it catches the light it looks beautiful. It really warms the complexion up in a natural, sunkissed way. The powder is finely milled, soft and buttery but not too soft so it blends away.

Secondly, their Sheer Lip Gloss. I received this in the colour Quince which is a beautiful toffee pink colour. Sorry about the lip swatch but I wanted to show you how it wears on the lips. It isn't a sticky lip gloss but it does last for a long time on the lips. It's pretty pigmented for a 'sheer' lip gloss and it can be built up to provide more coverage on the lips. It's very shiny and adds a lovely sheen to the lips. The only problem I have with this is that I'm not too sure if it suits me as a lip gloss on its own. But when it's worn over a coral lip stick, it looks beautiful. But once again, it's nothing against the formulation of the lip gloss - just my complexion.

*EDIT - I wore this to work today (Sunday the 13th May) and I absolutely love the colour now. I received many compliments and it lasted from 10:15am until 1pm. Incredible!

I'm really struggling to find any faults in these two products. They're lovely and a delight to use. I've thought about everything but I just cannot fault them. And I definitely want to try out more from the range which is bad for my purse and student budget. The Natural Glow Bronzer retails for £19.50 and the Sheer Lip Gloss retails for £13.50. And I can't even fault the price. I think they fit in really well with other high end make up ranges and the prices are very fair for the quality of the products.

Have you tried anything from this range? Is there anything that takes your fancy? Or anything that you'd recommend?

xxx

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The Basics of Make Up

One of my friends said to me the other day; 'How do I apply make up? What do I put on first?' So I thought, why not write a post. I sometimes forget that some people are just starting off in make up and may not know the basics - I just assume that everyone does which is bad considering I had to teach myself from scratch as well. So here we go!

First of all start off with your skin care routine which basically should consist of cleansing, toning and moisturising. A good skin care routine is key to good make up and unless you have the right base, your make up is never going to sit right - think of it like a house! Next up, apply your primer. Don't seriously rub it into your skin like you would do moisturiser; I just gently press/pat mine onto the top of my skin so that it sits there nicely and fills in any pores/fine lines that I might have. After primer, I like to apply my eye make up if it's heavy. If you're going out for the night and wearing pretty heavy eye make up that consists of dark colours then it's best to apply it before your foundation. This is because if you apply it afterwards, you may end up with a lot of fall out that could potentially ruin your foundation and therefore make you start again. It's also good to apply foundation afterwards so that you can clean up any messes that you may have created. After this, apply your foundation unless you're using mineral/loose foundation then you should apply concealer first. Start with just one layer of foundation and then build it up as and where you need it so you don't end up caking your skin in make up. Once your foundation has 'set,' apply your concealer where you need it - under the eyes, on any blemishes and redness. I personally use a foundation brush to blend my concealer into the skin and I always use a light hand so it doesn't blend away to nothing. Now, when you apply your powder depends on what face products you're using. If you're going to use a cream bronzer, highlighter or blush then apply these before you apply your powder. But if you're using powder bronzer, highlighter or blush then apply these after you've applied your powder. This is so that the cream products don't interfere with the powder products as it could end up making your make up look horribly patchy which is never a good look! After this, apply your eye make up if it's light. If the make up that you're using is light then there's going to be no need to clean up afterwards and you won't have to worry about fall out so you can apply it after your base. I find that eye make up always looks better when it's been applied after my base. And finally, finish up with your lip products! Start with a balm, liner, lipstick/stain and then a gloss if you're going to use them all.
I hope that this has helped you and if you have any questions, just leave a comment and I'll get back to you!
xxx

Favourite Drug Store Brand.. 17

When I was sorting out my make up collection, I couldn't help but notice that I have quite a lot of 17 make up products. And it got me thinking, I do actually love this brand! Whenever I'm in need of something new, I'll always check out 17 first to see what they have on offer. Also, I must apologise for the first picture, for some reason some 17 products don't like being photographed. And click on the links to see a post that I've wrote about the said product or to find out more information.

17 Va Va Voom Mascara - I'm a big, big fan of this mascara. You can see how volumising it is in my comparison post. It's really lovely and even adds a tiny bit of length. Oh and it doesn't clump up either.

17 Wild Curls Mascara - This mascara is now pretty much gone as I've had it a while but I still keep it because I love the brush for combing through the lashes after I've applied mascara. I remember this mascara being lovely when I used to use it as well, very volumising and curling.

17 Liquid Liner - You only have to see my post and blog posts to know how much I love this eye liner. It's literally changed everything for me and now because of it, I know how to apply eye liner. I cannot recommend it enough. It's easy to work with and lasts throughout the day without the need for a primer.

17 Ultimate Volume Lip Gloss - This is a nice lip gloss that isn't too sticky and lasts pretty well on the lips. It's very glowy and although I'm not a fan of this colour, I definitely want to try some other shades out.

17 Miracle Matte Foundation - My perfect every day foundation. I bought this because I realised that when it comes to every day, I can't keep using expensive high end foundations. And I'm really glad I did. It's medium-buildable coverage that lasts well on the skin and keeps my skin matte all day long.

17 Photo Flawless Skin Primer - The consistency reminds me of GOSH's primer which is lovely and velvety soft. It fills in pores and helps make up to last longer as well. Plus it's one of the cheapest on the market. 

17 Glam Rock Eye Palette - This isn't available any more as it was a limited edition product but it's very nice. The colours work well together and they're easily blendable and pigmented.

17 Pressed Powder - I love this powder! It helps to control shine and it also adds a little bit of extra coverage to the skin. I really want to try out the shine-control one as well but it never seems to be in stock.

17 Falsifeye Gel Eye Liner - This gel eye liner is what I use to fill in any gaps that I may have missed with my liquid liner as it's easy to control and use. The only problem is, the colour is an off-black colour and not very pigmented so you have to go over it a few times.

17 Instant Glow Bronzing Powder - One of the very few matte contour shades on the high street and it works very well. It isn't that pigmented which is great for me as I have light skin so it doesn't apply too much product to the skin. It's also free of any orange tones too.

17 Glitter Eye Shadow & 17 Solo Eye Shadow - Lovely eye shadows that are very pigmented; possibly the most pigmented on the high street. They're also very easy to blend and last well without a primer.

17 Hide Away Concealer - I bought this because Collection 2000 didn't have my shade in their Lasting Perfection concealer. It's not as full coverage as the Collection 2000 one but it is lovely. It's very creamy and doesn't dry up on the skin and it's great for underneath the eyes as well.

17 Hide & Chic Eye Brightening Concealer Pen - This concealer is pinky toned which means it's great for underneath the eyes to brighten the eye area up. I also love using it to counteract the redness around my nose.

17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish - The formula of these isn't that great. You do need about 3-4 coats and sometimes, it can apply streaky but the colours are absolutely beautiful.

I also took to the 17 stand when buying my mum's birthday present! What's your favourite high street make up brand? Do you love 17 as much as me?

xxx